The tiniest of wry smiles peaked on her lips. “No. It doesn’t.”
The two of them stood together on Thea’s doorstep, the faint smell of distant chimney smoke mingling in the air. They were just inches apart, but to Felix, it felt like miles. He could almost taste the tension in the air. The crackle of unspoken words. Her large eyes were on him, almost willing him to break the deadlock. To say something. Release her.
Instead, Felix’s phone pinged, and he reached for it in his pocket. He looked at the screen.
“Is it your babysitter?” Thea asked. “Surelythere’sanother helpless woman who could do with a lift home and a lecture on home security.”
Ignoring her barbed comment. Felix skimmed his eyes over the message. “No. It’s my ex.”
“At this time of night?”
He huffed a dry laugh. “Adrienne doesn’t have a courtesy filter.” He shut off the screen and put the phone back in his pocket.
“Well, youweremarried, I suppose. Does she often keep tabs on you? She probably thinks you’re tucked up at home in bed. Not insisting on giving lifts to meddlesome women.”
Felix gave a rueful smile. Thea knew how exasperating he found her then? He ran his eyes over her face. Faint grey smudges nested under her eyes, and the shadow cast by her cheekbones hollowed out her face, making her look like aDickensian orphan. Vulnerable. The image was so oddly alien to the way he usually viewed her. Fierce and frustrating.
She did nothing but drive him mad with her independence and her argumentative, contrarian ways. Why, then, did he want to touch her again? To envelop her in his arms and hold her?
“Are you okay?” Thea asked, a small crease forming between her eyebrows. “I mean, if you want your shirt back, you only have to ask.”
With a cheeky lift of her eyebrows, Thea reached for the buttons of the shirt he’d given her. She undid the first, and a breath caught in his throat. What was she doing? The second button popped open, and a burn crept up his chest. Thea didn’t have a bra on. Was she seriously about to strip on her doorstep? A stirring in his trousers had Felix’s eyes widening. As she touched the third button, he was in pure panic mode. He had to shut this down. Now. He’d never recover this time. There’d be no hiding the hunger in his eyes.
As if sensing his discomfort, Thea stopped, her eyes boring into his. Was she teasing him? Trying to flirt? Felix had no idea, but he reached out to meet her fingers with his own, closing his palm over the back of her hand. “You keep it. It looks better on you than me anyway.”
A beautiful grin spread across Thea’s lips, and he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. To devour her. To sweep her up in his arms and, and… and what? Was he seriously considering making a pass at someone who drove him absolutely bonkers? Who clearly couldn’t stand him?
Felix kept his hand wrapped around Thea’s, and her smile faded to a look of confusion. Of something he couldn’t quite pin down. He clamped his jaw tight. He hadn’t moved. Had said nothing for at least ten seconds. She must think he was an idiot. He didn’t let go, though. Instead, he switched his grip and brought her hand down to give her a business-like handshake.
“Thank you, Thea,” he said, voice flat. “I’ll see you around.”
She didn’t reply. Instead, her eyes widened before she watched him walk away.
With every step, Felix’s ego disintegrated a little. What was it about this woman that reduced him to a gibbering idiot? He’d wanted to kiss her. Kiss her hard against the doorpost. But no, he’d given her a fucking handshake like she was a new client.
Getting into his car, Felix slammed the door and made fists. Thoughts of Thea crashed into his brain. Fantasies of her undressing on the doorstep. Peeling the cotton away, revealing the soft, generous breasts he knew lay beneath. With a shake of his head and a harsh sigh, he switched on the engine. If he was going to see any more of Thea, he’d have to look into getting a walk-in freezer installed in the boot.
14
THEA
Thea grabbed an enormous box of cornflakes and added it to her trolley. They’d keep her alive for another week. She’d economised ever since she’d put her outlandish bid on Felix at the silent auction. Of course, she made sure Ammy still ate fruit and vegetables. No use in both of them getting scurvy.
The harsh fluorescent lights of the supermarket stung her eyes, and her brain ached from the overstimulation of colour and choice on the shelves. It was the quietest time of day to go shopping. Just before three p.m. school pick-up, and as usual, she was rushing to finish before heading to meet Ammy.
Her gut flipped at the thought of going to the school. She might bump into Felix. Thea had avoided him so far but wasn’t proud that the last time they locked eyes, she was threatening an impromptu strip tease on her doorstep.
But she’d wanted to push his buttons, see him blush even. There was no logical reason for it, but the more time she spent around Felix Walsh, the more she behaved like a bratty adolescent. Her shock tactics had backfired, though. He’d given her a solid handshake and run for the hills.
Of course, it was because he’d found out she was a widow. Thanks Persephone. When people discovered she’d lost her husband, their perception of Thea changed. Felix had been kind. Thoughtful even, offering to give her a lift. He’d even asked about Phil. But he only felt sorry for her.
She added a family-sized tin of baked beans to her trolley, then lined them up at the checkout, reusable bags at the ready. Three price checks and a broken nail later, Thea loaded the last of her purchases into her bags and left the store. She’d just make it to the school on time if she left now.
Halfway across the car park, Thea checked her pockets for her car keys. Nothing. She didn’t have her handbag with her. She didn’t even own a proper handbag. Only a cloth sack with clouds and rainbows that Ammy had painted at school.
Perhaps she’d dropped her keys? It wouldn’t be the first time. With a look to the heavens, Thea went back into the supermarket, popped her packed bags into a trolly and retraced her steps. After traipsing up and down every single aisle she’d visited, she found nothing.
With her heartbeat ticking up a notch, Thea headed to the Customer Service desk. She’d still make it to the school in time if someone had handed them in. The desk was busier than she’d ever seen, and a low burn settled in her gut. She checked her watch. Time was running out. She couldn’t be late. She’d promised Ammy they’d press some spring flowers that afternoon.
