Page 12 of Falling for You
“Shut up! I knew it! I told Gunnar you two were banging and he didn’t believe me! He told me Roman would never be that stupid.”
“Willow, you can’t tell him, please. It’s over anyways, there’s no reason to tell them.” I place my hands together in front of me, pleading with her to keep my secret.
“Your secret is safe with me babes, but trust me,that,”—she motions between me and the general direction of where Roman went—“is not over. In the slightest.”
“Ugh. I can’t do this with you two. I’m going to walk around and find something to eat. I’ll be back before the parade so don’t leave without me.”
I leave the booth, knowing full well that Willow and Violet are about to talk a whole lot of shit about me and Roman. As long as they don’t tell Gunnar or Liam, I don’t care what they say. I’d tell all of them in a heartbeat, but I won’t go against Rome like that.
I take off in search of the lemonade stand, my mouth watering with anticipation for my frozen raspberry lemonade. The highlight of the Memorial Day Parade every year. And after that, I intend to find myself the food truck that sells the big pretzels with cheese.
Yes, eating my feelings will solve all my problems when it comes to the sexy as sin man I can’t get off my mind.
Once I’m satisfied with my sugar rush, and my carb loading, I walk around the different booths to get in some cardio before all that settles on my hips.
I’m looking at Mrs. Peterson’s booth for the farm, smelling all the goat milk soaps that she sells. I’ve become obsessed with them, loving every scent she creates. I don’t want to think about why my favorite one smells like cedar and leather. Nope. Not going to put stock in that theory.
Suddenly, I feel a large, warm hand on my hip that’s closest to the wall of the tent and hot breath on my neck. “I miss you.”
I whirl around, staring directly into the golden orbs that haunt me everytime I close my eyes.
“Rome—”
“I know. I don’t have the right.” His hand falls from my hip and his face drops. The weight this is taking on him is evident, but what about how I feel?
I subtly move my body away from him. Enough for him to notice but no one else around us is any wiser. I can’t think when he’s this close and touching me. I just want to melt into him, let him back in.
“That’s right, you lost it when you ended things. Until you’re willing to man up and talk to Hunter, I’m out. I’m not a dirty secret, no matter how much I enjoy it.”
He winces, “I never want you to be a dirty secret, Sunshine. But, Hunter called me out the other day. Told me he’d put me six feet under if I was dating you. Can you imagine what he’ll do when he finds out I let you be a secret for a year? That I let myself treat you that way?”
“Yeah I get it, Rome. It’s the same old tired excuse every time.”
I push past him, knocking my hip into his on my way by. “You know where to find me when you decide to be the man I know you are.”
I don’t look back, I just walk as fast as possible back to the inn’s tent with my girls and broken pride.
The way her ass sways in those skin tight jeans, is going to be the fucking death of me. I have no one to blame but myself, I’m the idiot who came over here to talk to her when I saw her. I’m the idiot who got too close, let myself remember what it feels like to hold her. I’m the idiot who ended things as she so sweetly pointed out.
Bottom line, I’m just an idiot.
I head back to my booth to check in with Evelyn before going to the float to get in line for the parade. I debate telling my sister about Emma, but I’m pretty sure all she’d do is point out what a dumbass I am for one, getting involved with Emma Keaton, and two, not manning up to tell Hunter before it got to this point.
“How’s it going?” I lean down to give Eve a kiss on the top of her head.
“Good. Everyone is loving the raspberry lemonade pale ale you made for the summer. And the kids love these little bottles of root beer and lemonade.” She smiles at the customer as she hands them a six-pack of my latest brew. “Oh, great,” she mutters under her breath looking out into the crowd.
I look out to see who is approaching and see my best friend walking over. I wish I knew why those two hate each other so much.
“Hey Evelyn, it’s uh … nice to see you,” he rubs the back of his neck, looking awkward as hell. “You ready, Rome? It’s almost time for me to kick your ass like I do every year.”
My gaze bounces between the two of them. “Yeah. You good, Eve?”
“Sure am. Never been better.” She smirks, her response obviously directed to Hunter instead of me.
When I look over at him, I see that his lips are pinched in a tight line. The hatred for my sister could be blowing smoke out his ears.
I follow behind Hunter as he leads the way through the crowded street over to the high school where we use their parking lot as a staging area.
