Roman

14 - Giving her time

Roman

“I can’t believe you just walked away like that, Brother. How could you not fight for her?”

“I won’t be the man who forces the woman he loves to be with him when she doesn’t even know where her fuckin’ heart lies, Ace.”

I left Marley at the house a couple of days ago and came here to the clubhouse to drown my sorrows in as much whiskey as I could stomach. I had the club whore.s swarming around me like flies around shi.t. It’s like they have radar and just know when a man is suddenly single. I could have taken one or two to my room here, but my heart just wasn’t in it. I won’t be the man who cheats on his woman no matter where the fuc.k she is right now and with whom.

Actually, she’s at our house waiting for me to collect Romany. That’s why I’m sober right now. I won’t let my daughter down for anything in this world, and me stinking of booze when I pick her up would be letting her down. Romany is my world, even if her mother is thinking about fuckin.g off with another man. He won’t be anything to my little girl. Ain’t nobody taking another kid from me.

I’ll kill and die for that little girl. She is mine, just as much as her mother is. She just doesn’t know it yet.

“Back off, Ace. Roman is doing the only thing he knows how right now.” Red clasps my shoulder and squeezes.

The two men are my best friends. I don’t know what the fuc.k, I’d do without them. God knows I’m still pissed at Jett, Wrench, and Elie for keeping things from me. Jett, I kinda get why he did what he did. He wanted to help Marley. Wrench is my damn cousin! I can’t think about that right now.

“I’m not trying to get on your case, Roman, I’m just worried about you.”

“We both are.”

I close my eyes for a second.

How did I end up in this situation?

I’ve always made fun of every Brother who ever fell in love, and here I am, feeling my heart break in my chest. Thirty-nine years and a few months of life, and never once have I fallen for a woman. I’ve always treated women right but never has one stolen my heart. Then there was Marley, and she’s about to crush me.

“Don’t give up on her, Roman. Marley has been through so much in her life. She was engaged to this guy and then ripped away from him through no fault of her own. There are bound to be feelings still there. Don’t mean she doesn’t love you. She just needs to figure out how to let him down gently.”

“You really think she’s gonna choose me over a man she spent years with, Ace? A man she was going to marry and have kids with?”

“But Marley didn’t marry him, Roman, and she didn’t have kids with him. She had your kid.” Red tells me.

“She might not have if Bulldog hadn’t got his hands on her.”

My cousin scratches his head and tells me, “But he did have his hands on her, Roman. He fucke.d her up in ways no man should ever fuc.k a woman up. You found her, saved her, and brought Marley back to life. Those things count in matters of the heart.”

“Marley is in love with you, man. She just needs a little time to put old feelings to rest. You mark my words; she’ll come back to you sooner than you think.”

I raise my eyebrow at Red. “Fuckin’ him while she’s tryin’ to figure it out?”

“You really believe that, man?” I shrug my big shoulders and knock back the rest of my water. “Marley can’t even bear it when one of us shakes her hand. She might have a history with him, Roman, but she changed because of what happened to her. She’s not gonna so much as let him hold her hand.”

I know what Red’s saying is true, but I can’t help thinking that this guy knows Marley better than I ever will. She’s comfortable with him, and I can’t compete with him, but, boy, do I fuckin.g want to!

Yeah, I’ll fight for her, I’m not stupid, but I’m going to do it with kindness. That’s what Marley needs right now. She doesn’t need me going all caveman on her ass. It works with many women, but damaged women like Marley need kindness and compassion. I’ll give it to her.

I leave my cousin and Red at the clubhouse and make my way over to Marley’s place. I’ve borrowed Ace’s car for the day. The man has kids and knows how vital having a practical vehicle is. Not that Ace drives it often; his wife does. But I asked him last night to loan it to me, and as he never says no to me, here we are.

Getting to the house I lived in with my girls doesn't take me long. Fuc.k, I never even got to settle in before I left.

I throw the car into park and climb out, the whole time telling myself to be calm, to treat Marley like she’s my best friend rather than the woman who wants to fuc.k off to her ex and leave me for good.

This love thing makes a man fuckin.g crazy!

I knock on the front door and wait for Marley to answer. She does, seconds later, holding my two-week-old daughter in her arms. The smile Marley throws my way isn’t the smile of a woman who wants to leave me. It gives me confidence that she is just confused and that she’ll return to me soon.

“Mornin’, beautiful.”

Marley’s smile brightens, and I fuckin.g can’t help falling in love with her even more. “Morning, handsome. Romany is all ready for her daddy. Will you come in while I grab her stuff?”

I nod and follow Marley inside the house we shared.

She looks beautiful today. Her figure is almost back and is emphasized by her tight jeans and long-sleeved shirt. Her golden hair is tied in a high ponytail, and she’s not wearing any makeup, but I don’t believe she needs any. Marley has not dressed to impress the cunt she’s going to see today, but fuc.k if she doesn’t look amazing.

I watch Marley as she places Romany in her baby car seat with a smile on her face. My pretty little girl is wearing a little pink dress and a white cardigan, so fuckin.g small it melts my heart.

“Now, you be a good girl for Daddy, Romany. He’s going to take real good care of you because you’re his little princess. You love your daddy, don’t you, baby girl?”

I’m standing here with a smirk on my face, arms folded around my big body, as I listen to Marley talking to Romany as if she can answer back.

“Your daddy loves you, Romany. Mommy loves you, too.” She takes baby girl’s tiny hands and kisses them softly. “I’ll see you tonight, my pretty princess.”

Marley locks the car seat, grabs Romany’s diaper bag, and turns to look at me. Her beautiful blue eyes draw me in, and I have to remind myself that she’s not entirely mine yet.

“You’ll call me if you need anything?”

“Of course I will,” I tell Marley with a smile. “And you remember, if you need me for anythin’ at all, all you have to do is call me, and I’ll be there.” She nods. “I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“Because no matter what happens, I love you. It’s okay if you choose him, Marley. You have to do what’s right for you, sweetheart. Plus, we kinda need to get on for Romany’s sake.” That makes us both laugh.

“Thank you, Roman. For everything.”

I tip my head and reach for my daughter’s baby chair. I shouldn’t, but I can’t stop myself from kissing Marley’s cheek before I leave. This shi.t is going to be the death of me.