All I've Never Wanted (33 page)

No response.

His heart speeding up a bit, Roman thoroughly checked the bedroom. Something was off, but he couldn’t tell what. By the time he’d gone through the dressing rooms, bathroom, study area, and the rest of the suite, he was full-on panicking.

Where the hell
was
she? Had she been mugged? Kidnapped?

His heart tugged violently at the thought.

Roman quickly pressed the intercom button, and the head housekeeper answered immediately.

“Gloria, where’s Maya?” he barked.

The housekeeper paused. “I don’t believe I’ve seen Miss Lindberg all day, Mr. Fiori.”

“Well, she’s not here!”

“Perhaps she went out?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, where could she possibly have gone?” he snapped. “Find her!”

“I—“ Before Gloria had a chance to answer, Roman released the button.

He whipped out his phone, calling Parker, Adri, and Zack in succession. None of them knew where she was, which left him no choice.

Roman reluctantly speed-dialed Carlo, and the Colombian picked up after three rings.

“Hello?”

“Have you seen her?” he demanded without preamble.

“Seen who?” Carlo asked calmly.

“Maya!”

“Yes.”

Relief filled Roman’s lungs. “Where is she? She’s not here!”

“I know. She’s here, with me.”

And just like that, the relief was replaced with roaring jealousy. Roman’s grip tightened on his phone. “Where is ‘here’, and why the hell is she there at this time of night?”

“She’s in my guesthouse.” Carlo sounded almost amused. “Didn’t she tell you? She’s staying here for the next two weeks.”

Roman froze, ice filling his veins. “What?” His voice was hoarse.

“Her parents are extending their stay in Napa, and she’s decided to stay with me until they come back,” Carlo explained serenely.

By now, Roman was gripping his phone so tight he heard it crack a little. His stomach clenched painfully at the thought of Maya and Carlo. Alone. For two weeks. “Why didn’t she just stay here?” he hissed, even though he didn’t really want to hear the answer.

He could almost hear Carlo shrug on the other end. “She said she felt more comfortable staying with me. Can’t hog her all to yourself, you know,” he said jokingly, even though Roman did not find it funny at all.

He resisted the urge to reach through the phone and throttle his soon-to-be-ex-friend.

“Carlo? Who are you talking to?” Maya’s lilting voice in the background came through loud and clear. “Dinner’s here.”

A red haze formed before Roman’s eyes as he pictured them sitting together, eating a romantic dinner by candlelight.

“I’ll be right there,” Carlo called back. Speaking to Roman, he added, “Sorry, gotta go. I’ll see you later.”

Roman sputtered angrily as the other boy ended the call, a vein pulsing angrily in his neck.

“Dammit!” Feeling the need to break something, and violently so, he hurled his phone against the wall, not caring he’d paid almost a thousand dollars to customize it. It promptly shattered into pieces.

Later that night, Roman tucked his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling in his darkened room. He couldn't sleep. The hopefully imaginary scene of Carlo and Maya eating dinner, finishing dinner, kissing, and maybe even doing more , kept replaying in his head like a broken record.

He turned on his side, closing his eyes and willing sleep to descend. It didn't work.

Roman gripped the top of his comforter in frustration. How did that girl manage to stay on his mind even when she wasn't anywhere near him?

A hollow feeling spread in his stomach as he thought about the empty suite across from his. For some reason he'd always slept better, knowing she was right there across the hall. 

The dinner image was instantly replaced by a memory of that night she'd ran into his room, screaming about the girl from
The Grudge
.

A small chuckle escaped his throat as he remembered how freaked out she'd been. She was pretty cute when she was scared.

Roman buried his face in his pillow, trying to push her out of his mind. It wasn’t until three hours later that he finally managed to drift off to sleep, a picture of a certain green-eyed brunette's face lingering on his mind.

CHAPTER 21

I’m in Hawaii.

Seriously, I’m in freakin’
Hawaii.
I never thought I would get to visit Oahu, but here I am.

I have to say, being friends with the Scions did have its perks. Plus, at least I finally know what Adriana’s birthday present is.

“I can’t believe you guys flew us all the way out here for our birthday,” Adriana was saying, as Carlo checked us all in at the counter of the ultra-exclusive Halekulani resort.

“Yeah, well, we knew how much you guys loved Hawaii. We had so much fun last time we were here,” Parker explained with a grin, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

“Why does my sister get all the special treatment?” Zack huffed good-naturedly, his hair looking even blonder than usual under the lights.

“Why, you want a kiss?” I teased, feeling much better than I had all week. I mean, who could blame it? I was in paradise.

