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“Okay.”
I press my lips to hers one last time before setting her free. My gaze stays pinned to Fallyn as she heads to the door where her cousin waits with a hand planted on her hip.
And then they’re gone, both of them disappearing into the hallway. I fucking hate how my world goes dark when she’s not around.
“FYI—staring at the door isn’t going to bring her back, Romeo.”
I force my attention to my roommate and good friend before releasing a steady breath.
Before I can tell him to shut it, he says, “So…I guess you two are together now, huh?” It’s not really a question.
“Yup.” I drop down onto the chair situated across from him.
Madden has always been a pretty easy-going guy. Nothing ruffles his feathers. It’s one of the reasons I agreed to live with both him and Ford instead of at the hockey house where Ryder, Maverick, Riggs, Colby, Hayes, and Bridger are.
It’s nonstop chaos over there. Parties, girls, younger teammates crashing on the couches when they don’t want to go back to the dorms. More parties.
I like the quiet.
He shifts on the couch. “And her parents?”
I stare at him for a long, drawn-out minute. Sometimes I forget that Madden was with Viola before the accident and is aware of our backstory.
“They don’t know.” It’s tempting to tack on yet but part of me is afraid to. I’m terrified of losing Fallyn. Not when we’ve just got together, and everything is so new and fresh.
“Seems like it could be an issue,” he says quietly.
With a nod, I drag a hand over my face. He’s not telling me anything I don’t already know. Hugo and Eleanor won’t be pleased with this development. They went to great lengths to keep us apart.
As if to reinforce that thought, he adds quietly, “We got together with them over the break. Even though years have gone by, nothing has changed for them. They’re still living in the shadow of Miles’ death, and they want to keep Fallyn there as well.” There’s a pause. “Was there anything else that happened?”
Fuck.
“Yeah, my father got fed up with Hugo’s bullshit and forced him out of the company they founded,” I admit.
A low whistle escapes from Madden as he leans toward me, resting his elbows on outstretched knees. “How the hell are you going to overcome that obstacle? Don’t you think they’ll have a problem with you and their daughter being together?”
“Of course they will.”
It’s slowly that he shakes his head, staring at me like I’m crazy. “You realize this isn’t going to end well, right? Did you ever think that maybe it’s not worth it? That maybe the best thing you can do is let sleeping dogs lie?”
Tension floods my muscles.
Madden isn’t telling me anything that hasn’t already been secretly gnawing at the back of my brain.
And yet…
“How the hell am I supposed to do that? I love her. I’ve always loved her. For the past five years, it felt like a chunk of me was missing. I lost it the night of the accident. Now that Fallyn is back in my life, I feel whole again.” I search his eyes for a sliver of understanding. “How can I just let that go?” Before he can respond, I lift my chin and say in challenge, “Is that something you could do? Just walk away from Viola?”
Even as I fire off the question, I already know the answer.
“Fuck, no.” A steely expression enters his eyes. “Letting her go the first time was hard enough. I would have found a way to win her over and I wouldn’t have stopped until she was mine.”
“Exactly.”
He shakes his head. “All I have to say is that you’ve got your fucking work cut out for you, man.”
I snort.
