“Shite.” His eyes widen in understanding. “So that’s why you were mad at me on the plane.”
“Can you blame me? I drove all the way to Canada to talk to you, and you told Graves that I’m ‘just a girl.’”
He shakes his head. “Wren, no. Just,no.I’m so sorry you heard that, because it’s not even close to being true.”
“Then why would you say it?”
He blows out a heavy breath. “The last thing I want is for the Firm to know how important you are to me.”
A jolt of hope hits me straight in the chest. “Why?”
“If they get wind of the fact that I… that I’m…” He seems unable to find the words he needs. He swallows heavily and closes his eyes. “If they know that I care about you, they’ll ruin everything.”
I narrow my eyes, unsure what to do with this information. He cares about me. Well, okay. I care about my grandma, and pet adoption, and whether or not I’m having a good hair day. Or hecaresabout me, and that’s why I could have sworn we were just about to kiss.
“So, what does that mean for us? I have to spend the rest of my life pretending not to know you?”
Theo’s face falls, and before he can answer, a shriek pierces the muffled silence.
CHAPTER21
Theo and I sprint in the direction of the scream. As we run, I effortlessly imagine a hundred terrible things that could have gone wrong, most of them involving Victoria. I have no idea how much time we have before she gets seriously sick, but judging by the tense expression on Theo’s face, I think the answer is:not a lot.
Comet’s bark echoes through the trees, leading us in the right direction. When we finally stumble upon the group, they’re gathered on the banks of a trickling stream. Henry is drenched all the way to the ends of his curls, laughing and hollering as Comet splashes circles around him. Something in my brain clicks, and I recognize the screech from before as a happy one. My pulse slows.
Victoria is gulping water straight out of her cupped hands, and Brooke is sitting with her arms around her legs watching Comet and Henry splash around.
“Welcome back,” Victoria says when she sees us.
I lean against a tree to catch my breath. “I thought you were dead.”
“That’s dramatic.”
“What were you two doing?” Henry’s insinuation is not subtle.
“None of your business,” Theo responds. “Is everyone okay? We shouldn’t split up again.”
“Wedidn’t split up.You and Wrendisappeared,” Brooke says. “We stopped here to give you a chance to catch up. It’s not our fault you two can’t stop making doe eyes at each other long enough to—”
“Are those berries?” Theo cuts her off. He points vaguely in the distance and leapfrogs over a fallen tree to get the hell out of this conversation. At the thought of food, my mouth fills with saliva and my hunger pangs triple. If he’s lying to avoid Brooke, I don’t blame him, but I will kill him for giving me false hope.
“Verdict?” I call after a minute. My legs are about to fall off. No food, no moving.
Theo returns to the group and displays a rough, purplish fruit in his hand. “This time you may direct your gratitude to me,” he says, grinning smugly at his brother.
“What is it?” Victoria asks.
“We’re about to find out.” Theo lifts the fruit to his mouth.
“Wait!” Henry slaps the fruit out of his brother’s hand and catches it with his free one. He holds it up for inspection. “Let me have the first honors. Wouldn’t want this to kill you, Your Majesty.” He winks, and I genuinely can’t tell if he’s joking or not.
Brooke surveys this exchange with a critical eye. I’ve been on the receiving end of that expression too many times in my life to not be terrified of it. Henry’s about to find himself in the middle of a Brooke Wheeler cross-examination. “Why would you eat it first?”
“We don’t know what this is. It looks safe, but it might not be,” Henry says.
“Okay. And?”
“If I don’t get sick, Theo can eat it.”