The past week had been pretty relaxing, with the exception of a few more run-ins with Rico at Carlo’s house and Roman at school. I tried by best to avoid both of them, sticking with Carlo, Venice, and Zack. Adriana and Parker had been in their own little world lately. I’d also started talking to James again, and I was glad he’d gone back to normal. He didn’t sound upset with me anymore, nor did he even hint he wanted anything more than friendship. It was a huge relief.

Of course, I was determined to leave all my worries behind, at least for this weekend. After all, I was in
Hawaii.
I didn’t even care that a certain violet-eyed boy was standing less than two feet from me, tapping furiously on his brand-new phone. He was probably texting Solange. Honestly, his old phone had seemed perfectly fine, but I guess rich boys liked to switch up their gadgets as much as they did their girls.

No. I’m not going to think about it.

Taking a deep breath, I smiled at Carlo as he walked over with our room keys, but my smile faded a bit when I saw the look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. He looked slightly upset.

“Uh, there was a bit of a mix-up with the rooms,” Carlo said apologetically.

Roman’s head snapped up. “What kind of mix-up?”

“Well, we have two suites and one smaller room—“

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to have?” Zack pointed out.

“Let me finish,” Carlo said patiently. “We have the Royal Suite, which has two bedrooms. That’s the one you, I, Parker, and Adri are supposed to be staying in. Then we have a single room for Venice, per her request, and one for Roman and Maya.”

“What?!” Roman and I shouted at the same time.  

“What do you mean, one for Roman and Maya?” I asked furiously.

“I did
not
agree to share a room with him!” The thought alone made me want to jump right back on the private jet to Valesca, Hawaii be damned.

“Yeah, I like I really want to share a room with you either!” Roman snapped. “You snore!”

I gasped. “I do not!”

“How do you know she snores?” Adriana asked curiously.

“I do not snore!” Then her question sunk in, and Roman and I gazed at each other, horrified, while the others eyed us with a mixture of suspicion, amusement, and cluelessness (the last one would be on Zack’s part).

“I guessed,” Roman muttered. “She looks like a snorer.”

“No, I don’t!” I stomped my foot childishly. I do not snore! Do I?

Carlo cleared his throat. “Well, once you’re both done acting like you’re on a kid’s playground, can we get back to the problem at hand?”

“I thought you already told us the problem. I—“ I jabbed a finger at myself. “Have to share a room with
him.”
Now I pointed at Roman.

“That was planned beforehand,” Carlo said dismissively. “I mean, it just makes sense. Parker and Adri are obviously together, Venice doesn’t want to room with anyone for some reason, and trust me, you do not want to room with Zack.” He didn’t mention the fact that he and Roman were still acting cool towards each other, which meant they wouldn’t be rooming together. “Anyway, you two are in the Orchid Suite. However, I thought that there would be more than one bedroom, but it turns out there, er, isn’t.”

The color slowly drained from my face while Venice burst into a fit of giggles beside me. I glared at her, shutting her up. While I was glad Venice was here, I am not happy about the fun she was having at my expense.

“I’m not sharing a bedroom with her,” Roman declared pompously.

“No, correction,
I’m
not sharing a bedroom with
him
.”

“You’re right, you’re sharing a bedroom together,” Carlo cut in calmly. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” He looked apologetic.

I was about to cry. “Carlo! You can’t! Why don’t we switch it around? I can trade places with Zack and stay with you instead!”

I wouldn’t mind. I knew Carlo wouldn’t do anything, and I’m always comfortable around him.

“Yeah, I bet you’d like that,” Roman sneered.

I ignored him. “Please?” I begged, nearly hyperventilating at the thought of sharing close quarters—or any quarters—with Roman.

Carlo scratched the back of his neck. “You have to ask Zack.”

I swiveled my head towards the blond, a pleading expression on my face.

“Sorry, My-My.” Zack looked guilty. “I can’t share a room with Roman, he gets really violent when he’s tired.”

“And so you’d rather I be there instead?” I near-yelled, drawing scandalized glances from the people around me.

“But you’re a girl, he can’t hit you,” Zack said cheerfully. “I’m a guy, he can hit me. Besides, it’s only for two nights!”

“That’s true, it won’t be that bad, honeybee,” Parker assured me.

I shook my head frantically. “V? Can I share with you?”

She didn’t meet my eyes. “I mean, you
could,
but I don’t know if there’s enough space. Besides, I don’t think you can sleep if you shared with me.”

Oh right. I may not snore, but Venice did. Loudly.
Very
loudly. The one time we attempted a sleepover I had to sneak into the guest room next door, and even then I could hear her through the walls.

