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I break away first because I respect his priorities.
“Good night, grumpy.”
“Sweet dreams, sunshine,” he whispers and kisses my cheek.
And I swoon.
He leans against the doorframe as he watches me head to my car. It’s not until I turn out of his driveway that he closes the front door.
The night plays on repeat as I drive home. It’s only dusk at nine in July, so the twenty-minute drive is easy.
I realize that Theo was so far from grumpy tonight, it’s the Theo I could become addicted to. While I love his crankiness as it gives him a certain charm, I think the version I saw of him tonight is the truest form of the man. I wish his life afforded him more time to be free of all the weight he carries around.
It isn’t until I walk into my living room, kicking my heels off before face-planting into the couch that I realize I never brought up what the hell we were doing with each other. Twice now we’ve had sex, and zero times we have stopped to talk about what this all means. I’m falling for this man hard and fast.
I know he enjoys my presence, but I’m not sure he sees a future between us. My eyes burn at that thought because all I see is the future I would love to have. With him.
Chapter 12
MORE DELICATE THAN I THOUGHT
CASSIE
“Knock, knock,”Layla says in lieu of actually knocking.
“Hey, boo.” I smile over my computer screen. “Let me finish this email.”
“No worries, I’m a couple minutes early,” she replies and closes the door behind her.
I continue typing, but look up at her again. She’s got two ice teas from downstairs and places one on the round, glass coffee table as she sits down and makes herself comfy.
“What do you mean, early?”
“I scheduled a meeting. It starts in two minutes,” Layla singsongs.
I chuckle, shaking my head at her antics. Hitting send, I peek at my calendar and sure enough, she booked an hour under the client name, “Your Bestie Needs A Minute.”
“Whelp, look at that, you really are on my calendar.” I click out of my browser and walk around my desk to join her.
“You bet your ass I am. We haven’t had girls’ night in weeks. You’re too busy. So I figured this was the only way to catch up. Also, I got you a peach tea.”
I snatch up the clear plastic cup and take a refreshing drink. “Hmm. I needed this,” I say with a sigh.
“The tea or Layla time?” she challenges.
Grinning, I take another sip. “The tea, one hundred percent, but also, I’ve missed you. So I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’ll take it.” She smirks, drinking her fruity drink with dried dragon fruit pieces in it. “All right. So update me.”
I pretend to think about what I want to talk to her about, but like all good best friends, they tend to know when you need to talk through things. So I’m just being a brat.
She waits patiently for me, with a bored look on her face.
“What about you? Seeing anyone?” I tease.
“Nope, the agenda clearly states that the first half of the meeting is about you. I get the last thirty.”
Twisting toward her, I pull my leg up and under me. I glare at her and say, “I didn’t receive an agenda.”
