Page 63 of Teaching Roman

“I guess that’s why I’m going to Mexico.” It was a terrifying proposition. Roman had every right to reject me. I could get all the way to Puerto Vallarta and still have him do so. But life wasn’t giving me a second chance, I was taking one.

Lillian nodded and released my hand, returning to a perfect driving position. “Viva el amor.”

By the timewe got to SeaTac in rush hour traffic, I only had forty-five minutes to get through security and make my flight. Thankfully Cassie had packed my carry-on with the precision only an OCD fashion nut could muster. Unzipping my bag I discovered neat stacks of clothing, a small selection of socks, two pairs of shoes, and my liquids separated into a TSA approved plastic baggy. The next time I ran off to a foreign country, she was definitely packing for me. Of course, with everything neatly separated and ready to go, my wait time in line was spent obsessing over how to reach Roman. I’d decided this was one instance where I didn’t want to surprise him. He needed to know I was on the way. But his phone went straight to voicemail, which meant he was probably in the air. I could only hope I got there in time. I hated the thought of him facing Aba’s death alone.

Behind me, people moved over to allow someone to pass them. It made me want to scream. We all needed to get through and someone thought they were important than the rest of us. I turned my head before the stranger could ask me to let him through and stood in the dead center of the queue.

“Excuse me…Jessica?”

If it was biologically possible for a heart to skip a beat without an underlying medical condition—which it wasn’t—mine did. I turned to face Roman, hoping that all the suave lines I’d been coming up with in my head while I waited wouldn’t fail me. They did. Instead of sounding calm and reasonable, I word-vomited all over him. “I know about Aba. I’m going to Mexico. My liquids are in a baggy and I have plenty of panties. I want to be there with you, and I’m sorry about…well, everything. I know you were thinking of me.”

“Jess—”

But I couldn’t stop myself. “And I’ll always choose you, too.”

Roman dropped his suitcase and lifted me into his arms before I could process that I’d spilled my guts to him in front of a huge crowd of travelers.

“I love you, Jessica Stone,” he said, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist.

“I love you, too.” My feet kicked in the air with joy, an involuntary reaction to the most romantic gesture of my life. The beating of my heartbeat was full-on irregular as I lowered my mouth to his. I was vaguely aware of clapping and cheers from the onlookers around us, but they faded into the background when our lips met. Something clicked into place, something I didn’t even know was still broken. Happiness spread through me with such force that it physically hurt. How could I have thought I could live without him?

We were interrupted by a polite cough. Looking up, we realized the line had kept moving and we were backing up the entire checkpoint. No one seemed to mine. It was an airport miracle. Roman set me back on my feet and we gathered our things in a frenzy. This time I wasn’t stopped for trembling by the TSA. It seemed everyone had been privy to our reunion. They only gave us a bemused smile, although the man overseeing the X-ray machine winked at Roman.

“What flight are you on?” He checked my boarding pass over my shoulder. “Same flight.”

“S Gate then. We have to haul ass.” I was suddenly grateful Jillian had talked me into wearing Toms. My foot beat a nervous rhythm as Roman stopped to tie his sneakers.

“And you’re eloquent, too.” Roman pecked me on the mouth and grabbing my hand, we ran for it.

“Need…to do…more cardio,” I panted out as we ran.

“I can help you with that,” Roman said without so much as a gasp for air. If he wanted to whip me into shape, I wasn’t going to stop him. Not if we had the same cardiovascular activities in mind.

We stumbled into the south train as the doors were sliding shut. I’d never been so thankful for a means of transit before. Roman held onto a pole, wrapping his free arm around my waist and pulling me close to him.

“Why are you here?” It wasn’t really the question he was asking. I’d already answered that.

“Because this is where I belong,” I whispered.

“Thank god, you realized that,” he said in a low voice.

I pressed closer to him, turning my face up to his, desperate to feel the light brush of his stubble on my cheek and to taste him on my lips, but the train jerked to a stop. We broke apart and continued our frantic dash. By merciful chance, the gate was on the near end of the terminal. I skidded to a stop next to Roman just as he began to laugh.

“Delayed,” he said. “We have at least twenty minutes.”

My eyes flew up to the monitor. He was right. “I ran for nothing.”

“And survived,” he said.

“I totally deserve a drink.”

“Mi bella, you deserve a lot more than that and I’m going to make sure you always get what you deserve from now on.”

I reached out and hooked my fingers over the waist of his jeans, drawing him to me. “That sounds like a threat.”

“It’s not,” he said, raising his hands in surrender. “It’s a promise.”