“Okay.”
He walks down the hall and then he’s rounding the corner holding a brown bag in one hand and a giant bottle of water in the other.
“Brought lunch,” he says and then nods toward the main shop space. “Want to eat lunch with me and talk?”
God, he looks so cute and hopeful, those eyes, that smile. They pull me right in.
“Sure,” I say as I lift up from the bathroom floor.
He peeks in and says, “Didn’t really do much, huh? Is it because you’re waiting for me?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Glad you can admit it. Awfully big of you,” he says as he follows me into the space. I lead him to the bar and take a seat on one of the permanent stools. “I don’t mind sharing the giant water with you, but if you don’t want to do the lip-on-lip thing, you might want a cup.”
“It’s fine.” I shrug.
“Really?” he asks in a teasing tone. “Wow, I thought you might prefer to drink from a dirty construction boot rather than share the same bottle with me.”
“You had your tongue down my throat last night, so I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter if we share a drink or not.”
“You know, I’m having a hard time remembering the whole tongue-in-throat thing. Can you walk me through how that happened without sparing any details?”
I push at his shoulder. “Get out of here.”
Chuckling, he pulls out two wrapped sandwiches. “I got us hoagies. Didn’t know that was a thing until I walked into the deli. Did you know they were called hoagies?”
“Yup. I live here, remember?”
“Right. Well, there are pickles on this thing and I knew I had to have it.” He hands me a napkin and then turns toward me. “Before we start though, I want to talk about the rules. You good with that?”
I gulp, knowing this was coming. “Yeah.”
“Okay, good.” He pulls my letter out of his pocket, and he clears his throat. “I’m just going to read these out loud, even though I wrote my notes down for you, you know, for legal purposes.”
“Yes, because this is so very formal.”
“The most formal.” He winks and my heart skips a beat before he starts. “‘Rule Number One: Renley and Theo will not date anyone during the summer months while Theo is still in Cape Meril.’” He looks up at me. “This is clearly of the utmost importance and I agree. There will be no outside dating for either of us.”
I nod.
“‘Rule Number Two: Theo is allotted unlimited visitation rights to Renley, including the walk in the morning.’” He smirks. “This was a surprise to me and a huge win, so I agree wholeheartedly. Where do I sign?”
“Just finish the rest first.” I chuckle.
“‘Rule Number Three: Renley is allowed to cancel morning walks with Theo if she needs to work out her thoughts, because before Theo arrived, her morning walks were always her thinking time, and he needs to understand that and give her space if she needs it.’ Now, I was at first apprehensive, because I like a good morning walk, especially with you by my side, butI also get it. I don’t want people moving in on my sacred time either.”
“What’s your sacred time?”
“Looking over an album I have of Rupert dressed in different animal costumes. No one to bother me. Give me my peace.”
“You are so absurd.” I laugh.
“I know. Okay, ‘Rule Number Four: Theo is allowed to flirt with Renley. Renley is allowed to ignore such flirtation. If Renley is not amused, that’s a him problem, not a her problem. Winking is allowed.’ I disagree with this slightly. I can be quite amusing, and if you don’t laugh, that’s on you, not me. Then again, not all of us can have a great sense of humor like me.”
“Are you trying to get your visitations revoked?”
“No, sorry.” His eyes widen, making me chuckle. “‘Rule Number Five: Theo is not allowed to propose to Renley. They are on two different paths, and marriage is not an option for them.’” He pauses and lowers the paper. “It will never be off the table for me. Never. So…just know that.”
