Her breath stuttered in her throat. Oh, holy hell. How much more humiliating could this afternoon get? Not only had Felix voluntarily tidied up her house and discovered a picture of himself in her kitchen, but now he thought she’d called him on purpose.
“No! Honestly, I wouldn’t do that. I know how busy you are. Places to be, hotels to buy.”
“You read the article?” Felix nodded towards the magazine. Was it just her, or did he look a little concerned? “I’m not the megalomaniac they made me out to be, I promise.”
Thea had to smile. She was sure he was, but he didn’t need to know that.
A clank of metal diverted Thea’s attention. The kids were sword fighting with their cutlery. She stood and took their plates away, dropping them in her now gleaming sink. “Why don’t you two kill each other somewhere else, preferably a room with nothing breakable in it?”
“We’ll jump on your bed, Mum,” Ammy giggled. “It’s the bounciest in the house.” She grabbed Lucas’s hand and dragged him out into the hall and up the stairs.
Thea turned around to find Felix sitting at the table, one legcrossed over the other, an expectant smirk on his lips. “Bouncy?”
Her cheeks flushed to pizza oven temperatures, and she turned to the counter, desperate to give herself time for her face to return to its normal hue. Her eyes scanned the surface until they landed on the bottle of red wine she’d started last night. Thea glanced at the clock display on the microwave. It was only four-fifteen. Still, it was almost evening, and these were sticky circumstances.
“Wine?” she asked, not waiting for a reply. Instead, she reached for two mugs from the shelf.
“Where were you all week?” Felix asked, his voice lazy and low. “I’ve been looking out for you at school.”
Thea opened the dark green bottle, every hair on the back of her neck standing to attention. Had he really been wanting to run into her? Why? He probably needed to get his shirt back. It was still languishing in the laundry basket. She’d worn it to bed four nights in a row.
“Oh, you know. I’ve been busy.”
“Doing what?”
“Rescuing things. Providing sanctuary to unwanted goats. Gathering fluffy animals. You know the drill.” Thea picked up the two mugs of wine she’d poured and put them on the table. She sat opposite Felix, grateful for the solid wall of wood between them.
A silence settled over the room. The clock ticking on the wall was like a countdown to Armageddon.
“How old was Ammy when her dad died?”
Thea closed her eyes for a beat before bringing her gaze to Felix. There was nothing like going in for the big questions early on. Get the awkward stuff out of the way. “Ammy was just a baby when Phil passed away.”
“So, she never really knew him?”
Thea shook her head, taking a big slug of her wine. It‘dbeen a while since she’d talked about her husband out loud to another human being. Wendy, Josh’s dog, had been a regular confidante, but humans were different. They asked too many questions.
“That’s tough.”
“We talk about him, though. Look through the old photos. I’ve probably been overzealous on that front. I’ve built him up to be a cross between Robin Hood and Iron Man. Thanks to me, nobody will ever live up to him.”
Felix winced slightly, his green eyes tightening a little. “I can understand that. But you kept the sanctuary going?”
“Apart from Ammy, Small Oaks was the only thing of him I had left.” Thea traced a flower on the tablecloth with her fingertips. “We set it up together shortly after we met. But then, after he passed away, keeping this place going was like a crusade. I had to keep our dream alive.”
Felix smiled, his eyes on hers, full of the pity she so dreaded. “I’m sure he’d be proud.”
“It doesn’t really matter now. I don’t have a hotline to heaven, and I’m sure they don’t hand out stationary and stamps up there. I’d never know.”
Felix sighed and took another drink. “Look, it’s not quite the same, but I understand what it’s like to lose someone you love.”
Thea tipped her head to one side, brows knotting. Had she heard him right? Now was hardly the time to bring up his ex-wife!
“I lost my brother. A long time ago. It completely changed my life.” Felix’s forehead furrowed. His thumb worked overtime on the handle of his mug. Thea was about to respond when he continued. “He was much older.Hewas going to be the one to take on the business. My folks indoctrinated him from an early age. I’m the understudy.”
The look on Felix’s face had Thea’s heart in her mouth. What a complete bitch she was to immediately think the worstof him. To assume he’d make her confessions of widowhood all about him and his marriage.
“I’m so sorry.” She could have kicked herself for her inadequate response.
