down at the woman by his side. They were standing on the deck of his boat. Like a number of others, they were waiting for the fireworks and laser show to begin. “And how did that go?” he asked, while wondering if this was where she would tell him that Tanner had come to his senses and they’d decided to start seeing each other.
“It went rather well. Almost too well. He’s a member of a gym that’s next door to the news station.”
“That’s rather convenient.”
“I thought so, too, at first. However, I honestly don’t think he knew where I worked. He was as surprised to see me as I was to see him.” After pausing a moment, she said, “It was quite obvious that he was trying to keep the conversation short between us.”
Roman just didn’t get it. How could her great-grandmother fix her up with someone who sounded so uncaring where Victoria was concerned?
“To see how he would handle the news, I lied and told him that I was dating someone. Even sort of led him to believe it was getting serious,” she added.
“And what did he say about that?”
She broke eye contact with him to gaze out at the water. “He said that he was happy for me and he wished me well.”
Roman honestly didn’t know what to make of that. He wondered how she felt knowing the man she’d been told was supposed to be her soul mate was still fighting it. “Is that what’s bothering you tonight, Victoria? The fact that he hasn’t come around and isn’t even making an effort to do so?” He’d picked up on the fact that she wasn’t her usual bubbly self.
She didn’t say anything for a moment and then returned her gaze to his. “What concerns me is that it should bother me, but it doesn’t. I’m okay with the way he’s acting because I am not ready for Tanner to be a part of my life. Maybe it’s because of the hurt and humiliation I went through with Karl, but I honestly think it’s something else.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “‘Something else,’ like what?”
She licked her bottom lip and he got a feeling she was nervous about what she was about to say. “If Tanner was in my life now, then I wouldn’t be here with you, Roman. And I have truly enjoyed our time together. I’ve had more fun with you these last few days than I’ve had in a long time.”
He was glad she felt that way because he honestly felt the same. He’d dated lots of women and none had felt comfortable enough to show him who they really were. They had all gone out of their way to impress him, to show him a side of themselves that he wasn’t certain was real or fake. With Victoria, everything felt real. She had a great personality, was warm, kind, friendly—all of that was evident with how she greeted and talked to people. She approached everyone equally; no one was beneath her. Like tonight, for instance, she’d chatted up the busboy who’d cleaned off their table, the waitress who’d served their food and the owner of the restaurant. Everyone was the recipient of her warm smile and pleasing personality.
“In that case, I’m glad things turned out the way they did because I’m enjoying my time with you, too.” He reached out to caress the side of her face. “You want to know what I’m hoping, Victoria?”
“What are you hoping?” He could hear the little catch in her voice when his hand moved to stroke her jaw with the tip of his finger.
“That regardless of your great-grandmother’s past success in matchmaking, I’m hoping this time she is totally wrong where you and Tanner are concerned.”
Their gazes held for the longest time and then she said, “I’m hoping that, too, Roman.”
He dropped his hand and eased closer to her. At that moment, he needed to kiss her, taste her like he had last night, like he’d been yearning to do all day. The memories of their one kiss had tortured him through the night, invaded his dreams, made him wish they would kiss at least twice, maybe three more times, before they parted ways.
Then this morning, at Witherspoon Café, that brush across her lips hadn’t been satisfying enough. He’d never kissed a woman before in a public place, but the moment he’d seen her walk into the café, he’d wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless.