by Linda Verji
A glance at her watch revealed that it was a few minutes past nine. She frowned. “Will you be okay without me? Snow and Vina are still at my place so I need to go back.”
“Can’t you stay for a little bit longer?” He leveled puppy-dog eyes at her. “Just until I sleep.”
She had every intention of leaving, but those eyes got to her and she sighed. “Okay, just until you sleep.”
She got under the covers with him but instead of lying down, sat with her back propped against the headboard. Like the baby he was, Roman immediately set his head on her lap. Having him so close was enough to accelerate her heartbeat and quicken her breath. But April was so used to her body’s weird reactions to him that she didn’t even blink. Smiling, she stroked his hair affectionately, passing her fingers through the silky strands.
Her feelings for Roman were hard to explain – mostly because she didn’t understand them either. Ten years ago, Roman had been at the peak of his baseball career and she was an easily-impressed seventeen-year-old who knew nothing about baseball. Somehow, she’d agreed to go watch a match with her older brother, Daniel, who was crazy about baseball and the Santa Barbara Wizards. That’s where she and Roman had met.
It wasn’t a cute meeting. Actually, it was really painful.
One of his foul balls had struck her smack in the face. Injured and unconscious, she’d been rushed to the hospital. She could’ve lived only knowing him as that player who’d almost ruined her face – but Roman had to be a nice guy. He’d visited her every day at the hospital, brought her gifts, and paid her hospital bill out of his own pocket even though that was supposed to be his team’s responsibility.
And that’s how she’d fallen for him. Hard.
The passing years had eased her initial crush. Sure, she often thought of him and couldn’t walk past a magazine with his face. But eventually he was relegated to a fantasy – someone who was nice to dream about but who she didn’t believe for a moment would ever actually sweep her off her feet in real life.
In time, she probably would’ve met a nice man, had some babies and lived her life with Roman as no more than a happy part of her past. No doubt that life would’ve been easier. But Roman just had to walk out of her past and into her present.
Imagine her surprise when she’d walked into Tellers almost three years ago to apply for a job as a waitress and discovered that her new boss was none other than the now-retired Roman Teller. Her dormant feelings had come tumbling out of their cage like rabbits released after a long imprisonment. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t get rid of those feelings – or hide them. For the first couple of weeks, she couldn’t even talk to him without blushing or stammering.
It wasn’t that she was ashamed of loving him; loving someone was nothing to be embarrassed about. But April hated being on the wrong side of a crush. She wanted to be the one who was loved, not the one doing all the loving.
It hurt and it sucked. Big time.
Every time she was near Roman she wanted to touch him, she wanted to be held, she wanted him to kiss her, she wanted to ask him to love her. Every time she saw him with another woman, she wanted to snatch off that other woman’s hair and scream that Roman was hers… but she didn’t because she knew he wasn’t. He’d told her so on several occasions. Yet she still loved him… and hoped.
Maybe it was because he was so nice to her. Maybe it was because he’d never pushed her away despite knowing about her crush. Maybe it was because they’d become so close that it sometimes felt like they were really dating – just without the kissing and sex. Either way, her heart refused to budge from him.
Yes, she was pathetic! She knew it all too well. But no matter how hard she tried to silence her heart, it kept whispering, “Maybe one day.”
“April?” Roman groggily cut into her thoughts.
“Hmm?”
He squeezed her thigh. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“It’s what I do,” she returned flippantly as she smoothed a hand over his shoulder.
He was quiet for such a long time that she thought he’d drifted off to sleep, then out of the blue he asked, “Do you still like me?”
Surprised by the question, she could only give a high-pitched, “Hmm?”
His head still on her lap, he turned so that he was looking up at her and repeated, “Do you still like me?”
She stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head. “No.”
His grey eyes held hers for a long moment before his lips quirked in a crooked smile. “Liar.”
“I’m not lying.” She smoothed her hand over his chest. “I don’t like you anymore.”
“Why not?” He caught her hand over his heart and held it there.
“Cause you’re a jerk.”
“That’s true. I’m a jerk… among other things.” His gaze turned serious. “You shouldn’t like me. You should like a guy who can like you back.”
“I know.”
“I’m serious, April.” He reached upwards to cup her cheek. “You know I can only offer you friendship, right?”
Immediate pain stabbed through her at his words. Unwilling to let him see her pain, she forced a smile. “I know.”
“Stop smiling,” he said, frustration creeping into his gaze as his hand fell from her face. “Call me an asshole or slap me.”
This time she chuckled. “I’ll do that tomorrow when you’re not sick.”
Sometimes, she felt like he riled her up deliberately just so she’d get mad enough to cut him off. And she’d been tempted to – many times. But her heart kept dragging her right back to his doorstep. Stupid heart!
He watched her for a long moment before sighing. “What am I going to do with you?”
She gave a half-hearted chuckle as she smoothed her fingers over his furrowed brow. “Go to sleep.”
After another long stare, he turned back to his side and closed his eyes. His breathing had started to even out into the deep inhales and exhales of someone drifting into sleep, when he jerked slightly. “April?”
