Page 66 of Fake Out Hearts

Theo laughs again, patting Milo’s head. “Don’t be. I’m not. If we hadn’t split up, I wouldn’t be here with you and the puppo right now.”

Milo barks like he’s agreeing, and I smile.

A while back, Theo told me that he wasn’t interested in trying to find love after his divorce. I didn’t really get it at the time, but I’m starting to understand now. He rushed things with Valerie before he really knew her, and finding out who she really was the hard way must have made it hard for him to trust anyone enough to let them in again.

I know the feeling.

“Thanks for telling me. I really do like your parents, you know,” I say, changing the subject. Theo’s smile returns, and he sits up a little straighter on the couch.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m glad I got to meet them, even if it was a surprise.” Theo’s smile widens, but I leave out the part about how it reminds me of the mother-daughter bond I know I’ll never have with my mom. Or the same bond I’ll never have with my own daughter.

“I’m glad it went well too. Not that I was worried. You’re amazing and so are my parents, so it was kind of a no-brainer.”

“Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one in the hot seat all week,” I say, and Theo laughs.

“Fair. But speaking of being in the hotseat, we’ve got the gala tonight, remember? You’d probably better start getting ready.”

Shit. With his parents showing up unexpectedly, I’d completely forgotten about him asking me to go tonight. “Please don’t hate me, but I totally forgot. And I don’t think I have anything to wear tonight.”

Theo leans over to pat my hand. “Yes, you do.”

“Oh, so you know my wardrobe better than I do?” I tease, and he smirks.

“Why don’t you go to your room and see for yourself?”

I can barely believe my eyes when I step into my room and find an understated but no less immaculate, expensive sapphire cocktail dress spread out on my bed. A simple, small bow serves as the center piece, offset to the left of the stomach area. Just from looking at it, I can tell it’s the perfect size, but I don’t know how he figured that out. Did he go looking through my clothes or something?

Then it hits me: Anne. Of course it was her. She helped me pick out and try on all kinds of things while we were shopping, and I was too oblivious to realize that she and Theo were up tosomething until now. I check the time on my phone and cringe when I notice I only have about an hour to get ready before we have to leave.

There’s no time like the present, so I scoop the dress off the bed and hurry to the bathroom to peel off the rest of my clothes and shower quickly. I do my makeup in a rush, trying to match the shades of blue on my eyes to the dress. After, the dress slides up over my clean legs and hips, slipping comfortably onto my body like a second skin. I shimmy my arms into the sleeves, then turn to look at myself in the mirror and almost start crying because I can’t remember the last time I looked—or felt—this good. I have no idea where Theo found this dress or how he knew it would be so perfect, but it is.

A soft knock on the door startles me. “Becca? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But can you help me zip up?” I ask as I open the door. Theo takes one look at me and steps backward, his eyes wide. Something flashes in them, a heat I’m starting to feel way too familiar with, and I feel my face burning.

“You look fucking amazing,” he whispers, his gaze raking over me.

My heart skips a beat in my chest, and I turn around so that he can help me with the zipper. I watch his hands reach out in the mirror, and my breath catches as his fingers graze my bare skin before gripping the zipper. I can see his Adam’s apple bob in his reflection, and the air in the room seems to thicken so much that it’s hard to breathe.

“Thank you,” I whisper as he finishes dragging the zipper up.

He nods, a muscle in his jaw working as he steps back. He looks incredible too. Although I’ve seen him dressed up in suits plenty of times before games, he went all out tonight, wearing a perfectly tailored dark blue suit that I’ve never seen before.

I don’t know what to do with the overwhelming tension between us, so I pretend I can’t feel it, putting on a bright smile as I do a little spin to show him the full effect.

“What do you think? Am I gala worthy?”

“Are you kidding? You could be a gallery of your own.” His gaze lingers on my face for a long moment, and then he clears his throat and glances away. “But you forgot something.”

He holds up a hand, then disappears down the hall to my room. I have no idea what he’s going after until he reappears a few seconds later and holds out his hand. My breath hitches as I see my wedding ring glinting on his palm.

“Oh. Right.”

I hold out my hand, which only shakes a little as he slips the ring on my finger for me. Even though he’s done this before, it still feels loaded with meaning, and he holds my hand in his for a lingering moment after my ring is on. Then he nods and releases it.

“Now it’s perfect,” he murmurs, a small smile curving his lips as he looks at the ring on my finger. “Ready to go?”

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