Chapter


    4469


    River knew Romina''s character all too well.


    She was popr with everyone, yet she always showed him her worst side.


    It left a bitter taste in his mouth. Everyone else got the best version of her, but not


    him.


    Didn''t he deserve her kindness too?


    Then again, he had stolen her business. And he had stolen her. If she treated him too nicely after that, she''d look like a fool.


    That thought made him feel better.


    After all, he hadn''t exactly treated her with kindness either.


    "Oh, I''ve known you for five or six years, and this is the first time I''ve ever heard


    you say I''m a good person," Romina said, pretending to be touched.


    River shrugged. "You want to call yourself a bad person, go ahead. I won''t argue."


    "Bad people don''t call themselves bad. I''m a good person, and I''m not about to go around saying I''m not. I still need to get married someday. Don''t want to ruin my reputation."


    River smirked. "You''re already pushing it. You''re thirty and still single. No boyfriend. Guess no one''s into you. Sure, you''ve got a pretty face and a great figure-but howe no one''s biting?"


    Just like that, the mood tanked.


    Back to bickering.


    Romina fired back. "I''m twenty-nine, not thirty! And if I wanted a boyfriend, I could get ten or twenty in a minute. Tons of guys like me-I just don''t like them. You wanna talk about me?


    Let''s talk about you. You''re thirty-one. No girlfriend. Plenty of women are after you —so what, you too scared to date because you can''t... perform?"


    Serenity''s eyes widened.


    She actually liked Romina''s fiery temper.


    If River found out, would he call her a traitor too?


    River''s face darkened instantly.


    Belle sensed the tension and quietly crawled back into her mother''s arms.


    Maverick scooted closer to Serenity and whispered, "Mom, Uncle River''s face is like thunder. Super dark. Kinda scary."


    He had never seen Uncle River look like that before. Romina''s words hit hard.


    River didn''t even notice Maverick had moved. He snapped back at Romina. "Oh, so I don''t have a girlfriend-what about you? No boyfriend. What''s the deal? Are you into women? Is that it? You wannae out now? I can hook you up with a girlfriend if you want."


    Romina shot up, furious. "River! That p earlier wasn''t hard enough! You really are the worst! Nothing but garbagees out of your mouth. Either you can''t perform, or you''re secretly gay!"


    River exploded. "Ever seen a dog spit out ivory? I''ll bring my pet dog over and we''ll test that theory!"


    He leaned forward, his voice full of fire. "You think I can''t perform? Want to find


    out? Let''s go I''ll prove it."


    Romina froze, speechless.


    She didn''t dare respond to that.


    Still, she looked at him with that skeptical, mocking stare like she actually believed he couldn''t.


    That look made River want to blow a fuse.


    If Serenity and the kids weren''t there, he''d have dragged Romina upstairs right


    then and booked a room-just to prove her wrong.


    Fine, he thought bitterly, I''ll take responsibility afterward.


    He couldn''t let her question his manhood. That was too far.


    Romina didn''t speak.


    Serenity, trying to hold back augh, teased, "Miss Lafond, what''s wrong? Why


    aren''t you firing back anymore? Don''t let him win-keep going."