Page 35 of Roman & Olivia
His hands twitched at his sides. Roman fought the urge to pull her tighter into him and kiss her like he’d wanted to after that first quick kiss. But Olivia wasn’t ready for that.
“Come on,” Olivia said sweetly, “one more date. Then we can stage an epic breakup.”
Roman cringed on the inside. He didn’t want to break up, though.
“I’ll think about it.”
Olivia scoffed, pulling away from him. “Roman,” she groaned. “What was the point of all this if we don’t follow through? If all we have to do is go on one more double date, then wouldn’t spending one last night with Mason be worth it for you to never see him again?”
“Are you saying that once you start dating him, you’ll stop spending time with me?”
She stilled. Then she blinked several times. “No, of course not.”
“Then I have a feeling that I’ll be seeing a lot more of Mason.”
Olivia turned toward him and frowned. “Is he really that bad?”
Roman sighed. He didn’t like the sadness he heard in her voice. The disappointment tugged at him. That wasn’t a surprise, though. It was how it had always been with Olivia. She held hisheart in her hands, and he was only now realizing what that meant.
“No, it wouldn’t be that bad. Just…” He stared at her firmly. “No more camping trips.”
She laughed and his heart warmed. That smile, combined with the twinkle in her eyes, was all he needed to put him in a good mood again. Olivia threw her arms around his neck and held onto him tight.
This time, he held her at her waist and reveled in the feel of her soft form against him. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to believe that she was hugging him because she cared for him—as more than just friends.
Time was running out. He’d have a lot of work to do if he was going to make her realize they could be so much more.
He turned his face toward her, breathing her in, smelling her hair. “One more double date. We can go dancing.”
Her hold on him tightened. “Thank you,” she murmured into his neck. “You’re the best.”
It wasn’t until Olivia had driven off that Roman realized how much trouble he was really in.
“What are you doing, Roman?”
He turned to find Mateo leaning over the railing on his forearms. “Unpacking.”
Mateo shook his head with a sad laugh. “No, what are you doing with Liv? That doesn’t look like you’re happy with just being friends.”
His brother was right. But Roman wasn’t about to tell him that.
Mateo dragged a hand down his face and sighed. “You’re falling in love with a girl who is in love with someone else.” His words were so soft that Roman wanted to believe that he didn’t say them.
“You don’t know that,” Roman snapped. Then he shook his head. “I’m not in love with her.”
“Don’t lie to yourself. It’s not a good look on you.”
Roman glowered at his brother, folding his arms as they stared each other down. “I can’t be in love. She’s my best friend. I would never do anything to hurt her.” The lie tasted bitter in his mouth. He didn’t know if he was saying it to convince his brother or himself.
“Yeah? Well love has a tendency to start from friendship, you know?”
There must have been a look of hope on his face. Because what his brother said next couldn’t have hit him harder if Mateo could read his thoughts.
“I guess there’s a chance she could fall for you, too…” Mateo pulled back from the railing. “Just… be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you getting hurt. Eyes wide open, right?”
Roman nodded, his throat tight. He wouldn’t have been able to speak if he tried. Mateo was correct. He was entering dangerous territory whether he wanted to admit it or not.
14
