Chapter 67
Eve smoothed out her dress and looked at Roman. He was driving the car that he had tried to give her before she’d left him. His hands gripped the steering wheel firmly and he had designer sunglasses on to protect his eyes from the glare of the sun.
He looked like a movie star. Like someone she shouldn't be sitting next to, never mind sleeping in the same bed.
She had no idea what to make of the things he had said to her. It seemed like he wanted to be in a proper relationship with her but she didn’t want to just assume things.
But how could he say she was the most important person in his life when he had treated her like a prostitute? When he had laughed in her face when she’d told him how she felt? The only thing he had given of himself was sex, and that was the only thing she could trust right now.
Now he was taking her out to lunch. Actually going out of the house with her where there were other people. That was a big deal and it was making her nervous. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be planning their wedding in her mind by the end of the day even though the logical part of her brain told her that would only end in disaster.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
They were still on the country roads and not heading into the city.
Roman looked at her and smiled. Her heart almost stopped at how devastatingly handsome that smile made him.
"For a late lunch," Roman answered and returned his eyes to the road.
"What if people see us?" she asked.
"Then you'll just have to endure being called my girlfriend a little while longer."
The way he said 'endure' like it would be a chore for her. After the first article in the gossip pages, she had been more worried about his reaction than anything else. She’d been sure he’d blow up and blame her for everything. And then when things had escalated, she'd been more worried about her parents. But since they had been moved she'd felt a little more settled, even though they were angry with her and disappointed again.
She was getting too comfortable in the bubble that Roman had created for her.
After another twenty minutes of driving, Roman turned the car into a private road. He stopped in front of very high gates and high walls that she couldn't even tell what sort of fancy restaurant this was.
The gates slid open and he drove in. The grounds were vast and well maintained, and the building at the end of the driveway was huge. Was it a hotel? A club for the rich? Though she was wearing one of the dresses she had left in the wardrobe when she’d left, she didn't think it was suitable for anything too fancy. It was just a simple calf-length olive dress with a sweetheart neckline and three-quarter sleeves with a random black coat on top because of the cold. Anyone dining at this place would probably go all out on their outfit like Vivian had.
She felt uncomfortable before she even got out of the car. She’d always known she would be like a fish out of water in Roman’s real life and but she felt completely overwhelmed. There were butterflies in her stomach and she felt nauseous as Roman opened the car door for her. He helped her out and then linked their arms together.
“Relax, Evelyn. It’s just lunch,” Roman said with a smile as he led her to the door of the huge building.
Was she being too obvious?
The door opened before he had knocked or rung the bell, and an elderly man in a black suit stood there with a smile on his face.
“Master Roman,” the man said.
Master? Wow.
“Welcome home,” he continued.
What? Did he just say home? Holy shit!
Had Roman just brought her to meet his family? The butterflies in her stomach turned to lead and weighed down her stomach. What was going through his mind? Was he here to introduce her?
And then he remembered Roman’s stepmother had had a health scare. This was nothing to do with her, he was just concerned for his family and wanted to check on them. He had worried a lot the other night but had stayed with her instead of rushing back. She had been reading too much into the situation.
She walked into the house next to Roman and watched the way he greeted the other man. His smile was warm and genuine.
“And you must be Miss Bright,” the man said when he turned his attention to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Ah... Yes, call me Eve,” she said awkwardly.
“This is William,” Roman said as he took her coat. “Anything you need you can ask him.”
She just nodded as she watched Roman hand her coat over.
“Lunch will be served in your parents’ rooms,” William said. “I’ll send some refreshments.”
Roman thanked him and then put his hand on her lower back to lead her. She could feel the heat through the fabric of her dress and it made her tense. She was indeed back to her old self. Roman led her further into the house and up a circular stairway.
“You grew up here?” she asked, looking around at the decor.
“No, thankfully. This is one of my father’s newest acquisitions,” Roman said.
“You didn’t have to bring me here, you know. I would have been fine alone while you visited them,” she said as she looked at the paintings on the wall.
She was no art connoisseur but she was willing to bet all the paintings were done by someone famous and cost an arm and a leg.
“I wanted to bring you. I want you to meet my father,” Roman said.
And yet that didn’t sound true. But she again told herself not to make any assumptions and let him lead her down one wing of the house. The house was so huge she could have fit her parents’ whole house just in one corridor. What did they do with all this space?
“I’ll give you a tour later,” Roman said when he saw her looking around.
Though she was curious, the house wasn’t to her taste. Whoever had done the interior design hadn’t done much research into what would work together, but at least the artwork was interesting.
“Okay,” she answered.
They stopped at a set of doors and Roman knocked. The door was opened immediately as if they had been waiting anxiously for Roman to arrive, and a man as tall and handsome as Roman stood on the other side. He was an older version of Roman so it was obvious he was his father.
“Rome! You came,” the man said as he pulled him into a hug.
Rome. She didn’t think anyone dared to shorten his name. Roman returned the embrace easily and that thawed something in her heart. He’d been acting more human, more approachable. Like a man she wouldn’t be ashamed to love.
The man turned his attention to her.
“Wow,” Mr Ashfield said. “You must be Evelyn. I’m so happy to finally meet you, my dear.”
Finally? Did Roman talk about her? Her heart soared at the thought and she almost fell for the fairytale she had been building up in her head again.
“This is my father, Charles,” Roman said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said shyly.
“You’re stunning, Evelyn. If I was a decade younger_”
“Dad,” Roman cut in.
“I’m just messing with you, Rome,” Charles chuckled as he let them into the room. “I have my own beauty who takes up all my time.”
And that was when she noticed the woman dressed in a silky nightgown sitting with her feet up on a chaise lounge. A very young woman, not much older than her, with flawless skin and huge tits. The nightgown was so sheer she could see more than the outline of said tits as if they were on display for everyone.
Was that Roman’s stepmother?
So why was she looking at her as if she had just stolen her man?