“Yeah!”
“I bought you a pair of shoes to replace the ones whose heels broke yesterday.” Without opening his eyes, he pointed to the corner of the room. “There.”
A black box was lying on the carpeted floor.
“Are they department store shoes?” April asked. When he nodded, she laughed. “Mine were Jimmy Choos.”
“A shoe is a shoe,” he countered, cheekily. “Your feet don’t care if you’re wearing Jimmy Choos or Billy Choos, as long as the shoe is sturdy.”
“You’re so cheap,” she teased but softened her words by adding, “but thank you.”
This was the part of him that kept her so confused and unwilling to let him go. He claimed he had no feelings for her yet did little things like these… things that made her feel like he wasn’t completely immune to her. He bought her shoes when her heel broke, drove her to work every morning, got her chocolates every Valentine’s day, checked to make sure she wasn’t skipping meals… How was she supposed to stop liking him when his actions were so different from his words?
Maybe one day. Hope flared once more within her. Maybe one day he’d admit that his feelings for her weren’t completely platonic.
CHAPTER 2
Thanks to April and her tender care, Roman was up and in raring form by Thursday the following week.
“Do we really need this much sugar?” he asked as he perused the list of ingredients Vina had just handed him.
“Yes.” Vina, Tellers’ Executive Chef, nodded. “Otherwise the desserts won’t taste as good.”
The two were currently seated in his office, going through the restaurant’s budget for the quarter. The amount that went into sugar was mind-boggling. Roman, who was always looking for ways to reduce overhead costs, asked, “Are you sure you can’t reduce how much sugar you use?”
“We can’t.” Vina shook her head. “The recipes call for specific quantities of sugar otherwise they’ll be ruined
.”
“But recipes can be edited,” Roman insisted. “And it would be healthier for our diners if we reduced the sugar content in our food.”
“If our diners were looking for healthy food, they’d be in that vegan place next door,” Vina countered cheekily. She paused for a second before adding, “But if you insist on the food being healthier-”
Roman immediately sat up. “Yes?”
“We could replace the sugar with honey.” Vina’s eyes twinkled with amusement as she explained, “It’s more expensive but better for the body.”
It’s more expensive? Roman immediately rushed in with, “You know what? Health is overrated anyway. I think your recipes taste excellent with sugar.”
Vina laughed. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”
He sat back in his seat to go through the rest of the list. “What about flour? Is there any way we can reduce it?”
“What do you suggest we replace it with?”
When he couldn’t think of a cheap replacement, he offered, “Maybe we can find a cheaper supplier.”
Vina paused thoughtfully. “We’ve been getting it from O’Reilly’s for the last couple of months, but I heard that Ativa is offering discounts to restaurants and hotels.”
“Good, look into that.” He smiled in satisfaction. “What about these-”
An abrupt knock cut into his words, and both he and Vina turned towards the door. Will, one of the waiters, poked his head into the room. “Boss?”
“Yeah?” Roman answered.
“You’ve got a guest downstairs.” Will’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Javier Consuelos.”
“Really?” Roman perked up.
Javier Consuelos was the newest kid on the baseball block and played for Roman’s old team. The outfielder hadn’t broken the batting records Roman had set for the Wizards, but pundits said that he was well on the way to doing it next season which made him big news. Having a celebrity like that around was good for Tellers. Now if only Roman could get him tweet something about Tellers…
Roman stood up. “Vina we’ll finish this later.” As he exited the office, he threw over his shoulder, “And find a way to cut back on that sugar.”
He could’ve sworn he heard Vina’s eyes roll.
Grinning, he bounded down the stairs and entered the dining room. Javier was easy to spot. The twenty-four-year-old’s tan good-looks, puffy comb-over and flashy clothes made him a standout in any crowd. The fact that he already had a few people around him asking for autographs and pictures made him all the more noticeable.
When the man spotted Roman, his mouth widened into a grin. “Roman Teller, as I live and breathe.”
“Javier, my man, I never thought I’d see your punk ass in here.” Roman strode towards the table. “I thought you said you don’t do fancy restaurants.”
“Psh! You call this fancy?” Javier rocked back into his seat and sneered at the glass of wine in front of him.
Roman narrowed his eyes. “Are you disrespecting my restaurant?”
“Yeah!” The younger man stood up and puffed out his chest. “What you gon’ do about it?”
“Come here, you little punk.” Roman swung his hand out just as Javier did the same. The two men met in a man hug. Grinning, Roman slapped the other man’s back twice. “It’s great to see you.”
“Great to see you too.” Javier drew back to give the restaurant a quick once-over. “Man, this place is fine as hell.”
“Thanks.” Roman gestured for his guest to have a seat as he took his. “Have you ordered yet?”
“I was waiting for you.”
Roman gestured for one of the servers to come over. After they ordered and the server left, Roman turned back to Javier. “So how’s life treating you these days? I see you’ve been tearing down the pitch, trying to break my records.”
“You know how it is.” Javier shrugged as his lips twitched as if he was holding back a smile.
