3 | Sealing the Deal
“I need a boyfriend,” I said.
“Fine.”
I blinked at him. Waited for the punchline. The smirk. Something.
Nothing.
“Wait—what?” A laugh escaped me, half nervous, half disbelieving. “You’re not serious.”
“Why not?”
“Because—” I gestured vaguely at the absurdity of it. “Because that’s insane?”
“Is it?” He tilted his head, studying me. “You need a date to Emma’s wedding. Charles is trying to corner you into going with him. And you already told him you’re bringing someone.” He shrugged. “I’m someone.”
“Theo—”
I opened my mouth. Closed it.
“This is ridiculous,” I said, but my voice had lost its edge.
“Maybe.” His jaw twitched. “But it’s also practical. And I was going anyway, so you don’t have to explain too much to Emma. She’ll just need to change one seat.”
I stared at him, trying to find the joke in his expression. There wasn’t one. He was serious. Actually, genuinely serious about pretending to be my boyfriend.
“No one will believe us,” I said finally.
“Why not?”
“Because we barely talk. Because we’re not… we don’t—” I gestured between us, searching for words. “How would we even explain it?”
He turned to face me fully. His eyes caught the porch light, warm and steady.
“We tell them the truth,” he said. “That we ran into each other, started talking, and something clicked. Is that really so hard to believe?”
The ground shifted under me—just barely, just enough.
It wasn’t.
“No,” I said quietly. “But… if something was going to happen between us, wouldn’t it have already?”
The question hung there in the cool air. I wasn’t even sure why I’d asked it.
Theo held my gaze.
“Maybe life is about timing,” he said slowly.
My breath caught.
He didn’t look away. Didn’t smile. Just watched me with an intensity that made my chest tighten.
“Think about it,” he said. “You need a date. I’m offering one. No strings. Problem solved.”
“Why would you do this?”
“Because Charles is an asshole,” he said simply. “And because honestly, I could use the help too.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Work stuff.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“My boss keeps making comments. That I should settle down. That it looks better—more stable, more committed. There are these events coming up, client dinners, and showing up alone every time—” He trailed off, then looked at me directly.
“We could help each other. You get Charles off your back. I get my boss off mine. Win-win.”
A deal. Not charity. Just a mutually beneficial arrangement between two people who happened to need the same thing.
“Okay,” I said.
His eyebrows rose. “Okay?”
“Okay.” I nodded, more to myself than to him. “Let’s do it.”
For a second, neither of us said anything.
Then Theo smiled, and my stomach did something complicated.
I’d seen that smile a thousand times. I didn’t know why it felt different now.
Maybe life is about timing...
“All right then.” He stood, offering me his hand. “We should probably get our story out.”
I took his hand. Let him pull me to my feet. His fingers were warm around mine. When I was up, he didn’t let go. Instead, his gaze flicked past me, toward the house. The lit windows. The shadows moving behind the glass.
“Charles is watching,” he said quietly.
My stomach flipped. “What?”
“Kitchen window. He’s been there since you came out.” Theo’s eyes came back to mine. “Do you trust me?”
My pulse kicked up. “Yes.”
He stepped closer. Still holding my hand, he brought the other one up slowly—giving me time to pull away—and brushed his knuckles against my cheek.
Gentle.
Deliberate.
His hand was warm and rough, callused in a way I hadn’t expected. Big enough that when his thumb traced along my jaw, I felt small in a way that wasn’t frightening. His touch moved lower, grazing the corner of my mouth.
Heat sparked under my skin.
I couldn’t move.
His thumb pressed lightly against my bottom lip. I opened my mouth without thinking, and the sound that escaped me wasn’t one I’d planned.
I should step back. This was for show. This was fake. This was—
His eyes dropped to my mouth. And suddenly, I wasn’t sure who we were convincing anymore.
“There,” Theo said softly, his voice lower, rougher. “That’s a start.”
He dropped his hand and stepped back.
The cool air rushed in between us.
I stood there, heart hammering, skin still buzzing where he’d touched me.
“We should go back in,” he said.
But neither of us moved. We stood there in the dark, and I wondered if he could feel it too—this shift. This thing that wasn’t supposed to be real.
I nodded. Didn’t trust myself to speak.
We went back inside.
The party continued like nothing had changed. Music still playing, people still laughing, the same conversations looping in different corners of the room.
But everything felt different now. Like someone had shifted the furniture two inches to the left while I wasn’t looking.
I tried to fall back into the rhythm. Nodded at Cole’s story about his fantasy football league. Laughed when Ryan made a joke I didn’t quite catch. Accepted a refill from Nate even though my glass was still half full.
I kept catching myself scanning the room and losing track of conversations whenever I found him. A flash of beige cashmere near the door. The sound of his laugh from the kitchen. And every time I found him, he was already looking back.
Our eyes would meet for half a second. Maybe less.
I looked away before he could see whatever was on my face.
It happened again by the drink table.
Again when Hailey pulled me into a conversation about work.
I was pretending to listen to Melissa explain her new skincare routine when I felt it. Him. His fingers brushing against my side, just above my hip.
Light.
I turned.
Theo was standing beside me, close enough that I could smell sandalwood. His hand settled more firmly against my stomach, anchoring me.
“Can I steal you for a minute?” he asked, his breath warm against my ear.
His voice was casual, easy, but his touch wasn’t.
It was specific.
Or maybe I was imagining it.
Melissa’s eyes went wide. She looked from his hand to my face and back again, her mouth falling open.
“Um—” I started.
“Just for a minute,” Theo said, already guiding me away.
I let him. Let his hand stay pressed against my side as we moved through the living room, past Cole and Ryan, past Nate, and finally Charles.
We stopped in the hallway—quieter here, dimmer, away from the main crowd.
Theo’s hand dropped.
I felt the absence immediately.
“So,” he said. “I’ve been thinking.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
His mouth twitched. “I’m walking you home. We can talk through the details on the way. And we’ll be seen leaving together.” He paused. “Two birds.”
“You have this all figured out.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.”
The way he said it made me look at him more carefully. But his expression gave nothing away.
“Okay, let’s go,” I said. “Let me just—I should tell Hailey.”
He nodded and stepped back, giving me room.
I turned toward the living room. Stopped.
“Theo.”
“Yeah?”
I didn’t look at him. “Thank you. For taking this seriously.”
A pause.
“I always take you seriously,” he said.
I walked away before I could think about what that meant.
????
Tessa needed a favor, Theo said yes without hesitation. What do you think, is this just a deal between old friends, or is there already something more?
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