All I've Never Wanted(119)

“Well, an eye for an eye, right?” Roman’s jaw worked. It seemed all of his passion from our earlier makeout had transformed into anger towards his mother. “It’s not like you ever acted much like my mother.”

“Roman!” I was appalled. I mean, I know his mom hadn’t always been there for him, and she had serious alcoholism issues, but she was still his mom.

And right now, she looked like she was about to cry.

None of us said anything for a while. We just stood there, Roman pissed, Giselle near sobbing, and me shocked and uncomfortable.

Finally, I gently guided Giselle towards the door. “Maybe you can come back to talk to him when—at another time,” I suggested. I was about to say “when you’re sober,” but caught myself just in time.

She looked back over her shoulder at Roman, who hadn’t moved. “I suppose you’re right,” she muttered. She looked at me. “Thank you, Maya. Roman needs someone like you in his life.” She actually sounded sincere, even though she was still slurring her words a bit.


My heart seized. Maybe she wasn’t as incoherent as I thought.

When the door closed, I turned back to Roman. “Hey, are you ok?” I asked, gently touching his arm.

It’s strange, how fast the mood of a room can change.

“I’m fine.” Roman sighed, pushing his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I just—she pisses me off so much.” He grimaced.

I shifted, wishing I was in more than a towel and swimsuit. “She’s still your mom, though.”

“Well, if that’s what having a mom is like, I’d rather I didn’t have one.”

I gasped softly. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yes I do! Stop acting like you know so much about our relationship!”

I flinched, and Roman’s face immediately softened. He reached over, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. But seriously, Maya, just drop it, ok? My relationship with my parents is…complicated. And I know you have a good heart and want everyone to get along, but that’s not going to happen. So just let it go.” There was chagrin in his voice but his eyes were steely.

I clenched my jaw, wanting desperately to argue, but I don’t think that would be wise at the moment, so I merely nodded.

Roman relaxed. “Ok. How about we go grab a snack or something?”

I shook my head. “I think I should go home. I need to get some homework done.” I grabbed my clothes from the armchair. I really wanted to continue the conversation about his mom, but I figured I should give him some time to cool off.

“Oh. Right.” He sounded disappointed, but the sound of his phone ringing cut off what he was going to say after.

As I pulled on my skirt and buttoned up my blouse, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by Roman’s end of the conversation.

“Hey. No, I haven’t…wait, what? Maybe he just went somewhere for a trip or something. No. No. Do you really think so?” Roman sounded almost panicked. “Ok. Look, I’ll talk to some people. I’m sure it’ll be fine. Ok. Sure. Talk to you later.”

“What happened?” I asked, as he ended the call with a disturbed look on his face.

He just looked at me. “Rico’s missing.”

CHAPTER 27

“I don’t know where he could possibly be.”

Carlo’s brow was furrowed, his face was lined with worry, as he clasped his hands in front of him and tapped one foot on the floor. I’ve never seen him look so nonplussed.

“Maybe he’s at one of your vacation homes,” Parker suggested, tossing his golden-brown hair out of his eyes. “Did you try the beach compound in Bermuda?”

We were actually eating lunch in the DC for once, and we had spent the entire time talking about Rico’s disappearance.

“He’s not there.” Carlo’s voice was curt. “And we’ve also tried the houses in Vail, L.A., Tuscany, Hong Kong…everywhere. He’s at none of those places.”

“Well, this is Rico we’re talking about,” Adriana reasoned. “He could’ve disappeared just because he felt like it. I’m sure he’s not in any trouble. The boy can more than take care of himself.”

“It’s not him getting hurt that I’m worried about,” Carlo said flatly.

The room fell silent, and we all stared at each other nervously.

Well, this was just about the most awkward lunch I’ve ever had.

“Anyway.” Carlo cleared his throat and put on what was obviously a fake smile. “Let’s talk about something else. Winter break, perhaps?” He turned to Roman. “The plan is still on, right?”

“What plan?” I asked.

Roman grinned wolfishly at me. “The plan where we continue where we left off the other night,” he said.

I turned bright red while the others erupted into hoots and catcalls. “Roman!” I hissed, mortified.

That was it. He is so not getting any action over break.

“What were you guys doing the yesterday night?” Adriana asked with a small smirk, her gaze knowing.

“None of your business,” I immediately answered.

“Feisty.” The blonde popped a sushi roll in her mouth, chewing delicately and swallowing before she spoke up again. “That’ll probably come in handy later.” She winked at Roman, who just laughed and pulled me to his chest.