All I’ve Never Wanted(162)

To his surprise, Giselle laughed, a rich, creamy, genuine laugh he hadn’t heard in ages. Warmth suffused his insides at the sound, and his own smile strengthened a bit.



“He is quite an asshole, isn’t he?” Her eyes twinkled mischievously.



Roman stared at her in shock for a moment, before joining her in laughter. “The biggest,” he added truthfully.



“I’m so glad you came to see me,” Giselle said after their mirth died down. “I really am. So…well, I don’t want to ask for too much but…how about a hug?” She gazed at him so hopefully he didn’t quite have the heart to turn her down, so he stood up slowly and walked gingerly into her hug.



Giselle beamed, and Roman tried to adjust to the strange sensation of her arms wrapped comfortingly around him. It was completely foreign, but for once he had hope—however small—that it might become much more familiar in the future.



His lips unconsciously tugged up into a smile. He supposed he needed to give Maya one big, fat thank-you the next time he saw her.

* * *

“You bought me lingerie again?”



I stared at the crisp white shopping bag Adriana had thrust at me. LA PERLA was stamped on the front in simple black print, and I could see a sliver of lace amidst all the tissue paper.



“Of course. I’ve decided that the lingerie you got months ago is bad luck,” she declared. “Since we bought it with Parker’s card and all. Now that you’re dating Roman, you need some new stuff, bought especially for him. I mean, don’t you remember what happened during your last anniversary celebration? Or rather, lack thereof. You got kidnapped. Thus, bad luck.”



I shook my head in disbelief. “I hate to break it to you, Adri, but I was kidnapped because James is psycho, not because of the kind of underwear I was wearing.”



“That’s what you think.” Adriana pulled a bra and thong set out of the bag. They were so much skimpier than the ones I already had that I immediately blushed. “Now, go put these on. We only have two hours left to make you even more beautiful for tonight.”



I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not wearing that,” I declared defiantly. Nope. No way in hell was I going to put that on.



Then Adriana gave me her special, withering look, the one she usually reserved for people who wore sandals with socks or pleated pants or—gasp!—both at the same time.



“Ok,” I said weakly, taking the flimsy scraps of cloth from her. “I’ll be right back.”



Don’t judge me. She can be really scary sometimes.



But as I locked myself in the bathroom and reluctantly pulled off my shirt and pants, despite Adriana pointing I could just change in the room with her because we were both girls and had the same body parts anyway, I couldn’t help but grin giddily. This was it. Tonight, Roman and I would finally be able to celebrate our anniversary, and I couldn’t wait.



I felt more excited than ever, now that I’d finally gotten my “talk” with my dad out of the way. It went much better than I expected, and it sounded a lot like the talk we had right after I saw him and Lexi in New York. Lots of tears and emotions and promises, but this time, I actually believed him. I even forgave him, for the most part. He is, after all, my father, and one I loved very much.



Honestly, after the whole James incident, I figure I should just let bygones be bygones. Besides, tonight happened to be New Year’s Eve, and I wanted to start the year off on the best foot possible.



Thankfully, my family could care less about New Year’s—thanks to my mom, we usually only celebrated Chinese New Year—which meant I could go out with Roman while the rest of the gang enjoyed champagne and fireworks on the boat he got Zack for his birthday.



After I put on my brand-new designer underwear and pulled my lounge pants and shirt back on, excitement fluttered through me. I wondered what Roman had planned. I’d spent the entire week trying to guess, but of course, Roman, being the huge meanie he was, refused to tell me if my guesses were correct or not. He even outright laughed at some of them.



But seriously, judging from all the extravagant things he’s done, a hot air balloon trip over Austria followed by a private concert is not out of the realm of possibility. Not that I really wanted a hot air balloon trip over Austria. The whole Arnold Schwarzenegger scandal pretty much ruined Austrian accents for me, and besides, I’m afraid of heights.



But it would’ve been cool anyway.



“So, have you decided what you’re going to wear?” Adriana asked, once I exited the bathroom.