Page 4 of Romeo

Josie didn’t bother pretending she hadn’t heard us.

“Tonight, I am ashamed of the male species. Josie, that young lady has been through hell and back. Suffered and survived as no child should ever have to. She is screaming for someone to love her, and some asshole broke her heart tonight. I want to find the little bastard and wring his neck.”

Josie came to stand beside me and wrapped an arm around my waist, resting her head against my shoulder.

“You can’t protect her all the time, Rome. You’ll be going home to Diamond Creek after the wedding. Then what? I don’t think your club president will allow you to stay here and follow a teenage girl around. ‘Cause let’s face it, that will get your butt thrown into jail fast. Then where will she be?”

“It just ain’t right, Josie.”

“She’s young and resilient. Plus, she’s stronger than she looks, and with two big brothers, a full clubhouse, and people who care about her, trust me, she will be just fine. Adolescence is hard. We’ve all been through it.”

She was right.

I knew she was right.

That didn’t change the certainty that had been sitting inside me since Fiona walked into the room.

“She’s mine, Josie,” I whispered.

“What?”

I turned away from the windows.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I just know. Knew it the second I saw her. Something hit me hard. You’ve heard the stories about the La Croix family curse.”

She slowly nodded.

Everybody around New Orleans knew some version of the story. The La Croix family had beauty in abundance and apparently terrible fucking timing when it came to love. Generation after generation claimed to recognize the person they were destined to spend their life with almost on sight, usually young and almost never without complications.

I’d always considered it romantic bullshit our family had polished through enough generations that everybody forgot it started as superstition.

Until tonight.

“My own momma—she was barely fifteen when my dad laid eyes on her, and when she turned eighteen, he married her. Aunt Marabella, Wade’s momma, was seventeen when she wed Daniel Crawley. Hell, Auntie Gail ran away with Uncle John to get married. They were barely seventeen themselves. For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard stories about the La Croix family. I just never thought it would happen to me.”

“Rome, she’s barely seventeen.”

I nodded.

“I know, and it’s a good thing I’m going home after the wedding, because I don’t trust myself not to take her away from all this heartache. She deserves better than what I can give her. My life ain’t easy. Jack and Blade have been keeping me abreast of what’s happening in the underworld. It ain’t pretty.” I caught my cousin’s gaze and said, “Promise me something, Josie?”

“Anything.”

“Keep an eye on her. Be there for her when I can’t. If she needs anything, make sure she gets it because I know there will come a day when I take her away from everything she knows. I’ve seen my future in her eyes, and it’s beautiful. Don’t know what I did in this life to deserve her, but she’s mine and no one is taking her from me.”

Josie didn’t immediately answer.

Maybe there wasn’t anything left to say.

I knew how insane I sounded. An hour ago, I would’ve laughed at any other man making the same declaration about a woman he’d just met.

Now the dark window reflected a man I barely recognized.

The curse had finally come for me.

And apparently, it had silver eyes.

Rosewood High School, Rosewood, Virginia, The next morning...