27. Mia #2
My nipples hardened at the sound of his voice, and I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide the perky little traitors.
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t need to ask for anything if you kept your distance like you’re supposed to.”
He smirked. “And I wouldn’t need to be here if you didn’t break my porch.”
Oh. Right. The porch.
I pictured Theo’s tattooed biceps straining as he lifted, sawed, and hammered, and felt a blush creeping in. I made a show of blowing out a sigh and tried to sound irritated, but it came out breathy and soft. I had to pull myself together. “So it’s my fault you’re back?”
His gaze drifted over my head, and I knew he was looking for his daughter again. “No. It’s Kira’s. She needed me here, so I’m here.”
Oh, well, damn it. Now he was the one playing dirty. My heart slid south and landed in my ribcage.
I pointed at the stage. “We’re about to do the kissing scene. Are you sure you want to be here for that?”
His attention shot back to me. “Does she know she’s supposed to kiss him today?”
“We’ve told her, and she seems fine with it.”
The sweet pot of hormones was beside herself with excitement, actually. She wanted to kiss Miles since she saw him in his bad-boy Patrick outfit.
Speaking of, Theo’s daughter came out of nowhere, barreling into him with the kind of force that would’ve tackled me to the floor. But Theo held his ground and gathered her into his arms.
“I’m fine with it,” Kira echoed, and I hoped that was the only part of our conversation that she overheard. “But you cannot watch me do this, Dad.”
He snorted as he let her go. “Hey, it’s not like I want to watch you kiss some kid.”
“Then you’ll wait outside?”
He gestured toward me but spoke to Kira as he said, “Miss Gem is worried about the porch. I need to fix the damage your teacher caused.”
I scoffed. “The gap I made is teeny.”
“Teeny things can lead to big problems,” he teased. “I thought you knew that better than anyone.”
Kira’s gaze flitted between us. “I can’t believe you guys aren’t arguing.”
“The night is young, love. We’re just warming up.”
“And you should warm up with Miles while I fix the set,” Theo said to Kira, and her face fell.
Something told me that kissing in front of her father was a huge mood killer for her. And while rehearsals for the kiss scene could wait, I hated the thought of this sweet girl missing her long-awaited first kiss with the boy she was crushing on.
So, while kicking myself, I said, “You can fix it tomorrow. I’ll let you in.”
Theo’s brows shot up. “You’ll let me in?”
I nodded, already regretting it. “I have keys. It won’t be a problem.”
His mouth flattened into a straight line. He was worried. Well, that made two of us. Him and me, alone in an empty space with nothing and no one to distract us. No clients to see, no classes to teach. It wasn’t a smart move.
Kira was syrupy sweet as she lifted onto her toes and clasped her hands together. “Please, Dad? I just need, like, twenty minutes.”
I laughed. Oh, poor dear sweet little dove. She had no idea how sore her lips would be after this.
“Actually, Miss Gem thinks this scene will take a bit longer than that,” I told her.
Theo squeezed his eyes shut and thrust his hands into his pockets. “I’ll wait outside then.”
He walked out before Kira could react, but once he left the room, it was as if he’d taken her energy with him.
“Did he seem upset to you?” she asked.
“He’ll be fine.”
She turned her big baby blues on me. “Could you talk to him?”
I tried to look stern, but a cranky puppy would’ve been more fearsome than me. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“But you like each other now, right?”
I hesitated. I liked her father so much that, for all our sakes, I needed to stay away from him.
“Like is a strong word. I don’t think he wants me out there."
She made a face. “I just don’t want him, you know, thinking about me.”
I knew what she meant. Still, I shook my head.
“Please? Just for a minute?”
No. Absolutely not. Kira didn’t know what she was asking me to do.
Gem sidled up to me and thrust a short stack of papers into my hands. “Oh, go on, will you? And give him these. He needs to sign them.”
Kira did a little dance on the spot, then sang, “Thanks, Miss Gem,” as she hurried back to the stage.
Everything in me sank. “These are insurance forms. He was meant to sign these before he put the porch together.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I was going to give them to him, but then he started yelling at you. But now that you two are so chummy, you can hand them over.”
“You think we’re ‘chummy’?”
“Oh, relax. It’s good that he’s on our side now.” She nudged me with her elbow. “Go on. He’s not going to bite you.”
Gem winked before she went back to our nervous students, and I pulled in a deep breath as I flipped through the papers in my hands.
I could do this. I could speak to him without yelling at him or kissing him. We’d done it before; we could do it again.
I stepped outside, feeling a definite bite in the early October air. It was dark in the hallway. If it weren’t for the soft rays of moonlight coming through an open window, I might have walked right past him.
Theo leaned against a wall, his head tipped back toward the ceiling, exposing the curve of his throat. The urge to bite him there, to feel his groan vibrate under my lips, hit me so hard that I had to look away.
Noticing me, he straightened. “Is Kira okay?”
“She’s fine. They haven’t started yet. I just–” I held out the small stack of papers “–had to give you these. Miss Gem needs you to sign them before you do anymore work on the sets.”
His gaze dropped to my hands. “Oh. Right.” He took them from me, folded them, and tucked them into his back pocket. “Mia, tomorrow isn’t a good idea.”
I rubbed my arms against the cold. “You don’t think we can handle being alone for one night?”
“No. I know I can’t handle it.”
His voice was low and rough, and it reminded me of that day in the closet. My pulse thudded low in my stomach.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” he started, stepping closer, “I don’t know if I trust myself around you.”
I sucked in a breath as he ran his knuckles along my arm. Heat burst under my skin.
“I still don’t understand how you went from hating me to this.”
“I didn’t hate you. I was worried about my daughter.” His hand slid over my shoulder to the curve of my neck, tilting my chin toward him. “But now, I just can’t stop thinking about you.”
“What do you think about?”
His smile was dangerous. “I think about your mouth. And all the things I want to do to it.”
“That’s…”
He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip, and my knees started to shake. My breath hitched, my blood pounded. I needed him to kiss me.
He drifted closer; his lips brushed mine, his nose grazed mine, and the only thought I had was short, sharp, and simple.
I need more.
But he pulled his hand away and stepped back. I wanted to chase his touch, but the tension in his shoulders held me in place.
“But I have to think of Kira. Being alone with you—it’s not a good idea.”
I swallowed hard and folded my arms against the chill. He was right.
I mean, look at me.
My pulse was erratic, my skin was fevered, and my breathing was harsh. I couldn’t think straight.
It wasn’t just that he couldn’t trust himself not to touch me; I couldn’t trust myself to be around him without wanting it.
I bit my bottom lip and nodded. “Then I’ll tell Gem you’ll work on the sets next week.”
“Next week. I’ll be here.”
I tried to meet his gaze squarely. I tried to sound solid and firm. But my voice was a breathy little tremble as I said, “And I won’t be.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue.
On shaky, wooden legs, I turned and walked back to the amphitheater.