Games of Love: Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

“I’ll get us some food and some coffee from the counter—hot chocolate for you, Rosie,” Oliver warned his wife, wagging his finger at her in a comical sort of way. Rose rolled her eyes at Oliver’s statement and sat back in her seat, rubbing her belly with a peaceful expression on her pretty face. It made me think of how much I liked Rose.

“Please tell me he didn’t leave the door unlocked again while you guys were setting up this morning,” I begged, remembering the other day and Oliver’s flippant response to my concern about his door-locking habits. “There’s no way my brother is that dumb, no way.”

“He’s too trusting you know, your brother,” Rose shook her head, tapping her fingers over the tabletop in an annoyed manner. “It doesn’t matter how many times we tell him that anything could happen. He doesn’t think this is an unsafe neighborhood at all and so he doesn’t feel the need to lock the doors at night. He’s ridiculous, to be honest.”

I shook my head in disbelief, watching my brother as he checked someone out at the counter quickly and then hurried back over to our table with a tray full of plates, a steaming coffee carafe, and mugs.

I remembered Maureen and what she told me, and I looked up at Rose. “I forgot to get it before I left, but Maureen gave me some more coffee to give to you guys. She said she wanted to stop by soon and see how you’re doing.”

Rose nodded in response, smiling warmly. “That was sweet of her. When did you see Maureen?”

“Sadie took me out for dinner,” Connor told her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, and Rose let out a laugh.

“The diner has the tastiest food in Manhattan, we’ve had some of our best dates there,” she told him happily, pressing a hand over her belly. I wondered if she worried that everything would change with the baby. Though I guessed that it didn’t really matter either way.

“Alright, now, here we go,” Oliver said, clinking the tray down on the table and clanking the cups together in the process. “We’ve got some coffee, cinnamon rolls, and chocolate raspberry tarts fresh out of the oven. Eat up, all of you. Free of charge.”

“It all looks great,” Connor said, reaching out to pour himself a cup of coffee. I could see the honest happiness on his face. It seemed that he wasn’t used to the kind of warm familial bond I had with my family. I was glad that we could provide an example of stable relationships for him, if only for a little while.

Rose reached for her hot chocolate and took a sip, watching Connor curiously over the rim of her mug. I couldn’t quite tell if she liked him or not, or whether she even knew if she liked him or not yet. I grabbed a warm raspberry tart and made a sound of happiness when the fruity chocolate coated the inside of my mouth. Oliver snorted at my reaction, pulling apart a cinnamon roll and popping the pieces into his mouth.

“So, this is kind of out of left field, isn’t it?” Oliver leaned forward interestedly. “When exactly did this happen and why was it a secret?” He pointed between us, raising his eyebrows while Rose ate two tarts at one time, making a sandwich out of them.

“Uh well, you see—” I started with uncertainty, glancing at Connor for help. Every excuse and story seemed to fly from my mind. How could I lie to my brother?

“It was a couple of months ago,” Connor finished easily as I struggled to remember. I really needed to find that paper and recall what I had written. “We met in a coffee shop and wanted to keep it a secret just in case it went south.”

I looked at him in thanks, my mouth twisted up into a rueful smile. Coffee shop. Yeah sure. That worked well enough. I remembered, very vividly, spilling my hot drink all over him in the street and I almost laughed. We had come a long way in such a short time. At least now we didn’t hate each other. It was a good start.

“Oh, well that sounds just like a romance movie or a TV show,” Rose gushed, smiling at us in a sweet sort of way. “Like some romantic comedy or a reality show about a meet-cute.”

I choked on my coffee and Connor thumped on my back gently, holding in his own laughter. If only they knew the truth. I could imagine the look on both of their faces, whether it was disbelief or amusement, and I couldn’t take either.

“It was something alright,” Connor snorted in agreement as I blinked away tears. His hand was still on my back over my sweater, warm and comforting against my skin.