Star-Crossed (16 page)

“Tino, get outta my room,” Romeo barked at his brother rather than respond to Jules.

Jules heard Tino laugh. “Tell me how you really feel.”

“Now, Valentino! Get the fuck out now!” The phone crackled as if there was a scuffle on the other end. “You got your own room. Go find it.”

“Wow, no love.” Tino grumbled. “I see how it is. Selling out blood for
sticchiu
.”

“
Non mi rompere le palle, non mi scazzare i coglioni,
” Romeo said over the slam of a door. “
Testa di cazzo.
”

Jules waited for something else to happen. When there was nothing but Romeo’s heavy breathing on the other end, she finally sniffed and asked, “What’d you say to him?”

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“I told him to stop busting my balls. Then I called him a dickhead.” Jules wiped at her cheeks, a smile tugging at her lips. “Not nice.”

“He’s been called worse.”

“If you say so.”

“You’re not cursed, Juliet,” Romeo said endearingly, placing heavy emphasis on her full name. “And you’re not a bully. Trust me, I know bullies and you aren’t it.” She pouted, tears still streaming down her face. “But I’m not one of those soft and sweet women like Melody. You’ve spent time with her on this tour with Clay. You know what I mean. What man would want someone like me when they could have someone like her instead? Someone lovable.”

“This man,” Romeo said without hesitation. “Not real sure if I count, but I like your rough edges. They turn me on.”

Jules found herself smiling once more in spite of the tears. “Yeah?”

“Oh yeah.” Romeo hummed, his voice still warm in a way that made her stomach tingle. “And I think you’re lovable. Very much so. In a different life it’d be easy to love you. Hell, it’d be easy in this life if shit wasn’t so fucking complicated.” Jules’s breath caught as she sat there on her bed and tried to fully absorb what Romeo was admitting. She was vulnerable right now, but she was always practical. The same tiring warning bells went off and not only did she choose to ignore them, but she decided right then and there to turn them off completely.

“You count, Romeo,” she said softly as fresh tears of an entirely different nature rolled down her cheeks. “More than anyone else’s counted—ever. More than anyone probably ever will.”

“You wanna do something different tonight?” Romeo asked with a hitch in his voice that was more than desire.

“Like what?”

“Let me see you,” Romeo said earnestly. “Video chat with me.”

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Jules laughed skeptically. “Oh God, no; I look horrible.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I’ve been crying. I’m showered and dressed for bed. I ain’t got a lick of makeup on.”

“That’s exactly how I want you,” Romeo said, confident and compelling, drawing her in. “Show me your rough edges, Juliet.”

The heat blossomed inside Jules, softening her, making her feel exactly how she needed to feel in that moment—womanly, cherished, lovable. Her breath hitched; her voice became husky in obvious arousal as she asked, “You’re talking ’bout more than just chatting.”

“Hell yes, I am.”

Jules wasn’t naive. She knew the dangers of revealing herself like that. He could record her. He could plaster her image all over the Internet. Three months ago there was nothing in the world that would’ve convinced her she’d be considering doing something that left her so completely exposed.

“I’m gonna do it too. Skin for skin,” Romeo said before she could make up her mind, reminding her of their night together in Las Vegas. “Fair enough?” Now that was
really
dumb. The lawyer side of her brain wanted to scold Romeo, because the man was famous and a video of him jerking off would be worth a small fortune. Yet even as she formed the thought she really understood what he was saying.

He trusted her, and she got the impression Romeo didn’t trust easily.

“Fair enough. I got to go get my laptop. I left it downstairs.” Jules stayed on the phone with him as she made the trek downstairs in the dark. She grabbed her laptop quickly, then bounded up the steps that creaked under her enthusiasm. She locked her door, hopped back onto her bed, and opened the computer.

It took them a bit to get the log-in taken care of because they’d never connected via video chat despite all the time they spent on the phone. Likely because they both 126

knew where visually connecting would lead, and Romeo had obviously been as paranoid as she was—until now.

