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I chuckled as he fled down the stairs. I knew he wanted the best for me and I’m sure it had to be weird for him to see his little sister start dating. But I was still trying to find my own footing in all this. I didn’t need him pestering any potential boyfriends until he scared them off.
A few minutes later, another knock came at the door, quieter this time. I expected the door to burst open in true Chase fashion, but he remained on the other side.
“It’s open,” I said.
Just as I took a breath to point out that he’d remembered to wait for a response this time, Theo stepped into view with my hot chocolate in hand.
“Extra marshmallows, as requested,” he said. “Chase got roped into watchingPolarExpressin the living room with the kids. You’re welcome to join us if you like.”
I accepted the mug, wrapping my hands around the gentle warmth of it.
“I’ll take a rain check. It’s nice to have some down-time.”
Theo’s gaze dropped to the books scattered on the bed beside me. Before I could stop him, he scooped up the nearest paperback with a smirk.
“A Hunk for the Holidays,” he read aloud. “Is that what you’re hoping Santa will bring you this Christmas? Probably won’t fit under the tree though.” He glanced at the cover, the male model bare chested despite the snowy backdrop. “He’s a tad underdressed, too. Gotta keep it PG for the kids.”
“Theo, don’t tease,” I pleaded. “I get enough of that from Chase.”
I set my mug aside and rose up on my knees, holding out my hand.
“Give me back my book.”
A wicked gleam came into Theo’s eyes that made my stomach drop.
Oh no.
“But now that I’ve seen the cover,” he said, “I simply have to know what sultry goodness lies between these pages.”
I scrambled toward him, making a grab for the book. He held it out of reach.
“Take it easy, tiger. I could help out, you know.”
I frowned at him.
“With what?”
“Dating.”
I let my hand drop to my side. Theo was twice my size and much stronger than me. I couldn’t take my book back from him, no matter how hard I tried anyway. God knows I needed dating advice. My family didn’t understand my interest in using dating apps. There was no way I was going to ask Chase for advice. My best friend, Anna Porter, had suggested I sign up for Fun & Flirty in the first place. She’d given me a few tips when I started, but she was out-going and friendly and she’d made it sound like matching with someone was as easy as pumpkin pie.
Well, considering I had yet to go on a date, I had to politely disagree. It wasn’t that easy.
Then again, the prospect of Theo giving me dating advice seemed intimidating, to say the least. He’d always had some girlfriend attached to his arm in high school. At twenty-seven years old, he probably had no problem finding a girl who was willing to date him.
Did I want his expertise, knowing full well it came with a romantic history miles long with countless girls in his past?
“I think I can handle it,” I replied.
Theo tilted his head with a look that clearly said,yeah, right.
Tossing the book on my bed, he sat on the foot of my mattress.
“Look, if your first kiss was anything like mine, it’s going to be a disaster.”
I sagged with disappointment and dropped onto the bed, folding my legs under me.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t know what I’m doing and it’s going to be so obvious and it seems like I’m so far behind everyone else but how am I supposed to practice when I’ve never dated anyone?”
