Page 33 of Roman & Olivia
Or was he?
No. Definitely not. He was just competitive.
“Maybe Roman wants to get a kiss from you. Ever thought of that?” Olivia said.
Cammi laughed. “Doubtful. Besides, he wouldn’t have to win this little game. He could kiss me all he wants.”
Olivia’s mouth fell open with a laugh. But the more she thought about it, the more that idea rubbed her the wrong way. She didn’t want Roman kissing Cammi.
But why not?
Inwardly, she growled at herself. She didn’t have any control over what Roman did or didn’t do with Cammi. And after all the help he’d been giving her with winning over Mason, she wouldn’t dare ask him tonotdate Cammi.
Her friend squealed and cheered, drawing Olivia’s attention to the top of the trees. Roman had made it first, and Mason had barely lost. Her cheeks flamed red as she watched him climb down, jumping from branch to branch until his feet landed on the earth with a thud.
He swept over to them, and Cammi placed a peck on his cheek. Then he set his eyes on her. They twinkled with amusement. His chest moved up and down with effort from his exercise. Then he prowled toward her, and she let out a squeal of her own when he pulled her into his chest. Despite the sweat, he smelled—divine.
“Hey!” Mason called. “That wasn’t the prize. She kisses you. Not the other way around.” Mason’s voice was filled with amusement of his own. Teasing maybe? Then again, based on the way Roman tensed, there might have been a little bit of a bite to his tone.
Roman rolled his eyes and turned his face to the side. And Olivia hesitated for a moment before she finally leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his stubbled cheek.
Her heart fluttered and swayed even as Roman released her. Cammi tossed him his shirt, and that was that.
13
Roman
Roman lifted the crate that contained their camping gear out of the back of the truck. He glanced over toward Olivia and Cammi, where they stood giving one another a hug. Mason stood behind Cammi.
That wasn’t the problem.
It was the way Mason was looking at Olivia that put Roman’s teeth on edge. This past weekend accomplished exactly what Olivia had wanted. Mason only had eyes for her. And all it had taken was a few well-planned moments where Roman made it look as though he couldn’t keep his hands off her.
Olivia moved in to give Mason a hug too, and Roman’s hands tightened on the crate with such force that the plastic dug into his skin painfully. Mason’s hands were lower than they had any right to be. Just a few inches lower…
Roman shut his eyes tight and turned away from the trio.
After he’d won the tree climbing competition, Mason hadn’t let up. He spent the next twenty-four hours trying to prove toOlivia and Cammi that he was the better man. It didn’t matter if it was physical or intellectual. He did everything he could to make Roman out to be lesser.
It didn’t matter that he’d failed more times than he’d won.
Nope.
Olivia didn’t seem to get what Mason was up to, though it appeared Cammi did. There was one moment—fleeting as it was—where Cammi had looked at Roman with sympathy as if she saw something he wasn’t ready to accept himself.
By the time they went to bed, Olivia had been in a bad mood. She’d been frustrated—but no more frustrated than he was.
The start of an engine had his attention turning back toward Olivia. She watched her friends leave the property. Then she waited for a full minute before she turned to face him.
Her eyes were dark with a new sort of fire he had only seen a couple of times in his life. She folded her arms and marched toward him with fury sparking. “What the heck do you think you’re doing?”
Roman smirked at Olivia, but on the inside, he was just as irritated. “I’m doing exactly what you asked me to.”
“Is that what you call it?” She threw her hands in the air with a shake of her head. “The way you were acting around Mason. That wasn’t part of the plan. I thought the point of this arrangement was to make Mason interested enough in me that when we break up, he’ll want me. What you were doing was rude. Obnoxious! Geez, Roman, what on earth were you thinking? What if he doesn’t want me anymore because he thinks I only want to date blockheaded jerks like you?”
“Whether you like it or not, my plan is working.”
Her eyes met his. There was a pretty flush across her cheeks that had started at her chest. She stared at him in disbelief. It was a look he’d grown accustomed to over the last several years and one he actually enjoyed.
