Page 64 of Roman & Olivia
Olivia sighed and closed her eyes as she rested her head against the couch. “I told you about what Roman said right after we made things official, right?”
Cammi nodded.
“Well, I overheard some stuff in the bathroom today. They talked about how Mason was dating other girls.”
“That jerk.”
“I don’t know if it’s true. Could have been another Mason.”
The look Cammi gave her said nothing short of, ‘You’re kidding, right?’ Then she shook her head. “Is that what your gut is telling you?”
No. Her gut was telling her that dating Mason wasn’t making her happy. She’d been miserable no matter what she did, and shehated it. She didn’t trust Mason even though she didn’t have a reason not to.
“I think…” she started, “that I don’t know. I thought I knew what I wanted. But maybe I was wrong.”
Cammi gave her a knowing look. “Yeah, go figure.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Roman isn’t an option.”
“Why not?” Cammi had been the one to push Olivia into exploring that possibility, and every time she did, they were at odds with one another.
“Because he doesn’t love me that way.”
“That’s a load of bull and you know it. I say if you’re not going to talk to Roman about your obvious feelings for him, then the least you need to do is speak to Mason and get him to actually talk about what Roman witnessed. Honestly? If you confronted Mason about it already and he brushed you off, that’s a red flag all on its own. Maybe it’s time to reevaluate what you want and what makes you happy.” She tilted her head, and a smile touched her lips. “Maybe give Roman that present that you’ve been hiding in the back of the cupboard.”
Olivia gasped, and Cammi waved a dismissive hand.
“I knew it was for him the second I saw it. If you don’t give it to him, I’m going to.”
25
Roman
Roman couldn’t recall the last time he had a good night’s sleep. The time he’d seen Mason with that girl hadn’t been the last. Over the last couple of weeks, he’d caught glimpses of Mason going out with various women in town. Usually, it was in the afternoon before Olivia got off work.
He hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell her because he didn’t know the extent of their relationship. There was always the chance that Olivia and Mason had an arrangement where they could see other people. And if he’d confronted Olivia with his findings in that situation, he’d look like the jerk.
He dragged a hand down his face as if he could brush away the growing headache. It had been too long since he’d been able to speak to her, hear her voice, see her face. When he did manage to sleep and he was blessed with good dreams, that was where he saw her.
A slap of something hitting the table in front of him drew his attention, and he glanced up to see an angry Camilla with herhands on her hips. Before him was a local newspaper. The article she’d positioned in front of him read, “Mayor’s Son Dating Local Beauty.”
“Slow news day,” Roman muttered, not bothering to look at the picture too closely. It would only make him mad. He just knew it.
Camilla jabbed a finger at the paper. “Why is Oliviastilldating that creep Mason?”
He frowned.
She rolled her eyes. “You remember Melody? She said he’s been trying to get her to go out with him.”
Roman sat straighter in his seat. “What?”
“Yeah. Pretty gross, right? You take her out on a date with Olivia and Mason. Then he turns around and tries to get her to date him? He can’t take no for an answer.”
Hot, burning fury roiled in his chest. Then immediately it was dowsed with a dose of ice-cold reality. He slumped back in his chair and rubbed his temples. “So the guy is a creep. What of it?”
“Seriously?” Camilla jabbed the paper again. “They’re dating. You’re her best friend. You need to stop her.”
He snorted. “You of all people know that I don’t control Olivia. No one does. She’s a free spirit.”
