“Don’t let me keep you from a walk down lovers’ lane,” Rupert says, holding his hands up. “I’m just going to go back to sleep. If you happen to bring me back a pastry, so be it. I’m leaning toward an almond croissant at the moment.” He takes a few steps back. “Enjoy your walk…lovebirds.”
Rolling my eyes, I turn away from him and head down the path to the sidewalk, Theo quickly catching up to me.
“Renley, wait.” He tugs on my arm. “Seriously, it was a huge mistake—you read the text messages.”
“Unfortunately, I did.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for him to find out. I had the intention of keeping it to myself, but I was just so excited about last night and I thought I was texting you and instead ended up texting him about nipple play…ugh. Trust me, the last thing I wanted was for Rupert to see that. He’s been making fun of me all night and all morning, asking if I want to play with his nipples while thrusting his bare chest in my direction.”
That makes me chuckle, because I can see it in my head.
Theo takes my hand. “Seriously, I’m sorry.”
As much as I hate that Rupert knows, I can’t be mad at Theo for it, because I know that it wasn’t intentional.
I link our fingers together. “He’s not going to tell?”
Theo shakes his head. “He won’t. I already threatened his life.”
“Okay,” I say, squeezing his hand and then releasing it.
I start walking toward town and Theo pauses me again. “Are we good?”
“We’re good.”
“Then why aren’t you holding my hand?”
“Because we’re trying to keep this a secret.”
“Yeah, but you held my hand on walks before.”
“But we weren’t fucking then. Now that we are, I’m hyperaware of every look and every touch you give me.”
He thinks about that for a second. “Won’t people think there’s something going on between us if I’m not holding your hand now though? Will they think, ‘Oh, they’re trying to not look like a couple, so maybe they are a couple’?”
“Stop overthinking it.”
“You’re the one overthinking it, not me.”
I raise a brow. “It’s you.”
“Pretty sure it’s you, love, but that’s okay, we’ll say it’s me.”
When I shake my head and start walking again, Theo asks, “Why are we headed this way?”
“Because your butler wanted a pastry, and if I want to keep your butler quiet, then I have to keep your butler happy.”
“Does that mean I get a pastry as well?”
“Up to you, you’re the one buying it.”
“Why do I have to buy?” he asks, his voice full of mirth.
“Because you’re the one who texted your butler, telling him that you like playing with his nipples.”
Theo scratches the side of his face.
“Yes, I might have done that.” I feel his eyes on me. “But to be fair, I meant every word that I said.”
