Page 42 of Roman & Olivia
Clearing her throat, she shrugged again. “It’s getting a little late to go riding. And while I’d love to best you in another water fight, it’s a little cold for that. I guess we could watch a movie.”
“I do make the best popcorn,” he mused.
“Exactly.”
“Mateo and his wife are on a date. Everyone else is off doing other stuff, so it’s only the two of us.”
Her brows lifted. “Just the two of us?”
“Is that a problem?” The corner of his lips quirked upward, hinting at the teasing that would undoubtedly ensue.
“No,” she hurried to explain. “Why didn’t you go with them? Was this a family outing?”
Roman shrugged. “Who knows? I came home from running an errand and everyone was gone. I was actually gonna see if you wanted to hang out, but then I saw your car pull up.” Once again, that wicked smile graced his lips. Not wicked because he had something up his sleeve.
No, this smile was wicked only in so much that it did things to her she couldn’t explain.
Her throat dried up, and she swallowed thickly. “Then a movie with popcorn it is.”
They were seated in front of a large television in the living room that was only lit by the glow from the screen and one lamp in the corner of the room. At first, Olivia sat stiffly beside Roman, plucking piece by piece of popcorn from her bowl.
She wanted to throw the whole bowl of buttery goodness into Roman’s face for how calm he was acting. But then he’d ask her why she was on a war rampage and why she was acting so weird.
Pull yourself together, Olivia.
Before she could do that, Roman tugged her against his side. His arm draped around her shoulder, and he reached for another handful of popcorn. She could smell his clean scent, and it was far more intoxicating than it had a right to be. In time, her body allowed herself to relax against him.
It wasn’t so bad.
In fact, it was amazing. She smiled to herself as she let out a heavy sigh. The way her lungs ached, she would have thought she’d been holding her breath since the moment she arrived.
Roman rested his chin atop her head and chuckled at something from the movie—something she hadn’t been payingattention to because he’d started to lazily draw circles on her bare shoulder with his thumb.
Just like that, she was on edge again. Slowly, she craned her neck around to peer up at him, and then her whole body flashed with cold then heat as their eyes locked.
Gone was the amusement in his eyes. There was no sign of the man that she’d been friends with since they were children. Those eyes said something else entirely.
The way his focus shifted to her lips was unmistakable, and she nearly asked him if she had something on her face in order to break the tension that had pulled tight between them. Her lips parted, and a soft, guttural groan reverberated from his chest. “Liv…” he whispered.
Olivia blinked.
She’d fallen asleep. That was the only reasonable explanation for why Roman had gone so totally serious. There was no one here but the two of them, and he had no reason to be looking at her that way.
Nor did he have any reason to be grasping her chin with his free hand, tilting it slightly and locking her jaw in place. His eyes searched hers, and she couldn’t muster the strength to close her eyes or pull away.
What was happening?
Roman shifted. It was so slight that she didn’t notice until the warmth of his body was no longer at her back. “Liv—” He started again, but then the front door burst open and loud laughter filled the quiet house.
She jumped so hard that the bowl of popcorn in her lap exploded over the both of them. Roman’s hand dropped, and she scrambled to pick up the pieces that lay scattered on the floor as his siblings Camilla and Marcus entered the house first. They were flanked by a couple of their friends she’d only met a handful of times.
“Hey, Liv, Roman,” Camilla called out. “We’re going to make some tacos, want some?”
When Olivia didn’t immediately respond, Roman’s clear voice echoed through the house. “Tacos? At this hour?”
Camilla’s answering laugh was all Olivia registered as she grabbed the last bit of popcorn from the floor and tossed it into the bowl. She didn’t meet Roman’s eyes. If Camilla and Marcus hadn’t come home when they did, would Roman have kissed her?
She couldn’t help but assume that he’d been about to confess something to her—something she didn’t dare hope was similar to her own feelings.
