My cheeks blaze. “Hmm?”
“You heard that guy say my last name, so you ran off and googled me in the bathroom.” Roman chuckles. “Don’t try to deny it, Iris. It’s written all over your face.”
I blush. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. Did you do the same thing while I was gone?”
“Google you?” Roman shakes his head and laughs. “No need, when I already got a background check on you on day one.” When my jaw hangs open, Roman adds, “I took a photo of your driver’s license while you were in the shower and sent it to Cameron—my agent.”
I gasp. “Why?”
Roman shrugs. “To make sure you weren’t a reporter or a kook. A guy in my position can’t be too careful.”
“Cameron isn’t your business partner?”
“He is, in a sense. An agent is similar to a business partner.They work on commission.” Roman sighs at the sour expression on my face. “Please, don’t look at me like that, Iris.”
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t know me at all. I’m still the same guy you’ve been hanging out with. Nothing’s changed.”
That seems like a crock of bullshit to me, but before I reply, our nice waiter, Leo, arrives with cocktails and a fancy charcuterie board, which he places on a small table between our lounge chairs.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“Nothing for now,” Roman says politely. “Iris?”
“Nothing, thank you,” I manage to say, even though my mind feels like it’s a computer that’s buffering. I don’t know if it’s fair or not, an overreaction or not, but I can’t stop remembering the moment I cracked into Brandon’s secret phone and my entire world came crashing down.
“What are you thinking?” Roman asks with a sigh.
I take a deep breath. “That you lied to me. That I don’t know you at all.”
“You do, though,” Roman insists, his jaw muscles tight. “Better than most, I’d argue, since you’ve had the unique chance to get to know me asme.”
I force air into my lungs. “Look, I get why you did it. You’re a prince cosplaying a commoner to escape the stresses of your royal life. It’s a tale as old as time. Or at least, as old asAladdin.But understanding it doesn’t mean I can easily process it, especially after everything I’ve been through.”
“You’re upset.”
I ponder that. “I think I’m more ... shocked.”
He looks annoyed. “Okay, well, if you could get over that shock as quickly as possible, I’d appreciate it, because I’m excited about what’s on tap for us today.” He picks up one of the drinks, apparently to emphasize his determination to have fun today,no matter what. But while he sips, I continue staring at him, incredulous. He can’t be serious.
“Why lie about UT Austin?” I blurt, glaring at him.
“Honestly, it pained me to do it. I bleed Michigan maize and blue. But I knew Chad Roman went to UT Austin, so I figured if you googled Roman and UT Austin, he’d come up, instead of me.”
I can’t help smiling at that, despite the churning of my stomach. I bite my lip, trying not to smile, but finally, I exhale and admit, “He did.”
“Hmm?”
“Chad Roman. He came up on the internet when I tried to find you.”
Roman bursts out laughing, and I can’t help laughing, too. And all of a sudden, the situation doesn’t seem quite as dire to me as it did a moment ago. True, he lied to me. But he’s my vacation fling, not my fiancé.
“You tried to find me, did you?” Roman says flirtatiously. “You little sneak.”
I snort. “I sure did. Every which way I could.” I rattle off all the ways I unsuccessfully tried to figure out Roman’s identity over the past four days, and he hoots with laughter and tells me he’s duly impressed. I bat his broad shoulder. “And it turns out, that entire time, you had a background check on me in your back pocket!”
“Sorry.”
