I rolled my eyes and took another bite of my cheeseburger.
“Honestly, I had a growth spurt my senior year, but before that… you should have seen me,” he explained. “I had braces, acne, the mouthguard, all of it. It wasn’t a cute sight.”
“I need to see a picture of this.”
He laughed and shook his head, “Over my dead body.”
I smirked, “I have my ways. I’ll find it.”
He laughed again, but ignored my comment. “What about you? What was high school like for you?”
I sighed and leaned back into my chair, “It was fine. I went to this stupid private school on the Upper East Side. I had to wear a uniform…”
“Some guys are really into that,” Rome interrupted, “but it was never my thing.”
I laughed, “This uniform would make even the most beautiful woman in the world look homely. I looked like a nun. I had to wear knee-high socks and this god-awful plaid skirt. It was not cute.”
He smiled as I spoke, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Rome was completely free with his smiles, giving them to everyone… even strangers. He didn’t reserve his true smile for only a few. I envied that freedom.
Our waitress stopped by, dropping the check on the table. I picked it up before Rome could snatch it, and it gave our waitress the in she had been waiting for.
She leaned down to Rome’s ear before not-so-subtly speaking, “If you’re free tonight, give me a call.” She handed him a small piece of paper before walking away, an extra sway in her hips.
Something deep within me burned with what almost resembled jealousy, which couldn’t be correct. There was no way I was feeling jealous over Rome. It must have been heartburn from the food.
Rome rolled his eyes and crumbled the paper.
“Hey,” I protested, fishing a couple of hundreds out of my purse and sticking them in the check, “She’s cute, maybe give her a chance.”
Rome gave me an incredulous look, “We’re obviously together, and she still hit on me, right in front of you. She’s disrespectful.”
I waved off his comment, “We’re not actually together. You could still take her out.”
He shook his head. “For as long as we’re doing…” he paused, looking for the right words, “whatever it is we’re doing, you’re the only lucky lady in my life.”
I smiled at his kindness and, oddly, felt lucky.
Chapter Eleven
ROME
“It’s working,” Melissa declared as she waltzed into Bec’s office. “It’s working better than I had expected.”
She dropped a stack of newspapers and magazines on Bec’s desk. Each was plastered with photos from the gala last weekend. Most highlighted the photo of us on the carpet, where Bec was smiling ear to ear as she laughed. I picked up one of the magazines and flipped to the article. It had a few photos fromthe venue, but the one that made me smile was taken during our late-night burger adventure.
Bec had a napkin tucked into the neckline of her dress, and my jacket was off with my sleeves rolled up. The ‘R’ necklace and my tags were dangling out. We were both smiling and laughing. We looked completely caught up in each other.
I hadn’t expected the night to end that way… the two of us snarfing down greasy burgers, ignoring the rest of the world. I was grateful that someone had managed to snap the photo through the restaurant window. I tucked the magazine into my pocket, wanting to save the memory.
It was a wonderful evening, but it had led to yet another night with little sleep, and the few hours I did get were interrupted by the nightmares of my past. I was noticeably on edge and was counting down the minutes until the day was finally over.
Bec flipped through her own magazine, her eyes scanning the pages, “Is it showing results with the board?”
Melissa nodded eagerly, “I reached out to their assistants to throw out some feelers, and things are looking optimistic. It seems you two are a hit.”
Bec sighed a breath of relief. I felt the same, knowing this was working.
“What now?” I asked.
