I tense at her choice of words. There’s no way she could have known about my phone ringing in my pocket with my mother’s name splashed across the screen, and yet the reminder of family feels like a well-placed bullet.
My smile turns even more wooden, and I search for something to say. Anything that won’t ruin my chances of joining the Birdies—of building a life that looks nothing like my childhood—but nothing comes to mind.
Suddenly, a hand lands on my waist, bringing with it the smell of sandalwood and smoke. The heat burns through my T-shirt, climbing up my body and making it hard to think. Theo leans down, whispering in my ear, “Relax.”
He’s close enough that the warmth of his breath lingers against my skin, having the opposite effect of what he intended.
“Ms. Della Rae, how are you, ma’am?” Theo asks, coming to stand beside me with his hand still hovering on my waist. The smile on his face is enough to make any woman’s knees weak—including Della Rae, who has been married for thirty years.
“Oh, Theo, honey. Aren’t you so sweet? I’m doing fine. How’s that boy of yours?”
Tight creases form on each side of Theo’s mouth, but they are small enough that Della Rae doesn’t notice. Me, on the other hand, I’ve perfected the look Theo’s wearing now.
I make a mental note to ask him about it later.
“He’s doing good,” Theo says, in a voice that’s still just as warm as it was before Tanner was brought up. “If you’ll excuse me, though, I’d like to show my girlfriend something.”
Della Rae’s eyes go wide. “Oh, sure, honey,” she says, all while staring at me like she’s seeing me in a new light. “You two go right ahead, but you take care of her. You hear? She might not admit it, but Lily is a fragile thing.”
This moment is the third most embarrassing moment of my life.
“Fragile like a bomb,” Theo mutters, and I subtly dig my elbow into his side. Although, I don’t know why I bothered. The man is built like a wall. Louder, Theo says, “I’ll take care of her, Ms. Della Rae. I promise.”
He leads me away with a hand on my back, and I let him, ready to be away from the disaster of that conversation.
“Before you get any ideas in your head, I do not need you to take care of me,” I say through a gritted smile.
Theo gives me a flat look. “In case you haven’t noticed, your phone is ringing,” he says, completely ignoring what I said. “I felt it vibrating the entire time we were standing there.”
Stepping away from him to swipe a drink from a cooler, I roll my eyes. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”
His brows dip. “Are you planning on answering it?”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” I know I sound callous, but this is not a conversation I want to have. Not here.Or ever. So I change the subject. “What was it you wanted to show me?”
A wicked grin takes over Theo’s face. “You look like you needed an out. I was taking care of you.”
Exasperation wins out, and I shove his shoulder.
“You’re insufferable,” I say, stomping over to MJ and Hayes, who are sitting around a fire pit. Several chairs are pulled up around the fire, but they are all taken, leaving only a wooden swing. I sit down, taking up as much room as possible, but Theo isn’t deterred. He picks me up bridal style, sitting back down with me in his lap.
“I can sit in my own seat,” I hiss, low enough no one else can hear me, but he just grins.
“What would be the fun in that?”
I start to get up and move, but the weight of his hand settles on my upper thigh, holding me in place. His chin falls onto my shoulder, and he turns his head so his nose skates across the sensitive part of my neck. My eyes fall closed, and his lips press a soft kiss where my shoulder and neck meet. “They’re watching.”
My eyes pop open, going straight to where MJ sits with Hayes. They are both staring back at us with their mouths slightly ajar. Blowing out a slow breath, I force a smile on my lips as Theo’s thumb draws slow circles on my leg.
A mask. That’s all this is. I’m good at wearing masks.
My smile shakes them out of their shock because they both close their mouths and sit up a little straighter.
“So, Lily,” Hayes says, addressing me but watching Theo suspiciously. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been good.”
The lie comes so easily, even though my phone continues to vibratein my back pocket, proving me wrong. Hayes doesn’t need to know that, though. There was a time I thought about telling Hayes the truth—or at least a version of the truth—but those days have passed. In fact, I’ve tried to avoid Hayes, not because he did anything wrong, but because I did. I had been so willing to use him as a safety net so that I never fell in love that I didn’t think about what that meant for him.
