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Mena closed her mouth, grateful for the look of worry on the old man’s face.
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” she said, her voice high pitched and nervous.
Craig shrugged and turned to go, leaving the door open.
Her attention focused completely on Theo, who still hadn’t spoken, hadn’t offered up any explanation of what he wanted from her. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself together. She would not let the man who broke her heart see how much his presence was affecting her.
“Hello, Theo. It’s a surprise to see you.”
“Yes, I imagine it is.”
Mena has always loved that voice. It was low and growly. When they were together, she used to rest her head on his chest and feel the vibrations of it as he spoke. It had been rather incongruous for such a young man to have a voice like that, but he’d grown into it now.
“I thought you were still in Alberta.”
Mena blinked, completely taken aback. Had he really remembered where she went to school?
She’d been so in love with him when they were at college. It had been, she supposed, the type of massive crush that only the young were capable of.
Theo had been so effortlessly cool that she’d been overwhelmed when he actually asked her out. It hadn’t made anysense to her; why would the cute, rich, cool boy want anything to do with her?
It had never made any sense. Even though, she’d loved him more than she’d ever thought herself capable of, that seed of confusion had always been present.
When he broke up with her, it was a relief. A heartbreakingly painful relief, because it made sense that he’d dump her eventually.
“Uh, no,” she said. “I’ve been in New York for a few years.”
In college Theo used to wear clothes that didn’t look as expensive as they were. Artfully ripped jeans that only those who recognized the brand would ever guess the price of. The suit he was wearing now was far more obviously expensive than he used to be comfortable with. Also, she noted absently, it showed off his broad shoulders.
Just like back in college, she felt a strange mixture of things when she looked at him. Of course she was attracted to him, the clear masculinity of him, yet she felt frumpish in comparison to him. She was painfully aware that her skirt was from a Canadian second hand store and her shirt was a cast off from a roommate, given to her because of the stain under the armpit.
She was remembering something else he used to.
The way he’d watch her, like she was utterly fascinating. In college, she’d thought it was sweet, but that was when she thought he loved her, and before he trampled on her heart.
He was doing it again now; just staring at her. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, trying not to fidget under his scrutiny.
She clasped her hands on top of her desk, thinking about the sheer size of him standing there. He was a tall man, and the suit made him seem bigger than ever, in a way that only underlined how small her office was.
“So, what brings you here today?”
Theo finally sat down. His confidence gave him an easy power, like he was at home wherever he went.
That had been another thing that she used to find attractive, but now she leaned away from him.
“I recently came into possession of a dinosaur bone. It made me think of you. Of this museum.”
Mena chuckled. She would love to be in a position to justcome into possessionof a fossil.
“Huh, what kind of bone?
“An Acheroraptor skull fragment.”
Mena had known there was a skull fragment being auctioned off. Lisbet had gone to the auction to try and buy it. She’d hadn’t managed to get it because, in her words, some rich asshole had outbid her.
Mena supposed Theo would fit that description. That didn’t explain what he was doingherethough.
“Are you thinking about donating it? The museum is eager for more fossils to display.”
