AllFreeNovel
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His smile disappears instantly, and his eyebrows raise in alarm. “Do you…do you do that often?”
“No!” I sigh and admit, “Once. But it was an emergency.”
Theo roars in laughter.
“Oh my God.” I bury my face in my hands. “I am going to muck this up for sure.”
“You won’t.”
“I apologize in advance.”
He tilts his head, both of his massive hands on the steering wheel. “Apologize for what?”
“Anything. Everything.” I swing my hands in the air as if I am conjuring a spell. “I’m a mess.”
“Maybe I like messy.” His eyes have a spark of playfulness.
“Then you won’t be disappointed.” I squirm in my seat again. It must look like a child doing the pee-pee dance. “But for real, Theo, how much longer?”
“We’re here.”
He veers to the left and drives along a paved driveway that weaves uphill, trees on either side, until we reach a modern mansion overlooking a lake.
“Wow.” Is the only word I can think of to say. The house is impressive. It looks like a museum for modern art, and I am sure the inside will be drop dead gorgeous, too.
Theo parks his car, hops out, and rounds the hood to open my door, helping me out. We walk up the steps to the front door and Theo rings the doorbell. After a few seconds of waiting, Caleb opens the door with a smile. I’m surprised I’m relieved to see a familiar face, even though I’m here to deceive him.
“Hey, lovebirds!” He hugs Theo and looks down at me. “Glad you both made it. It’s good to see you again, Cate.” He opens his arms, offering a hug, so I embrace him. “Come on in. Let me have your coats.” He takes our jackets and hangs them in the foyer closet. “Everyone’s in the kitchen.” He closes the door and starts off down the marble floored hallway.
“The bathroom is in here,” Theo whispers in my ear, his hand on a door to our left. His lips being so close to my ear sends a shiver down my spine.
“Great,” I whisper. I put my hand on the doorknob and he leans against the wall next to the door. “Please tell me you aren’t going to stand out here and listen to me pee.”
“Is it worse than hearing you throw up?”
“Theo.” I warn.
“Would you prefer I leave you to make an entrance on your own?” He crosses one of his ankles in front of the other.
He makes an excellent point. Attempting to find the kitchen in this mansion and then walking into the preverbal den of wolves on my own isn’t at all appealing. I nod in agreement.
“Fine. But you have to plug up your ears.”
“Seriously?”
“If you want me to go through with our deal, I insist.” I pop my hip to the side and plant both hands along my waistline. His eyes follow the movement, and he seems entranced for a moment.
“You win this one.” He sticks his fingers into his ears. “Happy?”
“Yes, Théoden.” I give him the evil eye, warning him to keep those fingers in his ears and he smiles as I enter the bathroom.
My jaw hits the floor as soon as I flick the light on. If this is a guest bathroom, it is miles bigger than the shared bathroom at my place. There is a massive skylight in the ceiling and every inch of the white bathroom is covered in marble. There are also family pictures of the five of them in Greece. The unreal blueness of the Mediterranean Sea is a striking contrast to the white walls.
I realize I am taking too long for a simple pee stop and quickly do my business, wash my hands, check my hair and make-up, and slip back out into the foyer. I am pleased Theo still has his fingers up by his ears and I take a second to drink him in. His effortless, lazy, relaxed stance. His tall, lean body. That dark hair I want to sink my fingers into and tussle.
As if he can hear my thoughts, he glances up at me and slowly lowers his hands from his ears. Theo pushes himself up from the wall and extends his hand to me.
“Ready, babe?” He smiles.
