The thought of a naked Theo West only a room away had me unsettled. It wasn’t the first time he’d used my shower. Shortly after getting Ramsay, the dog had peed all over him and he had no other choice but to jump in and use my “girly soap” that made him smell like me. I didn’t think he minded as much as he said because he always told me how much he loved the way I smelled like strawberries when he held me against him. Dallas had to bring him clean clothes that day, meeting me at the door with a smile on his face like he thought more was going on. I didn’t correct him, didn’t give him any indication one way or the other.
I hadn’t wanted to.
“Want to watch a movie instead?” I bargained, uneasy about falling back asleep after the last time.
He didn’t seem appreciative of that idea, eyeing me with disapproval. “I want you to try getting some rest. You look tired, Della.”
I frowned. “Gee, thanks.”
I swore he rolled his eyes, but I couldn’t be sure because he turned on me the same time his eyes had moved. “Don’t pretend you don’t know I think you’re beautiful regardless.”
“Beauty is relative.”
“Get your ass in bed, Della.”
“One movie.”
“Della.”
“What about that action one you mentioned wanting to see? The one set in World War Two?”
He sighed.
“Please?” I added despite myself.
A palm swiped down the front of his face and I knew he was going to agree. Reluctantly, he nodded once. “Give me ten minutes.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I would make it twenty. You kind of smell.”
He swatted my butt and grumbled something under his breath that I couldn’t quite make out, but I could see the amusement dancing in his eyes when he pulled away and pointed toward the couch. “Ten,” he repeated.
“Fifteen,” I called out after him.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that the second he was beside me on the couch, he pulled me over and rested my head on his thigh like we’d done before. With one hand in my hair, the other taking the remote from me, he turned the TV on and…
Put it on Mysteries at the Museum.
I’d almost told him right then and there that I loved him. I loved Theo West, and not just as little Della. I wasn’t sure the love that consumed my chest and soul could be put to words in the way they deserved.
When his grip tightened on me, I wondered if he knew. If, maybe, he felt the same way. Instead of asking, instead of just ripping off the Band-Aid, I remained quiet.
We watched the show in silence.
I was ruffled awake with a pair of lips against my temple and a blanket being positioned over my body. Murmuring something, I reached out and grabbed a warm arm, cracking my eyes open as Theo slid his phone into his pocket.
“I need to get going,” he told me softly.
It took me a minute to sit up and realize the apartment was bathed in sunlight. “What time is it?” He was probably late to work considering it was a Friday morning, not that it mattered since he was his own boss.
“A little after eight.”
“Can’t you skip work today?” I sounded pitiful and went as far as debating on giving him a puppy dog look in hopes he’d stay.
He didn’t. “I’m meeting with someone in an hour and I need to get home to change.”
My shoulders dropped. “Dallas?” I had no reason to fish, but he hadn’t been forthcoming about the phone calls I knew he’d been exchanging with somebody. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, I just wanted to know what was going on because I didn’t like being kept out of things that usually had to do with me. If they didn’t, he’d tell me. Vent. Get angry. He never apologized for it and I never asked him to, even if his bad days were trying when someone at the office pissed him off.
“Not Dallas.” He bent down and pecked my lips, not lingering long. “I need to go. Would you like to get dinner tonight? I could get Abigail to make reservations somewhere.”
“Denny’s doesn’t need reservations.”
He chuckled. “If you want Denny’s, that’s where we’ll go. I can come over around seven if that works for you.”
I pushed off the blanket he’d put on me and stood, stretching my sore muscles from how I’d been sleeping. I couldn’t complain though. We’d fallen asleep watching television and Theo only had the corner of the couch. He had to have had a kink in his neck at the very least. “Seven works for me. Tomorrow I’m going out with Lawrence and Tiffany to celebrate finals being over.” I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to add that. It wasn’t like we had plans. “I know we don’t have anything scheduled, but I figured—”
“It’s good to know where you are,” he said with a shrug. “And I’m glad you and your friends are going out. I have something to go to tomorrow night anyway.”
Gnawing on the inside of my cheek, I watched him walk around the couch. “Is it Flamell?” He stopped walking and turned to face me within a second. “The person you’re meeting with today?”
He eyed me suspiciously. “How do you know Flamell?”
Squirming under his penetrating eyes, I admitted, “I don’t. But his name was always showing up on your screen when your phone rang. Or I assume it’s a guy.”
“You assume it’s a guy?”
Why did he look so angry all of a sudden? I hadn’t meant to strike a nerve or throw an accusation. “I didn’t mean anything bad by it, Theo. I’m saying that I’m not ruling out the possibility that Flamell could be a woman.” Although, I really, really hoped it wasn’t.
He took a large step toward me, eating up the distance between us. “And why would a woman be calling me?”
The best my stupid mind could come up with was, “Why would a man be calling you all hours of the night?” Turned out that was the wrong thing to say.
“Why would a woman be calling me, Della?” That time, his tone was hard. Offended. I wasn’t sure how to respond, only making the tendons in his neck strain. “I don’t even know why you’d think that. Flamell is somebody I’m working with on something important. That’s all.”
I sighed. “I didn’t think it was a woman, I…”
He waited, jaw ticking.
My cheeks were on fire. “I don’t know what to say, Theo. I swear I didn’t mean to upset you, but it isn’t like we’ve discussed this. For once, I’m using my brain by not assuming anything.”
Again. The wrong thing to say. If steam could physically blow out of people’s ears, it would definitely be coming out of Theo’s. “If I didn’t have somewhere to be, I’d tell you exactly what my thoughts are on what we haven’t ‘discussed’ before now.”
I blinked.
He took another step forward until there was barely any room between our bodies. “I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. How smart, kind, and beautiful you are on the inside and out. I really fucking wish…” Teeth grinding, he shook his head. “I don’t have time right now. Tonight.”
Tonight? “Theo, maybe we should—”