Page 41 of Rogue Romeo
I drop my gaze to my lap, fidgeting with the stem of my wineglass as I continue. “The priest knew Lita and brought me home to her. My father—if you want to refer to him as such—spent years flitting in and out of our lives. Out, more often than not,thankfully.”
Blowing out a breath, I close my eyes and remember the times hewasaround. The tension that flowed through the house, the strangers who came and went at all hours.
The time he broke my pinkie finger for not fetching his cigarettes quickly enough…
A shudder runs through my body, and Alex places his hand on my shoulder encouragingly, silently bolstering me to continue.
“He spent a lot of time behind bars for various offenses. Theft, breaking and entering, assault and battery. He always said, ‘tough times don’t last, but tough people do,niñita.’”
I shake my head with a frown. “Maybe he thought he was teaching me a life lesson. Who knows.”
My lips downward as I shrug. “Eventually, when Lita had settled in Sunrise Harbor, and I was happy at Pearson, he lost the deeds to our house in a game of poker, along with draining every dime from Lita’s savings before he disappeared too, skipping out on bail in the process.”
Silence fills the room, and I exhale heavily, feeling unburdened, having shared my deepest, darkest secret with this man who makes me safe enough to be my true self.
Warts and all.
“We can’t choose our family.”
I lift my head at his words, finding his whiskey orbs intently focused on my face.
“But wecanchoose one another, Sunshine.”
His mouth lifts in a crooked grin that makes my heart sing, and in this moment, I feelseen.
I grin back, deciding to shift the conversation to lighter topics. “Favorite…color?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “Gray.”
I snort a laugh. “Gray isno one’sfavorite color.”
“It’s mine.” Alex shrugs, quickly moving on as I raise my glass to my lips. “Favorite vacation spot?”
It’s my turn to shrug as I swallow my mouthful of wine. “Never been on vacation. What’s—”
“Change of question. Favorite place you’ve ever been?”
I narrow my eyes, but answer anyway. “The Koch Theater. Lita took me to see the New York City Ballet perform The Nutcracker when I was eight, and Iknewit was where I was meant to be.”
Alex regards me with unreadable eyes for a moment as the fading memory of that perfect day runs through my mind until I snap back to reality. “Favorite food?”
My question catches him utterly off guard, and he barks a sudden laugh. “Well, it isn’t arancini anymore, that’s for damn sure!”
He grimaces as he massages his throat with his free hand before pouting in thought. His eyes flare, and his mouth tugs upward as he asks, “What’s your best trait? What’s your favorite thing about yourself?”
“Eh…that’s two questions!”
He rolls his eyes with a wide grin. “Then you can have two once you’ve answered mine.”
I incline my head in acceptance. “My best trait…well, that would be my determination. Whatever I put my mind to, Iwillgive it my absolute all.”
“Okay, I can see that. One hundred percent. So, what’s your favorite thing about yourself?”
I nibble on my lower lip, realization dawning as Lita’s words come to mind.
“My intuition. It’sneverwrong. When I have a gut feeling, I trust it.Implicitly.”
I glance down at my wineglass, suddenly shy. “It’s the reason why I’m here. It’s the reason why I…why I trustyou.”