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“No,” I barked. “I didn’t get bored with her. It was a simple misunderstanding. She wasn’t honest about what she wanted from our relationship and so she assumed I wasn’t, either. She was wrong, and that makes me the jerk?”
“Yeah? And what was it that she wanted from your relationship? More than the occasional fuck? More than a weekend here and there? Commitment?”
“I like hearing you say fuck. It’s hot.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Why are we talking about her when we should be talking about us. Where would you like me to take you for dinner?”
We just needed a chance. I needed for Teddy to see me today, not whatever she thought of me as a kid—and once she saw me as I was now, she would let herself give in to what we both wanted.
“Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘past is prologue’? Your past tells me exactly what I can expect from you now.” Her expression was smug, like she had me all figured out.
“And what can you expect from me now, Theodora?”
Heat flashed in her eyes for only a moment before she put it out, stood a little taller, and closed the gap between us. “A good time,” she conceded.
“That sounds like fun to me.”
“Nothing but a good time,” she clarified. “We might have a good time together, Cal, but I’m not looking for just a good time.”
“What’s wrong with a good time?” Why did everything have to end with wedding bells and umbilical cords?
“Nothing at all. I’ve had plenty of good times, but that’s not what I’m looking for. And even if I was, you would be the last man I’d choose.”
“Ouch. Why?”
She laughed and the sound was throaty and amused, an addictive sound that I bet the men in her life went out of their way to hear again and again. “You mean, besides the fact that you’re my brother’s best friend? My niece’s godfather?”
I nodded and Teddy laughed again.
“Okay.” She nodded and took a step back, letting her hands fall at her sides. “How about because I trusted you once and learned what a mistake it was?”
“What does that mean?”
She sighed and shook her head, half amused, but almost bitterly so. “The fact that you don’t remember is another reason, Cal. Let’s just drop this and get on with our lives. Things can go back to normal.”
“You mean, the normal where you ignore me and show up to family functions early or late to avoid me?”
“Exactly.” She smiled and gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat that felt condescending as hell. “That worked perfectly for everyone.”
“Not for me. Not for Antonio. Or Rosie.”
Teddy tossed her head back and laughed. “Is that supposed to make me feel guilty? Because I don’t.”
“Oh, I get it. You still have a crush on me and you’re worried if you spend too much time with me, you might fall for me.” She let out a loud burst of laughter and shook her head. “It’s all right, Teddy. I get that. Thanks for being honest about it.”
Her laughter faded. “You killed any affection I had for you years ago, Cal. Thanks for the reminder.”
Dammit, I was so close to getting a yes, I knew it. I could still feel the word on the tip of her tongue, but the reminder of her girlhood crush on me had reversed all my hard work. “Dammit!”
Time for plan B.
Teddy
“I’m not sure wearing a dress is the message I want to send.”
Hannah sounded distracted on the line, but I knew she was trying on outfits for her date.
“And what sign does a dress send? That you’re feminine and will wear whatever the hell you please?”
There were too many unspoken rules of dating, which was another reason I so rarely engaged in the ritual. I didn’t have time to think about what my outfit said other than I liked it and felt confident in it.
“He might think it’s easy access. I like this guy so far, but not enough to open the candy shop.” Hannah laughed at her own joke and then sighed. “This dress is so great, though.”
“Wear it and if he gets the wrong idea, kick him in the nuts. It works every time.” It always worked for me, anyway.
The doorbell rang and I let out a half-laugh. “Antonio must have a date and needs a last-minute babysitter.” No one else would dare darken my door this late on a Friday night. “I guess it’s a good thing I have no social life.” It was a sad, but true state of affairs.
“You could have one,” Hannah insisted. “So many guys in town want to ask you out, they’re just intimidated by you.”
I sighed. It was the same song I’d heard for years now. “If they’re intimidated so easily by a woman with a non-traditional job, they’re not the man for me.”
