After that night, Jesse clung to the friendship tighter, while Cassie let go of it altogether.
“Hey, Cass.” A smile slid across his lips.
She didn’t return it, and her stare unnerved him. He rocked forward on his heels and stuffed his hands in his pockets, unable to tear himself from her gaze. What was it about her that always intrigued him? Every time he entered their house, he looked for her, hoping to catch her eye.
But he never did. Because one thing was certain: Cassandra Carrigan didn’t care one lick about him.
The front door opened, breaking them from their spell. Jesse and Charlotte bickered like an old married couple as they walked into the hall. Their relationship was new, and they were complete opposites, but it worked.
Roman would never admit it, but he envied Jesse.
They stopped when they found Roman and Cassie. Jesse lifted an eyebrow. “She let you in?” They all knew Cassie didn’t answer the door. Ever.
“Mary.”
Jesse cursed. “I forgot she had to leave early. Charlotte needed a ride, and it slipped my mind.”
Pushing what he called “Cassie confusion” from his mind, Roman put a hand on his chest. “It’s a good thing you have a friend as great as me. Sometimes, I wish I had a Roman in my life.”
“Shut up.” Jesse shoved him with a laugh. “Where are the boys?”
“I fed them to an alligator.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
Roman jerked his head to the open glass slider. “They’re out there.”
Jesse gave him an incredulous “you let my brothers go play by the pond” look and rushed out.
Charlotte plunked down next to Cassie on the stairs. “Hey, Cass. Good day?”
Cassie shrugged. “I mean, it was a day.”
Roman tried to hide the hurt he always felt when he heard Cassie talk to other people. He’d known her for over a decade. Charlotte only came into her life a month ago.
“I need a drink.” By drink, he meant a coffee made with Mr. Carrigan’s fancy schmancy coffee maker. He walked into the kitchen, leaving the girls to their chatter.
He’d done this so many times he didn’t need to think about it. A few moments later, he had a vanilla latte with whipped cream.
Jesse walked in, dragging the boys behind him.
“Dude.” Roman held up the empty whipped cream container. “You’re out.”
“You’re the only one that uses it for your girly drinks.” He laughed as he shoved his brothers toward the door. “Put it on the list, and we’ll get more with the next grocery delivery.”
“My drinks aren’t girly,” Roman grumbled. “They’re delicious.”
He carried his coffee to the living room where the girls flipped through channels.
“Oh, is that for me?” Charlotte smiled. “Thanks, Rome.” She tried to steal his cup, and he held it out of reach.
“It really is a shame you’re not taller, Charlie.” He took a sip and sighed. “Good stuff.” His gaze fell to Charlotte. “I’m not your boyfriend. Get him to make you one.”
“So chivalrous.” Cassie’s words weren’t meant for him, so he couldn’t count that as speaking to him, but they brought a smile to his face all the same.
“Don’t believe I can be a gentleman, Cassie-girl?” He stared at her in challenge, but her lips didn’t even twitch. “Jess! Make Charlotte a latte.”
“Sure thing,” Jesse hollered back.
He shrugged. “See, I am very chivalrous. She wanted a drink, so I got her one.”
Cassie rolled her eyes.
Roman sank into the leather recliner and put the footrest up. “Roll those pretty eyes any harder, Cass, and they’ll get stuck. Then you won’t be able to look at my pretty face.”
She grunted.
“Let me translate.” Charlotte suppressed a laugh. “Cassie says what a great thing it would be not to see your ugly mug all the time.”
“Aw.” Roman set his cup on the table beside the chair and leaned forward. “Cass, are you really seeing me all the time? I’m flattered.”
Again, Cassie only stared.
At first, Roman stared back, but then he squirmed under her scrutiny. He tapped his thumb against the arm of the chair and glanced away before pushing down the footrest and standing. “I’m, ah, going to find Jess.”
Charlotte’s giggling followed him out but still nothing from Cass.