Jules had about twenty seconds to examine herself in the little window that appeared on the screen, and she didn’t like what she saw. All she had time to do was pull the scrunchie out of her hair, letting it tumble long and loose around her shoulders.

When the computer chimed and the connection was made, Jules buried her face in her folded arms as she lay on her stomach in front of the computer. All Romeo was able to see was the top of her head, and she was fine with that because her eyes were still red from crying and Wyatt’s old football jersey didn’t exactly look sexy.

“This is a horrible idea,” she mumbled into her arms.

“No, it’s not.”

Jules heard Romeo’s voice twice, once through the phone still pressed against her ear out of sheer habit and again through the computer. She hung up the phone and tossed it aside without looking up.

“Is that a poster of Bruce Lee over your bed?”

“Don’t judge me.” Jules buried her face tighter. “I know my room looks like something a teenage girl would do. We ain’t exactly great at updating ’round here.”

“Actually, I was thinking that poster makes you awesome,” Romeo said, sounding genuine. “Bruce Lee’s my idol. That’s what Tino and me were doing tonight, watching
The Chinese Connection
. It’s on AMC.”

“Oh my God.” Jules lifted her head in shock. “That’s what Wyatt and I were doing!”

Romeo flashed a triumphant smile when she stayed out of hiding, as he lay sprawled out on his stomach over the big hotel bed, his ankles hooked together near the headboard. He was bare-chested, showing off tan skin, broad shoulders, and massive, muscular arms folded in front of him.

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He was more beautiful than she remembered. Jules was instantly enthralled, but she still had to say, “I didn’t know you liked Bruce Lee.” Romeo gave her a look. “I’m pretty sure it’s a requirement for all MMA enthusiasts to worship Bruce Lee.”

“Clay could give or take him.”

“Well, he’s more into wrestling and jujitsu.” Romeo shook his head sadly.

“Ground and pounders. Fucking oobatz.”

Jules giggled. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you’re planning an extended stay in Garnet to learn more of both those things.”

“That’s not the reason I’m planning an extended stay to Garnet,” Romeo assured her, his beautiful gaze sharp and intense, making it obvious he was studying her.

“Perfecting my wrestling and jujitsu is just the bonus. I’m coming to Garnet for you, Juliet.”

Jules’s cheeks heated, and she rested her chin on her open palm as she stared Romeo down. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for—a lie, some sort of indication this entire affair was just a dalliance for him—but all she found was the earnest sincerity she heard in his voice every night.

“I like you without makeup,” Romeo said as Jules continued to look for a reason to feed her cynicism. “You’re always the most beautiful when you’re just being you.” Jules rolled her eyes. “You’re just trying to get me naked.”

“That is the goal,” Romeo admitted without shame. “I’m sorta wishing Clay and me hadn’t agreed to this damn publicity tour, even if the paycheck was sweet. I could be there now.”

“Clay says it’s cold where you’re at.”

“Holy shit.” Romeo shuddered. “Cold is a friggin’ understatement. I’ve been freezing my balls off for three days, and if I have to hear Tino bitch about it anymore, 128

I’m gonna be guilty of killing my own brother. Thank God we’re outta here tomorrow. I can’t wait for California.”

“I wish I could come visit you. I love Los Angeles. Rodeo Drive is my Mecca.” Romeo pulled a guilty face. “It’s my Mecca too. It’s a sure bet Tino and me are gonna put a serious dent in it.”

“Maybe you can take Clay and get him a real suit for once. Melody’d surely appreciate it.”

“There is no help for that guy,” Romeo said firmly. “We all went out to eat at a five-star restaurant and I shit you not, Clay wore jeans and tennis shoes.”

“Oh, I believe it,” Jules said with a laugh. “Wyatt’s the same. He owns one suit for weddings and funerals, and it’s a sad-looking suit at that. I don’t get it, ’cause it ain’t like he can’t afford to dress nice.”

“How’d you come outta the same womb as that guy?”

“Past life sin,” Jules said, though she felt mildly guilty about it because she did love her brother. “He’s a pain in that ass, but it’s not totally his fault. He used to be more fun. I told you, we’re cursed.”

