Page 42 of The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession)

Her mouth dropped open, but nothing came out. She was literally speechless. Gaping like a fish, she clenched her hand around the pen until the boiling white hot rage caught up with her.

“Are youfuckingkidding me?”

Richard gave her one of his patented disapproving glares, the one that made his face thin and pinched. He had an assortment of them, although this was his favorite.

“Darling, don’t be vulgar.”

Sophia took a deep breath and counted to ten. “We were together for two years and not once did you offer to introduce me to your parents!”

“Sophie be reasonable. They retired to Spain and never visited, or you would have met them.”

She pointed the pen at him, resisting the urge to throw it at his face. “I know for a fact they visited twice, once for your birthday and another for your cousin’s wedding—a wedding you didn’t invite me to.”

He huffed and picked at his sleeve. “You were busy at work the weekend of the wedding. And we had just started dating when they visited the first time. It was too soon.”

Do not stab him with the pen. Do not stab him with the pen.

“We were together for four months by then,” she ground out. “And I would have rearranged my work thing if you’d asked. Not to mention the fact you went to see them in Spain twice a year, and you never asked me to go with you.”

“Their place in Seville is too small to entertain. You know that.”

It was the same excuse she’d heard a million times. The truth was that Richard hadn’t wanted her to meet his parents because he’d been ashamed of her. It didn’t matter that she was his mentor’s daughter. She her mother's mirror image in looks and demeanor, and someone like her didn’t fit in the Selwyn’s aristocratic world.

Richard had made that clear often enough with his less than subtle hints about her weight and his gifts of gym memberships and exercise equipment. His was an existence best suited for skinny blondes who could wear jodhpurs without looking ridiculous.

The arrival of her cream tea interrupted her inner rant. Richard’s opinion of her no longer mattered. She was in a good place with Gio. That man was crazy about her. He loved her body exactly the way it was. The fact that he was a gorgeous billionaire was the universe’s way of making up for her past relationship.

Plus all the sex is making me toned.

With that thought, she calmed down and reached for one of her scones. She spread a generous amount of clotted cream on top and took a big bite.

“Mmm.” It was delicious, and she berated herself for giving them up when she started dating Richard. With a little smile, she added more clotted cream and took another bite.

She glanced over her pastry to see Richard staring pointedly at her scone. Smiling like a cat who got the cream, she slowly reached for her knife and added another dollop, making a production of polishing off her plate. She ate the whole scone and then the other, in the most eloquentfuck yougesture she could manage.

Richard sat there with an air of resigned patience while she finished. “Have you decided to sell me the car?”

“Yes, you can have it.”

It was unreliable anyway, and she only had one parking space at her apartment.

“Thank you, darling. Now about dinner—”

“I won’t be attending,” she said with a sigh.

“If you’re worried about them not approving of you, you shouldn’t be concerned. I told them all about you, and your recent accolades. They’re excited to meet you.”

She held up a hand. “Oh my God, stop! I won’t be meeting them because my boyfriend would think it was weird, likeIthink it’s weird. You and I aren’t a couple anymore, and I’ve moved on.”

Richard’s head drew back, and he frowned. “I wasn’t aware that you were seeing anyone.”

“It’s recent. I met Gio on vacation. He’s Italian.”

“Oh.” His lips pursed tightly. “So…this man followed you home? Is he unemployed or something?”

There was the condescending note again. “Actually, he’s a banker.”

A polite nod. “Is he a clerk?”

---