Page 56 of Soaring Free
“Thank you. And thank you for inviting me to coffee. This was great.” She’s great.
She takes another bite of her cinnamon roll and I can’t take my eyes off the fork as it goes into her mouth. Things have been pretty PG between us so far, but that doesn’t mean my thoughts about her have been. The chemistry we share is off the charts, and I know that whatever is building between us is more than just a fling, and it will be worth the wait—it will be everything.
Chapter thirty-three
Since my divorce was finalized two months ago, it has felt like I’ve been living in one of my favorite romance novels rather than my actual life. After Theo and I went on our first official date, instead of taking things slow, we both jumped straight off the deep end.
I had no idea something could be this good in real life, instead of only possible in a romance novel written by a woman. When he looks at me, I feel it in my soul. Some would say it’s too soon to feel such big feelings, but when you’ve lived life, you understand how precious a gift like this really is, and also, I don’t really care what anyone else thinks about our relationship at this point in my life, other than my daughters and family.
But so far, their only feedback has been positive and supportive.
We both decided to be honest with our daughters and tell them that we are more than friends and we’re exploring things together. Neither of us wanted to sneak around, and after the blindside my girls dealt with their dad’s disappearing act, we felt like honesty was the best route. Gigi asked her dad if that meant I was going to be his queen, and he said time would tell, but the gleam in his eyes wasn’t hard to miss. My own girls handled it well—even better than I was expecting—but it helps they know Gigi from school and like her. They were quick to point out now they can play board games that require four people, so Emily was especially happy about that. Lucy was just excited to have someone else that was obsessed with Barbies to play with, and Olivia was indifferent until she heard Gigi has an impressive book collection at her house. My girls were also very impressed whenTheo made sure his brother included them in the pre-release giftbox of his company’s headphones that came out last month. The package was sent to Gigi, but Van had each girls’ initials engraved on the headphones so even though they are the same color, we can tell them apart. Theo—and Van—gained an epic amount of cool points with that surprise.
In the few interactions Theo has had with my girls, I’ve appreciated that he doesn’t try to act like a stand-in father. He addresses them like a friend would, and for now, that’s appropriate for where we are in our exploration of things. And while I love spending time with our girls all together, I also really enjoy the one-on-one time when we can manage it, like tonight when my children are having a cousin sleepover at Daddy’s with Eloise, and Gigi is spending the night at her Aunt Pippa’s. Vivian already dropped our girls off before she and Walker headed into Nashville for their own date.
I grab my hairspray and add a light coat to try and fight some of the humidity, but it’s the end of August in Tennessee so it is what it is. As I quickly add a coat of my cherry lip gloss, I notice the balcony door off my ensuite looks slightly ajar. I don’t remember the girls being in here, but maybe one of them was out there reading. I can’t blame them; there is a perfect lounge chair out there to snuggle up with a good book. I smile as I imagine one of them doing just that, but as I try to shut the door, it doesn’t sound right. I open the door again and turn the handle, but the latch doesn’t come out of the handle to catch like it should, and with closer examination, I see why.
There’s no longer a latch in the doorknob.
What the hell?
I look around the bathroom like something is going to explain this, or as if I’m going to see the latch lying on the floor, but I know that’s not possible. A door can’t shut without a latch, but where did it go? The only way a latch would be removed from a doorknob like this is if someone took the entire doorknob apart, removed the latch, and then reassembled it.
Goosebumps break out over my skin as my heart rate races.
I don’t know why this happened, or who would have done this, but without having something to go on, I don’t even know who to call first.
If I call Vivian, she and Walker will immediately turn around and come back, ruining their date night, and I don’t want to do that. If I call Finn, he will alert The Cavalry, and that will blow this into a way bigger deal than it needs to be, or maybe it needs to be a big deal? Or can I just shove a dresser in front of it so the door can’t open? I don’t know, but as I check the time, I realize Theo will be here soon. I can wait ten minutes, and that also gives me time to check every other door and window in my house. There must be a logical explanation for this … right? I might look like a dumb blonde housewife, but I’m not a fool—I know this is not normal. The door doesn’t have a deadbolt lock, but I will sure as shit be having one installed as soon as possible. I start making my way through the house room by room as I text my brother.
Me
Hey, Finn. The lock on the door to my balcony off the primary ensuite is broken. I’ve been meaning to replace the door. Can you order me something that will fit and still look good? I want the door to have a deadbolt too if possible.
Finn
Sure thing, I can stop by tomorrow to get measurements. Did it not have a deadbolt already? All external doors should have a deadbolt, Sav.
Me
It used to, but the original door was broken when that storm hit last summer. Shane had this door put in and it was supposed to be temporary, but of course he never had it fixed properly. I should have replaced itmyself.
Finn
Can you secure it for the night?
No, and who knows how long it has been unlocked, but I’m not going to admit that to my brother right now. Also, I don’t want to think about that too much because not only do I not know why this door is broken, I don’t know how long I basically had a wide-open door to my house while I slept a few feet away.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit! I fill my lungs with air, holding briefly before slowly exhaling to try and slow my racing heart, which does absolutely nothing, but I can’t freak out right now. I have to first make sure the rest of my house is safe, find a solution for this, and then I can lose it.
Me
Theo is going to be here in a minute. I’ll have him take a look to make sure it’s secure.
Finn
Ok, sounds good. Let me know.
I finish checking the upstairs and main floors before heading down to check the basement windows, and thankfully, every other door and window is properly latched and locked. As I walk back upstairs, I see Theo’s car pull in my driveway and go to let him in.
