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Theo is grinning down at me. I would give my right arm to know what he was thinking this second. The way he looks at me is different and makes me feel… wanted.
“What is it?” I whisper.
Theo leans in close, and his lips brush my cheek. He says, “I don’t think I told you before, but you look beautiful.”
My heart stops. Literally. Stops. Beating.
“Tha…” I clear my throat. “Thank you.”
“They all love you,” he adds. “They really think we’re a couple. They don’t suspect a thing.”
And there it is. For a moment I forgot I was there to deceive them. I am here to fulfill my end of the bargain. I gulp down my feelings and nod.
“I’m glad,” is all I can manage to say.
Theo’s hand touches the small of my back and he gently leads me to the family table where Athena has handwritten name cards placed on top of the crisp white and blue porcelain plates. The food fills the middle of the circular table and is a smorgasbord of Greek delicacies. If I close my eyes, I could have sworn by smell alone, I was on a Mediterranean cruise.
Once we are all seated in our designated seats, Athena instructs us to pass plates for her to fill. Dolmadakia, keftethes, moussaka, chicken shawarma, tzatziki, salad with mounds of feta cheese, and baklava. A feast fit for royalty.
My mouth waters as soon as my plate is filled and passed back to me. I stab my fork into the moussaka and lift it to my lips when the game of deception truly begins.
“So, Cate,” Tess smiles across the table at me. “You have to tell us how you and Theo met.”
I clear my throat and place my fork down, mourning the missed morsel.
“We met at a coffee shop.” Somehow the truth seems like a lie coming from my lips.
“Hey!” Caleb cracks up and points at me. “That’s where I met you.”
My eyes widen. Theo rests his hand over my hands twitching in my lap.
“Coffee shops,” I smirk, “best place to meet men.”Oh. God.“I mean, well, at least the best place to meet the Bennett brothers.”
All seven levels of Hades, Cate, pull yourself together.
To my surprise, everyone at the table laughs.
“My darling,” Athena wipes her eyes with a linen napkin. “You have such a marvelous sense of humor. I see why my son is so fond of you.”
“So, you met in a coffee shop.” Sarah starts up once everyone settles down. “How did you two, you know, hit it off?”
“What a good question, Sarah,” I glance up at Theo. Whattheysee is a girlfriend sweetly smiling at her beau. When in actuality, Theo is experiencing the full-blown panic of a deer in headlights trapped in my eyes. “Maybe you should take this one.”
Theo obliges. I mean, how could he not? I’m a hop, skip, and jump away from mucking this whole scheme up.
“Honestly,” he wraps his arm over the back of my chair. “I saw her reading a book, walked up to her, and just sat down. She couldn’t have gotten rid of me, even if she tried.”
A collective awe spreads through the table. And even I am ready to join in. That was so sweet.
“Here’s the tough question,” Steven chimed in. “What book was she reading?”
“There’s no way you remember.” I snort with a mouth full of food.
“How much do you want to bet?” Theo’s eyes sparkle.
“Ohhhh! A bet! We have a bet on the table.” Tess leans forward and everyone goes quiet.
Jeez, they take their bets seriously.
