“Okay, we’ll tell Ben about us together,” I say, glancing up to meet his gaze. “But not tonight. I want what we have to be between us for one more night.”
Roman doesn’t look happy with my plan, but he doesn’t argue with me. He just nods his head once, trusting me to know what’s best for us.
“Thank you,” I whisper and push up on my toes to kiss his lips.
The sound of the door to the back of the bar slams open.
“Roman Reginald Monaghan!” Maddie yells.
A laugh erupts from my lips, and we break the kiss.
“Reginald?” I ask between giggles.
“Unfortunately,” he sighs, rubbing his hand over his face.
“I’m going to start calling you ‘Reggie’ from now on.” I chuckle.
“Please don’t,” he says to me and then turns to Maddie. “I’ll be right there, Madeline Gertrude Monaghan!”
Maddie grumbles something under her breath and walks back into the bar.
“Can you meet me tonight around ten?” Roman asks. “I have a surprise for you.”
“A pony?”
He chuckles and starts back up towards the door. “I guess you will have to stop by to find out.”
“See you then.”
6
Roman
It’s hard not to watch the clock and count down the minutes until I get to see Juliette again.
It’s crazy someone I just met a few days ago has already shifted my world from revolving around the bar to revolving around her. She’s the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. I’m convinced that I never really knew what love felt like until I met her. There is just one major downside— her brother hates me.
Even though we’ve talked about telling him the truth, which I’ve been advocating for since the beginning, he still doesn’t know about us. Juliette says that she’ll tell him tomorrow, but there is still uncertainty in her eyes when she says it. I don’t want to push her, but I also don’t want to be a wedge between the two of them if it ever came out before she could tell him herself.
The bar is packed tonight. I think the events leading up to tonight really helped people think this is a place to celebrate. As I work my way through the room, picking up empty glasses and taking them over to the bar to be washed, my eyes keep drifting across the street. I keep hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but I’ve made awkward eye contact with Ben a few times when we were both outside on our patios.
“Did you get the gift?” Maddie asks when I bring over another tray of used glasses for her to wash.
“Yeah, I picked it up this morning.”
“I have to admit,” she says, taking the tray off the bar top. “I think I deserve something for setting you two up.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Cash is always a welcome gift.”
I laugh. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“I prefer hundred-dollar bills,” Maddie adds. “Lots of them.”
“How about asking for our firstborn while you’re at it?” I joke.
“Whose firstborn?” Juliette asks from behind me.