“Red,” I say automatically. All the research I did indicated that there was a certain sophistication to red wine. I’ve been drinking it in public since I turned twenty-one.

For a moment I think he’ll let it slide, but the moment the waiter steps away, he’s at it again. “I’m curious. Why wouldn’t someone be interested in you?”

I stall by taking a sip of the wine, pretending not to notice that it’s quite horrible. At least it’s alcoholic. “Is this part of the package, too?”

He shoots me an amused look. “Do you always stall this much when someone asks you a simple question?”

“Do you always ask this many questions on fake dates?”

He cocks his head to the side, looking every bit as confident as he did back when I was invisible to him. “You’re the one who’s calling it a fake date.”

Why can’t I be one of those people who never blushes? “Well,” I say primly. “It’s not possible for this to be a real date. For one thing, you’re my boss.”

Roman nods slowly in agreement. “That’s true.”

“For another....” Another hitch in my chest, a claw digging into the soft underbelly of the girl I used to be. “People like us—we’re not....” I have to search for the word. “Compatible.”

Somehow, he even looks sexy when he’s eating a salad. “What would make two people like us incompatible? Hypothetically, of course.”

“Of course,” I echo. “Hypothetically, a person like you is...a person like you.”

“Very illuminating,” he says with a laugh.

“Tall. Handsome. Strong.” This earns me a sultry curl of his lip. “You’re...visible. People see you. People want to be around you.”

Roman laughs out loud. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to convince me that you’re some shrinking violet who fades into the background at every opportunity.”

“I wouldn’t put it quite like that, but—”

“But nothing.” Roman’s eyes are hot enough to burn. “I saw you in that red bikini, Jenny. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”

My mouth goes dry. “That was the intended effect.” It’s a hell of a thing to admit out loud, and a lightning flash courses across Roman’s face.

“I knew it.”

“You needed a wake-up call.” I keep my expression neutral, but my heart is about to beat itself right out of my chest. The air is thick and heavy. Keep breathing. Keep breathing. 

“Maybe I did.”