“And that’s okay. You have every right to feel that way, Roman, and trust me. I understand better than anyone how hard it is to forgive.” She took the bag of peas off her eye as she looked up at me and said, “That doesn’t mean you can’t move on from it. Maybe you should try talking to her.”
“I do. I check in with her and Madden both. They have their own lives now. Madden is married and has two kids. Mom’s remarried. He’s an older fella and seems to take good care of her. It seems they’ve been able to put it all behind them where I haven’t.”
“I’m sure they still have their own issues with it. No way they couldn’t, but they’ve tried. Maybe it’s time for you to do the same.”
“I think I already have. I just didn’t realize it until now.”
“I love you, Roman.”
“Love you, too.” I took the bag of peas and put it back on her eye. “It’s time for you to get some sleep.”
It didn’t take much coaxing. Her encounter with Marc had taken a toll on her, so it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep. I lay there listening to the soothing sounds of her breathing, and it wasn’t long before I gave in to my own exhaustion. The following morning, I awoke to Frankie’s warm, curvaceous body sprawled over mine. Her arm was across my chest, and her leg was resting on mine. I loved having her close. I wanted to spend every night with her in my arms just like that. I lightly brushed my nose against her cheek, then kissed her neck. She was so warm and soft it had my cock straining against my boxer briefs. Unfortunately, he’d have to wait.
Her eyes fluttered open as she glanced up at me with a sleepy smile. I could see the love shining in her eyes, and it got me right in the gut. No matter how long I lived, I would never get tired of her looking at me like that. She snuggled closer as she whispered, “I like waking up in the bed with you.”
“That’s a good thing, ‘cause I plan on doing it often.”
“Did you sleep okay?” she asked.
“Like a rock.” Being careful not to touch her bruises, I slowly brushed my hands over her back and grazed the top of her ass. I had no doubt she could feel my erection at her side, but at that moment, it wasn’t about the sex. It was simply about being close to her. “You?”
“Better than I expected to.”
“Good...You hungry?” I asked, loving how she looked lying there next to me with her hair down over her shoulders. She was so fucking perfect. “I could make some coffee and toast.”
“Coffee sounds great, but I’d rather have you,” she whispered as she inched a little closer, being sure I knew what she meant.
It was hard. Seriously, I mean it was really fucking hard, but I put my hands on her hips and stopped her. “None of that, Frances Sullivan.”
“But….”
“Not until you’ve had time to heal.”
“I’m fine. It’s just a couple of bruises.”
“Then, it shouldn’t take long.” Before she could convince me otherwise, I tossed back the blanket and got out of bed. “You sure the boys will be okay about me being here?”
“I’m sure.” She glanced over at the clock and stretched. “They should be getting up for school soon.”
“You stay put. I’ll go check on them.”
“I need to get up. I’ve gotta get to the coffee shop.”
“Not today, you don’t. You’re going to stay put like I told ya,” I ordered.
“But...”
“No buts, Frankie. Either the shop stays closed for the day, or Sydney can go in and cover for you. Your call.”
“Well, aren’t you the bossy one this morning.”
“Just trying to take care of you, even when you don’t make it easy to do.” I pulled on my jeans as I asked, “So, what’s it going to be? Stay closed or should I call Sydney?”
“I hate for her to go in and see all the mess.”
“The mess has already been taken care of, but Sydney is going to have questions about why you aren’t going in. How do you want to handle that?”
“I’ll call her and let her know what happened. That way she can be the one who decides about opening the shop today.”
“Sounds good.” Figuring she’d want to have the conversation with her sister in private, I said, “You talk to her and I’ll go see about the boys.”
“Okay.”
I left her to make her call and went to make a pot of coffee. I was standing there waiting for it to brew when Sean came shuffling into the kitchen. He didn’t seem the least bit surprised as he gave me a chin lift and mumbled, “Mornin’.”
“Mornin’.”
He looked like he was still half-asleep as he opened the refrigerator and took out a jug of orange juice. He carried it over to the counter, and after he poured himself a drink, he asked, “Mom doing okay?”