It should have been so much happier.
Rome’s eyes flicked down to my hand at my stomach. “Sausage for breakfast, excuse me.”
His eyes widened before I sped down the path that led to the kitchen and a small group of archaeologists milling around the coffee station. A few of them nodded and waved good morning to me, but I didn’t stop to talk. I angled directly for the temporary bathroom set up on the other side of the burial site, far away from everyone with ears that could hear me cry.
I swiped at the fresh wetness, one hand moving again to my belly as I wished I could tell the father of this baby that he was expecting. But I didn’t dare now, not when he’d only just found out I was so much younger than him.
“Pixie, wait—” his hand clamped around my elbow just as I crested the small hill that overlooked the fjord below. “Tell me something.”
His eyes lingered on me, something burning with meaning that I couldn't figure out. He’d seen much, I could see it in the crow’s feet at his eyes and the way he looked up to the clouds a moment before he said his next words. “Are you legal?”
“Oh for fuck sakes, you make me insane, Rome.”
“I have to know, Pixie, seriously. It’s a matter of...state.”
“Stop being so cryptic, will you? I have too much going on right now to deal with your dramatic, intense, back and forth, whatever this is!” I spun, tearing out of his grip and cresting down the pathway, past the temporary bathroom structure to the rocky coastline that erupted at the edge of the water.
“Pixie!” Rome called, following me down the wet path. “I’m sorry!”
I stopped, his hand already hovering at my back before he said again. “I’m sorry. It’s just, it never crossed my mind that you could be a student. You were so poised and elegant at the mixer, you were above all of those administrators and staff. I should have asked then, I should have asked a lot of things, but none of it matters now. I want you, I’m here. I spent half of my family’s savings on a private investigator to find you and it got me nowhere. If I’d known it would only have taken a social media check-in at the nearest Viking grave site…”
I couldn't help the smile that his teasing brought to my face.
I had missed that. I’d missed so many things if I was being honest. It was just so rare that I was honest with myself these days, the desire to push through and push on was overpowering.
“Let me take care of you.” Rome uttered, his lips dusting the shell of my ear and sending a thrill through me.
“Rome—I—”
“Say yes. I won’t accept anything else.” He caught my chin with this thumb. “Say yes, Pixie. Trust me, you don’t want to see a Viking get angry.”
SIX
Rome
“So what kind of artifacts have you dug up?”
She cast me a sarcastic glance. “You spent four-and-a-half hours on the train to talk about Vikings?”
“No.” I laughed. “And I didn’t take the train.”
“You drove?” She scrunched her eyes adorably.
“Not exactly.” I tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. The rest of her long waves were pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head, a pair of dusty fieldwork goggles piled in the strands.
“Did you make Sven drive all the way up here to chase me down?”
I shrugged. “I’ve asked more of him, he doesn't complain.”
“Where is he now, just sitting in the car while you harass me?”
I laughed, but she didn’t. “No, he’s staying at my family’s place on the coast. I told him I’d call when we’re ready to head over—”
“We? I’m not going anywhere. In fact, what is your plan exactly?”
“My plan revolves around you. I’ve got a home that overlooks the fjord that’s only twenty minutes from here. I can have you back bright and early for the dig every morning—”
“Wait, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to fully immerse myself in Viking culture.”
“Well,” I smirked, “I can’t imagine a better learning experience than being immersed in a real Viking.”
A grin cracked her lips before we both broke into laughter. “Your jokes are corny. Is that a Viking thing too?”
“Hardly.”
“Well, the old witch lady told me a handsome stranger would try to distract me.”
“The old witch lady told you, huh?” I laughed harder.
“She said the Gods were on my side and offered me some herbal remedies for—” she paused abruptly.
“For?” I asked.
Pixie shook her head, eyes turning up to the clear sky above us.
“Well, you must have met the last old witch lady in all of Denmark. You’re lucky.”
“She came to visit the camp. She said blessings over the burials and brought tea and pastries for the team.”