“I made soup, but I don’t think there’s enough for everyone.”
Theo leaned toward the opened door and inhaled. “Is that what smells so good? Don’t worry about it. I’ll buy them a round at the Timberbeast next time we’re all there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I need to finish unloading, but I’ll be in soon.”
“Okay. Tell them all I said thank you so much in case they didn’t hear me.”
He smiled. “I will.”
Theo went to his truck as Luke brought over one of my paintings.
“Do you want this inside?” he asked.
“Yes, that would be great. Here, I’ll take it.”
He handed me the canvas. “It’s pretty.”
“Thank you. And thank you so much for…all this. It’s a huge help.”
“No problem. There were enough of us, it went pretty fast. Plus, I’m not gonna lie, it was kinda fun. Especially when Theo almost put a fist through your ex’s face.”
My eyes widened. “Theo did what?”
“Your ex started to mouth off. For a second, I thought Theo was going to lay him out.”
Theo getting in a fight with Sean? It was hard to imagine. Theo was so easygoing. Hard to imagine from Sean, too, but mostly because he’d gotten a bit out of shape in the last couple years. Theo would have destroyed him.
“I’m glad no one got hurt,” I said.
“Yeah, well, it wouldn’t have been Theo getting hurt. Except maybe his knuckles.” Luke shrugged. “Anyway, you did the right thing.”
I nodded. “Thank you again.”
“Mel says hi, by the way. She’ll probably call you later.” He backed up. “Good luck unpacking and everything.”
I took the canvas inside and leaned it against a wall in the living room where it wouldn’t be in the way, then went to the kitchen to check the soup. I had it on a low simmer, so it was fine.
In what felt like no time at all, Theo came inside, and I heard the other engines starting up and fading away.
He paused in the kitchen and inhaled again. “Pen, that smells so good.”
“Thanks. Good timing. I think it’s ready.”
We filled two bowls and sat down at the dining table together. Theo’s happy moans were music to my ears as he enjoyed his dinner. It felt good to do something nice for him that he genuinely appreciated, even if it was a small thing.
And even if his moans reminded me of my couch fantasy.
My mind continuing to go places I didn’t want, I retreated to my studio after dinner. I needed to spend some time painting my feelings. Although it wasn’t only my emotions that were getting the best of me. My more primal urges were doing their best to get my attention, too.
After a while, Theo poked his head in. “Hey, Pen? I have something for you.”
“As if you haven’t done enough already.”
“Trust me, this is awesome.” He came in with an armful of bedding—sheets and a big comforter.
It wasn’t just any bedding. It was my bedding from the other house.
“Oh, gosh. Thank you, but I didn’t want that back. I’m not going to use it.”
He gave me a mischievous grin. “I know. I thought you might want to burn it.”
