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His chest felt tight. He knew that. But he didn’t want to tie her down, make her feel like shehadto include him in her plans. “Becca, Iknowthat. But I don’t want her to feel…stuck with me. I want her to know she can come and go, that I’ll be here when she’s ready, but that she can also leave me when she needs to or wants to. And then come back to me. She’s always felt like she was disappointing her family with the things she wants. I don’t want to be someone else she has to worry about.”
Becca’s frown deepened, but she didn’t argue with that.
Because he was doing a good job, dammit. He was right not to pressure her.
Theo scrubbed a spot on his chest that was aching. So why did he feel so shitty?
Zander leaned in. "Okay, so you're trying to be cool and not pressure her. Let her have her space, do her thing. But you did make it clear that you want her here, right?"
"I told her she was welcome here anytime and that she has an open reservation at my place."
Zander gave him a funny look. Theo scowled back at him.
Dammit, that moment had been sweet. When he'd given her the ornament, he'd seen the emotion in her face. It had been good. It was just hard to explain to a bunch of people sitting around a bar table.
"She knows how I feel," Theo insisted.
"So you said the wordsI love you and want to be with you no matter where that is, or how that looks," Zander said. "I mean, if you said those words then yeah, she knows."
"I didn't say those exact words, no,” Theo said. “But things changed between us while we were gone. We got a lot closer. She knows we’re not just friends."
Zander sat back in his chair, looking disappointed. Disappointed in him.
Theo glanced around the table. Fuck. Zeke, Mitch, Beau, and the rest of the in-love assholes all looked disappointed too.
"What?" he asked, frustrated. He was trying to do right by Savannah first. These guys might have more relationship experience, but they didn’t knowSavannah. She washisto know and take care of and love.
"I think what they're not saying is that you're a big grump who lives alone in a cabin clear down on the bayou by yourselfbecausethere are no other people down there,” Kennedy Landry said. “In fact, you stood up in front of the city council and foughtSavannahto keep it that way.” She lifted a brow at him, though she was smiling. “It's pretty clear that you don't like a ton of people around and that you like things a certain way and that you’ve made your life the way you want it to be. So…you're exactly the type of person who needs tosaywhen you’re ready to make a change andtell peoplewhen you want them around."
Kennedy wasn't just the mayor. She was a cousin and sister to the Landry boys. Theo had basically grown up with her.
"I'm not grumpy withher,” he said, grumpily. But he was feeling grumpy toward all ofthem. Just not Savannah.
Kennedy laughed. "Okay. It still remains that you're not exactly a social butterfly. If you want to be a part of someone's life, and want them to be a part of yours, you have to be a little more obvious about it."
Theo thought about arguing that he'd socialized with the people at Mary Falls Lodge. But had he? He and Savannah had kept to themselves a lot. He'd been friendly, but most of the conversations at dinner and around the fireplace had been kept up by Savannah. And hell, they'd all been stuck together. It wasn't like he'd gone to the lodge on purpose or sought out a big group of strangers intentionally.
Suddenly he frowned as a realization occurred to him.
Hey," he said. He looked first at Zander then at Becca. "Savannah and I were stuck together. For three days. Completely. No escape.”
Becca nodded, her eyes wide withno shitclear in her expression. "Yeah. We know."
He leaned in. "She hates that. That's her biggest nightmare. She hates being stuck somewhere she can't get out of when she wants to. That gives her all kinds of anxiety."
Becca nodded slowly. "Yeah. It does."
Theo felt a small smile curling his lips. "But she didn't freak out at all in North Carolina. She wasn't anxious a bit. At least, not after we got off the road. The driving made her a little nervous, but once we got to the lodge, she didn't hate it at all. We had a great time. In fact, she was disappointed when they got the roads cleared earlier than expected."
Understanding dawned on Becca's face and she smiled as well. Then Theo looked at Zander. His friend was grinning and nodding.
"Well…wow," Theo said.
Zander laughed. "She's in love with you too, buddy."
Theo felt warmth bloom through his chest. "Yeah, she sure is." He frowned and looked at Becca. "Do you think she knows that?"
Becca thought about that for a moment. "Maybe. If she does, it's going to take a little bit for her to admit that to you, though. Or maybe even to herself."
Theo pushed back from the table. "You know what? I think I'll tell her. Just in case she doesn't know."
"You're gonna go tell her that you're in love with her?" Becca asked. "Or that she's in love with you?"
He grinned down at his future wife's best friend. "Yes."
