My blinking flipped into manic overdrive, and I was suddenly having a very hard time seeing either of them beneath the fluorescent lights of the lounge.
Mateo stood and began gathering his things. Mike quickly followed suit, leaving me alone with my racing thoughts. I tried to go back to my book, but the words kept blurring together as my mind wandered to handsome delivery men and small weddings and the way Debbie would look in a flower girl dress.
Mateo was wrong. I wasn’t borrowing trouble.
I was buying it.
Chapter 20
Jeremiah
For three days, I’d been planning this date with the meticulous attention to detail usually reserved for military operations or NASA space launches. I had reservations, backup reservations, and a Plan C that didn’t require any reservations at all, though it did involve a boxed meal that included a child’s prize. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but a man had to plan for everything when he went on a date with Theo.
“This time, nothing is going wrong,” I said, immediately regretting challenging the universe to a dare.
Theo texted me twice to confirm that Julia would be there, that her car was running fine, and that Debbie was already excited about their girls’ night involving face masks and what she called “fancy fingernails.”
He was clearly as nervous as I was about another potential date disaster.
I spent twenty minutes in front of my closet, finally settling on dark jeans and a blue button-down that Sisi had oncedeclared “criminally attractive,” not that I was overthinking this or anything.
The drive to Theo’s house felt like it took forever and no time at all. My palms were sweating against the steering wheel, which was ridiculous. This was just dinner, dinner with the man who’d been occupying my thoughts every waking moment for the past two weeks, but still.
I parked in front of his house and sat for a moment, trying to calm my racing heart. Through the living room window, I caught the warm glow of lamps and what looked like Debbie bouncing around in her pajamas. Everything looked and felt normal and domestic.
Perfect.
I made it to the front door and rang the bell, running a hand through my hair one last time.
The door opened, and every coherent thought I’d ever had fled my brain.
Theo stood there looking better than I’d ever seen him. His hair was actually behaving for once—save a stray lock that rebelled against nature itself. It fell across his forehead in a way that made my fingers itch to brush it back. He wore dark jeans that fit him perfectly and a green sweater that hugged his thin frame and brought out the gold flecks in his brown eyes.
But it was his smile that nearly knocked me over. It was open and genuine and so bright it could have guided ships to shore.
“Hi,” he said, his voice carrying that slightly breathless quality that suggested he was just as nervous as I was.
“Hi yourself,” I managed, though I was pretty sure I was gaping like an idiot.
I must have taken a step backward without realizing it, because suddenly Theo was lurching forward, his hands reaching out to grip my arms to steady me before I could tumbleoff the steps. I’d barely processed the weightless feeling of falling backward before Theo was pulling me toward him.
And his lips were on mine.
And it wasn’t the quick, surprised kiss from our first encounter.
Oh, no, this was deliberate and warm and faultless, his mouth soft against mine while his hands held me close. I felt my knees go weak, and for a moment, the entire world narrowed down to just this—Theo’s lips, the faint scent of his cologne, and the way he fit perfectly against me.
On cue—because this was Theo and me—from somewhere across the street came the sound of applause, a wild hoot, and a loud whistle.
We broke apart, turning to find Mrs. Chen standing on her front porch, clapping enthusiastically while Cuddles barked approval from beside her.
“Don’t mind us!” Mrs. Chen called out, her voice floating easily across the quiet neighborhood. “Carry on!”
I caught movement in the living room window and peered over to see Debbie’s face pressed against the glass, her eyes wide with fascination. When she realized I’d spotted her, she giggled and quickly yanked the curtains closed, as though she thought she’d been completely invisible the entire time.
I smiled and waved at the now-closed curtains, which immediately twitched open just enough for one small eye to peek through.
“Find a dark corner somewhere!” Mrs. Chen shouted helpfully. “Dim lighting hides all the flaws! And don’t come home until you’ve made that man yours, Theodore! I wanna see hickies!”
