Page 31 of Clueless Romeo

Roman walked toward the table and slid onto the barstool next to mine instead of across the table.

"It's loud," he explained, a response to my unasked question, and passed a beer in front of me. "So, how are things going on the storefront? You mentioned you were missing some inventory. How is that going to affect the store opening?"

Grateful for a topic that would distract me, I answered. "Honestly? I'm not sure. The company is tracking down the shipment, so I guess we'll see when it arrives."

"I'm sure they'll find the missing boxes and you'll be back on track in no time." He took a sip of his beer.

After taking a long pull of my own beer, I set the glass down and nodded. "I hope so. The sooner I can make some money and get my own place, the better."

Roman smirked. "Not a fan of having Caleb as a roommate?"

He had no idea. "I love Caleb, I do. But small doses are more than enough, especially with his girlfriend in the apartment too. It's a tight squeeze for the three of us. And the walls are thin if you know what I mean."

Roman grimaced at my implied statement. "I can imagine that's not pleasant."

After taking another swallow of the bitter beer, I changed the topic. "How about you? Any new couples headed toward matrimony?"

"Working on it but give me a week. I bet Jaz that one of the ladies will have a ring on her finger this week." His lips tilted, a self-satisfied look on his face.

"Cocky bastard." I shook my head, and Roman let loose a deep rumbling laugh.

It was stupid, but banter with Roman felt good, even if I was battling an unwelcome attraction toward him. Except for Archer, I'd lost touch with most of my friends after graduating college, and it made me wonder how many friends Roman had.

I hadn't noticed anyone stop by other than his clients, and he rarely seemed to leave the suite. When he did, the trips were always brief.

"When I spoke to Caleb earlier, I got to look around your shop. I like what you've done with the place," Roman said as he ran his thumb over the condensation on the glass. His approval stupidly lit a spark of pride in my chest. "You set up faster than I did when I first started. And I had less to do."

"Maybe you're just a slacker." I shrugged, forcing my gaze away from the slow slide of his thumb to meet his eyes.

"Me?" His gray-blue eyes widened before he chuckled. "That may be the first time I've heard that."

I snorted. "Kidding. Obviously. Were you the kid in school who always finished assignments early and asked for extra credit?"

His lips slanted into a crooked grin. "I'm pleading the fifth."

I grinned, but a laugh broke through. "You so were."

"Way to call me out when I thought our new relationship was going so well," he joked, but a sudden hush fell over the table. Roman reached over his shoulder, scratching the back of his neck and the tips of his ears turning pink. "You know what I mean. Like our friendship."

The atmosphere swiftly swelled with awkwardness. Was he thinking about what had happened on the sidewalk? I sure as fuck was and tipped my head back, downing the rest of my beer.

"What else would you have meant?" I tried to force amusement in my tone but wasn't sure I'd been successful. I grabbed my glass and slid off the stool. "I need another. You?"

Embarrassment flooded his expression and convinced me I'd been more transparent than I'd hoped. I wished I could rewind time or had some vampire powers of suggestion to make him forget I'd gotten hard enough to poke his fucking eye out.

"Sure. Just tell Olive to slap them on the tab I started." He stood. "I gotta piss. Be right back."

Or maybe he needed a minute to reset as badly as I did. We parted ways, with me heading for the bar and him toward the hallway at the back of the pub.

After a few minutes of me waiting for other patrons to receive their drinks, Olive propped her elbows on the bar in front of me.

"You're back." Her gaze ran over my face, and she bit her lower lip. "Not that I'm complaining." The seductive look on her face did absolutely nothing for me.

I didn't want to give her the wrong idea, so I stuck with a simple response. "Two more beers, please."

Olive appeared slightly disappointed, her lips downturned. "On Roman's tab?"

"Please."

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