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Theo followed my example, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully, his forehead creasing as he appeared to mull over my words.
"Were you on anything?" he asked.
"On anything…you mean like drugs?" My brows shot up.
Theo rolled his eyes. "Yes, obviously I mean drugs."
"No. Of course not. Jesus, Theo."
He shrugged. "Just making sure. No one could have slipped something into a drink you had or anything like that?"
I shook my head. "I was at the dig site all day. I had my own water bottle."
"Okay. Jet lag and a lack of food wouldn't be enough to explain all that. Maybe a vitamin deficiency or something, but it hasn't happened again, right?"
A wave of relief crashed over me as Theo continued to consider the possibilities. I hadn't even realized how afraid I'd been that he would laugh or mock me too, or just dismiss it all. But I should have known better. Theo was nothing if not the ultimate problem-solver. Logical was practically his middle name.
"What are you smiling at?" he asked.
I looked up to find him watching me, brown eyes narrowed. "I'm guessing you don't think the site is cursed, then."
"It wouldn't be my first hypothesis," he told me, dimple appearing in one cheek.
"So what would?"
His smile faded. "No idea. But I don't think you imagined it," he added quickly when my own smile fell. "Whatever happened, the answer has to be with the book, right? We just need to know more about it." He took a slurping bite of noodles. "And now that I'm here, we'll have everything straightened out in no time."
I pretended to swoon. "Oh yes, the mighty history postdoc, swooping in to save the day. How ever did we get by without you?"
He smirked. "Hey, I know at least one person who's glad I'm here."
"Oh yeah? Who's that?"
Theo tilted his head. "Your dad. Let me think. I believe his exact words were, 'Keep an eye on her, Teddy. You know how impulsive she can be.'"
I nearly spit out my water. "Me? I'm the impulsive one? Has he even met you?"
"Yes, but in case you've forgotten, I can do no wrong."
"How could I possibly forget?" I grumbled. "You and my dad both remind me on a daily basis."
"Only because we love you."
My heart gave a little lurch. I knew what he meant. Of course he loved me. That didn't mean he loved me loved me. Why was I focusing on this? It wasn't—
"You okay there, unicorn? You look like you just bit into some bad cabbage."
I made an attempt to smooth out my expression. "I'm fine."
Theo took a deep breath, setting his fork on the edge of his plate. "Look, River, I'm glad you told me all of that. And I swear whatever is going on here, we'll figure it out together, like we always do, right?"
I nodded.
"But you know that's not the reason I called noodles. We need to talk. Or maybe I just need to talk. Look," he said again, running a hand through his dark hair, "I want you to know that I don't regret what happened between us."
My face flamed and I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand. "Wait, let me finish. I don't regret it, and I don't think I really want to know if you do or not. But your friendship is more important to me than anything else, and if you want to—" He broke off and took a long breath. "What I'm saying is, if you need things to go back to normal between us, then I can handle that."
"I thought we'd already decided that we wouldn't talk about it and things would go back to normal," I said, ignoring the heat in my cheeks.
