All I've Never Wanted(46)

Obviously, she’d caught at least part of my rant.

I heard my dad agree in defeat, and before I knew it, the person whose arms I was in ushered me into the waiting Town Car. It wasn’t until then that I finally looked up.

I blinked in surprise. Even through my tears, I was able to make out the planes of Roman’s face.

* * *

“Do you think Maya’s going to be ok?” Zack asked, leaning over to whisper to Adriana as he stared at where the brunette was curled up in her seat, sleeping.

“She should be fine. She just needs some time.” Adriana sighed. Poor girl. She’s been through so much since school started, and they weren’t even halfway through the semester yet.

“What bad luck. Out of all the sushi bars in all the world, he had to walk into ours,” Parker said jokingly.

Adriana rolled her eyes. “It’s nice to see you still have your sense of humor.”

Parker shrugged. “Adultery’s practically a fact of life in Valesca. Some people hide it better than others. And some take it better than others.” He looked over at where Roman was sitting, staring down at his untouched glass. There was a zoned-out expression on his face. “There’s nothing we can do except make the most out of it.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but Parker had a point. Affairs were more common than luxury cars in their town—they just ranged from discreet Mercedes to flashy Lamborghinis.

“Should someone wake her up? We’re almost there.” Parker checked his Rolex. “And she still hasn’t eaten yet.”

“I’ll go do it,” Carlo offered. He’d been unusually quiet since the dinner incident.

“No. I will,” Roman suddenly said, taking everyone by surprise.

They all stared at him. Ignoring their shocked glances, Roman stood up from his seat and made his way down the lushly carpeted aisle to where Maya was dozing.

“Wow. Did he have a brain transplant or something?” Zack’s eyes were wide.

Carlo raised his eyebrows. “Should you really be surprised?”

“No, I guess not,” Zack allowed. “I suppose he is the best person to go talk to her right now.”

Adriana, though, didn’t say anything. Instead, she kept her eyes trained on Roman and Maya, a small smile playing on her lips.


It was time to just sit back and watch the show.

* * *

“Maya, wake up.” Someone was shaking my arm. They seriously needed to go away. “Wake up!”

“Leave me alone,” I mumbled, snuggling deeper into my seat. I could feel the delicious cover of sleep evaporating, and I was not happy.

Whoever it was sighed and dropped my arm.

Good. Now maybe I can go back—was that pasta?

My nose involuntarily twitched as the delicious smell of Italian food wafted into my nostrils. Reluctantly, I opened one eye, my mouth nearly watering at the sight of the huge bowl of pasta in front of me.

“That got your attention.” Roman smirked, taking the seat opposite me.

“You think you’re so clever,” I muttered, even as I sat up straight and grabbed a fork, eagerly digging in.

God, it was so good! Today was such a good food day.

Roman’s jaw dropped slightly as he watched me shovel the food in my mouth. Ok, so I was not being ladylike, but whatever. I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten since lunch and—

Suddenly, my chewing slowed as I remembered why I hadn’t eaten since lunch. And just like that, my appetite was gone again.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t it good?” Roman asked, when I pushed the bowl away from me. I felt slightly nauseous.

“No, it’s good, I’m just—not that hungry,” I mumbled, staring down at my lap. I couldn’t believe I was about to cry again. How much could a girl cry in one day?

A lot, apparently.

“Bullshit. You were just destroying that like you’ve never had food before.” Roman paused. “Are you thinking about what happened at dinner again?” he correctly guessed in an unusual burst of astuteness.

I nodded, choking up.

“Are you going to tell your mom?”

I looked up. “Wow, way to make me feel better,” I sniffled, even though I had no idea how to answer him.

Was I going to tell my mom? It would just be wrong to hide it from her, but at the same time, it would destroy her. I was completely trapped.

“There’s no use going into denial and running from it.” Roman’s tone was bitter. “Might as well face the facts and salvage what you can from the debris that’s left.”

I drew my knees up to my chest and stared at him. “Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?”

Roman’s head jerked up. “What—what do you mean?”

I couldn’t help but giggle a little at the deer-caught-in-headlights expression on his face. “You’re usually so nasty to me. Why are you being so nice now?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “We called a truce, remember?” he muttered.

“That didn’t stop you from saying I looked like a shitty piece of modern art earlier.”

Roman shrugged. “Well, you did look like a shitty piece of modern art. I just thought I’d let you know before you went to homecoming and became a laughingstock.”

“Like that’s going to happen. I’m dating Parker now, remember? They wouldn’t dare,” I half-joked.