Page 13 of Roman & Olivia
“Uh-huh.” He smirked at her. “That’s what I thought. If you’re going to make excuses to go to his office or start up a conversation, then you’re making it too easy.Heneeds to make the effort.”
“And if he doesn’t want to make the effort?”
“That’s where I come in. I’m going to make it look so good to have you on my arm that he’s not going to be able to stop wondering what it is that he’s missing. He’s going to start focusing on you more. His curiosity has already been piqued, so now we need to shove that seed deep down into the earth and let it grow until it’s more of an obsession.”
She snorted. “That’s not going to happen. If it hasn’t happened so far, then it’s definitely not going to happen now.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. It only took one night of me holding you in my arms for him to give you a second look, right?”
Olivia chewed on her lower lip. “I guess so.”
“And when we go on that date on Friday next week, I’m really going to lay it on thick.”
“What does that mean? Exactly?” Her voice went quiet, and her hand stopped brushing.
He put down the tools he had in hand and waved her over. “Do you trust me, Liv?”
The way she looked up at him made it clear what her answer was. Those beautiful, big, blue eyes were so clear, so full of hope he couldn’t deny it even without her verbal confirmation.
“Good,” he whispered. “Now don’t break eye contact.”
Roman slid an arm around the back of her waist and pulled her up against him. His breath grew heavier as their eyes remained locked. He lifted his free hand and brushed aside some hair that fell from her messy bun. “When he sees you on Friday, we’re going to make sure that he sees this,” he said huskily. “That you only have eyes for me. That you would do anything for me if only to see me smile. He’s going to notice the way you worship me if only for a few stolen moments.”
She exhaled, her lashes fluttering as she blinked at him. Somehow her hands had found his arms and her fingers were pressing hard into his skin.
“And when he sees what we have, he won’t be able to help wanting it, too.” Roman’s voice had dipped to a whisper and his face drew closer to Olivia’s. “He won’t be able to get it out of his head.”
Time froze. The breeze that had been drifting through the open barn doors had stilled. Not even the animals seemed capable of moving.
Then came the sound of a truck door slamming shut, and the spell was broken.
Roman released her and forced a smile on his face, fighting that dazed feeling. “Only he’s not going to realize the whole thing is a show put on just for him.”
Olivia let out a shaky laugh. “Genius.”
“Yeah, I know.” He gloated, then turned back to the shelf he was working to fix while trying to shake off the strange feeling he’d gotten while she’d been in his arms.
6
Olivia
Olivia gripped the steering wheel hard to prevent her hands from trembling. Her whole body was shaking after that incident in the barn with Roman. Was she so starved for attention that even Roman Palmer was capable of eliciting a reaction from her? Apparently so.
She groaned as she threw her head back against the seat and prayed that Roman hadn’t noticed what kind of effect he’d had on her. She wouldn’t hear the end of it if he realized what had happened. She’d be teased mercilessly, and if she were honest with herself, she’d have it coming.
There was no way she was developing feelings for Roman, though. That was one thing she could be grateful for. She didn’t know what she would do if she messed things up between them. She needed him more than she would ever admit to his face.
By the time she pulled into her parking lot, her heart had settled down into a steadier rhythm. The more distance she putbetween herself and Roman, the more absurd her worries about catching feelings for him started to sound.
There was even an embarrassed smile on her face about the whole thing when she stepped over the threshold to her apartment.
“Good day at work?”
Olivia’s head popped up and she found her roommate standing in the kitchen, leaning over the island as she flipped through a magazine. Cammi’s smile met her own.
“It was fine.” Olivia tossed her keys into a dish on the table near the door.
“I didn’t know the mayor allowed casual work attire.”
