“I can’t imagine what sort of evil contract brought you into Donovan Prescott’s world.”
It came out as accusatory. Right away I regretted it. Theo’s eyes lowered, but it wasn’t in guilt. He was lost somewhere else, somewhere completely different. I wondered what it was that held him, that bound him to Donovan like the rest of us. Whatever it was, it made him look sad.
“I guess I could say the same for you.”
I nodded, biting my bottom lip. I had it coming.
“I never thanked you for rescuing me,” I said plainly. “So, thank you.”
Theo bobbed there, swirling his arms. Kicking his legs. His smile returned.
“Are you thanking Theo or Cleo?”
Rolling my eyes, I reached out and punched his shoulder, lightly.
“I remembered your name, you know. At the time, I was fucking with you.”
Those eyes flitted downward, but only for a moment. When they returned they were bolder, more confident.
“Are you fucking with me now?”
“No. You’ll know it the next time I’m fucking with you.”
He reached up and slicked his dark hair back. He had plenty of it, too.
“I see.”
“And you reallydolook like a Theo, by the way.”
“I do?”
“Oh yeah, totally,” I flirted, adding my widest smile. “One-hundred percent. You’re a Theo all the way.”
I kicked my legs faster for a moment, letting more of my cleavage break the surface of the water. The move wasn’t lost on him. His eyes took advantage.
“Soo… have you made any progress with the locket?”
My leg brushed his. He didn’t move backward.
“Some.”
“But you still haven’t cracked it. You still haven’t been able to access the files.”
We drifted even closer now, beneath the water. He shook his head.
“Don’t rush it then,” I told him. “I’m having fun here. I had no idea how much Ireallyneeded this.”
I looked around, and he followed my lead. The place was Eden. All oasis and no mirage. Between the sand, the surf, and the swaying green trees, it just didn’t seem real.
“Don’t taketoolong, though,” I added with a reluctant sigh. “I mean, the sooner you can clone that drive…”
“The sooner we have an insurance policy,” he finished. “Against whatever your fiancé does next.”
“He’s not my fiancé,” I said unnecessarily. “In a lot of ways, he never was. I never truly wanted to marry him.”
My words turned Theo’s expression hopeful.
“You didn’t?”
