Page 33 of Bone to Pick
Edgar rolled his eyes. “This is excruciating. Get to the good part, Doc.”
The edge of Theo’s lips twitched up. “I brought dinner to you. Well, to everyone. There’s a taco truck outside. And since it would be a little excessive to bring it here just for the two of us, I—”
Laci blurted, “He invited all our families! Isn’t he the sweetest!”
“Unlimited tacos,” Edgar clarified with an awed voice. “Forallof us. They’re already parked out there next to the basketball court. And just sayin’, Doc, if Porter won’t date you, I’ve got a single uncle and two older cousins you could check out. Because seriously, nothing says love like unlimited tacos.”
Laci and Raquon grabbed my hands and pulled me down the hall and out the door to the parking lot. Sure enough, Hannabury’s most popular food truck was happily twinkling like a beacon with its strings of fairy lights while the mouth-watering smells of fresh tacos wafted in the crisp winter air.
I looked back at Theo in shock as his gesture sank in. “You did this? For me? Why?”
He handed me the flowers and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. “Because I figured if I wanted to get your attention, the best way would be by taking care of the kids you love.”
“You were right,” I agreed softly.
The kids raced past us to get in line at the truck’s serving window. Parents got out of their cars to join them. Music poured from the speakers on the truck and filled the area with a festive atmosphere.
I turned to Theo, flowers in one hand, and looped a finger into his belt buckle. “Hi.” I breathed him in. “Hi.”
“Hey. Congratulations on no longer being a Hannabury student,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Thank fuck,” I whispered against his cheek.
“Porter… I have a lot of things to say to you, but first and foremost…” He glanced around at the kids and the impromptu party atmosphere he’d created. “Will you come home with me tonight?”
I laughed, so relieved I couldn’t stand it. “I was planning on it. I, uh… might have already picked out a sonnet to scream at your house if I had to.”
He pulled back and smiled at me. “You were planning on coming to me?”
“Seven weeks and one day, remember?”
Theo’s smile lit up the parking lot even more than the food truck’s twinkle lights and the giant floodlights over the nearby basketball court. “Seven weeks ago, I wanted to ask you to wait for me, but I couldn’t. I needed to make sure you didn’t feel obligated or pressured.”
“I understand,” I admitted. And I did, when I wasn’t under tequila’s dubious influence. “You were in a difficult position. And we didn’t know where I’d be after the semester was over either.”
“And now?” he asked eagerly.
“Now… I’m going to be program director here at the Hub,” I said with excitement I couldn’t conceal. “I wrote a whole bunch of grant proposals exactly as you said I should, but it turned out I didn’t need to because the Hannabury Fund got an endowment from a local foundation. Turns out this former Hannabury physics professor was an inventor, and…”
I blinked as several pieces of information slid into place in my brain.
“Theo,” I began calmly. “What did you say your grandfather’s name was?”
He ran a hand through his hair. Took his glasses off to buff them against the hem of his shirt, then set them back on his face. “I, uh… I’m not sure I mentioned it.”
“Sutton,” I supplied. “As in the Sutton Family Foundation?”
Theo looked uncharacteristically sheepish. “Maybe?”
“You… you did this?” My eyes widened, and my face went hot. “You… youendowed me?”
“It wasn’t for you,” he said quickly. “I mean, itwas. I hoped it was. But the endowment was for the Hub. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to pressure you. If you changed your mind about anything, like wanting that big-city job or… or being attached to me, I wanted you to be able to make that choice free and clear. But, if you wanted to stay… I wanted you to have that option.”
“Oh. My. God. You… you gave me my dream job, Theo. You… you made it possible.” I swallowed hard as tears threatened.
“The job is yours, Porter, because you earned it. I have no say in who the Hannabury Fund chooses to run their program, and I swear your name was never mentioned during the entire process of the endowment. Whatever happens with you and me, whether you want to be with me or not…”
“Stop talking,” I whispered.
