Page 42 of Sinful Temptations

“Well, that was embarrassing.”

“You probably made his night.” The lights danced in Roman’s eyes.

“Maybe.” I gulped more wine. “Now. Let’s get back to you. What else do you like in a woman? We’ve got food, travel, and . . .” I glanced over my shoulder to confirm we were alone. “. . . a vagina.” I held up three fingers. “What else?”

He clutched his beer and the stern expression that crawled onto his face gave me a terrible feeling I’d crossed a line and he was about to get up and leave. After a large drink, he plonked his beer down. “Two years ago, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. Now, after fucking that up, I have no idea. So”—he shrugged— “I’m open to suggestions.”

“You didn’t fuck it up, Roman. Caterina did.”

He wobbled his head, maybe contemplating. “She would not have done what she did if things were right.”

Oh jeez, how did I respond to that? I had nothing. Thankfully the waiter arrived to set our cutlery, providing a suitable distraction.

When he left, I reached across the table, placing my hand on Roman’s forearm. “There is never an excuse to cheat on your partner. Never. If Caterina was so unhappy, she should’ve talked to you about what was wrong.”

He nodded, but his expression confirmed he was a million miles away.

I wanted to wrap my arms around him and take away all that hurt. But nothing could remove that pain. It would always be there, smoldering in the background, just waiting for some random thing to reignite that spark. “Hey, youcan’t blame yourself. Especially if you thought she was happy.”

He clamped his jaw, bulging the muscles along his chin. “Maybe I missed the signs.”

“The signs? What? Like her whacking you over the head with a rolling pin if you left your socks on the floor?”

He huffed. “Is that what you’d do?”

“Hell yeah. Socks on the floor is a definite deal-breaker for me.”

His huff turned into a chuckle. “Wow, that’s tough.”

“That’s not tough. Things would get real nasty if dirty undies were left on the floor.”

Roman reached for his beer, raised it to his lips, then paused. “Did you see any signs with dickwit?”

I didn’t feel the need to correct Roman’s name for William. Maybe there was some hope for getting over an ex after all. “No.” I huffed out a huge sigh. “I had no idea he was gay until he told me. I thought we were in love, and we’d spend the rest of our lives together. Happy.”

“Sì. Me too.”

The sadness in his eyes was crushing. I needed to up the mood before we both ended up crying in our drinks. “Hey, you told me sex fixed everything, right?”

He tilted his head to the side and met my gaze. “Sì. And?”

“Well, did you mean it?”

“Of course. I never lie.”

I cocked my head. “You never lie?”

“No. There is never a reason to lie.”

“Really? What about if I asked you if my bum looked big in my jeans?”

“Daisy, your bum wouldn’t look big in anything.”

My jaw dropped. I blinked at him and blinked some more.

He burst out laughing. “You should see your face.”

“Oh, my god. I can’t believe you’ve been checking out my ass.” As my heart fluttered, I took a large sip of my wine.

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