Page 124 of Wish You Were Mine
Not to anyone.
Not without ruining everything.
From outside the pantry, I heard Theo muttering to himself, something that sounded like“She must be reverting.”And it took me a second to realize he was probably talking about Charlotte.
Lucy’s eyes widened. When Theo’s footsteps got closer, I worried he was coming down for a midnight snack. But his footsteps continued on, and a moment later, the front door creaked.
“I better get out there,” Lucy whispered, already straightening her dress, her voice breathless. “If he doesn’t see me, he might come looking.”
I nodded, still trying to catch my own breath, and she slipped out the door.
I got myself to my feet and leaned back against the shelves, dragging a hand through my hair.
That was so close.
Way too close.
Seconds later, I heard the door open again—Theo returning.
“Where’d you come from?” His voice came from the other room. “Were you in here when I walked by a second ago?”
“I was just putting some tablecloths in the laundry room,” she said, her tone light, easy. “Is Charlotte already asleep?”
“Not yet.” Theo grunted. “Had another accident, so she’s just getting dressed after her bath.”
“Oh, I’m sorry about that.”
“Yeah,” Theo said. “I don’t know what’s going on. She’s having so many accidents. Has a harder time going to daycare lately, too. I wonder if anything happened that’s making her revert.”
“I hope not,” Lucy said, concern in her voice.
“Me too. I’ll have to ask her teachers if they’ve noticedanything.” There was a brief pause and then he asked, “Hey, is Owen still here?”
“Owen?” Lucy asked, her voice raising a notch.
“Uh, I guess you know him better as Professor Park,” Theo said. “I’m pretty sure I saw his car out front just now.”
Oh crap.
That wasn’t good.
Should I just come out now?
Formulating a quick plan in my head, I stepped out of the pantry, doing my best to look casual andnotlike a man who had just been making out with his friend’s sister.
“Hey—sorry,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “I, uh…realized I left my phone somewhere. Lucy let me back in to look.”
“You left it in the pantry?” Theo’s brow arched.
I shrugged casually as I could manage. “Must’ve set it down while I was grabbing something from up high during the party.”
Theo studied me for a second, his eyes narrowing just slightly…then he nodded. “Well…glad you found it.”
Crisis mostly averted.
“Actually,” he added, “while you’re still here, I was wondering if you wanted to come to Lucy’s gymnastics meet with me tomorrow. It was fun last time. And since we’re up against your alma mater…”
My eyes flicked to Lucy, who was working hard to keep her face calm, and back to Theo.