He found Jesse in the kitchen making Charlotte a coffee. “Cass,” he yelled. “Do you want one?”
“Nope, I’m good,” she hollered back.
Roman leaned against the counter. “Your sister, man.” He shook his head.
Jesse laughed. “You usually last longer than this around her before bagging out.”
“She won’t talk to me.”
“She doesn’t talk to anyone.” Jesse eyed him. “You know it’s not her fault, right? She isn’t just choosing not to talk to you.”
He sighed. He did know, but it didn’t make it any easier. He’d always struggled trying to understand it, trying to see how to help her. “What happened to the kids who spent every day together? Doesn’t she remember that?”
“Of course, she does. But in her life, really in all our lives—even yours, Rome—there’s a before and an after. She’s stuck in this in between place along with my dad. Neither have moved on to the after. Maybe it’s PTSD, maybe something else, but we have to have patience. We have to love her.”
He did love her. He always had. She was his family, the girl convincing him to break the rules when they were kids, the one he’d have followed over a cliff. In his after, that hadn’t changed, but she had.
Jesse put a hand on his arm. “I know you care about her. She’s like a sister to you too. We just have to believe she’s making progress and help her in whatever way she needs.” He picked up two cups and walked into the living room.
Roman waited a moment to get a handle on his thoughts. Most people didn’t think he had a thought in his head, not the airhead hockey player who was always making jokes. He wasn’t supposed to worry about anything. The rich kid who could do whatever he wanted.
He hoped Cassie still knew him well enough to see someone else, someone who cared about her.
Running a hand through his short blond hair, he pushed out a breath before re-entering the living room.
His cup no longer sat beside the chair. Instead, a suspiciously similar one tilted against Cassie’s lips.
For the first time in a while, she smiled his way, an ornery glint in her eye.
“It’s okay.” He sat in the recliner. “I tend to backwash when I drink.”
Her face twisted in disgust, and she spit the coffee back into the cup before setting it aside.
Settling his eyes on the TV where a hockey commentator shared his opinions, Roman wiped the smile from his face. He wouldn’t let Cassie see how much her reactions got to him.
Once upon a time, he thought that girl was perfect. She’d been smarter than the rest of them with a wicked sense of humor and a nose for trouble.
Not to mention adorable dimples even the kid-version of himself could appreciate.
Over the past years of silence and the crumbling of their friendship, many things between them had changed.
But that wide-eyed wonder he’d developed as a kid, the image of her he had in his mind… that never had.
It was dark by the time Roman pulled up outside his palatial home. His house belonged in an exclusive part of Gulf City like Wentwood, not the much smaller neighborhood it sat in.
Where the Carrigan house was large, the Sullivan house was grand. Even the pond behind his house—a staple in Florida—was larger than Jesse’s, and also more desolate. No other homes could be seen across the water. Only the birds and alligators inhabited the area along with Roman.
Which was why he was surprised to see his parents’ cars both in the driveway as he walked up the drive from his parking spot on the street.
That couldn’t be good.
They weren’t due back for another few days at least. All the jokes and the “I don’t care” attitude he showed to the world disappeared when he stepped through the front door of his own home.
The hall was dark save for golden light spilling out the door of his dad’s office. His footsteps echoed through the house, but that was probably just in his own mind. A foreboding feeling sliced through him as he peered through the doorway to find both his parents seated on the couch along the back wall, bookended by two tall, oak bookcases.
“Um, hi?” He stood in the doorway.
“Roman.” His mom looked up with a soft smile. “Come in, honey.”
“It’s late, son.” His father looked at his expensive watch.
“I didn’t expect you to be here.”
They nodded in understanding. His parents weren’t bad people. They weren’t even bad parents when they were around. They ran a financial services company with offices in Estonia, New York, and London. Their Tampa office was small potatoes compared to the others.
Their biggest flaw was their dedication to their work. It came at the detriment of their relationship with their son.
