The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 100

Chapter 90: Caleb and Bella confrontation-2

“Agreed.” I kissed her forehead. “What else?”

+25 Points

“We take it slow.” Her hands rested on my chest. “I’m not ready to tell Tom we’re together, not until I’m sure this will work.”

That stung, but I understood. “How slow?”

“I don’t know, just slower than jumping into bed the first night I come home from a date with someone else.” She smiled slightly. “Maybe we should actually date before we sleep together again.”

“We already slept together.” I couldn’t help pointing out.

“That was a mistake.”

“That was inevitable.” I corrected. “But fine, we can pretend we’re starting over if that makes you feel

better.”

“It does.” She stepped back, putting space between us. “And Caleb, I need you to understand-I’m going to mess this up. I’m going to get scared and push you away. I’m going to have moments where I don’t trust you and lash out.”

“I can handle that.” I leaned against the counter. “As long as you promise to come back when you do.”

“I promise to try.” It was the best she could offer, and I’d take it.

My phone buzzed with a text from Maya: “Tom wants to come home. Are you two done destroying each other or should I keep him for the day?”

I showed Bella and she smiled. “We should probably get our shit together before our son comes home.”

“Probably.” I pulled her close one more time. “But Bella, for the record, last night wasn’t fun for me either, it was everything.”

She looked up at me, and I saw the walls crack a little more. “For me too.”

“Good.” I kissed her, taking my time. “Now let’s go get our son and figure out how to do this without completely fucking it up.”

Tom came home an hour later, full of energy and stories about his sleepover with Aunt Maya. He didn’t notice the tension between Bella and me, didn’t see the way we kept stealing glances, didn’t catch the significance of us sitting closer together than usual.

Or maybe he did notice and was just smart enough not to comment. That evening, after Tom was in bed, Bella and I sat on the terrace with wine. “So,” she said. “Where do we go from here?”

“I want to take you on a proper date.” I looked at her. “Not a business dinner, not a family outing with Tom. A real date where I pick you up, take you somewhere special, and we get to know each other again.”

“We’ve known each other for a while.”

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<Chapter 90ereb and Bella confrontation 2

+25 Points

“We’ve co-existed for a while, before you finally left,” I corrected. “I want to know the real you, the woman you’ve become. Your favorite foods now, what makes you laugh, what you dream about.”

“That sounds terrifying” But she was smiling.

“It should be exciting.” I took her hand. “Friday night, I’ll arrange for Maya to watch Tom. Wear something that makes you feel beautiful. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Control freak,” she teased.

“You love it.” I pulled her closer.

“Maybe.” She settled against my side, her head on my shoulder. “Caleb, can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

“Last night, when I came home from the date, why were you sitting in the dark?”

I was quiet for a moment, debating how honest to be. “Because I was imagining you with him. Laughing at his jokes, letting him touch you, maybe going back to his place. It was driving me insane.”

“I couldn’t even think about kissing him,” she admitted. “The whole time I was comparing him to you and he came up short in every way.”

“Good.” I pressed a kiss to her hair. “That’s very good.”

“You’re still possessive and jealous.” It wasn’t quite a complaint.

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