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I shrug. “Sometimes, sure.”
Theo gives a low chuckle and leans back in his chair. “So whoisthis Callie person?” he asks, and the fact that he hasn’t answered my original question isn’t lost on me.
“My friend.” I finish my tea and put my mug in the sink. “A real one, not an imaginary one. She’s coming over.”
“Is that so?”
“Why?” I demand, crossing my arms. “Is that a problem?”
He frowns, looking genuinely surprised. “Why would it be?”
That catches me off-guard, making me blink. “I... guess I just figured you’d want to keep me locked up here until you were sure I wasn’t going to blow up the business. Isn’t that why Lucas has you watching me in the first place? Because he doesn’t trust me?”
Theo crosses his arms. “I guess it’s a good thing Lucas isn’t here, then,” he says, “because I have no intention of keeping you from living your life.”
That comes as more of a relief than I’m expecting it to, but I still can’t resist a little jab. “So you’re... what, just here for moral support?”
“You could say that.” He nods at the kettle. “Enough left for another cup?”
“Help yourself.”
Theo crosses the room to the counter, his arm brushing mine as he reaches for the teapot. I jump a little at the contact, telling myself I’m being ridiculous when a burst of butterflies erupts in my stomach.
“For what it’s worth, it’s good you’re having friends over,” Theo tells me, and if he notices my reaction, he gives no indication. “This life can get lonely, if you let it. You have to find people who have your back, or else you start to wonder if you’re doing the right thing.”
“I have people,” I reply, giving him a wry grin.
“Not just your family,” Theo says, turning back to me with his mug in hands. “I’m talking about peopleoutsidethis little circle of ours. People who can keep you grounded when the shit hits the fan. That’s how you survive this life, kid.”
“You act like I haven’t grown up in this life,” I remind him. “I knew what I was signing up for.” I clear my throat and look away. “What I wasbeingsigned up for.”
“Spoken like someone with a chip on her shoulder,” Theo observes.
I sigh, the belligerent sarcasm going out of me in a rush. “It’s not exactly achip,” I reply, choosing my words carefully. “I’m willing to do what I have to for this family, this alliance. I just wish someone had asked me howIfelt about it first.” I shake my head, coming back to myself. “That must sound incredibly spoiled.”
“Not spoiled,” Theo replies. “Honest.” He thinks for a moment and then adds, without a hint of sarcasm, “I think I’m starting to see why you needed that second drink.”
“Back at the Diamond Club?” I laugh. “And there I was yesterday, thinking you didn’t remember me.”
“Of course I remember you,” Theo replies in a low voice, taking a step closer to me. His breath stirs a stray lock of hair that’s fallen loose from my bun, and I can smell the familiar scent of his cologne. He reaches out to tuck the loose strand behind my ear, and I shiver at the touch, my eyelids fluttering against my cheeks. “How could I not?”
My heart is pounding in my chest, my ears ringing, but through my hitching breath, I’m aware of just how bad an idea it is to let him so close to me. “That’s nice of you to say,” I tell him, desperate to break the tension that fills the air between us, “but it doesn’t change the fact that I need to keep a stiff upper lip. That’s what everyone keeps telling me, and it’s the truth. Besides,” I add, “why do you care? I’m Lucas’s problem, not yours.”
There’s a faint smile on Theo’s face, his silver eyes bright, and I can almost swear he sees straight through me. “Maybe I just don’t want to see you crash and burn.”
I open my mouth to say something stupid: to ask him why, or, hell, maybe even to ask about the kiss. But I’m saved by the bell—literally. The doorbell rings, and I spring away from him, realizing how close I came to replaying that night. “That must be Callie,” I say, rushing to answer it without bothering to wait for Theo’s response.
My best friend is waiting for me in the hallway, and her face lights up when she sees me. “And here I was afraid being a Mrs. would change you,” she says, laughing as she takes in my state of dress.
I feign shock, my hand flying to my chest. “Me? Never!”
Callie laughs, but her eyes go wide as she steps into the apartment. “Damn, Vivian,” she says. “This place is so...”
“Gaudy?” I supply. “Ostentatious? Tacky? Pretentious?”
“Big,” she finishes as her attention moves to the framed paintings. “But now that you mention it, yeah. God, did he really put a Pollock next to a Dali?”
“I missed you,” I say, pulling her into a hug as we start toward the kitchen. “Honestly, I feel like Alice in Wonderland. Everything’s upside-down. Oh, and speaking of which, there’s something—”
