Page 33 of Henhouse
Hope’s cursor hovered over the send button. A rush of nausea reminded her why she thought it easier to cut ties and never look back. Happiness was too fragile. It had shattered so easily with three words from Chloe—I’m his wife.Greater truth aside, Hope had unwittingly rammed into her biggest fear that day. That love and joy were short-lived. If it wasn’t robbed by betrayal, her happiness was at the mercy of so many other stumbling blocks. Hearts were too fragile. Bones and blood and flesh were always careening toward an inevitable end.Was it better to love him fully and live with the fear of how long it would last?
Hope’s stomach lurched at the realization that if she felt this much anxiety over loving Brayden, she was destined to be a worrywart of a mother. The baby kicked as if to tell her to send the damn message and stop being so dramatic. Hope took Bug’s—she’d taken to calling the baby Bug in the most affectionate way possible—advice and finally hit send.
After all, if everything was temporary, the least she could do was give her whole heart to her imperfect, impermanent life.
20
Effie was actually doing this. She hadn’t imagined the spark between them and Theo had finally acted on it.Theo. Salted caramel chocolate, Theo. Realizing his nickname was her favorite confection had been unbearable. Soggy cardboard was preferable to the taunt of such bliss that couldn’t be coveted. But he’d shown up, those chocolates in hand, and Effie knew that it wasn’t chaos that brought him there.
She found Theo standing beside his Jeep at the end of the block as instructed. Effie may have summoned the bravado to reveal her plans to the entire Thatcher clan, but that didn’t mean she needed them spying on her through the front windows while she greeted her date. The firstrealdate she’d been on in over two years.
Her teeth ground together and the air suddenly felt warmer. Dating was not for the faint of heart. At least her not-date with Schilling had proven she could be social and have a good time without becoming a quivering puddle of nerves. But then she saw him.
Theo wore dark jeans and a relaxed Henley beneath his black leather jacket. Effie was absolutely overdressed. She swallowed the bile creeping up her throat, her grip like a vise around her dainty clutch. The anxious breath she sucked in sent her chest heaving. Theo’s gaze lingered on her bodice for that breath before he offered a knee-wobbling smile. When she was close enough to not need to yell, she pointed at him with her clutch. “I’m going to go change—”
She pivoted on her cream-colored heels, but Theo grabbed her by the wrist. Her skirts hugged her hips as they finished their swooshing twirl. “Don’t you dare.” He gently tugged on her wrist and spun her back toward him. Effie landed in his arms. Even in her heels, she had to lift her chin to look him in the eye. His breath was warm on the tip of her nose and carried hints of mint.Smart. Had she brushed her teeth since her tuna sandwich that afternoon?
“You’re beautiful,” he drawled. Effie cast her eyes down as a smile crept across her lips. “Don’t act like you don’t know it.”
Effie looked up. “Just not used to hearing it.” Though she supposed she didn’t let herself focus on her beauty often. It wasn’t a lasting trait, as her mother demonstrated with how she fussed over her aging looks.
“Well, get used to it.” Theo turned to open the passenger side door for her. “Shall we?”
Effie swallowed hard but managed a nod. She began to climb in when Theo took her hand to help her up. The door shut behind him, and Effie swore she saw him flex his hand like he was shaking off his own nerves. Somehow, imagining this stunning, sexy, experienced man was aflutter like she was made her feel much more at ease. Even if it wasn’t true, it helped her pretend they were on equal footing.
The illusion only lasted until they arrived a few blocks east ofMarket Square, and Theo revealed the location of their date. He led her to the back entrance of what Effie realized was her favorite tea shop, Steeped Dreams, off State Street. She puzzled as Theo rapped a coded knock on the door. The response came swiftly, followed by warm light flooding the alley from the open door. A thin woman in her fifties, hair tied in a bun, smiled broadly at them. She wrapped Theo in a warm embrace before welcoming them inside.
The dry room glowed with café lights and candles. The center table that Effie assumed was standard culinary stainless steel was draped with a lace tablecloth and filled with canisters of different herbs and tea leaves. The woman who greeted them stood poised on the other side of the table, a scale, scoops, and brown paper sachets before her. “Ready to blend some teas?” the woman asked, and Effie thought she’d never seen someone so happy to share her expertise.
Theo was so much better at this than she ever imagined. Leagues above her in dating prowess. She did her best not to let the realization summon her nerves.
Theo’s hand on the small of her back ushered her forward. She finally saw the table set for two off to the side, bedecked in a similar tablecloth, candles, and a tiered tray with finger sandwiches on the bottom, a layer of mini scones in the middle, and those damn chocolate caramel truffles on top. “How did you do this?” Effie whispered as Theo draped an apron over her head then his own.
“I meet some very cool people in my line of work.” He winked at the owner of the shop, but then his gaze met Effie’s and she felt the double meaning of his words.
Her heart pounded in her ears. She knew next to nothing about the man in front of her, but she never wanted him to stop looking ather the way he was now—like she was a rarefied gem he’d only just discovered and couldn’t wait to admire every facet of.
Theo decided it was a travesty that Effie ever wore anything but this pale pink dress that hugged her chest and waist like a second skin before flaring with the curve of her hips. It perfectly accentuated the femininity he discovered radiating from her at every encounter. And whenever she took a deep breath lifting her chest?Images of Danny Zuko falling to his knees before Sandy came to mind. He was enchanted, mesmerized, as though the minute he decided to explore this relationship the full power of her radiance beckoned to him.
Every glance his way had him wishing he could read minds. He’d never wanted to know so much about someone so quickly. Despite his constant eagerness to dive into the deep end with relationships, something here felt different. It felt like they could dive together and never reach the bottom, not in three years or ten or fifty. He didn’t know what made Effie feel so special, but he knew it to be true. He’d worry about why later.
“So serious?” Effie said summoning him from his thoughts. He brushed off the weight of importance that he could feel around this first date and smiled as lightly as he could.
“Just making sure I don’t overpower the delicate white tea with the dried pineapple bits. Would hate to ruin it.”
“I like that blend, Theo. Should make for a zesty cuppa,” Victoria praised with a hearty grin. “Try adding a bit of safflower to balance it out.”
Theo nodded, happy for the tip. Of all of the safety inspectionshe’d done in the past few months, hers had been the breeziest, and most rewarding. Victoria had invited him to try some new teas and left a standing invitation to practice in the blending room whenever he wished. She must have sensed his innate desire to dabble his way through life, and he was grateful for it.
Especially now.
Effie lit up when she saw the space and revealed that she came in at least once a week to purchase a new tea. He could so clearly envision it as she described her morning ritual brewing a cup with her electric kettle in her room alone as the sun rose, savoring the quiet moments before joining the bustle of her sprawling family. It sounded like a sanctuary, and he wondered who she allowed across the threshold. Hope, certainly, but her room sounded off-limits to most others. He couldn’t help feel like it was true of her heart as well.
“What kind are you making now?” he asked Effie.
“A Darjeeling.”
“Ah, the Queen of Teas,” Victoria chimed in.
