On my way.
I toss my phone off to the side and pace my living room.
This is bad.
This isreallybad.
Chapter Twenty-Four
ROME
There’sa dead cactus on the porch in a blue pot, and it very well could be a sign for me to turn back.
My foot hovers over the faded welcome mat as I rethink my choices, but before I have a chance to back out, the door opens. Tessa aggressively grips my hoodie with her fingers and pulls me into her house.
“Someone is eager,” I mumble.
She slams the door and turns to face me. She’s adorably frazzled, with her hair in some crazy bun on the top of her head, fallen tendrils of brown framing her face. The high points of her cheeks ripen with heat, but instead of saying anything, she tugs on my arm until we’re in her living room.
Her palms are on my chest, and I’m forced backward. I land on her couch with my legs spread wide and peer at her from below as she stands with her hands on her hips. If I were to reach forward even in the slightest, I could pull her onto my lap. My fingers twitch at the thought.
“You sure this isn’t a booty call–”
I lean backward with her phone outstretched into my face, ending the words on the tip of my tongue. I scan the screen quickly.
Ah.
I see.
An inside source reveals that Rome Pierce joined Vanstone Racing for a reason no one saw coming–Vanstone’s Princess, Tessa Halston. The two were caught cuddling up during their weekend race in Bahrain.
“Well?” she huffs.
Tessa’s brown eyes are wide with worry, and she’s looking at me expectedly, like I can do something about it.
For her, I might.
I clench my jaw. Scratch that. No, I will not.
“Well, what?” I shrug. “It’s just a rumor site.”
Tessa clicks her phone off and throws it to the cushion beside me. “But it’s not a rumor!” she screeches, clearly panicked.
“Technically, it is.” I trail her as she paces over the large, colorful woven rug. “We weren't cuddling.”
“You’re right!” she shouts. “What we did wasfarworse!”
“Wait.”
Tessa stops her nervous pacing and looks at me with hope in her eyes.
“We did something in Bahrain?”
If I were in reach, I think she’d slap me.
My lip twitches at the utter shock on her face, and it sends her in a spiral.
“This isn’t good,” she mutters, continuously pacing the living room. “People are going to think the only reason I became head engineer for the almighty Rome Pierce is because he’s fucking me!”