Romeo frowned. “Why do you think you’re cursed? You keep saying that.”

“We’re just really terrible at love,” Jules said softly. “We’re talking generations of epically bad luck here.”

“You can’t fall in love?” Romeo asked curiously.

“Oh, we can fall in love. Trust me, when a Conner falls in love it’s usually a terminal condition. Nothing cures it but death. We just can’t hold on to it. For some reason or another it just slips through our fingers and the end result ain’t pretty. My daddy used to talk to a picture of our dead mama every night before he went to bed. It was so sad. Can you imagine what it was like to leave the hospital with two newborn babies and your wife’s death certificate? I dunno how he survived Wyatt and me being toddlers all by his lonesome. My mama didn’t have any family, and he didn’t have

129

much either. All he had was my grandfather, but really, that’s like the blind leading the blind.”

“Where’s your grandfather now?”

“He died when we were eight. Heart attack. It makes me think they dropped from broken hearts. Once they get their kids raised and their duty passed on, they just go like it’d been what they wanted all along. I worry ’bout Wyatt. I worry ’bout me too.” Romeo tilted his head, a look of concern passing over his handsome face. “I don’t want you to be lonely.”

“I don’t want that either,” Jules said with a miserable laugh. “Anyway, I’m being a stick-in-the-mud. I got into a fight with Wyatt, and I’m having a hard time snapping out of it. Tonight’s probably not the best night for—”

“What can I do to make you forget that fight?”

Jules leaned in closer to the camera, unable to help the smile tugging at her lips.

“What’re you offering, Mr. Wellings?”

Romeo smirked. “
Exactly
what you think I’m offering.”

“Are you sure?” Jules laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “I think it’d be weird performing for a camera. I dunno if I can do it.”

“Performing doesn’t really bother me.” He quirked a dark eyebrow in challenge.

“I’ll tell you a secret, Juliet.”

“Tell me,” Jules said instantly because she liked secrets.

“Back when I was young and wild,” Romeo started, looking a little bit hesitant as if he shouldn’t reveal this particular side of himself. “I used to be a stripper.” Jules squealed and cupped her hands to her mouth in shock. She’d been born and bred in a town that loved gossip, and that was the mother lode of all secrets. When she did find her voice, she dropped her hands and smiled at him. “
No, you didn’t!
”

Romeo laughed. “I did, yeah,” he said, the tension seeming to seep out of his shoulders. “I was stuck with two kids to feed after my mom died, and I tried working 130

construction and other crappy jobs. It just wasn’t cutting it, not even close, so I started stripping rather than let Tino and Nova starve. Not for nothing, but I made
a lot
more money doing bachelorette parties than working construction. I did it for about year before other shit came up.”

Jules knew what other shit came up. She had looked at his record at least a thousand times since Las Vegas. Now she wondered what had happened to his brothers once he’d gone to prison. If they’d been depending on him to keep food on the table, what kept them from starving? How did Romeo feel about being forced to leave them all alone? So many questions, but he hadn’t told her that particular secret, and she wasn’t ready to push him when it was obviously a painful memory.

She reached out, touching the computer screen when she thought about all he’d been through. Why did Clay win that championship belt when Romeo wanted it so badly and Clay had so many already? It all seemed so unfair. Romeo deserved to be happy, and Jules realized she desired it with every fiber of her being. To see all his hard work and suffering pay off. She wanted the world for Romeo, and she didn’t know how to give it to him.

She sat up and tilted the laptop’s screen to better capture all of her. “I’m going first.”

“Okay,” Romeo said, surprised. “Abrupt change of pace.”

“Hush before I change my mind,” Jules said and then pulled Wyatt’s football jersey over her head before she lost her nerve.

“God,” Romeo groaned and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he leaned in closer. “I fucking love your body.”

Not every man would agree with Romeo. Her body was more cut and angular than most women. She didn’t have the soft curves and cushy ass others did, but that didn’t feel like a bad thing when Romeo was looking at her like he was, desperate to see her after weeks with nothing but a voice to connect with.