Page 68 of Love You, Mean It

“Sounds good.”

I moved to the baseline and Theo approached, a few balls in hand. His hand caught mine as he passed me one.

“Don’t let her get to you, okay? She’s always beenwaytoo competitive.” He side-eyed Sam over the net. Warmth radiated from somewhere beneath my sternum at the tender, protective look that had settled on his brow. But…this wasn’t what was supposed to be happening. The speed with which Theo had accepted the invitation proved Sam’s claim: He loved tennis. Who wouldn’t want a partner that shared that passion?

“Don’t worry, Theo. I’m a big girl.” I pulled my hand away, ignoring the tingle of his touch, and moved into position. “Okay, so…love-love. That’s what you say, right?” Everett nodded. With a deep breath, I pulled my racket back, tossed the ball overhead, swung through the air…

And whiffed.

“No worries, El. Try to toss from your shoulder. And once it reaches the top of the throw, that’s when you swing,” Theo said, miming the motions.

“Right. Okay, got it.” Somehow I’d thought this would comeback to me more easily. Yes, Sam was supposed to shine by comparison, but I hadn’t thought I’d bequiteso terrible. Heart beating a little faster, I tried again. This time, the serve connected, sailing high over the net and onto Everett’s side of the court…just outside the sideline.

“Out,” he called.

“I think it hit the line,” Theo said.

“Oh comeon,Theo,” Sam snorted. “That was definitely out.” Theo’s jaw tightened, but he nodded once.

“Alright, Ellie, switch sides,” Theo said, walking over to my half of the court. Obediently, I moved to the other corner, served again…and slammed the ball into the net.

“Fault,” Everett called.

“Yes, we noticed, Ev.” Theo raised an eyebrow. Everett shrugged good-naturedly. I tried again and managed to hit it into the right quadrant. Sam swatted the ball toward Theo. The ball whipped back and forth for a few rounds, then Sam, brow lowering, twisted her wrist, directing it straight at me. I ran, reached…

“Sorry.” I sagged a bit as the ball flew past.

“It’s okay, you did great.” Theo moved over to give me a quick shoulder squeeze before resuming his position.

We managed to eke out the next point—I say we, but it was definitely all Theo—but after a particularly hard-fought volley for the next, Everett hit the ball just past Theo’s reach, into what should have been my territory. I flailed at it with a backhand…and missed.

“Nice one, Ev. I never realized you were such an ace!” Sam raised her hand, and he grinned widely as he high-fived her. “Next point’s game,” she crowed across the net, forehead glistening with sweat, a preemptive look of triumph settling on her pretty features.

“We’re well aware, Sam,” Theo said tightly. “Give us a sec?”

He moved over to me, taking my hand in his and lowering his voice.

“Hey…you okay?”

“Of course. It’s just a game, right?” I smiled weakly. I didn’tactually care about tennis, but being the obvious weak link didn’t feelgreat.

“Absolutely. Not that some people remember that.” He flicked a narrow-eyed gaze across the net.

Shit.Somehow my total inability to keep up meant that instead of reminding him how fun this thing he’d shared with Sam had been, how funtheyhad been as a couple, it was making Theo feel protective ofme.

“I’m sure they’re just trying to make sure I don’t feel…patronized.” I blinked, not particularly convincing even to myself. “Clearly I’m not going to be wowing Belle Glen with how well I fit in anytime soon, huh?” That wouldhaveto register with Theo, wouldn’t it? That the person who actually fitted into his life, his world, was less than a hundred feet away?

“I don’t know about that. Can I show you something? About your backhand?”

“Oh, uh…sure, okay.”

“So, you’re using a two-handed backhand, which is fine, but your hips aren’t really rotating into the shot, so it’s not going where you want.”

“When I even manage to connect.”

Theo smiled gently.

“You’re getting better. Anyway, when youdoconnect, you want to really nail it, right? Right now you’re doing this.” He demonstrated. “But you should do this.” Theo demonstrated the “right” move, then showed both actions again. I squinted. Maybe his hips swiveled slightly more?

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