Page 67 of Roman & Olivia
“They’d never be reversed,” he all but snarled. “I’d never pick some girl over her.”
Sophia went still. His confession ripped through time itself as he admitted how deep his feelings were for Olivia. Then she sighed and continued. “You’d want to know if someone wasn’t being honest with you. No matter how much it hurt, you’d want to know. In the moment? It’s going to be excruciating for her—especially considering what she lost.”
His head snapped around to stare at her.
“You,” Sophia whispered. “The relationship you have together isn’t ever going to be the same after this.”
She was right. Even if Mason was being upfront about his open relationship, what Roman had with Olivia might never return to what they had.
“I guess you have a choice, though. You could keep going on with your life the way you are. Miserable. Or you could try to talk to her again. She might not believe you. She might push you away even more. But don’t you think you owe it to her? The way you feel about her, I can’t imagine you’d want to see her suffer at his hands, would you?”
“Of course not,” he muttered, “but what if she’s already aware? What if shechosethis?” The question left a bitter aftertaste on his tongue.
“Then I guess you have a lot to think about.”
“Hence…” He waved a hand through the air as if to draw her attention to the fact that he’d come out here to be alone. “While I can appreciate your meddling, I think I’d rather dwell on my thoughts in peace.”
She nodded. “Just know that if there’s anything you need, you can come to me about it.”
“Thanks,” he said as she got to her feet and headed inside.
26
Olivia
There was something off, and Olivia couldn’t put her finger on it.
Or maybe it was the fact that she’d shut Roman out of her life.
It wasn’t like they talked every single day before this point. But now that she knew he wouldn’t be calling her to hang out, it felt like she was already suffering from withdrawal. Her fingers twitched in her lap as she sat in her meeting at work—twitched to reach for her phone and send him a message begging him for forgiveness.
That wouldn’t be happening.
The drawl of the older man who was speaking to the group droned on. She hadn’t been required to take minutes for this meeting as the secretary of the department was already scribbling away.
Her eyes drifted once more to the phone that sat on the table before her. Across the room, Mason was seated relaxedwith an ankle over his knee. He could have sat beside her, but he’d chosen a different chair when he’d arrived. Now, he was seated between two other women who had practically fallen over themselves to take the free chairs on either side of him.
She fought the irritation she experienced at that decision. It wasn’t jealousy, which was strange.
Wasn’t jealousy what she should be feeling when there were other women showing her boyfriend attention?
Olivia looked down at her phone again, then shoved thoughts of Roman aside as she forced herself to come up with reasons why Mason might have chosen a seat away from her. He’d said he wanted work to remain professional—except that hadn’t remained true. She’d seen the article proclaiming to all of Copper Creek that they were dating. So what was his excuse when everyone in the building knew that they were in a relationship?
She glanced to either side of herself. The chairs were occupied by other women. She hadn’t been framed by eager young men. Part of her wondered if she should be miffed at that, as well.
Her eyes drifted toward Mason, and she caught his attention. He winked. That act alone would have brought a smile to her lips weeks ago.
Now?
Nothing.
Yeah, something was off.
Without meaning to, she looked at her phone again.
“Isn’t that right, Ms. Whitten?”
Roman hadn’t even messaged her to ask for a chance to make things work.
