Page 55 of Roman and the Hopeless Romantic
The knock came again. “Come on, Cass. I’m sorry, okay!”
With a huff, she got up and unlocked her door to yank it open. But all irritation faded when she saw the uncertainty on his face. “What do you want?”
“I don’t want you to say no until you hear me out.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” He gave her the lopsided grin she loved so much. She sighed. “Go on.”
“Hadley just texted me to meet her atEmma’s.”
She crossed her arms. “And what does this have to do with me?”
“I want you to come.”
“No.” Annie’s words ran through her mind, telling her to say yes to things. But she wasn’t ready.
“I think it would be good for you.”
“How do you know what’s good for me?”
His brow creased as if he couldn’t understand the question. “Because I know you, Cass. I know you don’t think that’s true anymore, but you haven’t changed that much.” His eyes latched onto hers. “We’re just getting this friendship back, and I want to be around you. Your sass, your anger, your kindness. None of that has changed. And I think you want to be around me too.”
Annie would be proud of the word on the tip of her tongue, the agreement she wanted to give.
“Please,” he whispered.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Just… okay.”
A brilliant smile lit his face. “That’s good, really, really good. Meet you downstairs in five?”
She nodded and shut her door. What had she just agreed to?Emma’swould be packed on a Friday night with students from Roman and Jesse’s school.
Quickly changing into jeans and a sweatshirt, she twisted her wet hair into a messy bun and slipped on her shoes. When she walked downstairs, Roman leaned against the front door, one leg crossed over the other and a smile curving his lips.
He opened the door. “After you, my lady.”
Out on the driveway, her dad loaded the porch furniture into the back of his SUV.
Roman shot her a questioning look, but she only had one word to explain the action. “Healing.”
He nodded as if he understood what she meant.
In the few hours since her appointment with Annie, she’d managed to complete both her tasks, now she just hoped she came out of this second one unscathed.
