Page 42 of Apparently, I’m Trouble

They nodded and left the stage, already absorbed in each other while I refused to feel guilty about speaking to Kira the way I did. There were so many ways it could come back to bite me in the ass, but she needed someone to talk to, and I couldn’t deny her that.

I looked around the stage, trying to give my students a little slice of privacy when a lose board caught my eye. The stray wooden rectangle was sawed and hammered to another plank, and they hung idly from the porch.

“They could trip over that,” I murmured, already planting my feet and digging my nails underneath it.

I tried lifting with my legs, taking the weight of the heavy timber when a sudden stab of pain flared in the middle of my back.

I cried out, dropped the wood, and just barely missed my toes. As it clanged against the stage floor, both Miles and Kira ran back to find me gripping my knees.

Shit. I broke Theo’s porch. There was an obvious gap above the railing now.

But Kira and Miles didn’t care about that. Instead, they asked, “Are you okay, Miss Walker?”

I waved them off and clenched my teeth against a wave of agony. “It’s just my back, that’s all.”

Kira’s voice was firm as she told me, “You need to see a chiropractor.”

I shook my head and dared to test my neck. I squeaked as a fresh spasm pierced me. “I’ll just sleep it off; it’s no problem.”

Kira was skeptical. “That kind of injury won’t heal overnight.”

My breath felt heavy as I gently toed off my shoes and tested a few steps. At least I’d be able to get home in one piece. Provided no one jostled me on the subway. I wanted to groan. The likelihood of not coming into physical contact with a stranger was impossible in the Bronx. Why wasn’t teleportation a thing yet?

“I’ll call my dad,” Kira announced. “He can help.”

The word “No” burst from my lips, and both Kira and Miles looked at me like the head of a Chihuahua had just sprouted from my shoulder.

“How about we call this rehearsal quits for now, and I’ll see someone in the morning, all right? We don’t need to tell your father about this.”

The two of them swapped glances. Miles shrugged, and they agreed. I could feel the genuine lift of relief as we wrapped up for the night.

I narrowly avoided a run-in with Theo, and despite the damage done to my back and his porch, that had to count as a win, didn’t it?

Chapter 18

Theo

CHIROPRACTIC CARE

Tuesday

The morning was busy. So busy, I didn’t have time to think. My coffee was cold before ten, and my hands had cracked four spines already. The two chiropractors I hired were already run off their feet, and my only half-hour break was taken up by an emergency appointment.

I followed my latest client out to the reception desk and picked up the file Mario prepared for me. My break-snatching client should have been here any second, and I needed to read up on their history.

But as my eyes barely glanced over the name, a familiar British voice ground out, “Oh, you’ve got to be bloody kidding me.”

My neck snapped toward the door, and there she was, scowling at me.

I was stunned.

Heat prickled the back of my neck as my eyes raked over the short, gauzy dress hanging from her shoulders, flowing just past her thighs. Her porcelain skin was bare, her hair hung lose around her shoulders, mussed and ruffled like she’d just woken up, and the flimsy sandals she wore showed off her dainty, manicured toes.

Mia’s filmy dress reminded me of the one she wore in the amphitheater, and my mind went as wild now as it did back then. With her looking the way she did, all I could think of was how easy it’d be to slip my hand under that dress, graze her soft, smooth skin, and finally feel her for myself.

“How are you here?” she grumbled at me. “You’re a carpenter, aren’t you?”

Mario looked from her to me, confused. “Uh, Mia Walker. You’re already in our record base.”