I looked over at Patty, who simply smiled. Roger softly tugged on Liliana’s pigtail. “Of course, we can.”
“Bazeba?” I asked.
“Gazebo,” Patty and Roger said in unison.
“Ah.” I nodded, then looked at Liliana and grinned. “I think eating dessert in the gazebo is a fabulous idea.”
Liliana jumped for joy and reached for both my and Roger’s hands. She tugged us toward the door. “Come on, I’m so hungry I could eat a cow!”
Lunch with Roger and Liliana had turned out to be one of the best ones I’d ever had. He was so sweet and attentive to her, and it was clear she simply adored him. He somehow managed to balance his attention between the both of us, and I felt my heart nearly bursting. Not to mention my ovaries. By the time we had made it to the gazebo, I was positive there was no other man on this earth like Roger Carter, and little Liliana seemed to agree with me.
It had been exactly two weeks since I’d arrived in Boerne—and Roger wasn’t kidding when he’d said tongues would wag after people saw us together.
Since we’d been spotted together on more than one occasion, I’d become the talk among the locals. Or at least that was the case according to Elizabeth, who seemed to know everything and everyone.
“It’s my duty as the front desk lead to keep informed on things, and that includes gossip,” Elizabeth told me over our breakfast of bagels and coffee.
I smiled as I took her in. She was younger than me but seemed to have an old soul. We truly clicked almost immediately. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and it swooshed back and forth every time she got excited and spoke.
“Do you know a woman came up to me in HEB yesterday and invited me to play Bunco?” I asked. “When I told her I had no idea what it was, I thought she was going to pass out.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Well, considering you’ve been spotted out several times with Roger Carter in the last couple of weeks, they’re curious about you.”
“Why, though?”
Elizabeth took a quick look around the courtyard and then gave me a warm smile. “Roger hasn’t really been known to date women more than once. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him out on a date before. You know, Patty is really good friends with his mother, Janet Carter.”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yep. She’s known Roger probably since he took his first step. But back to why people are curious about you—I think they’re simply curious about the woman who’s finally caught his eye.”
I nodded as I let her words settle in. “When we first met, he told me he wasn’t interested in any kind of long-term relationship.”
Elizabeth raised a brow. “He seems to have changed his mind. How do you feel about that?”
It didn’t take long for Elizabeth and me to become friends. She was easy to talk to, and I was beginning to get used to her no-nonsense, get-to-the-point attitude.
I gave her a half-shrug. “I’m not a hundred-percent sure. I really like him a lot, and I think there’s a reason we were brought together. I’m just…”
“Worried you’ll fall more than he does?”
I lifted my gaze to meet hers. There was no judgment whatsoever in her eyes, only understanding.
I rubbed my hands together nervously and forced myself to stop fidgeting. “He’s been very upfront and honest with me about his feelings. I just can’t help but wonder if maybe I’m just a challenge in some way. But maybe it’s stupid to think that. He seems to be just as enamored with me as I am with him.”
“Is the sex good?”
I was positive my eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Did you really just ask me that?” I asked with a nervous laugh.
Elizabeth waved off my shock. “Please, I’m not blind. I see the way the man looks at you and you look at him. The moment I saw you get out of his car on your first day, I knew there was something between y’all. When did you find out he lived in Boerne? I mean, what a small world for y’all to have a fling in Chicago only to both end up in the same town.”
“A fling?” I asked with a mixture of confusion and amusement. How did Elizabeth know Roger and I had slept together in Chicago?
After another quick glance around, she went on. “If I were in your shoes, stuck in Chicago for a few days with a man as good-looking as Roger, I’d have a fling as well. Okay, maybe not since I’m engaged, but we’re role-playing here, so I’m pretending to be you.”
I giggled. “It’s that obvious, huh?
A triumphant smile appeared on her face. “Girl, yes.”