Page 96 of Worth the Trouble

I have to fight to not roll my eyes because I’m sure he is. But not for the reasons Mom might think. I have no doubt in my mind he wants me as far away from Rome the moment this show is over.

“Speaking of Vaughn…” Mom pauses, looking me over once more, and that same hint of something unfamiliar plays behind her eyes. “I saw the photo from dinner. I take it the reunion was more than professional?”

“On his end.” I grind my teeth and pull my hair back into a ponytail.

Any reminder of his lips on mine makes me want to scrub my skin clean off.

“And yours?”

“Why? Would that make you happy?” I snap, feeling myself slipping. The look on Mom’s face shows she’s as surprised as I am. “That’s what you wanted, right?”

Mom and Dad were the ones to introduce us—to encourage us. She was the one heartbroken when we split. So I’m not sure why she looks almost unhappy at this conversation.

“I did,” she says, not offering much more.

But then the most surprising thing happens. Mom’s lips turn down in a frown, and it’s the most genuine expression I’ve seen on her in years. Reminding me of a version of herself she was when Dad was still around.

“We’ll talk more later,” Mom says, walking past me without a hug.

Every time she does that it widens the hole inside me because even if I should be used to her unaffectionate nature by now, it doesn’t make me stop wishing someday it will change.

“Lili.” Mom pauses at the door but not turning to face me. Her back is stiff, and her fingers are tight on her purse. “Let me know if there is somewhere you want to go next. I’ll talk to Vaughn.”

She disappears, leaving me feeling like the air has been kicked from my stomach. What I want has never mattered before, and that one statement is the most care she’s shown in years. Plus the fact that she offered herself up to talk to Vaughn. In the past, she’d be anxious for the opportunity to put me face-to-face with him for any reason.

But today I get the strange impression she’s acting as a barrier.

Doesn’t she want us back together?

I’m still trying to wrap my head around my strange interaction with her as I gather my things and make my way out of the building. Mom almost looked like she cared, and I can’t help but replay the past week in my head. How she’s kept her distance, even after rehearsals. How she hasn’t commented on my meals or the circles under my eyes. How I caught her in more than one tense conversation with Vaughn across the room.

What have I been missing?

I push open the theater door and am met with a familiar figure standing across the street, leaning against his Range Rover. My insides flutter at how casually his smile crosses his face. At how it grows with every step I walk toward him.

Even if I know Mom has seen him picking me up after practice, I don’t care anymore. I’m already running on borrowed time with him.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Rome smiles, cupping my jaw as I reach him and pulling my face to his.

Two words and I don’t care if other dancers are leaving the building or if I know Vaughn’s men are watching at a distance. I don’t care about being caught or chastised. I don’t care about anything that isn’t Rome.

Two words and I know exactly what I want when this performance ends. If only that meant I could have it.

32

Lili

WakingupinRome’sarms makes it feel impossible to leave. Whoever I was before meeting him in Denver isn’t the same person I am right now.

She was imaginary, going through the motions. It wasn’t until Rome dug his hands in the pit of my stomach and pulled the real me out that I finally saw the real girl beneath my molded clay version.

A girl with no strings.

A girl less agreeable.

Enjoying, feeling,existing.

Rome peppers a kiss on the back of my neck, telling me he’s awake.

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