Page 80 of Valentine’s Billionaire Auction

“Exactly.”

“That sounds sweet. What are you thinking? B-Day BJ?”

I snorted a laugh and shook my head. “Not quite. I was going to talk to the house staff and see if they have any ideas. They know him better than I do, and—” I stopped mid-sentence, noticing Carla’s expression shift. “Hey, is everything okay?”

She shrugged, her fork picking at her food in a way that wasn’t like her. “I’m fine.”

“Carla,” I said gently. “What’s going on?”

Her shoulders rose and fell again, but this time she sighed. “It’s nothing. It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid if it’s bothering you,” I pressed. “Come on, spill. I’ve been rambling. What’s going on?”

She hesitated, then finally looked up at me. “It’s just… you’ve been so wrapped up in this whole Roman thing. You never call to check in on me. You don’t ask about my life. It’s like I’ve been relegated to the background while you play house with your fake fiancé.”

My heart sank. “Oh, Carla… I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I asked if you were okay with everything. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I mean, I did, but, dammit, I’m sorry.”

“I know you didn’t,” she said quickly, but her voice was tight. “It’s just… I miss you. It feels like I’ve been left behind while you’re off living this glamorous new life.”

I reached across the table and took her hand. “You’re right. I’ve been so caught up in all of this, and I’ve been a terrible friend. I’m so sorry.”

She gave me a small smile. “You’re not a terrible friend. Just a distracted one. I know you have a lot on your plate. I told you to do this. We both knew it was going to be hard with you trying to live a double life.”

“I’m going to make it up to you,” I promised. “Starting today. Let’s spend the day together. No Roman, no mansion, no paparazzi. Just us.”

Carla’s smile grew. “What did you have in mind?”

“How about what we would normally do? We’re stuffing our faces and going to see a movie. I’m sure there’s a rom-com out for Valentine’s.”

“Don’t pity me,” she said. “I feel ridiculous for even bringing it up.”

“You’re not ridiculous. I’m sorry I’ve been neglectful.”

“You haven’t been neglectful. I am really happy for you. And you did look hot last night.”

“Thank you.”

While we ate, I looked up movies playing. We found a romance flick and headed over for a matinee showing.

We chose seats in the middle row, far enough from the screen to avoid neck strains but close enough to catch every detail. The theater slowly filled, the murmurs of other moviegoers blending into a soft background noise.

“Thanks for doing this,” Carla whispered. “I really needed it. I don’t think I fully understood how much I was going to miss you.”

“Me too. We should do this more often. It’s not like he needs me on hand around the clock. Honestly, I don’t even see him during the day usually.”

The lights dimmed, signaling the start of the film. On screen, a clumsy meet-cute unfolded involving a stray cat and a spilled cup of coffee. As the characters on screen navigated their blossoming yet awkward relationship, I found myself thinking about romance. I wanted that. I wanted to stumble into the man of my dreams.

I could almost picture Roman as that man, but he was so far out of my league, I knew it wasn’t meant to be. I was only getting to play make believe.

After the movie, we wandered into a tapas bar. We shared a dozen tiny, delicious dishes and gossiped about everything and nothing.

“I should let you go,” she said.

“Hell no. I’m not done hanging out with you. Are you trying to ditch me?”

Carla laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “Not a chance. It’s just getting late, and I figured you’d have to rush off to some high-profile event or another.”

“Not tonight,” I said firmly, popping an olive into my mouth. “Today is about us. Besides, playing dress-up for the cameras gets old fast. This,” I gestured between us, “this is real life.”