“Take a seat, Roman.” His father held an apology in his voice. Roman became well versed in their various tones. “We need to talk to you.”
Roman sat on the corner of his father’s antique desk. He knew whatever they wanted to discuss was serious because they didn’t chastise him.
“I’m listening.”
His mom sighed. “I’m not sure exactly how to tell you this, boyo.” She sent a pleading look to her husband.
“We’re moving.”
His dad’s words bounced around in Roman’s brain, refusing to take hold. Moving. Moving. Moving.
Dread built in the pit of his stomach. “What do you mean moving?”
“Our offices in Estonia are expanding, and we’d like to oversee the project for the next year.”
“So, I won’t see you for an entire year? No more coming back and forth?”
His dad met his eyes. “Son, we can’t leave you here alone. You’re not even eighteen for another two months.”
Roman shot to his feet. “You can’t be serious.”
The meaning of their words finally hit him. His parents weren’t moving to Estonia. They all were.
His mom stood. “It’ll be a new start. The country is beautiful and safe. They have wonderful schools and lots to see and do.”
“But I’m a senior. You want me to pack up and move only months before graduation? What about my friends? What about hockey?”
“They have hockey in Estonia.”
“But my team is here.” He couldn’t believe the words leaving their mouths. Now, out of all the times they’d abandoned him, they wanted to do what was right. “Can’t you just leave me here until graduation? I’ve been fine on my own every other time you’ve left.”
His mom reached out to take his hand. “Roman, we’re selling the house.”
He yanked his hand back and stumbled away from her. This was it. Soon it would all be gone. His senior year. His team. The Carrigans.
What would he have in Estonia? Parents who were never around and a foreign country surrounding him.
“No.” He backed away.
“Roman.” His father approached him.
Roman shook his head. “This isn’t happening.” He turned on his heel and marched through the dark house, climbing the stairs to a room that wouldn’t be his much longer. He closed the door, expecting his parents to have followed him.
But true to form, they let him be.
They only decided to be parents when it would upset his entire life.
Perfect.
3
Cassie
Cade leaned in, unable to hold back any longer.
Mel sucked in a breath before their lips met, and Cade suddenly didn’t know why he’d hesitated. She was everything he wanted, everything he’d always want. Their future sprawled out before them as wild as it was sure. First kisses weren’t the forever kind, but maybe this one could be, maybe this girl was different.
Cassie sighed as she held the Kindle to her chest. Cade and Mel were her favorite fictional couple, and she returned to them every time she felt her world spinning out of control. They grounded her, calmed her.
She stared at her laptop across the room, knowing her classes for the day wouldn’t wait forever. Online school was easy in that she could start and stop whenever she wanted as long as she finished her work. And she enjoyed the work. It gave her a purpose, something to help her feel productive on days that rarely changed.
Today, though… today, she just wanted to live in her stories.
Her alarm clock blared to life, sending a chilling scream through her room. With a groan, she rolled over and slapped a hand down on the button. She woke up hours before the alarm on a daily basis, unable to sleep any longer. Sometimes, it meant going through her days as an exhausted zombie, but that was better than risking the dreams she was always scared would return to haunt her.
She slid the Kindle under her pillow and sat up. Wild chocolate hair fell into her face. If anyone outside her family saw her in the morning, they’d assume she was a monster come to life.
Yep, she was that person.
Kicking the covers off, she got out of bed, sparing a cursory glance down at the oversized T-shirt she wore. A brown smear ran over her boob from the chocolate she’d dropped from her ice cream bar the night before.
She pulled on a pair of baggy sweatpants with a hole over one knee, not caring that she looked like a vagabond. Piling her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, she grabbed her laptop and headed for the stairs.
Mary hadn’t come to get the boys to school yet, but she knew Jesse wouldn’t be home. Every Monday, he woke up early to go watch Charlotte’s figure skating training. The girl both figure skated and played hockey, yet Cassie’s sole exercise was climbing up and down the stairs.
