Red.
“Yep,” he says.
“You’re familiar.”
Oh my god.
He’s famous in Hawaii.
Theo’s a famous model in Hawaii.
And he’s clearly uncomfortable with it. “One of those faces,” he says without looking at her. Or me.
“No, I don’t think that’s it. But you’refamiliar.”
Weird. But also, he’s clearly suffering here, so I’ll help the poor guy out. “I see him in my dreams all the time,” I say.
Theo’s eyes flare wide while he whips his head to look at me, and then drops his head, laughs, and attacks breakfast like a starving man.
“He just got out of prison,” I add in a whisper. “We were pen pals. Never met before today.”
She looks at me.
Then at him.
I stroke his arm. “Not bad for slammer ink, is it?”
He snorts over his pancake, then moans as he shovels it into his mouth.
The server stares at his arm. “Probably right. He must have one of those faces,” she finally says. “More coffee?”
“And bacon. Please.” I give her my bestgood girlsmile.
She nods and heads back to the kitchen, tossing glances back at us as she goes.
“You’re ruining me, Laney,” Theo says between gulps of pancakes.
“One meal willnotruin you, and while I sincerely hate having people tell me what I should and shouldn’t eat, I’m still going to tell you that youdo need to eat, and on top of that, you deserve to enjoy a meal here and there,especiallywith all of the stress this week.”
I don’t think he hears a word I say while he’s shoveling in the pancakes. He pauses, blinks, and then sticks a forkful of pancake in my mouth. “Is that as good as I think it is?”
I chew slowly. And then I give him my bestnaughty Laneygrin. “I make better.”
“Fuck me,” he mutters again.
“Come over sometime when we get back. I’ll show you.”
His gaze lifts to mine.
And holds.
It’s not deer-in-the-headlights.
It’sdon’t fuck with me.
It’sI’ve always liked you but never thought this would happen.
It’sI told you what I want out of a relationship.
