You don’t know he’s a murderer. So far, he’s only guilty of being intense. Precious.
Mini-Kitty was right. Shewasbeing unreasonable. There must besomenuggets of goodness in his soul. Something that Phil would like about him. Besides, she could always bleach the insides of the boots after he used them.
With a sigh, Thea dismissed Kitty’s saintly figure from her shoulder.
“Are you okay there?” Felix asked, blowing into his bunched hands.
Thea glanced over her shoulder at him. It was chilly enough outside to bite through his suit. She should offer him an old jacket, too, but part of her wanted him to suffer. To get cold. If he was going to wear Phil’s wellies, she wanted the duration to be as short as possible.
“I’m fine. These were just a little hard to reach.” She stretched her hand out to grab the tops of the grey boots and handed them to Felix.
“Perfect.” He pulled off his shoes, leaving them neatly against the wall.
As he stepped into Phil’s gumboots, a shiver ran over Thea, and she sucked in a breath, letting it go with a slow huff.
“Come on then,” she said, stomping off towards the hotchpotch of sheds and barns that made up Small Oaks Animal Sanctuary.
After taking him on a whistle-stop tour of the guinea pigs and rabbits, the goats and donkeys, the horses, and finally DC’s Kitten Cabin adoption centre, they finally stopped outside Jeffrey’s shed. Felix asked the right questions and made intelligent observations. Damn him for suddenly being so affable.
Thea opened the shed door. Jeffrey was there, but there was no sign of the kids. Closing the door again, she turned around to the unexpected sight of Felix Walsh’s buttocks.
He was bent over, adjusting his smart trousers into Phil’s boots. As he stood back up, the way the material puffed over their tops resembled the breeches of a Regency romance hero. All Anthony Bridgerton meets Ross Poldark. Costume dramas were her particular brand of catnip, and at the sight of him, Thea was at serious risk of melting into a little puddle right here in the yard.
Damn Kitty for encouraging her to binge on so many of those shows. It had turned into an unhealthy obsession.
The late afternoon sun cast Felix's aquiline profile in silhouette. The light dappled across his broad shoulders, and his usually manicured hair, now slightly dishevelled by gravity, brushed the back of his neck. Just like a model finding his light, Felix tilted his chin towards the sun. With a slow blink, Thea licked her lips.
“Nice,” she said, her breath hanging on the long vowel sound.
Felix looked over his shoulder, their eyes meeting. “Pardon?”
“Uh, nice… nice of the kids to leave everything so tidy.”
“Aren’t they inside?” A mild look of panic crossed his face. “Where could they be? I don’t want to be an alarmist, but Lucas can be a bit… unpredictable.”
“It’s okay. Ammy’s pretty responsible,” Thea lied, casting her mind back to the mayhem in the hallway. She had serious doubts that her daughter would make it through high school without being expelled for some misdemeanour or other. "Let's check the meadows. They’re probably swimming in the pond or something.”
Felix spun around. “Lucas can’t swim.”
“I’m joking,” she said, wishing she could sound more convincing. Ammy had a penchant for spontaneous outdoor dips, but the water was too cold for even her impulsive daughter this time of year. She pulled the door to the shed shut. “We’ll find them.”
Thea let Felix walk ahead as they moved down past the big old barn towards the murky green pond that a gaggle of geese called home. Telling herself she was hanging back for research only, Thea raked her eyes over his physique.
She honestly couldn’t tell his age. She was thirty-five but he had to be olderbecause he oversaw a massive company. Then again, he could be younger. Their children were the same age, and the only thing that aged him was the hint of silver at his temples. He had no laughter lines to speak of. No real wrinkles. Of course, he didn’t. There’d be very little wear and tear on his skin if he hardly ever cracked a smile. Would he look as unrumpled naked?
A breath caught in Thea’s throat. Where the hell had that thought come from? Why the hell did she care what he looked like naked? Before Phil, the only real-life naked man she’d seen was back in her late twenties. The memory was misty. Still, as she walked a safe distance behind Felix, Thea had to wonder what lay beneath those black trousers, which fit him like a glove.
They arrived at the wooden gate that opened to the pond,and the children came around the corner in the other direction, giggling and twirling in circles.
“Mummy!” squealed Ammy. “We’ve been looking for you. And seeing who can get the dizziest. Lucas almost vomited in the grass. Can we feed the geese, please?”
Thea grabbed her daughter, pulling her towards her body, smoothing down the chaos of her blonde curls. “Of course, darling. But you really mustn’t try to get dizzy. Nobody wants to see what Lucas ate for lunch.” Ammy gazed up at Thea with a toothy grin, and Thea’s heart melted. “Go find the pellets. We’ll wait here for you.”
Both Ammy and Lucas sprinted off towards the feed shed, and Thea leaned on the gate, the wood creaking under her weight. Felix followed suit, and the two of them stared out into the rolling fields beyond the pond.
“I’m sorry about the vomiting. I hope Lucas’s mum won’t mind if I send him home a little queasy.”
Thea bit into her lower lip. Was she fishing for info on Mrs. Felix Walsh? Hoping he’d take the bait? You bet she was. Curiosity had niggled at her ever since they’d met. Buzzing in her brain like an annoying gnat. What sort of woman would be mad enough to put up with his dour personality? His pernickety demeanour. Felix’s trophy wife must have the patience of a saint.
