18. Shep
18
SHEP
My phone dinged just as Anson and I climbed out of my truck. Sliding my phone out of my pocket, I took in the screen. Group name changed to This Could’ve Been an Email.
Cope
Shep, you get your house exorcised yet?
I chuckled as I typed out a reply.
Me
No, but no ghostly sightings either.
Fallon
How would you know? You haven’t been there after dark.
Me
You an expert in all things haunted now?
Rhodes
She has watched Supernatural at least three times.
Fallon
More like five. You’re all going to want me on your side when you have an angry apparition.
I shook my head as I switched the device to silent and shoved it back into my pocket. A couple of tourists held the door to The Mix Up open as Anson and I headed inside. We were met by some incredible scents that had my mouth watering the moment we stepped inside. But not even my stomach could distract me from my single-minded focus.
My gaze swept the space, landing on mahogany hair. Thea wore it down today, the thick strands curling around her shoulders. I was already moving toward her as if she had some sort of invisible pull. But as I approached, I realized she was frozen in place, staring down at something on the table.
“Hey,” I greeted her.
My voice wasn’t loud, but Thea still jolted, her gaze snapping to me. “Shep.”
I searched Thea’s face. Her skin had gone pale, and I saw a slight tremor in her hands. I couldn’t help but move in closer. “Are you okay?”
She forced a smile. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You were standing there frozen. You’re pale.” Anger stirred somewhere deep. “Did Russ come in here? Did he bother you again?”
Thea quickly shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I just didn’t sleep well last night. I zoned out.”
An invisible fist ground against my sternum. She hadn’t slept well because Russ had triggered her. Just knowing that had my back molars grinding together. “Maybe you should call it a day early. Go home and rest.”
The smile that came to Thea’s lips was more genuine this time. “You sound like Sutton.”
“Sutton is clearly a genius you should listen to.”
Thea chuckled. “I’ll take it under advisement.” Her free hand came out then, landing on my forearm. “I’m okay, really. But thanks for checking on me.”
That touch scalded in the best way, marking me. I’d never take any contact she initiated for granted. Any time she reached for me. And that heat, right along with the knowledge that she was growing comfortable with me, that she trusted me, felt like a goddamn precious gift. Something I wouldn’t trade for all the money in the world .
Thea’s words echoed in my head. You’re worthy. She made me feel that way. Maybe for the first time ever.
Her hand slipped away, and I instantly missed it. I missed more than just the heat. I missed the connection. The buzz of energy that lit between us.
Thea’s gaze moved behind me. “Hey, Anson. How are you?”
“Good. You?”
“Doing good. You guys here for lunch?” she asked.
I nodded. “Wouldn’t mind one of those spinach and artichoke grilled cheeses.”
Thea grinned, her deep brown eyes sparkling. “One of my favorites. Come on, I’ll get your order.”
She moved through the tables of people, rounding the bakery case and meeting us on the other side of the counter. Sutton looked up from where she was pulling together a box of bakery treats. “Hey, boys. How are you?”
“About to be better,” I said with a smile.
Sutton laughed. “Love being able to make someone’s day.”
Thea tapped the tablet and looked up. Her face was still pale, but she managed a smile. “One fancy grilled cheese. What about you, Anson?”
I glanced at my friend and found him studying her. I knew it wasn’t in any sexual way. He was trying to put the pieces that were Thea together. But still, a flicker of jealousy took root that was so foreign it shocked the shit out of me. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion I was used to.
“I’ll do the chicken salad sandwich and an Arnold Palmer,” Anson said, his voice completely even.
“You want a drink?” Thea asked me.
“I’ll do a lemonade. You’ve given me a taste for them.”
Pink rose to Thea’s cheeks, giving her face a healthy glow again. “You want that for here or to go?”
I glanced at my watch. As much as I would’ve loved to stay and watch her work, I knew Anson and I had minimal hours today. Especially if I wanted to start demo work at Thea’s later this afternoon. “Better make it to go.”
“You’ve got it. I’ll throw in some cookies. On the house.” Thea was already moving through the space to gather things.
“Wouldn’t hate a monster cookie,” Anson called.
Thea’s lips twitched. “Glad to know your weakness.”
No one was behind us, so I watched as Thea gave Walter, the cook, our order and then gathered the drinks and cookies. She and Sutton moved in a tandem dance that spoke of a routine they’d mastered over the past several months, but my gaze never strayed from Thea for more than a handful of seconds.
“Jesus, you’re a goner,” Anson muttered.
My eyes shot to him. “Like you’re one to talk. My sister has your nuts in a vise grip.”
Anson chuckled. “Exactly where I like them to be.”
