Page 59 of Roman & Olivia
She smiled despite herself. It was nice to know she was wanted, even if her own heart was having a difficult time figuring out where it wanted to be in all of this.
Mason’s smile faded, and he glanced up at the apartment with a frown. “Are you sure I can’t go up there while you talk to him?”
Shaking her head, she sighed. “I don’t think it would be fair to him for you to be present. I’m going to tell him that he’s overstepping and if he can’t abide by my rules, then we… can’t spend time… together.” Her voice cracked and tears brimmed in her eyes. One escaped down her cheek, and Mason chased it away with his thumb.
“Don’t do it on my account.”
She let out a sad laugh. “Don’t pretend this doesn’t make you happy.”
He pressed his lips together. “I don’t like to see you hurting.”
That was all she needed—to know that Mason would stand by her no matter what and that he cared for her well-being. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. Kissing might still be off the table for the moment, but this felt like a step in the right direction.
When she pulled back, Mason gave her his crooked smile. “Call me when you’re done talking to him?”
“I will,” she promised before she pulled away and headed for her apartment. She practically stomped up every single stair. When she shoved her apartment door open, she found Roman pacing the living room, his fist to his lips. He whirled to face her as she slammed the door shut.
23
Roman
“Liv, I?—”
“What are you trying to do?” she practically screeched.
Roman’s head reared back. He’d rehearsed what he was going to say over and over for a good thirty minutes before she got back from her date. He knew what he needed to tell her. Even though it was going to hurt, he knew it was necessary. “Liv—” he tried again.
“No. You don’t get to talk right now. It’smyturn. How dare you come out here and pick a fight with my boyfriend? How dare you put me in this position?”
His brows creased. She couldn’t be saying what he thought she was saying, could she? From the sound of it, she was blaming him for Mason’s clear jealousy. “I didn’t…”
“Youdid. Do you have any idea what it’s like to try to get to a healthy point in a relationship when you’re the cause of all thestrife?” She was the one pacing now, and all he could do was watch her unravel.
Roman blinked several times in an attempt to figure out what was going on. Olivia was clearly mad. He’d overstepped, and he could see that. But it wouldn’t change how she felt about him, would it?
Besides, he was here for a good reason. He was here to help her see that she wasn’t in a good relationship. Just the memory of what he’d seen earlier today had his blood boiling again. His hands balled at his side, and his expression darkened.
“Are you done? Because maybe you need to consider why I would bother coming here twice in one day. Why I might have a reason to talk to you without your boyfriend present.” His voice came out in a hiss, and it had Olivia pausing. Her curiosity was piqued enough that her own frustration was pushed aside. Good. That was what he wanted.
Olivia folded her arms and scowled at him for a moment before snapping. “Well? Tell me then. What was so important that you had to disrupt my date—twice?”
Momentary hesitation curled in his gut, and his eyes darted to the door as if he might expect Mason to burst in at any second to save his precious reputation from being tarnished. When that didn’t happen, he blew out a breath.
“Mason’s cheating on you.”
For an earth-shattering second, Olivia didn’t move. There was no indication that she’d even heard what he’d said. But then her head reared back, and she let out a strangled laugh. “You’ve done a lot of questionable things when it comes to me and the guys I date. I don’t even think you realize how many relationships ended because the guy wasn’t confident enough in our relationship to let me continue to have our friendship.” She stalked toward him, and Roman got the distinct sense that this wasn’t going to go the way he wanted it to.
“Liv, I’m only trying to?—”
Her face had turned red. Now that she was closer, he could see that she’d been crying recently.
He scowled. “What did he do to you?”
Olivia’s face curled into a look of disgust. “Mason hasn’t done anything to me. It’s you. You’re the one who’s wreaking havoc in my life, Roman. You can’t let things go.”
Confusion and anger swirled into an almost delectable cocktail in his mind, making him second-guess what he was doing here.
“Mason isn’t cheating on me because, until tonight, we weren’t official. We weren’t exclusive. If he chose to see other women, then that was his choice.” Her voice shook. He knew that sound. She wasn’t as confident as she wanted him to believe she was. Whether she believed him or not, Olivia was hurt that Roman had brought this up.
