Page 23 of Roman and Jules
“Nothing’s free.” She picked up a towel and wrapped it around her, covering those fantastic curves from him. “I don’t want to always be in your debt.”
Roman smirked and leaned back to stare up at the sky. Oh no, the pleasure was all his… until she picked up her phone with a shocked gasp. “He texted,” she squealed.
His back arched and he straightened. He didn’t have to ask who, but he hadn’t expected this so soon. He propped his arms over the jacuzzi to study her. “What did he say?”
“He wants to talk.”
He shook his head. “No, he has to earn this. Tell him you’re married.”
“And then what?” she asked breathlessly.
“Then ghost him for a week.”
She nodded and shook her finger at him. “You’re right. Absolutely right.” She turned from him to hurry and get dressed in her sudden excitement. Was this how the women he dumped acted when he paid them this kind of attention afterwards? He groaned.
“Jules?” She swiveled and he held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”
His beautiful friend let out a breath. He wasn’t a complete idiot; he knew how softhearted girls could be—he’d known quite a few of them, and usually he could work it. Ty wouldn’t get past him. “Yeah,” she said again. “You’re right.” And she pushed it into his waiting palm.
He’d have to give her a burner phone or something to use while she was out. Tell her he had an extra so she didn’t suspect he was spending money on her. If Ty got a hold of her when she was like this then it would all be over.
Chapter 11
Jules rolled her luggage into Roman’s suite. It took her a good part of the day to get everything together. Roman had given her an extra phone that she took with her and he kept texting her “girl power” memes. It was all tongue in cheek, of course, because what she was doing definitely didn’t fit into that category.
But after what had happened that morning, she was up for the experiment. She’d been doing everything wrong in the dating game, going along with everything, not showing her quality or expressing what she wanted in a relationship. And what happened because of it? She was second best. Every time.
And so she’d try this out. Jules still didn’t know what she’d do if it worked and Ty came back to her, but she’d cross that bridge when she got to it.
Roman was frying up something that smelled divine—the chicken marinated in one pan while he briskly whisked up a sauce. He’d cut up all sorts of peppers on the kitchen island, along with peanuts. It was a spicy, sweet and savory masterpiece. Another reason to stay.
“Can I help with this?” she asked.
He glanced over at her and made a sweeping motion behind him. “I’ve got it. Take your stuff into the bedroom. That’s where you’ll stay.”
Why did he keep insisting that she get the bedroom? “You can’t sleep on the couch at your own place.” She tried to argue, but she should’ve known that his sense of chivalry would win the day. She wasn’t so sure she’d have gotten the same treatment from Ty—another reason for this experiment. “I love the couch,” he said with a big exaggerated smile, “just don’t steal my dog this time.”
Jules had every intention of stealing Mercutio. She smiled and pushed the luggage down the long walkway to his room. Her guitar was strapped to her back too, and she felt his hands behind her as he lifted the weight from her. “Oh, Roman! The food.”
“It’s simmering,” he said.
She tried to hurry so that it wouldn’t burn. She parked her luggage next to the freshly made bed and took her guitar from him before he rushed back to the kitchen. Jules watched him go, feeling her heart warm at his special treatment.
“Roman, I’m going to practice my guitar on the balcony,” she called.
“Fine. Be done in twenty.”
She’d need a little longer, but Jules didn’t mind taking a break to eat some of his kung pao chicken, and then she had to get back to work. Just because she’d gotten fake married didn’t mean she could slack at her job. Jules was getting together with her band tomorrow night and she still hadn’t worked out her guitar solo, plus she needed to introduce new material too. She’d just been so distracted with Ty lately. The band was getting tired of working on the same stale songs. They needed new ones.
Heading outside, she relaxed against the soft wind. It wasn’t cold, though it still felt fantastic against her warm skin, and she felt herself relax from her long day. The sun had set moments before, and the twilight cast a deep blue hue against the city. The black leaves of the palms swished against the balcony, as if begging to join in on the songs.
Maybe she’d invite them in, but for now her thoughts were on Roman and her song for him. It had flowed through her while they were in the rain last night, as if his soul had spoken to hers and she could only pick up the echoes of it. Still it had been enough. The melody haunted her. The sounds of birds and swishing palms, the low murmur of people and the dull thuds of their footsteps all became background to it. She hummed a little, and just like that, Roman’s song was a part of her again.
She strummed her guitar, looking down at the strings, distantly noticing his ring on her finger. She’d caught sight of it all day while packing and it still weirded her out, but in a good way. She blushed when she remembered what she’d told Roman about wishing it was real. Maybe at the end of this, she’d be able to tell him any stupid thing that crossed her mind and not feel self-conscious about it.
Those thoughts only added to the lyrics of the song—she wrote it from the perspective of a girl who was trying to say goodnight to a man that she couldn’t get enough of.
“A thousand times goodnight,” Jules sang. She borrowed heavily from Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene because it reminded her how she’d felt the night before. She’d lost herself completely with Roman—her mind, her good sense, everything. Somehow that time spent together had woven a spell on her and she’d projected onto Roman everything she wanted a man to be. And the way he looked at her? She’d almost seen it as desire, awe even.I have a great imagination.She couldn’t even get a good guy to stay in love with her. And now a bad boy? Still, the logistics didn’t stop her from writing about it.
