Right. Show. This is a show.
Get yourself together, Lily. That’s exactly what you want it to be.
So why does it make me a little sick to think about?
Lucy barks, pulling me from my dangerous thoughts as we walk down the sidewalk. Theo has me tucked into his side, but I don’t know what to do with my hands. They hang uselessly down at my side, making our movements awkward. I didn’t have to think about it the last time we were in this position. I was holding Lucy.
“Relax, hopeless,” Theo says, wrapping my arm around his hips before putting his back over my shoulder.
I shoot a glare up at Theo. “I don’t know how.”
The admission tastes bitter in my mouth.
A beat passes, in which Theo’s eyelashes bat—once, twice, three times, clearly shocked—and then he laughs. It’s deep and masculine and beautiful.Theois beautiful when he laughs.
“What? No,” he says, the sarcasm heavy in his voice. “You could have fooled me, hopeless.”
A reluctant smile tugs at the corner of my lips, and I smack his hip.
“Shut up,” I mutter, but Theo has achieved what he’d intended. Instead of walking awkwardly now, I’m sinking into his side.
Safe. I feel safe.
The notion hits me hard because feeling safe with Theo is something I would have never guessed I would feel, and it’s terrifying.
“You’re overthinking again, hopeless. Tell me something about you. Something that makes you happy.”
“Control.”
Theo snorts, and I smile. It’s not forced or fake or a mask. It’s real. He makes me forget we’re just pretending.
“Pineapple sherbert ice cream.” I blurt out because even though this is fake, I want to give him something real—some small piece of me to hold on to when all this is over.
Theo looks contemplative for a moment, and then he nods. “I can see that.”
We keep walking, following Lucy wherever she leads. I’ve almost forgotten about the Birdies until Ethel Thatcher comes running our way, wildly waving her hands and calling Theo’s name.
Terror washes over Theo’s face when he sees her coming, and I laugh. “This is the second time you’ve been afraid of a little old lady. You fight fires for a living, Theo. Buck up.”
Theo pulls me so I’m standing in front of him—a shield against Ethel Thatcher. “I’ll fight ten fires over facing that lady.”
I roll my eyes just as Ethel descends upon us. She skids to a halt, inches from running over Lucy. The woman is a walking disaster but also a part of the Birdies, so pointing that out would be detrimental to my chances with the organization.
“Lily, I didn’t recognize you with that smile on your face. You look like a whole new person. What have you been doing, sweetie?” Her gaze darts to Theo behind me. His arm is still draped over my shoulder, wrapped around my neck, so he’s holding me in a hug from behind. “Or I guess the better question is, who have you been kissing?” She raises her brows up and down. “Because if I was kissing a man like that, you bet your britches, I’d be smiling, too.”
Theo chokes, coughing to get over the shock, and I have to fight back my laughter. The woman has to be certifiably insane.
How did I miss how funny she was before?
“You’re right, Ms. Thatcher. It’s hard not to smile when a man kisses like Theo.”
I mostly say it to goad Theo, but I also can’t help recalling the first time Theo kissed me. It was all-consuming in a way that I found myself smiling every time I thought about it days after.
Ethel mutters something to herself that sounds an awful lot likeI knew it,and Theo leans down to whisper in my ear. “Have your fun, hopeless, but payback is coming.”
A shiver runs down my spine, and unfortunately, I can’t tell if it’s from his proximity or the threat I know he will carry through with.
Ethel doesn’t seem to notice our exchange because after muttering to herself, she keeps on talking. “Anywho, I came over here because I’ve been trying to talk to this fella for weeks,” she says, pointing at Theo. “The Birdies are hosting a dinner at the church next Sunday, and I was hoping he’d be my date, but I guess since you’re kissing, he can be yours, Lily. You were planning on coming, right? A bunch of your students are serving, including that boy of yours, hot stuff.”
