Page 17 of Romi

Once he had finished his mouthful, he replied, “Around 11 a.m., I expect.”

Yes! I practically jumped with excitement. Romi would be back in a couple of hours. I forced myself to finish my breakfast slowly and not bolt straight to my room.

As soon as Marko finished his own breakfast and headed back to his office to work, I downed the last of my coffee and hurried upstairs to get ready for what I considered to be my next date with Romi. I counted the Glitz event as our first date, and so this would be the second, I decided.

Pursing my lips, I looked through my wardrobe, wondering what to wear. I was going to let Romi think he was taking me shopping in the city, but in actual fact, I intended to make him take me to see his flat. Not only was I interested in seeing it, but it was also the perfect place for us to spend some alone time.

Pulling several items out, I quickly discarded them. The flat was under renovation, so I didn’t want to be too overdressed. Nevertheless, I still needed to look good. I needed a smart but casual outfit with natural-looking makeup and sexy underwear—just in case! I grinned mischievously.

That might be overly optimistic, but hey, better that than being caught out with granny-style knickers on when the man of my dreams finally decided to undress me. I chuckled as I remembered watching Bridget Jones with my friends. This was definitely not the time to be wearing Bridget Jones knickers.

It took me a while to find the perfect outfit. I was nervous and excited and kept second-guessing each of the numerous outfits I tried on. However, I finally settled on a gorgeous white silky V-necked t-shirt with black skinny jeans and a short olive-green brushed cotton jacket, which suited my complexion, and flat brown leather ankle boots and matching bag. I tied my long hair back in a loose braid that hung to my waist.

I was pleased with the look, thinking it was just the right amount of casual yet sexy. Underneath, I had on a white lacy bra and matching thong. Again, I thought the lingerie was sexy but not blatantly obvious. Now, all I needed was to get my man.

As it got closer to eleven a.m., I stood at the upstairs hall window, checking for their car to arrive. As soon as I saw it pull up outside the house and park, I sauntered down the stairs, ensuring that as Ash and Romi entered the house, they couldn’t miss me.

Both stopped and said, “Hi,” although I noticed that Romi quickly turned away, avoiding my eyes.

Shit! He wasn’t going to make this easy. I pouted but then quickly smiled to cover my annoyance. I knew trying to seduce Romi was going to pose a challenge, and I had told myself I was up to it. It was time to prove it.

Thrusting my shoulders back and figuring I had nothing to lose, I decided to dive right in.

“Romi, I was wondering if you would mind taking me somewhere this afternoon?” I said, keeping my voice as light as possible.

Romi looked like he was about to make an excuse when Ash piped up, “Sure he will. We are just going to have a quick word with Miki. Then I have some work to do, but Romi’s free.”

He turned to Romi, “Aren’t you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Romi replied, albeit reluctantly.

Thank you, Ash! He might have cut short my night with Romi the other evening, for which I still hadn’t quite forgiven him, but right then, I could have kissed him.

“Great, I’ll wait for you outside!” I gave him a big smile as I headed past him and strutted out of the door, making sure I put on a tiny extra wiggle, just in case he was watching. I was about to get the alone time with Romi that I was craving, and I planned on making every second of it count. I was going to knock his socks off!

CHAPTER 11

ROMI

MONDAY MORNING – NO AVOIDING HER

Shit, I had hoped to avoid Sonia when I returned to the Estate briefly to collect my suit for tonight’s dinner, but there she was, coming down the stairs and looking gorgeous.

There was no way to avoid her. At least I managed to speak to her this time, saying “Hi” to her when Ash did, but I did my best not to look at her, praying she wouldn’t speak to me directly.

“Romi, I was wondering if you would mind taking me somewhere this afternoon?” she asked.

Aw heck! My stomach clenched. I so wanted to spend more time with Sonia alone, but I knew it was a bad idea. I opened my mouth about to make an excuse, but Ash beat me to it, opening his own big mouth first.

“Sure, he will. We are just going to have a quick word with Miki, and then I have some work to do, but Romi’s free,” he told her.

“Aren’t you?” he directed at me.

Oh hell. I felt myself break out in a cold sweat. If I tried to get out of it now, it would look odd, and I couldn’t let Ash have any inkling that something was wrong.

“Yeah, sure,” I nodded and tried not to look uncomfortable while I panicked inside.

Sonia smiled widely at me. Shit, shit, shit! I couldn’t take my eyes off her luscious, full lips. How the hell was I supposed to get through an afternoon with her without doing something stupid like kissing her. I was bloody doomed!