Page 53 of Roman & Olivia
“You’re right. It’s not. But I’m your friend, and friends make this sort of thing their business.”
She continued to scowl at him, not willing or perhaps not capable of speaking without tearing up. The truth that she hadn’t divulged to him was that she was the one holding back. There was a part of her heart—a part of her soul—that seemed to believe it belonged to him. No matter how many times she’d told herself that she couldn’t let that happen, it had.
Loving Roman had been easy. And walking away had been the hardest thing she’d had to do.
Her hands dropped, and she looked at her feet. It would be so easy to explain to Roman that Mason wasn’t who she thought he’d be. They didn’t click the same way she’d clicked with her best friend, and now she felt spoiled.
Roman would probably hate her for it. After all the work they’d done to win Mason over, he’d definitely resent her for wasting weeks of his life pretending to be in a relationship with her.
So she said nothing. “We’re taking it slow, and I’m exploring the person I am when I’m with him.” It was a cop-out of an answer, but it was the only thing she could come up with. A gasp tore from her throat when he lifted her chin to stare into her eyes.
“You’re perfect the way you are, Liv. You don’t have to change when you’re with someone new. If he made you feel?—”
Her eyes widened, and she jerked away from him. “Mason is great. He’s not pressuring me to do anything. I’ve just… not been…” She blew out a breath. “I want him to really like me,Roman.” At least that part was true. Right now, she didn’t want to risk losing Mason’s interest after everything she’d done to get him. Swallowing hard, she looked away. “It’s embarrassing, okay? But I’ll make sure he knows the real me. Little by little.”
Roman didn’t force her to look up at him again. And the only indication that the conversation was over was the sound of his retreating footsteps.
The rest of the dinner was a little less strained. Mason had given her a strange look when she returned from the bathroom, but he hadn’t questioned her. Roman remained quiet. By the time Mason dropped her off at her apartment, Olivia was exhausted emotionally and mentally.
She tossed her keys onto the table near the door and shuffled toward the couch where Cammi sat. Without preamble, she collapsed onto the cushion, then slumped down so her head rested in an amused Cammi’s lap.
“That good, huh?”
Olivia placed the back of her hand over her eyes and groaned.
Cammi laughed. “What was she like?”
Olivia groaned again, then muttered, “Mother Teresa has nothing on that woman.”
Cammi went still, and Olivia peeked at her. Upon seeing Cammi’s empathetic expression, Olivia returned her hand to covering her eyes. “Am I right to assume that you still haven’t told him you regret breaking things off?”
“There was nothing to break off, remember? Roman didn’t have a crush on me. He wasn’t dating me for real. It wasn’t like that for him, so if I were to confess anything, it would only mess up the threads of a friendship I still have with him.”
Cammi gave her look of doubt. “I don’t know. Maybe you’re wrong.”
Olivia huffed.
“I mean it. I saw the way he looked at you. There’s no way he’sthatgood of an actor.”
And there was no way Olivia was going to believe Cammi—not on this front. If she had seen the anger radiating from Roman during their date tonight, she might not be so inclined to believe it herself.
“You should tell him,” Cammi whispered.
Olivia didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Right now, she’d chosen a path, and she was going to stick to it. The only thing she was capable of doing at this moment was repairing whatever rift had happened between herself and her best friend. Because if she couldn’t, then the world might as well end.
She didn’t want to live a life without Roman in it.
21
Roman
Life had finally returned to normal.
But what was normal, anyway?
Roman couldn’t honestly say.
Olivia had stopped acting strange around him. Well, for the most part. She was still a little skittish when he touched her anywhere but around her shoulders. Last week, he’d placed his hand on the small of her back and she’d practically jumped like a cat with a rocket attached to its tail.
