Page 37 of Roman & Olivia
They swayed back and forth. Mason’s eyes practically drank her in from head to toe.
“I have a confession to make, Olivia.”
“Oh?” She smirked. “Is it a juicy one?”
He dipped his head closer to her ear and the hair on the back of her neck rose on end. She held her breath as his warm breath scraped against her skin. “I can’t help but be a little bit jealous.”
Her eyes widened as she pulled back to look at him fully. Out of the corner of her eye, she could feel Roman’s hot gaze on her. It practically burned into the side of her face. But she wouldn’t look at him. Not when Mason was there, holding her and telling her something she hadn’t dared thought possible. “Jealous?” she whispered.
Mason nodded. “What you have with Roman. I want that.”
She blinked several times and let out a nervous laugh. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice. Having someone you can count on, you know?”
“It’s more than that.” He grazed her cheek with a knuckle, then seemed to think better of it. Maybe he felt Roman’s attention on them, too. “Maybe in another lifetime.”
That was all he said. He didn’t expand on it. And while she wanted to ask him to give her more details, she held back for reasons she didn’t understand.
The second the song ended, Roman was at their side. His arm slipped around her shoulders, and he pulled her close to his chest. A disgruntled sound escaped her lips at the sudden show of possession, and her eyes darted up to Roman only to see him giving Mason a thinly veiled scowl. Was he upset about the way Mason had touched her?
Why?
This was part of the plan, right?
She swallowed hard. “Thanks for the dance, Mason. It was fun.”
Mason’s focus shifted from Roman down to Olivia in a sharp movement. He rolled his lower lip between his teeth and nodded. “If this one decides he doesn’t mind sharing, I’d love to take you on the dance floor?—”
“Not gonna happen, man.”
Olivia shot an incredulous look at Roman, but she didn’t get the chance to ask him what he was up to before he tugged her away to get some drinks. By the time they were alone, she nudged him. “Hey, you’re taking this a little too far, aren’t you?”
He arched a brow. “Or maybe I’m not taking it far enough.” Roman put an arm around her waist and pulled her into him. He placed his drink aside, then brushed the hair from her face and around her ear. “Mason needs to believe that we’re together. And any normal, hot-blooded male wouldn’t let another guy encroach on the girl he loved.”
“Loved?” She laughed. “We’re not supposed to be that close. How is he going to believe we have problems that will tear us apart if he thinks youloveme?”
One side of Roman’s mouth quirked upward, and that teasing grin was all it took for her knees to grow weak. Man, he was adorable. He was the kind of guy she could easily fall in love with if he wasn’t her best friend.
But why should that matter? People fell in love with their friends all the time.
Nope.
She wasn’t going to go there.
But then Roman placed his palm on the side of her face. The heat from his touch seeped beneath her skin and warmed her entire body. Goosebumps covered her arms. The strangest temptation to run her fingers through the hair at his temple slipped into her mind. She nearly lifted her hand but refrained.
Roman chuckled, pulling back. “I suppose you make a good point.” There was a disappointing edge to his voice. “Still, Mason is smarter than he looks.” His eyes grew serious. “And I’m not going to let anyone believe that this isn’t real.”
Because it’s not.
She didn’t know where those thoughts came from. The more she looked at Roman, the more she wondered if she wasn’t alone in her feelings. These strange emotions that were plaguing her. When she was with Roman like this, she wanted to believe it was real—more than anything.
Olivia cleared her throat and looked away from him. She nodded. “Right. Well, then, I’ll keep following your lead.”
Roman took her hand in his, and like a thousand times before, he traced little circles atop the back of her hand. Everything about his touch, the way he looked at her, the knots that formed in her stomach, said she was on the cusp of something great.
She forced herself to look up into Roman’s eyes again, but she couldn’t read him like she used to. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then he murmured, “You are so… special.” His voice broke on the last word, and it sent chills racing along her spine. “You have no idea how amazing you are, do you?”
Olivia blinked at his words. Her lips parted with surprise. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? Her throat had turned dry. She didn’t have the strength to respond to him, hanging on his every word.
