Page 44 of Roman & Olivia
The fury he’d experienced from the moment Olivia’s car had disappeared was still simmering beneath the surface. But there was no way for him to relieve it. He couldn’t exactly tell Camilla that she was the one to blame. The house belonged to all of them, after all. And she didn’t know that she’d broken the spell that had been cast.
Roman knew he couldn’t hang around the house today. He’d probably do something he’d regret, like confess his feelings to Camilla, and then she’d do something really terrifying like spill his secrets to his best friend.
He groaned at himself as he wandered down the street toward the deli that served the best soups and sandwiches in town. If Olivia truly wasn’t feeling well, then he’d planned on surprising her with a lunch that would help.
It wasn’t long before he had a brown paper bag filled with soup and some crackers and he was on his way to Olivia’s office. The closer he got to her building, the more nervous he became for no other reason than he was going to see her again.
You should tell her.
That thought had crossed his mind on more than one occasion since their campout.
You should tell her that you’re sorry, but you want her to choose you—pick you because no one could love her the way you can.
He was tempted. Nothing would make him happier than to confess that secret and for Olivia to tell him she cared for him, too.
Unfortunately, his fears won out every single time. If there was even a chance that Olivia wouldn’t feel the same, he couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t put her on the spot like that. Roman was so consumed by his inner turmoil that he wasn’t looking where he was going and ended up colliding with none other than the bane of his existence.
“Roman? What are you doing here?” Mason grinned at him, shoving a hand toward him.
Without thinking, Roman accepted, and they shook. He lifted the bag. “Olivia wasn’t feeling well yesterday. I thought I’d bring her?—”
“She’s in a meeting right now,” Mason interrupted. “But I can get it to her for you.” He reached for the bag. Roman held it up and away from Mason for a moment but then relinquished it at Mason’s strange stare.
Roman glanced behind Mason and sure enough, Olivia’s desk was empty. He nodded more to himself than to Mason. It was probably for the best that he didn’t speak to her—not with the way his thoughts had been going. He was supposed to be helping her win this guy over.
“You know, I’ve been thinking. It’s been fun hanging out with you and Liv.”
Roman bristled at Mason’s use of Olivia’s nickname, but he forced his expression to remain neutral.
“How about we do another double? Liv said there was a movie she wanted to see. It’s playing at the drive-in theatre in the next town over. What do you say? I’m guessing the girls would like it.”
“Yeah. I’m sure they would.”
The girls. Like Mason thought they were all best friends. Roman frowned. Why did that thought make him uncomfortable? There was nothing inherently wrong with Mason—well, except for the fact that Roman was beginning toresent the guy for being interesting enough to catch Olivia’s attention.
Mason clapped him on the shoulder. “Great! I’ll tell Liv it’s a plan. And she’ll put it on her schedule.” Somehow, he’d managed to turn Roman around and shuffle him toward the door. In a matter of moments, Roman found himself on the street wondering how Mason had managed to eject him from Olivia’s office without any effort at all.
Admittedly,Roman was quieter than he usually was during their double date. Olivia and Cammi were the ones chatting the most as they waited for daylight to disappear. Mason contributed here and there. It wasn’t that bad of a date. Mason continued to send longing looks in Olivia’s direction when she wasn’t paying attention. It wasn’t difficult to see that the guy had become completely enamored with her.
And who wouldn’t?
Roman knew that it was only a matter of time before Mason realized what he was missing. Regrettably, Roman hadn’t predicted his own affections growing and was now stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Olivia laughed at something Cammi said. “You’re kidding. That movie was the best.”
Cammi rolled her eyes. “It didn’t do the book justice. The reboot is so much better.”
Gasping, Olivia threw a piece of popcorn at Cammi. “Take that back! The original was perfect, and I’ll die on that hill.”
“I have to agree with Olivia. The actors might have been B-list, but they put their hearts and souls into making that movie.” Mason smirked.
This time Cammi gasped. “Traitor!” She turned to Roman. “You can’t tell me you agree with them.”
Roman blinked out of the haze of his thoughts. “What?”
Olivia laughed, her palm pressing against his chest. “Don’t even try to convince my boyfriend to change sides. Roman is nothing if not loyal.”
Cammi’s eyes shifted from Olivia to Roman, and she winked. “I can see that.”
