“You what?” I do what I can to tamp the shock in my voice.
“Roman still had the link to your portfolio. We worked together to send it out to various architecture and design companies in the area. A few of them got back to us and were open to meeting with you.” He rubs the back of his neck, my guard slipping a little more at the grimace on his face.
“Who says I still need help finding a job?” I jut my nose up, and the motion causes another curl to fall onto my forehead, making my confidence waver slightly.
Theo smiles. “I don’t doubt that you can find a job on your own. I went through your portfolio myself and was impressed by your work. You combine modern lines with vintage details so perfectly. It’s truly astonishing and I—” He stops himself. “I’m getting carried away. I was impressed to say the least, and everyone on that list was as well. You may not need a job anymore, but I figured I’d give you options. It’s the least I could do.” His eye contact tapers off at the end of his last sentence.
Theo holds the piece of paper out to me, and I take it, making sure my fingers don’t brush his accidentally, as I’m not sure I could handle the feel of his skin against mine. Looking down at the list, I read a list of companies, names, addresses, dates, and times. Half of the list are companies I’ve already applied for. The ones that turned me down for an interview. The other half are companies I didn’t bother applying to because I didn’t meet their application requirements.
At the bottom of the list, Rose City Designs isscrawled out in Theo’s sharp, slanted handwriting. Next to it is Graham Emerson’s name.
“How’d you get me an interview with Graham?” I ask Theo, still staring at the piece of paper in my hand. I’m afraid if I look away, the name will disappear.
“I guess the Kane name means something in this town, thanks to Roman. He put in a good word with Graham after I talked to him.” When I look up at Theo, he takes a tentative step closer to me. “Roman isn’t as scary as he looks. He was also impressed by your portfolio. Despite what he said, he thinks you’d be a great fit at Rose City Designs, so he texted Graham and set up an interview for you.”
“You didn’t have to do all of this,” I finally say. “I’m sure this took away time from trying to get a job with Roman.”
Theo waves me off. “Who said you can’t have both? Roman is giving me a chance. All I did was ask that he give you one too.”
I sigh. “Thank you.”
Theo reaches up and brushes the stray curl that’s fallen into my face again, behind my ear. “Anything for you, Angel,” he all but whispers.
He inches closer by the second. So close that it wouldn’t take much for me to lean forward and touch my lips to his.
I stop myself before giving in to my urges. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place. But I don’t stop myself when one question crosses my mind. “Why do you call me that? Angel?”
Theo flashes me his heart-melting smile. “When Ifirst saw you in that diner, you were hunched over your laptop, wearing an annoyed look because of my shitty friends, and I thought it was quite endearing. Your focus was admirable. But what caught my attention was when you finally looked up from the screen in front of you. The light above the table illuminated you just right, framing the top of your head as though it were a halo. Then I saw your face, those gorgeous brown eyes.” He brushes a knuckle across the side of my face. “Those tempting lips.” His thumb brushes across my bottom lip. “And the luscious curls that shaped your face perfectly.” His knuckle rests under my chin now. “And I knew you must be an angel because a beauty this grand would be wasted on a human.”
I hold back tears as he continues, “Then I took you to the lake house. Where you so effortlessly fit in with my occasionally off-putting family.” I can’t help the small uptick of the corners of my mouth at his words. “You’re the most determined, hard-working, strong woman I’ve ever met. To say your grit is inspiring would be an understatement. Sienna, you gave us a piece of our mom back. That’s something only a true angel could do.”
Our lips, his even closer to mine now, are almost touching. I feel a pull in my chest as though the forces of the universe scream at me to move closer, to seal my lips to his, to touch him again. Instead, I pull back, a sob trapped in the back of my throat at the absence of his touch under my chin when I do.
“Thank you for the explanation.” I clear my throat. “And thank you for the interviews. This at least gives meoptions with the ones I already have lined up. I appreciate it.” I catch myself in another lie.
Regardless of what he calls me, regardless of whether he wants to kiss me back, it doesn’t change anything between us. He agreed that we took things too far. He left me when I needed him. He almost got in the way of my future that I’ve been working toward for the past four years.
Theo clears his throat, taking a step back from me, our distance growing once again. “Of course. Well, I’m happy you have options.” He motions to the piece of paper I still hold in my hand.
Unsure of what to say next, I move to leave, turning my back toward Theo. He stops me with a hand on my elbow. “Wait, I don’t want things to be awkward between us.” Turning my head, I’m intrigued by what he has to say next. “I want to officially apologize for what happened at the lake house. I never meant to put your life in danger. I just wanted to have some fun with you, and I see now that I made a lot of bad decisions that night.”
A lot of bad decisions.
The words echo in my mind as I think of the events before our drive back to the lake house. Any sliver of hope I might’ve felt at his explanation of calling me Angel is washed away by those five words. Clearly, I see now that any feelings I have toward Theo will never be reciprocated in the same magnitude.
I pull my elbow away from his hand. “It’s okay, Theo. I agree, a lot of bad decisions were made that night. I think it’s best if we just move forward as friends.” His head reelsback slightly, as though I’ve said something wrong, even as I agree with his recount of events that night.
“Right, friends.” Theo holds out his hand, prompting me to shake it.
I tentatively reach my hand out and interlock it with his. The slight squeeze he gives reminds me of his grip on my hips, my thighs, my hand warming at the touch of his. Hands interlocked, we stand there for a moment, the dusty coffee shop fading away as his eyes lock onto mine.
My mind screams at me to say something, screams at me to fix what’s been broken between us, but my mouth doesn’t move.
Eventually, I pull my hand from his, raising it in a goodbye wave before turning my back on him again. This time, Theo doesn’t stop me. As I head out the door, reconnecting with Beth in the parking lot, I don’t dare to look back. Leaving him behind as he once left me.
As Beth and I shuffle into her car, I look at the piece of paper I hold in my hand again. The list is a physical representation of everything I’ve wanted. It’s the starting point to the life I’ve been planning for years.
Beth drives off to our next location as I fold the list and tuck it into my bag. The pit in my stomach grows larger the longer I look at it.
