Penelope walks out of the shop in her heels, and her tan legs and skinny body are etched in my brain now.
Jessie and I stand in silence as we stare at the door.
“So, um, what’s Roman picking her up for?”
“Some work event,” I reply, voice cracking.
“I see. That’s his vice president. She’s …”
“Fucking stunning.”
“Yeah, she’s not bad to look at.”
I spin around and begin to push through hangers aggressively, not even seeing the clothes in front of me. I never thought about what Roman might be doing on the nights that we weren’t together. It never dawned on me who might be taking his leggy vice president to work events, dressed to the nines. My stomach rumbles as a picture of them together burns my eyes.
“Eva,” Jessie says gently, her hand on my shoulder, “now, don’t go creating a scenario in your head that isn’t happening.”
I spin on my heel. “Would you be able to resist someone like her if you had a couple of drinks and she asked for it?”
She looks at the ground. “Sure. Of course.”
“Jessie, I know you’re lying.” I storm out of the store, desperate to walk off this excess energy that is taking over inside of me.
Jessie catches up with me. “Eva, come on. Nothing is going to happen between them. It’s his VP. He’s not going to jeopardize his image to sleep with her.”
I slow down as her words sink in. “You think so?”
“Come on. His work is his life. He wouldn’t do that. And I don’t know her, but he’d be crazy to pick her when he has you.”
I smile to myself. I know she’s full of shit right now. Maybe she is capable of telling me lies just because I want to hear them.
“Thanks, Jessie. I’m sorry. I’m behaving like a child right now.”
She waves her hand at me. “Nah, you’re just trying to control circumstances that aren’t within your control. It’s scary. No one said falling in love was easy. It’s a risk.”
I know staying means risking everything. He’s been honest with me from the beginning—he doesn’t do love.
But love isn’t always a choice.
It’s not just the moments together, when his hands are on me or his lips are on mine. It’s the subtle moments, the softness in his voice. The way he shows up when it matters. Listens when I talk, opens up to me about his own pain.
Something in him is shifting. I can feel it. Even if he doesn’t know it yet.
I’m not naive. This could end with my heart shattered, and I’d be left picking up the pieces I willingly placed into his hands. Especially on nights like this, where I know he’s attending an event with a beautiful woman on his arm.
But what if … what if there’s a chance he’s falling too?
If there is even the slightest chance that he feels the same, I have to see it through.
Because walking away now would hurt just as much as staying.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Roman
“Are you sure you don’t want to stop at a bar for a drink?” Penelope asks as my driver pulls away from the event.
I loosen my bow tie, trying to fight off this feeling. I’ve felt stiff and annoyed all evening.