Page 123 of Talk About… Dramay
“Is your stomach bothering you again?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” I lied through my teeth. “I think that burnt batch of kettle corn got to me earlier.”
“It did smell pretty awful,” he chuckled to himself, giving me one last look before finishing his tacos.
“I’m going to start loading this stuff back up into the SUV,” Tate said, giving me a reason to ditch my own tacos and help, hoping they didn’t notice my lack of eating. Or at least would chalk it up to nerves for Roman.
I helped him load all of my antiques back into their boxes, wrapping my treasures carefully in bubble wrap to keep them safe. The guys loaded them up just as my alarm went off, reminding us to get our asses across the fairgrounds and to the community center.
Henry took the lead, as if he knew exactly where we were going. Roman had stolen him a time or two to spend the day out here with him. Henry loved his outings and we couldn’t deny our pup anything.
We made it to the community center, along with what looked like half the town.
Mayor Adams and a few of the councilmen stood at the head, Roman standing right next to them. Cameron was standing off to the side, giving them space.
Roman looked good today. He had a dark gray coat that was tailored to fit, accentuating his slim figure. He was wearing black dress pants and a deep purple button-up shirt that I bought him last week. It made those silver blue eyes of his pop, standing out starkly against his dark hair and clothes.
He found us right away, his smile widening at the sight of Tate bullying his way through the crowd so that we could get to the front.
We just made it front and center right as Mayor Adams stepped up to a podium that was set up right in front. Two huge speakers rested on either side, giving feedback as he started to speak.
“Welcome, everyone. I hope we’re all having a good time at this year’s Artisan Fair. Special thanks to Maverick and Sidney Whitaker for their work to make it happen. Your hard work and dedication to this town hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
He gestured to the side where Maverick and Sidney were sitting. She gave me a sassy eye roll but did little more than chuckle as everyone clapped for them. She wasn’t much for being the center of attention.
When the applause settled down, Mayor Adams continued his speech, his eyes shining and his smile wide. This manlivedfor this town.
“Now, without further ado, I’d like to welcome everyone to Rockwood Valley’s very own Community Center. Here, we have a place for our citizens to come and relax. There will be vending machines, a small kitchen for events, barbecue grills will be here by spring, as well as an outdoor seating area and fire pit. Inside, we have a setup for our art studio, where we will be conducting community-wide art classes, thanks to our very own Roman Whitaker.”
Roman’s cheeks were burning at this point. When we’d all agreed to take Cameron’s last name—the one that I had originally planned on taking—the guys had all embraced it.
I expected Tate or maybe Hudson to put up a little protest, but as long as I was happy, they were happy. Tate quickly reminded me that his name didn’t hold any significance to him, and Hudson just shrugged, not fazed in the least.
Mayor Adams went on with his long-winded speech for another twenty minutes before finally, they were opening thedoors. Everyone rushed inside to see everything, but Roman made his way to us.
He scooped me up in a hug, squeezing me tight and spinning me around. “Let me show you inside,” he said, his voice adorably excited.
I didn’t hesitate to let him drag me along, listening as he pointed out all the new features, until finally, we made it to the art room.
This one made the small art room at the nursing home where we’d had our first class together, look tiny. The room was huge and open, large windows overhead adding extra lighting to the space.
Large shelves lined one wall, tons of easels ready to be used, already filled with blank canvases for today’s visitors.
Pallets of paint were waiting on a long work table, ready for anyone to take their turn at creating something new and beautiful.
“This looks amazing, Roman,” I gushed, taking it all in. “And look how many people are already coming!”
The stack of papers detailing the classes was dwindling by the second. Half the canvases were already being painted on by kids and adults alike. And everyone seemed excited.
This was exactly the reaction I was hoping for.
“Go mingle with your new students,” I encouraged him.
Roman leaned in, giving me a quick kiss. “Have I told you lately how glad I am that you brought me here?”
“Every day,” I said, giving him a gentle shove so he could go recruit even more students to join one of his many classes.
Roman was truly in his element, all smiles as he gently guided the students and praised their work, always encouraging. He was always handsome, but right now he was glowing.