Page 6 of Roman and Jules
“You expected me to be something?”
He nodded and leaned back. “You look sweeter.”
That wasn’t the first time she’d heard someone call her that, but if he meant to put her in her place with the observation, she wouldn’t let him. She turned the tables back on him. “So do you.” His forehead wrinkled in response. “I might’ve heard about you too,” she said.
“Yeah? What did Ty say?”
“Oh no.” She picked up her skirt again with a sassy smile and it dripped back into the water. “We’re enemies. We can’t talk.” She turned her back on him to leave and was stopped by a shocked voice above them.
“Jules, whatareyou doing?”
A rush of dismay tingled down her back. Ty had caught her talking to the one man he’d warned her against. She swung around to assure him it wasn’t so bad, just as she heard Roman chuckling to the side of them.
Ty glared at him. “C’mon Jules. Get out of there.”
Her smile faded. She knew what this looked like to the both of them. “I… was going to.”
Tyson reached for her. Roman stood, his hand scraping into his back pocket for his cellphone. “Hey, I was hoping you’d join us out here, Ty. I found something you might be interested in.”
“I highly doubt that.” Grimacing, Ty plunged into the water after her and she gasped when he got a hold of her hand. He was in such a rush to get Jules away that he was getting himself all wet. She ducked her head in embarrassment when he tugged her out.
“Are you sure about that?” Roman asked. “You were pretty interested…yesterday,was it?” He put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Rosalyn, come see who’s out here with me. I’m on the deck.”
“Rosalyn?” The blood drained from Ty’s face until it was chalky white.
“What’s the matter?” Jules asked. His hand loosened over her waist and she caught at him just as the woman with the beautiful scarlet charmeuse silk dress slinked onto the balcony. She was even more beautiful when her back wasn’t to them. She had big brown eyes and a confident sway to her hips.
Ty stepped in front of Jules. “Let’s go,” he whispered.
Rosalyn’s rosebud lips lifted into a brilliant smile as Ty inadvertently made himself the focus of attention. “Ty Bolt?” She had a beautiful Italian accent, and she pronounced every word with passion. “You came to your cousin’s party, too?”
“My mother’s party,” Ty corrected her, much to Roman’s amusement. His cousin was grinning broadly now.
Rosalyn’s eyes scraped over their clasped hands. “Who is this little water sprite, Ty?”
Ty immediately dropped hands with her, and then as if remembering himself he took her hand again. Jules didn’t know what was happening, but the two clearly knew each other.
Rosalyn’s pert nose wrinkled. “Are the rumors real? Are you two a thing?”
Jules wasn’t sure how to answer. She certainly thought that they were. “Yes. Who is this, Ty?”
“Yes, I too am curious,” Rosalyn sneered. “How long have you been dating this water sprite?”
“A year,” Jules answered automatically.
“A year?” Rosalyn sounded more furious if that was possible. Her eyes slanted on Ty and she pressed her lips tightly together.
“Ty?” Jules turned to him. He was acting stiff. “What’s going on?”
“Wait, wait.” Roman grabbed a pile of candies from a dish nearby and threw them in his mouth talking between bites. “Rosalyn? You and Ty?” His brows lifted. “You’re not cheating on me, are you, honey?”
“Oh, Roman, c’mon!” Rosalyn stabbed her high-heels into the ground. “You care nothing for me. Ours is just a fling.”
“It’s just for dramatic emphasis, baby. I know exactly what you’ve been up to—but forget my feelings for the moment—Ty’s already going out with the water sprite. He’s cheating on you too. Ironic, don’t you think?”
Jules’s hands felt weak, her skin was numb where Tyson touched her, and she couldn’t move, though he held onto her more tightly now. It almost felt good that he did, because he hadn’t for a very long time, and still? What did this mean? She felt sick. He was dating this stunning beauty the same time he was dating poor, clingy little Jules? It was clear that’s what he thought of her. His mother’s glares and veiled insults made sense now, telling her to call her by her first name like the rest of Ty’s girlfriends? How many did Ty have anyway? She swallowed, not able to talk.
Instead of her eyes going to Ty, they went to Roman’s; it was easier than facing the man she loved, the man who was tearing her heart into pieces. At her penetrating look, Roman took a deep breath, his chest expanding, and she thought she saw a glimmer of regret pass through his eyes before he hid it with a shrug. “Sorry, Jules. You want to get a drink or something?”