I made a face. “Sick. I do not need to know about your guys’ sex life.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“I did not. God, I’m about to eat.”
Anson’s grin only widened. “Fine. She know how you feel about her?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “She knows I think she’s beautiful. But I also haven’t crossed that line. I don’t want to push things. Especially when…”
Anson pitched his voice low. “When you don’t know what she’s been through.”
I nodded. I had no idea what Thea had battled, only that it wasn’t good. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was bring up bad memories for her.
Anson clapped me on the shoulder. “She’s lucky to have you in her corner.”
I was sure there was someone better for Thea. Someone who deserved her more. But I was too damn selfish to step aside and let her find him. And I’d do everything I could to be the man she needed .
“Here you go,” Thea said, rounding the counter. “I threw in a couple of monsters, a brownie, a snickerdoodle, and a lemon bar.”
“Sugar coma, here we come,” I said, shaking my head with a smile.
She handed me the bag, and I didn’t miss the slight tremble in her arm. My gaze locked on it as our fingers brushed.
“I’m sure you’ll burn it off working this afternoon,” she said with a smile.
Concern dug deep at the fear she was expertly hiding. “Thanks,” I said, my voice taking on a gritty tone.
Thea’s eyes dropped to my mouth as if searching for the source of the sound. She swallowed hard, her focus moving back to my eyes. “Sure.” She was silent for a count of two. “See you tonight?”
The hopeful lilt to the words sent relief coursing through me. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t enough for Thea to send me away. “I’ll be there.”
“I’m making dinner this time,” she said, her voice taking on a stern teacher tone.
“But I?—”
Thea shook her head. “My greenhouse is going to explode if we don’t eat some of the produce.”
“All right,” I acquiesced. “But I’m on cleanup duty.”
“Fair. See you tonight.”
God, I wanted to touch her. Wanted to kiss her right there in the middle of the bakery, no matter how much it would get the local tongues wagging. But I held myself back. “Tonight.”
“See you later, Anson.”
“See you, Thea,” he answered before tugging me by the back of my tee. “Come on, before you start drooling.”
I shoved him as we headed out of the bakery. “You’re a prick.”
“That’s not a new revelation,” Anson said, moving toward his truck and beeping the locks.
I climbed inside, setting the food on the floorboard in front of me .
As Anson stepped up, he handed me a magazine. “This is what she was staring at. The cover. Might be nothing. Could be a clue.”
I looked down at the glossy paper. It was a tabloid. The same kind Mara was obsessed with. I scanned the various headlines, trying to figure out what could’ve triggered a fear response in Thea.
There was a celebrity divorce, a cheating scandal, a wedding, and then the cover piece about some guy I recognized from countless movies and TV shows. “The cheating scandal, maybe?”
“I dunno,” Anson muttered, starting the engine. “Cheating doesn’t really seem like the thing to make all the blood drain from your head.”
And it had. Thea had been unnaturally pale when we walked up.
I studied the magazine harder, trying to put the pieces together. But I didn’t have the skills Anson did in analyzing the human brain. “Maybe it’s something one of the people featured reminds her of.”
“Could be. Google them. Read off what you find.”
I pulled out my phone and moved around the cover clockwise, starting with the reality TV couple. He’d been cheating on her with her best friend. I read the different headlines I found on both of them.
Anson made a humming noise. “Maybe, but I’m not seeing it.”
Then, I moved to the main headline. The one featuring the movie star involved in one charity project after another. Only articles listing his many accolades came up when I searched his name. So unlike the reality couple I’d looked at.
But then my gaze caught on an article. Brokenhearted Brendan.
Something about it made me click the link. Romance has come to an end for Brendan Boseman and his longtime girlfriend, Selena Stewart. While the couple was notoriously private, we loved the little bits we got of this Cinderella story. But word on the street is that Cinderella had a wandering eye and broke our poor Brendan’s heart.
Everything around me went hazy as my gaze zeroed in on the photo. If I hadn’t made a habit of memorizing everything about Thea’s face, I never would’ve recognized her. Her hair was blond in the picture of the two of them, hands linked. And her eyes were green. But even though the photo had been taken at a distance, I could see the dull, almost lifeless look in them. But the slope of her nose was the same. As was the tiny freckle just below her eye.
“Pull over,” I croaked.
“What?” Anson’s gaze jerked in my direction.
“Pull over.”
He guided his truck to the side of the road, and I handed him my phone.
“It’s her.” I hardly registered my own voice.
Anson studied the image for a long moment, then turned to me. “She’s running.”
I’d known as much. There’d been no way she wasn’t. But now I knew from whom. One of the most famous people on the planet.