The Nature of Thorns (The Nature Of Series Book 4) by Rayne Wells

Author:Rayne Wells [Wells, Rayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-01T16:00:00+00:00

“Question.”

“Answer.”

I chewed my lip for a beat before finally blurting, “What made you decide to come back to Raleigh?”

He glanced at me from the driver’s seat and hiked a shoulder. “It was multifaceted.”

Raising a brow, I pressed, “Meaning…”

“Meaning, I knew there was a possibility that we’d run into each other. I didn’t let that sway me in one direction or another, but I won’t say the scenario didn’t cross my mind. I just didn’t expect it to happen like it did.”

“Hm.” I studied his profile as he kept his eyes on the road, and one of his dimples winked at me as a smile curved his lips.

“What?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. I just didn’t expect such a simplistic answer.” Drawing in a breath, I glanced down at my nails. “What were your other reasons?”

His jaw ticked, and he bobbed his head as he answered, “I was a free agent at the time, sick of the political bullshit with my coaches and managers, and really missed my family. The year before I came back was especially hard because Viv was going through a lot and I couldn’t be there for her like I wanted to be. It would have been easier if I was closer to home.”

My face fell into a frown. “What happened to Viv? Is she okay?”

“Yeah.” He nodded and elaborated, “Yeah, she’s fine. At least, that’s what she says. She had a rough patch last December that was kind of a huge setback for her. She decided she needed to take a year or two and go to Australia to reboot. Of course now it’s kind of hard to know if she’s bullshitting me or not because it’s not like I can just pop in and check on her. She sounds okay, though; making friends and getting to know the city of Sydney well. She’s going to an art school out there.”

I couldn’t help the huge smile that stretched across my face. “Why am I not surprised that Vivian Delgado has grown up to become an artist? That girl used to draw on everything–I remember your mom losing her marbles about Vivi’s ‘art’ on her walls on a regular basis,” I said, giggling.

We both fell into laughter as we slipped into a moment of nostalgia. Rome rested his hand on my knee, giving it an affectionate squeeze, and I rested my hand over his, lacing our fingers. When we pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, Rome cut the engine and hopped out of the truck, then came to my door and opened it.

“Good god, you are wearing that damn dress…” He leaned in to kiss my cheek, then rasped into my ear, “But I’m still peeling it off of you as soon as we get to my place tonight.”

I felt my cheeks go hot as I chewed my bottom lip and stared into his beautifully rich, chocolate eyes. “Mm–who says I’m going to your place?”

Chuckling, he shook his head as a lop-sided grin curved his lips. “You’re gonna make me work for it, huh?” He held his hand out for me to take, and I tucked mine into his.

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