Part 5 (1/2)
His face was often a mask that she couldn't read, but in that moment, she saw what looked like empathy for her past. Maybe even commiseration, as if his own childhood hadn't been a bed of roses either. Yet again, she wanted to s.h.i.+ft from patiently waiting for him to open up, to asking direct questions that would help her better understand all of Roman's many intriguing layers.
One of his teenage fanboys brought over their pizza. ”Here you go, Roman. Hope you like it.”
The kid kept standing there until Roman took a bite and said, ”Best one I've had in years.”
”Thanks, man.” The smile on the kid's face made it look as if he had just won the lottery. He scooted back to tell the rest of the staff.
”They really do love you here.”
”They're good kids, but they've heard too many stories.” She wanted to ask him to tell her those stories, but before she could, he said, ”Not like with your employees. Today, when you were working with them, you were the sun everyone was revolving around while you made magic happen with the servers.”
His compliment made her insides feel all warm and fuzzy. ”My team is great. Super smart. Nice too. Any one of them could start their own company. It's an honor to have them working for me. Especially when we're tackling difficult puzzles like we were today.”
He studied her as if he was confused about something. ”The puzzle of what you were working on appealed to you despite the reason for the extra work and how angry you were about it, didn't it?”
Most people could know her for years and not understand this. But Roman had gotten it inside of one day. She couldn't help but think back to what he'd said, about how the last guy she'd dated hadn't understood her. Roman clearly did.
”I'm not at all happy about the attack, of course, but figuring out how to thwart the bad guys is always interesting. It's part of the reason I decided to focus on digital security as opposed to building other kinds of software applications. That, and the fact that I want people to feel safe whenever they're online.”
Somewhere in there, she realized what a terrible job she was doing of seducing him into breaking his bodyguard rules. She should be talking about anything but software applications. If only her female cousins were here right now to give her a refresh on their flirting lessons from all those years ago.
What was it they had said? Lean in close, then flatter him. And if that didn't work-Pretend he has something on his mouth and reach over to help him clean up.
Scooting her chair closer, she looked deeply into Roman's eyes. ”I know this may come as a bit of a surprise, but you make me feel really safe.” She'd meant to say it as mere flattery, but as soon as the words left her lips, she realized she meant them. She still didn't need a bodyguard, but that didn't mean she hadn't noticed feeling extra secure whenever Roman was near.
He didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, he replied, ”I'm glad.”
The moment hung between them, heavy with exactly the kind of sparks she'd previously told herself were integral to succeeding in her plan to make him quit. Only, it didn't feel so much like a plan anymore.
No, the heat between them felt real.
Real enough that she instinctively reached up to touch his jaw, and not because there was anything to wipe away. As her fingertips made contact with his warm, tanned skin, she was a hairsbreadth away from kissing him.
Before she could, he shoved his chair back from the table and stood up. ”If you're done, we should go to your meeting.”
Disappointment rang through her at the way he'd leaped up to get away from her. Even though he was right. Her fake-seduction plan was supposed to lead to a kiss-but not a real one.
He'd just narrowly saved her from s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up her own plan.
”Right.” She pushed away from the table too. ”Let's go.” She forced a smile for Jerry and his teenage staff. ”Thank you for the great pizza.”
”I hope to see you two again soon.”
Keeping the smile frozen on her face, she nodded. ”Bye.”
Roman hung behind for a few moments as Jerry said something to him in a low voice. By the time Roman hailed them a cab, his face had returned to looking like thunder. And the truth was that Suzanne's insides suddenly felt just as stormy.
Because though she had absolutely no intention of falling for the bodyguard she'd never wanted in the first place, she couldn't help but wonder if she was really as in control as she'd originally planned to be.
CHAPTER SEVEN.
Don't let this one slip away, Roman. She's perfect for you.
Was Jerry nuts, saying that right as they'd been walking out of the restaurant? Clearly, the man had taken one look at Suzanne's pretty face and lost his mind.
Couldn't he see that she was as untouchable as they came? And not just because she was too smart and successful for a guy like Roman, whose only teenage refuge had been working in a pizza joint. Suzanne deserved a guy who could give her a solid relations.h.i.+p. A guy who had grown up learning how to love from two parents who were happy together.
Roman would never be that guy.
It shouldn't matter that he wasn't. He was her bodyguard, not a blind date set up by her brothers. But after spending an entire day being more impressed with her by the minute, for the first time in a very long time, he found himself wis.h.i.+ng that things were different. That he was different.
At thirty-six, Roman was old enough to be brutally honest about who he was. He'd enjoyed the company of plenty of women. But he never let things get serious with any of them. Huson men didn't do serious. Not after Roman's father had made the mistake of falling in love with a woman with a white-collar upbringing who'd slummed it with him for long enough to have Roman, then she got bored, cheated, and left. Tommy Huson never missed an opportunity to hammer these facts home, and he insisted that his son not make the same mistake. Roman had made other mistakes in the past three decades, but trusting a woman with his heart wasn't one of them.
Their taxi ride was a silent one, as Suzanne also seemed to be brooding. He enjoyed talking with her more than with any other woman, but this silence was better. Safer. For both of them.
They soon arrived at Drake's loft. ”Remind me, what's this meeting for?”
”Rosa has recently launched a foundation to fight online bullying, and I'm helping her out in my spare time.”
”Spare time?” He nearly laughed out loud at her even using those words. ”When do you get some of that?” After only one day, he could already see how tightly she was stretched. No wonder her brothers wanted someone to take care of her. Roman wasn't sure she would ever take the time to take care of herself-not when others needed her.
The door opened before she could reply, and she was swept up into a hug. ”Sorry I'm late, Rosa.”
Of course, he recognized the woman hugging Suzanne. Rosalind Bouchard was unarguably the most famous reality TV star in the world. He'd heard she'd recently left the business-he supposed it had come in the wake of her nude-picture scandal. He didn't know much about her beyond the headlines that popped up on the Internet, but he felt for anyone who'd had to go through that kind of unwanted exposure.
He knew all too well how much it sucked to have someone peddle you out for their own gain-especially when the last thing you wanted was to be used that way.
”I'm glad you were able to squeeze us in at all, Suz.” Rosa held Suzanne at arm's length. ”Wow, you look amazing in that dress. Do you have a date later tonight?”
”Dates? What are those?” Suzanne joked, but by now he knew the different tenors in her voice well enough to recognize the tiny bit of sadness that hung behind the humor when she spoke about being single.
Rosa suddenly noticed him. ”Oh, hi!”
”Rosa, this is Roman.” Before the other woman could make any wrong a.s.sumptions, Suzanne added, ”He's my bodyguard. I'm sure Drake told you all about what they did behind my back, right?”
”He did, and I was really mad at him.” She scowled. ”I told Drake they shouldn't have hired a bodyguard without your permission.”
”I agree. But as you can see”-Suzanne nodded toward Roman-”what's done is done.”
”You're being much nicer than I'm afraid I would be,” Rosa said. She turned again to Roman. ”In any case, it's nice to meet you. Come on inside and make yourselves comfortable. There's plenty of food and drink. Let me introduce you both to everyone.”