The American Roommate Experiment (Spanish Love Deception #2)(14)

Rosie nodded her head, processing my words. Then she went with a simple, “Okay. Your turn.”

“Easy. Who were you going to share the rolls with? There were three of them, so unless you have a huge appetite…”

Averting her eyes to where the empty bag lay in a ball, she sighed. “My dad, hopefully my brother, too, but it’s a long—”

I tsked. “No breaking the rules. Long or short, I want the answer.”

She breathed out a laugh. “I am heading to Philly—Philadelphia—where Dad lives now. And I am hoping my little brother—who has been dodging all my calls for weeks because of what I suspect is something that’s either going to make me upset or mad or both—will show up. There’s something important I want to tell them. Hence, breakfast.” A soft sigh left her. “These really are Dad’s favorite. He goes crazy over them.”

I remained in silence until her gaze lifted from the table and returned to me. There was something she was leaving out. I could guess as much from her expression.

I pretended to think about something, then said, “Should I be worried your dad is going to hunt me down for tricking her daughter into feeding me his all-time favorite?”

That pulled a laugh out of her. One more time, it was short-lived, but… enough to appease me. For now. She sobered up and pinned me with a look. “Is that your second question?”

“Not the biggest fan of angry dads, so yes. That’s question number two.”

“Do you have a habit of going around pissing dads off?”

Without breaking eye contact, I leaned on my elbows. “Is that your second question?”

Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded.

“Not anymore. In the past, though? I might have angered one or two.” I winked, and I didn’t miss the way her cheeks turned pink this time around. “You owe me an answer.”

I watched her throat bob. “No, Dad won’t hunt you down. He didn’t even know I was dropping by. It was a surprise, and the rolls were my emotional leverage.”

That last part sparked my interest, but Rosie beat me to the next round.

“My turn,” she announced. “How long will you stay here? In New York.”

“Six weeks. Without applying for a visa, I can stay in the country for just three months, so I decided to make my New York stop the longest because Lina offered her place. She said she couldn’t break her lease until December and the apartment would be empty after she moved in with Aaron anyway, so…”

Rosie’s lips were pursed but I couldn’t tell why exactly, and I wouldn’t spend a question on that when there was a more important one I wanted to ask.

I rested my chin on my fist. “Why do you need emotional leverage? With your dad.”

Her chest deflated. She was quiet for so long that I thought she wasn’t going to answer, that perhaps she was done playing this game with some man who had barged into her life less than twenty-four hours ago.

But then she said, “I quit my job.” And her following words seemed to topple right out of her. “My well-paid, indefinite position as a team leader in an engineering firm. That’s why I said that I no longer worked at InTech. Because I resigned. Six months ago.” I opened my mouth to speak but more hurried words left hers. “My dad doesn’t know. Neither does my brother. Only Lina does. And Aaron, of course. Not because he’s her husband but because he was my boss and I had to hand my resignation letter to him. And everyone at the office, obviously, because I’m no longer there. So, I guess, some people know. What they don’t know is what prompted it.” She bothered her lip. “Anyway, that’s why I needed leverage with Dad. Because I’ve been… keeping this huge thing from him. And I’ve never lied to him, not ever. We’re very close. We’ve always been a team, Dad and I.”

“Will he be mad?” Something unexpected stirred in my gut. Protectiveness. I shook it off, attributing it to Rosie being my little cousin’s best friend. And to how much I hate bullies. “About you quitting? Is that why you haven’t told him?”

“Oh no. He’d never be angry at me for following my dream. Even if it’s a relatively new one.” That somehow appeased me, but it also made me all the more curious. A relatively new dream? “But I don’t think he’ll be happy about it, either. He’s always been so proud of me. Of his daughter being an engineer. Working in Manhattan. We didn’t have much growing up.” She paused. “When I graduated, it was the first time I ever saw him cry. Big, fat tears that wouldn’t stop falling. I think he cried for hours. And when I got a promotion last year, back when he was still living in Queens, he told everyone in the block. ‘My Bean leads a team now. She’s a leader!’ He threw me a party and invited the neighbors as if… I don’t know, as if his daughter had just won a Nobel Prize or something.” She shook her head with a sad smile. “He will be terrified that I’m throwing everything away for something he probably doesn’t fully grasp. That’s why I haven’t worked up the courage to tell him. I’m scared he won’t… understand and support me. And that would break my heart.”

“So, what is it?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking, craving more. “This new dream you are chasing.”

I watched Rosie all but fold into herself, her shoulders falling and her eyes leaving mine. And I knew she was pulling away. “You’ll think it’s silly.”