“Look at you trying to be humble when I know you want to gloat,” Roman teased. “Go ahead, rub it in.”
Javier broke out into wide grin. “I’m about to break your record. Boom! I’m coming for your ass.”
Roman laughed. “This punk.”
The truth was that Roman really didn’t care about his record. Records were meant to be broken, and if you fixated on them, you risked spending your whole life wallowing in your glory days or worse hating the people who’d ended them. Baseball was part of Roman’s past and he intended to keep it there. He’d been there, he’d done it, and now he was doing something else.
“Actually, I didn’t just come by for a meal,” Javier confessed. “I need a favor.”
“Shoot!” Roman regularly called his friends for favors so he didn’t mind helping out once in a while too.
“I need investment advice.” Javier explained, “I’ve been reading up on you and rumor has it that you’re the most well-off of our team’s past players. Seems like you put your earnings to good use. I figured I could get some tips from you since I’m not trying to be one of these washed-out ex-ballers who spent all their money on women and drugs then ended up filing for bankruptcy or some other bullshit like that.”
Roman wasn’t sure what was more surprising; that a superstar like Javier had time to read about him, or that the twenty-four-year-old was smart enough to start thinking of the future right now.
Smiling, Roman nodded in approval. “And here I was thinking you were just some knucklehead who could hit a ball.”
“Don’t underestimate me!” the younger man retorted. “I was smart enough to get into college without a baseball scholarship. Like you.”
“Okay, my bad.” Roman lifted his hands in mock surrender before asking, “What kind of investments are you looking at?”
“Right now I’m just in real estate, but I’m thinking of diversifying.”
“What kind of real estate are you in?”
The two men settled into a discussion about what investment opportunities were out there. Though Roman had invested heavily in the restaurant business, it wasn’t his primary vehicle. Apart from having considerable funds in stocks, bonds and real estate, he was also an angel investor for many other business including a private-planes rental business, and a couple of IT start-ups in Silicon Valley. He even owned a little equity in his old team. Like Javier, he’d sworn never to end up back on the poor train. He’d been on it once, but baseball had given him a ticket out and he didn’t intend to waste that ticket.
They were discussing the merits and demerits of a jewelry company that Javier was thinking of throwing his financial weight behind when the younger man suddenly sat up straighter. His gaze sharpened as he focused on the entrance to the kitchen. “Who. Is. That?”
“Who?” Roman spun around to follow the young man’s gaze.
Coming out of the kitchen were April, Toby, the front desk person, and Lexie, one of the servers. Roman knew instantly which one of them Javier was asking about and his insides tightened in protest. Pretending ignorance, he repeated, “Who?”
“The tall, fine one.” Javier’s brown eyes were steeped in admiration as he stared at April. “Who is she? What’s her name?”
April, with her full hair, slim but curvy build and creamy, pale brown skin, was gorgeous enough that she was bound to draw extra attention. Even wearing the hostess uniform, she still looked like a model who’d walked off the set of a magazine shoot.
Roman should’ve been used to men, and some women, asking questions about April. But he wasn’t. Each time someone asked after her, his insides ached like they were on fire and anger rose up to his throat. Many times, he’d had to restrain himself from blurting out that her name or who she was none of their business.
This was one of those times.
Quelling his instinctive protectiveness, Roman said coolly, “That’s April, our hostess.”
“April.” Javier tested her name on his tongue as his gaze stayed locked on her. “Damn, even her name is pretty.”
Javier cut him off mid-sentence. “Call her over.”
“What for?” Roman asked, barely managing to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
“She’s the hostess.” Javier shrugged. “And I haven’t been welcomed properly.”
Roman was about to deny the request when, Javier suddenly said, “She’s coming over.”
Moments later, April stopped beside Roman. Immediately, all his muscles stiffened and his stomach tightened. Every inch of him awakened in awareness. Oh, he was aware; aware of her delightful spring-scented perfume tinged with her womanly fragrance, aware of the warmth of her body next to his, aware of how close she was, and that if he stretched his arm out, he’d be holding her. He balled his hand into a fist to keep it from doing just that.
April greeted them with a soft smile. “Gentleman, are you enjoying your lunch?”
“Yes,” Javier smiled up at her like a star-struck groupie. “We’re enjoying it very much, April.”
The way the young man dragged out her name like it was made out of honey had Roman’s hackles rising. But he quelled his irritation to introduce, “April, this is-”
“Javier Consuelos,” April finished for him while smiling at Javier.
“You know my name?” The young man couldn’t hide his delight. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning and his grin widened.
“Of course. How could I possibly not?” April grinned. “You’re the guy who’s about to make my ball worthless.”
“Sorry?” Javier’s brow knotted with confusion.
“She’s got one of my game balls,” Roman explained before April could.
If it were up to him, that ball would’ve been gone by now. It was a reminder of the time he’d hurt her. He could still remember how swollen her face had been and the pain in her eyes when she’d had to endure dental surgery. But April insisted on keeping it because it was a souvenir of the first day they met. Roman wasn’t sure whether he should be flattered or dismayed.