Page 19 of Roman & Olivia
Roman watched her go without saying another word. And when her car disappeared from view, he stalked toward the house, feeling even more sick to his stomach than before.
8
Olivia
“Okay, so here is the plan. We’re playing doubles at the new tennis courts. Us against them. Surprisingly enough, Mason invited Cammi again, so it’s gonna be like last time.” Olivia looked up at Roman. “Hey, are you listening?”
His eyes were locked on the building. They were still seated in his truck in the parking lot, and he’d seemed distant lately.
“Hey,” she said softer this time. “Is everything okay?”
Roman’s eyes drifted to meet hers, and for a split second he looked like he was seeing her for the first time. Then his expression did a one-eighty and he flashed her that grin she was so fond of. “Of course. Let’s go make him eat his heart out. That’s what they say, right?”
She hesitated for a moment. Something told her he wasn’t being honest. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t force him to talk to her. Slowly, she nodded. “Yeah, that’s what they say.”
He got out of the truck first and hurried around to open the door for her. Then he held out his hand.
Olivia laughed, taking it with a flair. It was fun to joke around with Roman. When he wanted to be goofy, they got into all kinds of trouble. He didn’t release her hand the whole way to the tennis courts. She didn’t know why. Her nerves hadn’t been nearly as bad today as they’d been on their last date.
Still, she could appreciate his willingness to play the part, so she wasn’t going to bring it up.
Cammi threw her arms around Olivia the second they saw each other—as if they hadn’t seen each other only thirty minutes before when they’d parted ways at their apartment. Cammi turned her face toward Olivia’s ear. “He couldn’t stop talking about you—asking about you—the whole way here.”
Olivia’s head reared back. “Really?”
Cammi nodded with a giggle. “I think he’s really starting to regret that he didn’t get to you first.”
A blush crept slowly across Olivia’s skin as she glanced over to where the guys were getting the equipment. They were chatting, and to the outside observer, it didn’t look like anything was amiss.
But Olivia knew better. Roman was stiff. His whole body looked like it had been forged from iron. No, he didn’t have his hands clenched into fists. He wasn’t glaring daggers at Mason. But there was certainly a chip on his shoulder when it came to the guy.
Olivia pulled him into a hug when he returned to her side under the guise of flirting when all she really needed was to ask him something. “Are you really okay?” she whispered.
Roman glanced from her to something over her head.
Mason, probably.
Then he gave her a curt nod and kissed her forehead. “Just peachy.”
She stared after him when he released her to get into position.
“Let’s play best out of three, and then we can go get some dinner. The restaurant here is amazing,” Mason called.
Cammi grinned at Olivia, and she grinned right back before tossing Roman a concerned look.
In no time they were all sweating, panting, and exhausted. The four of them were evenly matched, and Olivia couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t done something fun like this before.
When she scored the winning point, Roman hollered as he tossed his racket to the side and swept her up into a tight hug. He swung her around and around, and a giggle escaped her throat.
“You did it!” he exclaimed. “I knew you could.”
She placed her hands on either side of his face, loving the look she found in his eyes. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Okay, love birds. Let’s get some food,” Cammi called.
Olivia threw her head back and laughed when Roman made a face. He let her slide down his firm body, but his hands didn’t leave her waist.
The world had never stopped spinning before. At least, not like this. Roman’s eyes had turned serious as they traced the features on her face. He lifted his hand and tilted her chin upward with the crook of his finger as his thumb traced over her lower lip.
