Page 6 of Roman & Olivia
“I’m saying,” he drawled as he leaned in close and his lips grazed her ear. “That I’ll teach you.”
Her head reared back. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. And let’s start right now. We’re going to go back over to Mason and his date, and you’re going to force your heart to slow down. No squeaks.”
She scoffed.
“I mean it, Liv. Prove that you can rein it in.”
This time she nodded, and he escorted her back to where Mason was visiting with his date. They turned, the former wearing a smile and the latter still as bored as ever.
Mason glanced to Roman first. “I was thinking about your business. Have you ever thought about expanding?”
“We’re in the process of it actually. It’s slow but steady.”
“I’m sure there are some perks the city can offer you,” Mason started, but Roman waved him off. “My brother likes to do things his way. But thanks for the suggestion.”
“You guys should come out some time,” Olivia blurted. “It’s really amazing what they’ve done with the ranch. I’m sure you’d be really impressed.” Then she winced. No! That wasn’t smooth at all.
Mason’s lips twitched with humor. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Roman’s arm tightened around her middle, and she glanced up to find his jaw set tight. Shoot. Yep, she’d definitely overstepped. Her eyes widened at the realization that she’d invited Mason out—his date too, in a way. Oh, no.
“We could make it another double date,” Mason offered. “I grew up here, but I’ve only ever ridden a horse once—on my birthday.”
She let out a nervous giggle. It was a habit, and she hated how hard it was for her to do what Roman had insisted she had to.
Roman ran a hand through his hair and nodded. “I’m sure we could set something up. It’d be nice to spend some time with Liv’sfriends.”
She wanted to slug him for that. Mason wasn’t friend material because he was already labeled asboyfriendmaterial. Wasn’t he supposed to be helping her win him over? How was this helping?
“It’s a plan.” Mason’s eyes shifted to his date. “It’s about time I take my date for a spin on the dance floor. You guys should mingle. Enjoy yourselves.”
Olivia looked up at Roman with a tad bit of trepidation. Now she was gonna hear it.
3
Roman
Roman kept a handle on his frustration for the remainder of the evening—not an easy feat if he had to say so himself. He couldn’t believe that Olivia had roped him in for another date.
One.
They’d agreed on one date where he pretended to be her boyfriend. Now he was getting pulled into something bigger. The more lies, the harder it would be to go back to what they were. What was her plan, exactly? Didn’t she want to get this guy to ask her out?
The drive back to her apartment was strained, to say the least. And the number of times Olivia shifted in her seat and squirmed beside him was putting him even more on edge. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, not wanting to get angry at her while driving. If this argument ended in tears, he knew he wouldn’t be able to control himself. He’d want to pull her into his arms and apologize.
Sheesh. Their friendship was intense. He loved his sisters. He’d do anything for them, too.
Within reason.
But Olivia was different.
While his sisters had their brothers, Olivia had no one. She needed at least one person to stand in her corner. Not even her folks seemed to be there for her these days. Not since she was in high school.
He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. He’d long since loosened his tie and it was slung around his neck now. He was exhausted—emotionally, mostly.
There was a burning irritation that seemed to fester deep down inside him, and he knew if he didn’t talk about it with Olivia, he’d end up taking it out on someone else.
