Amali POV

"This is the third time you've called me this week... I know it's not easy. It's hard for me too, but it won't change my answer. Listen... I'm sorry. You know I never meant to hurt you... But you have to stop calling me." I said into the phone as I walked slowly up and down the hallway.

Annoyed, I rubbed my forehead. I felt guilty, but that didn't change my other feelings. And it wasn't going to get any better if I pretended.

At some point, I got fed up with listening to his pleading and just hung up. I was tired and the evening had only just begun. I wanted to bang my head against the nearest wall.

"Hey sweetie. Are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost." I suddenly heard Roman's voice and he immediately sounded worried when he noticed the look on my face.

"Oh hi big man... I'm fine. I just got off the phone with my ex. He's still taking the breakup pretty hard. And I'm trying to be really patient with him, because after all, I was the one who broke up with him. But the feeling of guilt isn't exactly getting any less", I explained and then hopped onto one of the big crates.

I pulled my legs up so that I could wrap my arms tightly around them. Sighing, I looked up at him. His dark eyes were surprisingly understanding. Slowly, he sat down next to me.

"Oh, I know that feeling well. Can I give you any advice? I mean, I'm not the expert on the subject, but maybe just talking about it will help." he said as he turned so he could look at me.

"That's really nice, but I don't think you can compare my situation to yours." I replied and then patted his thigh.

"You don't know that, Amali. Why don't you tell me what happened first?" he said.

"All right. It's not like it's a secret. Well... My now ex proposed to me and I just couldn't say yes. It just didn't feel right and I can't help but feel bad now.

I also can't shake the feeling that he... well, that he only asked me because he was jealous. You know... because I'm always surrounded by good-looking men like you, for example," I explained.

"Hey, trust your instincts. If your gut tells you it's not right, then there's a reason for it. Never feel guilty for telling the truth. Speaking of the truth... So I look good, huh?" he replied, wiggling his eyebrows to make me laugh.

And it worked. I had to laugh out loud. In fact, I hadn't laughed like that for a long time.

"Come on, Roman... It's really no secret. Yes, you look damn good and you know it." I was still giggling.

I carefully got off the crate. Thanks to him, I was feeling a little better.

"Thanks for cheering me up. I really needed it," I said.

I was about to leave when Roman suddenly grabbed my hand. He carefully pulled me back to him. The expression on his face surprised me. He suddenly looked so serious and had a small crease between his eyebrows.

"Are you really okay?" he wanted to know.

"I have to be, don't I?" I replied.

"No you don't always have to be brave, sweetie. It's okay to be vulnerable." he said, his voice low.

As his words reached me, I realized how much I had actually suppressed everything in the last few months. I had tried to push everything as far away from me as possible in order to concentrate fully on my work. And that had actually worked quite well.

But when I looked into the eyes of this understanding man, a lot of things suddenly bubbled up. I felt the warm touch of his hand on mine and then, just like that, tears welled up in my eyes.

"Hey... Don't cry... Everything will be okay." he said softly before pulling me into his arms just like that.

Roman hugged me tightly. His warmth immediately had an incredibly calming effect on me. However, I tried to igonize how amazingly good he smelled. And how I could even feel his heartbeat.

He had one hand on the back of my head while the other rested on the small of my back. I sighed in relaxation, whereupon he loosened his embrace and looked into my eyes. For countless seconds, we just looked into each other's eyes.

Until he eventually leaned forward while his gaze wandered back and forth between my eyes and my lips. Before I could even think, he closed the distance between us. His warm and damn soft lips were on mine. And man, did he take my breath away.