It’s more of a watery, hiccupping snort of a laugh, but still.
“No worries, buddy,” Theo says smoothly, crouching down and shooting Manny a wink that could melt steel.“They have a gift shop.”
“Are you a superhero?”Manny asks, wide-eyed and unblinking.
Theo ruffles his hair and shrugs one big shoulder.
“Nah.It’s just my job to get rid of bad guys.”
“Okay,” Manny replies solemnly, like that makes total sense.
Like this is all just any other ordinary day.
And then Theo stands, takes Manny’s hand—wet pants and all—and just handles it.
He talks the real usher into opening the gift shop early, like it’s nothing.
Like he’s got magic powers or something.
I follow behind, still clutching my heart, still trying to process how the hell I got here—on a field trip, in New York City, after being attacked by a fake usher while the man who kissed me breathless this morning fought off an armed stranger like he does it before breakfast.
And now he’s crouching again, holding up a tiny Lion King-themed child sweatsuit, grinning like this is fun.
“Think this’ll fit our boy here?”he asks, looking over his shoulder at me.
I can only nod, stunned speechless as he pays for it himself and ushers Manny into the empty bathroom where we both wait outside the stall while he changes.
Wet clothes go into a bag.
No complaints.
No drama.
And my throat tightens as I watch him.
It’s not just that he’s hot—which let’s face it, he is.
It’s not just the muscles or the deadly hands or that kiss that rocked me to my soul.
It’s that he cares.
It’s that he was willing to take a hit for me—and then turn around and buy a five-year-old a souvenir tracksuit like it was just part of the job.
And I swear, my poor, confused heart?
It’s in serious danger.
Because I might be falling.
Not just into lust.
But into something else I don’t want to acknowledge, so instead, I simply call it some seriouslike.
We return to our seats, and other than a quizzical look from Mrs.Stuyvesant—who definitely clocks my pale face and Theo’s fresh bruise—no one else seems to know what happened.
But I guess that’s a good thing.
The kids are none the wiser.The show must’ve kept them distracted, and thank God for that.
