Page 131 of With Us

“Movie time with Gus. Ben is still teaching me to bake.” I grinned. “Luc even taught me how to be as good as he is on my phone.” When the expected snort came from the side, I corrected myself. “Okay, I still suck. But I have a bunch of apps, and I’m getting better.” Some sadness started to seep in, but I tried to hide it. “Other than that, just spending time with everyone.”

“Wrap it up,” the guard said from the door, earning a scowl from Theoandme as we both stood.

“I’ll see you soon?” I said to Theo.

“Fucking bet on it,” he growled, seconds before actually launching himself across the table at me. Pulling my body tight to his, his kiss was filled with so much love and desperation, I lost my breath. He pushed me away within seconds, his lips brushing softly against mine as he whispered, “I love you, gattina.”

Maybe I was more like my mom than I’d ever thought. I seemed to have inherited her taste in men, to a certain degree.

Unlike my mom, I wouldn’t have tolerated abuse or cheating, no matter how much I loved him.

Still, I’d hooked up with a guy who was in prison for something he didn’t do. He’d taken the blame, meaning he’d probably done something worse.

I knew it.

I just didn’t care.

Because the only things that would change the way I felt about Theo, were the kinds of things he wasn’t capable of doing.

Stupidly and beyond reason, I loved Theo.

And I told him so. “I love you, too. No matter what.”

His eyes closed, his forehead resting on mine. His hands gripped my biceps tightly, as if he were fighting the urge to pull me close again. I got the feeling enough rules were being broken at that moment.

“I’ll see you soon,” I said more confidently as he released his hold on me.

“Fucking bet on it,” he repeated, walking to Luc. He murmured something to him that I couldn’t hear before turning and grinning at me, his dimples deep. There was an edge in his eyes that was disconcerting. “Give up everything for you.”

As he walked with the guard through a thick set of metal doors, Luc and I made our way through a different waiting room toward an exit. Tears rolled down my cheeks, starting slowly before building until there was pretty much a constant stream. Luc didn’t say anything at first, just wrapping his arm around me. I felt the eyes on me, but I ignored them as we walked toward the car.

Only once we were completely clear of the area did I look at Luc, wiping my face. “Believable?”

“Very.”

???

Holding the cell to my ear, I listened impatiently to the ringing.

“How’d it go?” Julie asked as soon as she picked up.

Does she know it’s me?

“Uhh, it’s Dahlia.”

“I know. How’d it go?”

I thought about seeing Theo in prison. Of his kiss, the sting of his lies, the pain of leaving him, and the bomb Luc dropped when we left about Theo getting out.

“Amazing. Difficult. Gut-wrenching. Confusing.”

Julie’s voice turned soft. “That all makes sense.” She hesitated for a moment. “Did Luc talk to you?”

“Yes… Did he talk to you?”

“Rachelle did. Did Luc say how long?”

As if we were being listened to, our words were guarded.

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