Her dad stood at the coffee machine when she walked in. “Morning.” She yawned.
“Morning, Cassandra.” He kissed the top of her head as he opened the fridge.
Like Cassie, her dad was stuck in his own grief and memories of that night all these years later. The two of them understood each other in a way no one else did. She didn’t hold it against him that he disappeared into his work, because she got it. It allowed him to imagine a world in which the scars didn’t run so deep.
She did the same thing with her books.
Neither of them felt the need to talk much, but they kept each other company through breakfast. Cassie drank a yogurt smoothie while she opened her laptop and set it on the kitchen table.
Her dad scribbled notes onto a legal pad.
It wasn’t until Will and Eli ran in that their quiet shattered. “Morning,” both boys called as they ran for the cereal.
Cassie stood to help them, but the doorbell ringing froze her steps.
She looked to her dad, eyes wide. “Y-you…” She moved to the hall and stared at the door before looking to her dad.
He nodded. “I’ll get it.” He lumbered to the door and yanked it open, revealing Roman, looking just as put together as he always did. Expensive jeans, dark polo, aviators pushed into his blond hair.
But the expression on his face… that wasn’t so normal. A storm brewed in his reddened eyes. Her dad said something to him, but she couldn’t make it out as she took in every bit of his appearance.
His hair may have been styled perfectly in his relaxed way, but his jaw tightened. His clothes were preppy and expensive, but the hem of his shirt was wrinkled where he picked at it. She walked closer, not stopping until he saw her.
His nostrils flared in anger. At her?
“Roman, would you like to come in?” her dad asked. He wasn’t one to spend much time with Roman or even Jesse for that matter, but if even he could see something was amiss, Cassie wasn’t imagining it.
“Is Jesse here?” Roman’s voice was hoarse.
“No, he
’s at the rink.” Her dad moved aside to let Roman in. “Come in, we have coffee.”
She’d never known Roman to turn down coffee, even as a kid when he tried to sneak it. She’d also never known her dad to offer it to him.
“Yeah.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, okay.”
His eyes found her again, and she suddenly felt self-conscious in her stained shirt and holy pants. But the Roman she’d known never cared what she wore. She pushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face and hung back as her dad made Roman coffee. The laughter in his eyes—a hallmark of his personality—was gone, replaced with a sadness she couldn’t take her eyes from.
The front door opened again, revealing Mary in all her Mary Poppins glory. When Cassie was young, they wondered if she too had magic. No, instead she had a kindness few others possessed.
“Hi, Cass.” She brushed her arm on the way into the kitchen. Setting her purse on the counter, she put her hands on her hips. “Roman Sullivan, isn’t it a little early for you?”
Roman’s lips curved up as if attempting a smile. He failed. “I wanted to talk to Jesse before school.”
She clucked her tongue. “You know full well he leaves early on Mondays.”
“I forgot.” He looked down at his feet, an unusual move for a boy who normally stared the world right in the face.
“All right, young man. I’m not Jesse, but I have some time before getting the boys to school.” She looked down at Will and Eli. “You two go get dressed.” As they ran off, she yelled after them. “Brush your teeth!”
Roman took the coffee. “I’m okay. I think I just needed to get out of my house.”
Cassie’s dad backed away. “I’ll be in my office.” He was never one for deep conversations.
Cassie couldn’t move. All she wanted to do was go to Roman and tell him whatever was bothering him would be okay. Once upon a time, she’d have done just that. But it no longer mattered what she wished could happen in her life, not when the words clogged in her throat.
Her heart rate kicked up as he looked to her again.
“Cassie,” Mary began. “Don’t you have work to do?”
Without a word, she gathered her computer and went into the living room, just within earshot of the kitchen.
Roman and the Hopeless Romantic (Gulf City High Book 2) Page 2
