AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He finally caught up to me, his arm going around my waist, both of us breathing hard amidst laughter. I looked up at him and found his face was just there. My laughter half-died on my lips, but my smile grew.
His face was just so open and carefree and warm. And, the way he was looking at me made my heart stop for a moment before it started beating harder in my chest. My stomach fluttered and I felt weird. I found myselfwantinghim to kiss me, actually wondering what it would be like. Until I remembered it was Roman Lombardi, and I thought I’d gone mad.
But, it wasn’t the first time I’d noticed us looking at each other like that in the last few days. We’d caught each other’s eye now and then and there’d been a moment where one of us could have moved forward, but didn’t. There had been a lot of moments and zero moving forward.
I wasn’t sure if I was just not desirable enough for Roman Lombardi, or if perhaps whatever we had was actually something more. By no means did I think that we were falling for each other – that was a ridiculous notion – but maybe it was possible to really be friends with the guy.
“Piper…” he said slowly.
I held up the beanie between us like some sort of shield as my heart threatened to pound out of my chest – and it wouldn’t have just been the running to blame. Except, if I wasn’t falling for him, why did I get those flutters around him?
It was attraction, at most. Surely. Attraction and a new-found appreciation for the sweeter side of him.
“I believe you were looking for this.”
He took it from me and pulled it onto my head, pulling it far enough that it went over my eyes. I grinned and pushed it up, noticing his arm was still around me and I still leant on him.
“I thought you were cold?” I asked.
He shrugged, flipped his hood onto his head, and wrapped his other arm around me. “I’m being a gentleman, don’t ruin it.” His voice was gruff, but with a note of teasing.
I contentedly rested my head against his chest as we just held each other for a bit. One of his hands fell down my back a little and I gave him a small squeeze. He dropped his nose to my ear and returned it.
Goose bumps skittered across my skin and I firmly chastised the flutter in my stomach.
This was Roman Lombardi, for God’s sake.
Stomach flutters and goose bumps weren’t allowed.
It didn’t matter that he was gorgeous.
It didn’t matter that we’d spent every night for the last week together.
It didn’t matter that I felt more comfortable not talking to him than I did gossiping with Hadley.
He wasn’t interested.
And even if he was, I wasn’t.
Was I?
I looked at him with a laugh as we lay in the back of his ute the next night. “No, not possible.”
He smiled, our noses almost touching. His shoulder was warm under my neck. He nodded and threaded his fingers through mine.
“Yes. I think you’ll find, yes.”
I looked into his eyes, those deep brown pools that were, in actual fact, nothing like black holes. Even with only the moon for light, I could see them sparkle with warmth and something I didn’t think I’d ever seen in them before. A shiver ran through me, but it wasn’t the same as it used to be and the goose bumps on my skin were excitement, anticipation, desire.
We just looked at each other, no need to say anything, no need to do anything but just feel comfortable with each other. Our faces inched closer together and I had plenty of time to stop myself. But I didn’t want to stop myself, not this time.
So, I let Roman Lombardi kiss me.
It was chaste and sweet and…
And…
After all the flirting and the banter of the last week, I didn’t know how I felt about it.
