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He held up a hand to stop me. “No. Absolutely not. The only reason to grovel to Mal is if you love her and want her to be yours. Long term. No scheduled sex. No whatever other stupid parameters you put around your heart. You gotta be all in. Or walk away for good.”
62
MALLORY
I didn’t workthe rest of last week after the accident. Today, Monday, was my first day back. I was tired but feeling better. If sad and depressed and droopy was feeling better.
I came out of school, expecting Bridge to be waiting to pick me up. I’d texted her a half hour ago to give her a heads up on when I would be done. My car had been totalled and I hadn’t finalized the insurance paperwork to get a replacement.
It wasn’t Bridge though, but Theo.
I pulled my coat closer around me as I went over to him. He was leaning against his car door, patient as ever. As handsome as ever, too. His beard was trimmed so he didn’t look too unruly, giving a balance to his doctor persona and his new small town life.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I tried to keep my heart from beating out of my chest–to try to get to him–but it was hard. He looked good, as if he was a piece of cake I hadn’t had in a while but knew was delicious.
“To give you a ride home.”
“Is Bridge okay?”
He nodded. “She’s fine.”
“She’s in trouble,” I muttered.
He shook his head. “I’m the one in trouble, aren’t I?”
I went around the car to the passenger side and he followed, opening it for me.
Climbing in, I set my bag on the floor at my feet.
Theo slid into the driver’s seat and shut the door, cocooning us in quiet. And his scent.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, doing his body scan again. I felt heat wherever his gaze went.
“Fine. I slept most of the weekend. Just some bruises left.”
“Headaches?”
I shook my head.
He grabbed three little leather balls and held them up. “I was going to juggle for you when you came out.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You juggle?”
Nodding, the corner of his mouth tipped up. “Silas and I learned one summer. Thought we might go and join the circus and needed a talent.”
My smile faded. “You mean run away.”
“Yes.”
“Because of your dad.”
His eyes were on mine. He barely blinked, barely looked away. Just lookedintome.
“Yes. He was never around. When he was, he used our affection for him as a weapon. Critiqued everything we did. If we played soccer, we had to win. If we didn’t win, we sucked. He told us that, then gave us the silent treatment. Silas and I picked up juggling and it was… fun.”
“Fun?” I asked, smiling.
“Until he said that Silas was better than me. Made juggling a competition. My brother and I hated each other by the time the summer was up. My dad laughed and said we were failures, that we couldn’t even really juggle.”
