Page 48 of Roman & Olivia
Her eyes darted to Mason, where he stood a few feet away. He took another step closer, then crouched down in front of her. His hand lifted and brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek. “He doesn’t deserve you. And you don’t owe him anything.”
She continued to stare at Mason, stunned. His gentleness wasn’t something she’d expected, which was strange becauseshe’d wanted to date him so badly. It wasn’t only because he was attractive. She’d wanted to date Mason because she’d seen something in him.
“How about you and I go get some lunch together. Forget about him for a couple hours. What do you say?”
That was fast.
One side of his mouth quirked up. “It might sound forward… but maybe after you take some time for yourself, you’d consider going out with me?”
Olivia sucked in a sharp, deep breath. “Yeah… that… sounds nice.”
His smile widened. “Good. Now, get your jacket. I’m taking you to lunch. My treat.”
Olivia raiseda hand to knock on the door, but before she could actually make contact, it swung open. Roman flashed her a grin as he leaned against the door jamb. “So? How did it go?”
She flushed, smiling right back, yet she couldn’t shake the unease. “Exactly as you said it would.”
Roman cocked his head. “Yeah? What happened?”
“He asked me to lunch.”
While Roman’s smile remained glued to his face, his brows lifted. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. They’d turned hard. Or at least that was how it felt. She was so caught off guard that she didn’t explain right away. When he continued to stare at her with expectation, she forced herself to continue.
“He said that you don’t deserve me. And that when I’m ready, he’d like to take me out.”
Roman nodded. Then his smile stretched wider. “Do you think he’s gonna want to keep going on double dates? According to you, I might be able to convince Cammi to tag along.”
She barked out a laugh despite herself. “Somehow I don’t think Mason is going to be interested in going on a double if my ex is involved.”
“Yeah.” Roman chuckled. “You’re probably right. It wouldn’t sit well with me if he did.” His eyes got a far-off look to them for a moment before he focused on her again. “Besides, I’ve already got a hot date for this weekend, and I’m ready to take a break from double dates.”
Her brows shot up. “That was… fast.” She couldn’t believe her ears. But after he’d been stuck fake dating her for the last several weeks, of course he would find someone he could actually spend time with on a more romantic level. She craved more information and yet at the same time, her stomach swirled with disappointment. And jealousy. Maybe she didn’t want to know.
Roman shrugged. “Bumped into her on the way to my truck—literally. Had to help her pick up the stuff she dropped.” He flashed her a grin. “Anyway, looks like everything worked out exactly how I thought it would.”
Olivia rubbed her left arm with her right hand and looked away. “Yep. You nailed it.”
“Did you have any doubts?” Roman teased.
She shook her head. “No.” There was only one thing that she couldn’t have predicted—that she would fall for her best friend in the process. It didn’t seem fair. And yet, there it was. Maybe this was karma—to fall for someone and for it not to be reciprocated. Her eyes met his, and for a long moment, they stared at each other in silence. Then she shifted, unsure if she should ask him to hang out or if she should head home.
Roman ran a hand through his hair, then glanced over his shoulder. “Well, I’ve got some stuff I need to get to.”
Right. Well, that answered that question for her. Olivia nodded. “Me too.”
“See you later?”
She nodded again. “Later.”
“Bye, Liv.”
“Goodbye, Roman.”
19
Roman
Roman leaned against the closed door and let his head fall back against the wood with a resounding thunk. Thank goodness none of his siblings were here right now. They’d all be giving him the third degree on the supposed date he had this weekend.
