AllFreeNovel
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I got the land for a steal, but I had to max out every dollar of leverage I could beg, borrow, or steal. I’m mortgaged to the hilt, with ruinous payments I won’t be able to float for much longer. I need to close this thing with Angus within the month.
The real trick will be making sure that Angus picksmyproperty and no other—and that’s where Theo comes in. I need to tie the land to Theo in his mind so he feels like he has to have it. So in the end, he feels like he’s getting everything.
It’s a risky little play, but so far, I’ve got Angus right where I want him. He would not stop asking questions about Theo’s and my relationship the entire time we were out.
It amuses me even while it stokes my disgust. Angus had Theo working right next to him for four years, and he never gavea fuck about her. He’s only become obsessed now that he thinks someone else wants her.
It’s classic dog in the manger psychology, and it’s exactly what I was counting on, but it still pisses me off. It’s only now that I’ve pulled Theo out of the mud and cleaned her off that Angus realizes he was trampling a diamond under his feet the whole damn time.
I love letting her sparkle. I bought her a new dress for Reese’s premiere even though Angus won’t be there. This one was just for me—to see the smile on her face when she tries it on.
Theo twirls in front of the mirror in my room, which is the only one that’s full-length in the house, outside of my parents’ old room. The dress has that ‘50s silhouette that looks so pretty on her, with a sweetheart neckline. I’m wearing a button-up grandpa shirt to match her vibe.
“I love it!” Theo’s smiling so brightly.
It’s easy to make her happy. I can’t stop doing things to make her smile.
I set a fresh stack of thrillers on the bed. “Since you burned through all my mom’s.”
“Notallof them…” Theo gives the books a guilty, hungry glance. “But more than I’d like to admit in a single week.”
She pounces on the thrillers, devouring the blurbs.
“Murderous housewives! And this one’s about a codebreaker… and one set in Alaska! I can’t wait to read these!” She throws her arms around me and hugs me with her cheek pressed against my chest, her head tucked under my chin. “You spoil me.”
She fits in my arms like puzzle pieces only wish they could fit.
I hold her like that, close my eyes, inhale.
And then…
Fear detonates, spattering everything with glittering black ink.
Happiness is dangerous.
It makes everything seem bright and shining and safe when it isn’t, not at all.
It’s the loveliness of Theo in this moment, the way she looks up at me, blue eyes, heart-shaped face, like a valentine in my arms, that makes me suddenly afraid. I know what happens when you adore someone like this.
I let go of her and step back. It’s abrupt—she blinks up at me curiously.
I say something, anything, to fill the space.
“It’s nice of you to come to this thing of Reese’s. I should warn you, it might be bad…”
“Worse than Mounties Getting Mounted?” Theo laughs.
The fact that she remembered that dumb joke makes the wrong look come over my face. I’m supposed to be laughing with her. Instead, I swallow hard. “No, you’re right—nothing can be worse than that, we’ll be fine.”
Theo takes my arm, walking with me out to the car.
I’m a robot with a glitch, all my systems shorting, blinking.
It’s a date…
It’s not a date.
She’s my girlfriend…
