Page 116 of Wish You Were Mine
“You’ve got a lot to navigate,” I said, clearing my throat. “But you deserve to be happy, too. To fall in love again. Find someone to share your life with.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Theo’s eyes softened. “I just wish there was a way to skip all the bad dates and just…find the right girl.”
“Isn’t that the trick?” I chuckled. “Sadly, the dating apps haven’t nailed that perfect algorithm yet.”
“Well, they need to get on that,” Theo said, managing a smile. “I’m not getting any younger. And Charlotte deserves a mom.”
He looked like he was about to say something else when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and frowned.
“Oh, it’s Lucy. I better take this. Something might be wrong with Charlotte.”
I nodded, trying not to look like I already knew exactly what Lucy was about to tell him.
“Hey, Lucy,” he answered, stepping a few paces away as he pressed the phone to his ear.
I checked the time. 6:50 p.m. Right on schedule.
I grabbed another axe and threw it, landing just outside the bullseye as I waited for him to come back.
“Hey,” he said a moment later, looking flustered. “Lucy said she started a load of laundry for me and just walked in to find it overflowing from the drainpipe. Water’s getting everywhere and she’s not sure what to do.”
“Oh no,” I said, layering in the concern like I hadn’t been expecting it. “We better get you home before anything gets damaged.”
“Yeah. Sorry, man.” He winced. “I hate to cut it short.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, waving the thought away. “We can have a re-match another time.”
We dropped off our axes and then grabbed our coats to step outside. As we headed toward my car, I pulled out my phone and fired off a quick text to Lucy:
Me: On our way. See you soon.
It was probably unnecessary since she most likely already knew. But for some reason, I wanted to feel like we were in this together.
“The laundry room’s just off the kitchen,” Theo said as he opened the front door, motioning for me to follow.
“Okay,” I said, my pulse kicking up a notch as I stepped in behind him.
And sure enough, we had barely crossed the threshold to the main living area when a dozen people suddenly jumped out from their hiding places and yelled, “Surprise!”
Theo flinched so hard he nearly jumped out of his shoes. “Holy crap,” he muttered, his wide-eyed gaze bouncing from face to face as the realization sank in.
Then his eyes landed on Lucy.
She stood in the corner next to us, one arm wrapped around Charlotte, her smile bright, like she’d been waiting all day for this exact reaction.
“So…” Theo stared at her, squinting suspiciously. “My house isn’t actually flooding?”
“Everything’s fine.” Lucy laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I just needed a good excuse to get you back here.”
“And you couldn’t have thought of something less stressful?” Theo let out a breath, dragging a hand through his hair. “I was panicking the whole way over, just praying it wouldn’t cause any real damage since I really don’t have time for a renovation right now.”
“Sorry.” Lucy shrugged like she wasn’t sorry at all.
Theo turned to me next. “Were you in on this, too?”
“Your sistermighthave enlisted my help in getting you out of the house.” I gave him a guilty shrug. “Just so she could set everything up.”
“And here I thought you just wanted to be besties with me.” He gave me a playful nudge. “But thanks. This is fun.”