“Parker? Adri?” I gazed at my two last remaining hopes with my best puppy-dog expression.

“Sorry, no can do. We have plans.” Adriana smirked, and the rest of us made gagging noises.

I don’t even want to know.

“Ok, guess that’s figured out. We’ll all get freshened up then meet for dinner before hitting the club,” Carlo announced. The Perrys’ birthday wasn’t until tomorrow, so tonight we were just relaxing until the festivities really started.

A low snarl erupted from Roman’s lips before he stomped off towards the elevator, the others staying a safe distance away.

“Carlo! How can you do this to me?” I hissed once they were out of earshot. “You
know
why I can’t stay in a room with him!”

Carlo smirked. “Au contraire, my friend, I know why you
should
stay in a room with him. We need to activate Phase One of Operation Revenge.”

My jaw dropped. “You did this on purpose!” I accused. “I bet you even told Zack to feed me that bull—“

“Regardless, it’ll be…eye-opening,” Carlo interrupted, smiling cheekily. “Shall I brief you on Phase One?”

“I didn’t even know there was a Phase One,” I groused. “Or an operation, period.”

“Don’t you remember our conversation from last week?”

“I thought you were joking!"

“I wasn’t. Anyway, Phase One is seduction.”

Now I was sure I heard wrong. “Excuse me?”

“Seduction,” Carlo repeated. “Although I suppose that’s not quite right, since seduction implies you will go through with the deed. I suppose you should just—tease him a little?”

“Carlo Tevasco!” My face was bright red by this point, whether from anger or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell. Probably a mixture of both. “I am not seducing him! Or teasing him! In fact, I am not talking to him, period.”

“It’s a bit hard to get revenge that way. You do want revenge, don’t you?”

“Well, I—you—it’s just—“ I closed my eyes, drawing in a deep, calming breath. “I’m sure there’s another way.”

“Listen, Maya, this is the perfect weekend to do that. I have it all planned out. When have I ever led you astray?”

“That time you made me eat an Almond Joy?”

“You need to get over that. I promise it will work.”

I bit my lip nervously. “How do you even know I
can
seduce—“

“Tease.”

“Fine. How do you even know I can tease him? I’m sure he’s not attracted to me that way. He hates me.”

Carlo shook his head slowly, like he was disappointed in me. I found that a bit unfair. If anything, I should be disappointed in him for setting me up like this.

“Maya, you sell yourself short. It doesn’t matter whether he likes you or not, he’s a guy. And trust me, he’ll be attracted to you once he sees you in your lingerie.”

I was horrified. “What lingerie? I didn’t pack lingerie!”

“The lingerie you bought with Adri all those weeks ago,” Carlo answered simply. “Might as well put it to good use. Don’t worry, I put it in your suitcase at the last minute.”

I turned even redder at the thought that Carlo had seen all the silky, lacy scraps of material Adriana practically forced on me.

“Oh, and don’t do anything until you get back to your suite after dinner and you’re ready to go to bed.”

I sighed, a headache setting in. “But I don’t know how to se—how to tease people.”

Carlo smiled smugly, obviously knowing he’d won. “Don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for.”

*              *              *

I couldn’t believe I’d let Carlo talk me into this. This was a very, very bad idea. The worst idea in the history of bad ideas. In fact, I think sunbathing topless in Moscow during the middle of winter would be a better idea than this.

“Maya! What’s taking you so damn long!” Roman pounded furiously on the door. “You’ve been in there forever!”

I forced myself to steady my voice before answering. “I’m a girl! Deal with it!”

I heard him utter a string of profanities but at least he stopped bothering me. I shouldn’t be feeling like this. After all, I was currently in what is possible the most beautiful bathroom in the world, complete with a steam shower, therapy pool (I’m not sure what that means, but I need to use it after dealing with Roman all night), a plunge tub, and views of the hotel gardens.

Dinner had been fine, once I got over my horror at not only having to share a bedroom but a bed with Roman (since both of us absolutely refused to sleep on the couch).

The problem started after dinner, ergo fifteen minutes ago, when I put on the darned lingerie (Carlo decided I should go for black).

I gulped, staring at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe people actually wore this stuff. The “lingerie” looked more like a very, very tiny dress or a long top, with a tied satin ribbon at the bust. Its straps were dental-floss-thin, and the front dipped low to reveal an unnerving amount of cleavage, pushed up by the dress/top’s built-in bra. The bra area itself and the “skirt,” which is just a little ruffled flounce of material that barely covered my decent parts, were made of soft tulle. The rest of the lingerie was sheer.