He lets out a little sigh, like he was holding his breath, and then his hands are against my neck, thumbs tilting my chin upward. His lips press into mine, and we both shiver, mouths moving slowly, like we’re each exploring a new home. When we break away, I wind my fingers into his. I stare up into his wide, hungry eyes, but it’s a different type of hunger than I saw in them before. It makes me want to pull him to me again. Maybe bite his lip just for fun. I can feel my cheeks heat at the thought, and he raises an eyebrow like he wants to know exactly what I’m thinking.

I shake my head as I smile up at him. There’s something more important that we have to do. “I have people I want you to meet.”

It hasn’t been that long since I stood in front of this red door, but it feels like I’ve lived an entire year or maybe even an entire lifetime in the meanwhile. Roman stands beside me looking like a guy about to pick up a girl for his first date ever, but we’re way past that.

I reach out a hand to knock and let it drop. It’s the second time I’ve done that. Guilt needles into me sharper than any vampire fangs or knives. I was never leaving Parker for good, but I can’t help worrying there will be hurt on his face when he sees me. And all I ever wanted was to be the one person who never hurt him.

Roman clears his throat. “Are you sure you want me here?”

“That’s not the problem,” I say. “I want you to meet my…” “Family” teeters on the edge of my tongue, and I want to say the word, but my heart squeezes as if it might burst if I do. Deb asked me to be part of the family, and I left. What if it was a onetime offer? She told me to come home anytime, but people say a lot of things they don’t mean.

I try to start again. “I want you to meet everyone. I just… I left them.”

Roman doesn’t tell me it’s okay. Instead, he reaches out for my hand and weaves his fingers between mine, squeezing tight enough that it feels like nothing in this world could break his grip on me.

I panic for a second. My body leans away from him. My instinct is still to pull away from that type of security before it can be taken from me. But that’s what I did with Deb.