Page 38 of Roman & Olivia
His hand slipped behind her neck, forcing her head to tilt upward. Then he brushed the most tantalizing, sweetest kiss to her lips. It was barely a graze of his lips against hers, but the fireworks that exploded behind her eyes and in the back of her head were evidence enough that they had far more chemistry than she realized.
That first kiss they’d shared had only felt like a fraction of what she’d just experienced.
“Roman?” she whispered.
She felt his lips smile against her brow where he placed them next. “You should have totally seen Mason’s face just now.”
Her eyes flew wide, and she jerked away from him. “What?” She was still breathless, still aching for more of what she’d just tasted. The dizzying realization that Roman hadn’t kissed her because he wanted to but because they had an audience tore at her. Olivia cleared her throat and glanced around. “What do you mean?”
Roman turned her face back to him. “Eyes on me, Liv. We don’t want him assuming that kiss was anything less than real.”
Olivia’s throat closed up. Why did his words feel like an arrow straight to her heart? She shouldn’t be upset over what had happened. She knew going into this that Roman was going to be nothing but the best at playing along. She’d always be able to count on Roman to help her. And now was no exception.
Still, the ache remained. No matter how much she told herself that this relationship was pretend, there was something about it that felt so absolutely real.
And she wasn’t so sure she wanted to keep playing this game.
But she didn’t know if Roman felt the same.
15
Roman
The second Olivia shut her door after telling him goodnight, Roman lurched around and dug his fingers into his hair.
Shoot!
What was he doing?
He was in so much trouble.
If tonight had taught him anything, it was that he was a fool and was going to end up getting hurt. How could he allow himself to fall for his best friend? Okay, so he knew that was the course he was taking when he brought Olivia to the country club for the event tonight.
The problem was when he kissed her and blamed it on Mason watching their interaction.
Truth?
Mason was nowhere in sight. Roman had seen the shock in Olivia’s eyes, and he’d panicked. He’d said the first thing thatcame to mind. He’d actually told Olivia that he’d kissed her just to rile Mason up.
That lie alone was enough to dig himself into a hole from which there was no escaping.
He paced toward his truck and tossed a fretful look at Olivia’s closed door. That kiss had been all he needed to realize that he was in over his head. Nothing tasted as sweet. Nothing had been so exhilarating.
There was no denying that he loved her.
And he was an absolute idiot.
He muttered a curse under his breath as he yanked open his truck door and slammed it shut. His head fell against the headrest, and he shut his eyes against all the bad decisions he’d made since he agreed to help Olivia with Mason.
After what she’d told him about Mason tonight, she was bound to push him to plan their breakup.
And the worst part?
He didn’t think he was going to be capable of letting her go.
Roman cursed again, then opened his eyes and peered through the darkness toward Olivia’s door once more. How hard would it be to march right back to her door and tell her that he had made a mistake? That he’d broken their agreement and actually started to have feelings for her?
The thought alone made his body shake. It was terrifying to consider how that would change things between himself and Olivia. He could lose her for good.
