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I wasn’t sure how much of his expression was surprise and how much was respect. “You just said–”
“Yeah, I did. I love your best mate, Rio. But, I don’t want to change him. So,” I shrugged, “he doesn’t want to be with me? It’s hard, yeah. But, I accept it. I told him what I wanted. He didn’t want the same. Now, I’m just waiting on that moving on thing.”
“You…?” he started.
I looked at him in question.
He found some of his lost bluster. “You’re not going to beg me? Tell me you know he’s not really that heartless? Tell me you know you’re different? You’re the one?”
I huffed a humourless laugh. “Rio, I do know he’s not that heartless and I do know I’m different. But, that’s worth fuck all if he denies it.”
“Okay, I was being facetious–”
I snorted. “What?”
“Facetious, it means–”
“No, I know what it means. I’m just surprised you do.”
Rio gave me a half-smile that was a whole lot more pronounced in his eyes. “I’m a degenerate, not an idiot.”
“You and Lombardi practise that phrase in the mirror?”
The other half of his mouth rose as well and it transformed him. “Something like that. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted… I like you, Piper. If he wasn’t being such a fucking tool, he’d realise you’re perfect for him. I thought you were like the others, that he’d just gone mental. But you’re not, are you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I still fell in love with him.”
Rio leant towards me conspiratorially. “Yeah, but he fell in love with you, too. Didn’t he?”
I swallowed and looked down to hide my blush. “Did he…? Has he said…?”
“Fuck no,” he laughed. “But, he doesn’t have to. I can see he loves you in every word he doesn’t say.” Rio tilted my chin up so I was looking at him. “I can try to talk to him?”
I shook my head and he slowly took his hand away. “Thanks. But…” Oh, God, I was tearing up. “He is who he is.”
Rio’s eyes softened with sympathy. “At the risk of sounding like a nancy wanker, you’re fucking incredible Piper Barlow. You’re the only chick I’ve met who even came close to being right for him. And, you smashed that shit right out of the park.”
I huffed a teary laugh. “Thanks.”
He held his hand out and I knew what he was expecting – I’d seen him and Roman do it on enough occasions. He went slowly so I could keep up, but I got the handshake right.
Rio was smiling hugely at me when we both heard his name called by the guy in question and I could hear he was pissed, in more than one sense of the word.
“What are you doing, you fucker?” Roman yelled.
He walked towards us, his arm around a girl I didn’t know and a cigarette in his hand. Yep, he was definitely drunk. He glared daggers between Rio and me and I realised that my friends were doing a piss-poor job of pretending not to be watching the whole thing.
Roman’s eyes finally landed on me and a thousand things went unsaid. My heart joined my stomach in the jump-plummet and I swallowed against my suddenly dry mouth.
“Keep your fucking panties on, mate,” Rio replied. “I’m coming.”
Roman nodded tersely, threw me one more look, and dragged the girl away.
“Everything he doesn’t say,” Rio said softly.
“I’m moving on.”
“He’s not.”
“Because that helps,” I sighed sarcastically.
“The heart wants what the heart wants. No matter what the head tells it, gorgeous.” Then his usual swagger was back. He gave me a wink and his typical salute and strode after Roman.
I looked after him, the realisation dawning on me that every person you met was deeper than you ever gave them credit for. Especially when people they cared about were involved.
My friends all gave me a sympathetic smile. But, when I shook my head, they didn’t press. I went back to watching the boys leapfrog the poles and reminded myself that moving on didn’t mean I had to stop loving Roman, it just meant that I could go on without him.
And, I was going to go on without him.
