All I've Never Wanted(47)

“Oh. Right. How could I have forgotten?” he said sourly.

I gave him a strange look. He was so weird sometimes. “Anyway, I’ve been worse than a laughingstock at school,” I added softly.

I didn’t know why I was being so vulnerable all of sudden, and in front of Roman Fiori, no less. I guess it was because tonight had just drained all of my energy, and I didn’t have enough left to put up my usual walls. Besides, he’d actually been pretty nice outside Masa.

Of course, I could also be a total idiot.

Roman stared at me, a rainbow of emotions flitting across his face before it finally settled on something that, had I not known better, I could’ve sworn was guilt.

We just looked at each other for several tense though not unnecessarily unpleasant seconds. A strange feeling had started to spread through my stomach until he broke eye contact and gestured at the food.

“You should eat. I don’t want you to faint before you get home.”

“I’m really not hungry.”

“Why do you have to be so difficult? Eat, or I’ll force-feed it to you,” Roman commanded gruffly, though it lacked his usual acidic edge.

“Ah, there’s the Roman I know and hate,” I quipped, though much more teasingly than usual.

I really was losing my mind.

“Eat!” he insisted.

When I didn’t budge, he grabbed a forkful of pasta and held it threateningly up to my mouth. “You sure you want to try me?”

“Fine, fine!” I snatched the fork from him. “You’re so mean,” I whined, even as my taste buds hummed in pleasure.


Roman just smirked, his gorgeous violet eyes smug.

Whoa. What? When the heck did I start thinking his eyes were gorgeous? Actually, when did I start noticing the prick’s eyes, period?

I shook my head, hoping to clear it, and wolfed down another mouthful of food.

Somehow, I’d gotten my appetite back.

Weird.

* * *

When I got home after school the next day, I was shocked to see my parents at the kitchen table, while my grandmother tottered around the kitchen, making her favorite chrysanthemum tea and muttering about how too much coffee caused people to grow wings.

She was a strange lady, my grandma.

“Hi, Maya!” my mother chirped, grimacing slightly as she took a sip of tea. She was obviously missing her usual java fix. “How was school?”

“Fine.” I gripped the straps of my backpack tighter and glared at my dad. “What are you doing here?”

“I…came back from my trip early, sweetie,” he said, clearing his throat and giving me a strained smile.

My mom stared at me curiously. Usually, I was always incredibly excited when my dad came home, and I always, always greeted him with a huge hug. I was a total daddy’s girl.

Or at least, I used to be.

“Really? And where was the trip to again?” I asked in a sickly sweet voice.

My dad shot me a look that was half-pained, half-warning, which made me even angrier. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to waltz back in here like nothing was wrong!

Before he could say anything, my grandmother thrust a cup of tea at me. “Your memory so bad, Maya,” she scolded me. “He said many times before he go to Chicago.” She stared disapprovingly at my skirt. “Why skirt so short? Higher the hem, more brain cells you lose! Maybe that why you no remember. Have some tea. Good for mind.”

My lips flattened into a thin line as I silently accepted the tea. I’d gotten home late last night, well after everyone else had gone to sleep, and so this was the first time I’d seen my mom since I saw my dad with that…that woman.

I was still torn about what I should do, but it sure as hell didn’t feel right, standing there and trying to pretend everything was ok when it so, so wasn’t.

“Actually, Maya, we have some news for you,” my mom chirped, discreetly pouring some of her tea back into the pot when my grandmother wasn’t looking.

“Yeah, what’s that?” I mumbled, reaching for the plate of chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter.

Chocolate always makes me feel better.

My grandmother swatted my hand away. “No chocolate for you. You need to lose weight. Your butt too big. No one want to marry girl with big butt.”

I groaned, wondering what it was about her and my butt. Seriously, this was like the fifteenth reference she’d made to it! “People like big butts nowadays, grandma. It’s in fashion. Just look at Kim Kardashian.”

She squinted at me. “Kim Katashi? Who that? She Japanese? Why you wanna be like Japanese girl?”

I give up.

My mom cleared her throat, gaining my attention again. “So, your dad and I have decided to go on a vacation!” she announced excitedly.

I nearly spit out my tea. “What?” I choked.

“Yep, we’re going on a two-week trip to Napa Valley!” My mom’s face was glowing. “We’re long due for a vacation really, and we’ve both got so many days racked up at work that we figured, why not? Especially since they’re having a deal that this adorable inn there, and we love wine, so—“

As she babbled on, I stared hard at my dad, who was pretending to be engrossed in his newspaper when I knew for a fact he most definitely wasn’t. I didn’t even have to ask who came up with the idea with this “vacation.”