Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Theo
Theo and Livie were walking toward one of the main concourses at the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta when his phone vibrated. When he checked the message, he groaned.
“Dammit.” He couldn’t believe this, but he probably should have expected it. The weather forecast hadn’t been promising, but it was Minnesota. Snow happened there more than not at this time of year.
“What’s wrong?” Livie asked.
They’d stepped over to the side of the walkway for him to read through the entire message.
“They canceled my flight. And apparently, Duluth Airport is closed until at least Monday due to blizzard conditions.”
“Oh no,” she exclaimed. “Did you know the weather was supposed to be bad?”
“Yes, well, sort of. We get snow a lot, and they’re used to it up there. The forecast wasn’t this bad when I booked the flights. I figured I’d make it home in time. So much for that.”
“I’m so sorry. I know you were looking forward to surprising everyone.”
“Now I’m really glad I kept it a surprise. They won’t be disappointed when I don’t show up.”
“That’s true. But what are you going to do now? Fly back to Virginia?”
Theo gazed into her cornflower blue eyes and made a split-second decision. “Actually, I’m volunteering for fake boyfriend duty.”
Livie’s jaw dropped as she stared up at him and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and bit her lower lip. “Are you sure? I mean, you haven’t met my family. They’re pretty intense.”
“I’m sure they are, but together we can handle them. You said you were driving home from here?”
She nodded and swallowed. “Ah, yes. I just have to pick up the rental car.”
“All right. Let’s go get it and we can come up with our plan while we drive. How long do we have?” Theo tucked his phone into his pocket and grabbed the handle of Livie’s suitcase, nudging her along.
“Depending on traffic, about an hour and a half to Ellijay.”
“That should give us plenty of time to work out the details.”
“Maybe? I was only kidding when I suggested it. My mother will give you the fifth degree once we get there. Especially since I didn’t tell them I was bringing anyone home with me.”
“Eh, we’ll figure it out. I bet we can have some fun with it.”
“Fun? I’m not sure that’s the right adjective for what we’re walking into.”
“Then we’ll just have to make it fun, won’t we?”
Livie blew out a deep breath. “Oh boy. I was dreading this so badly, but now I?—”
“Now your parents won’t know what hit them.” Theo nudged Livie’s shoulder. “C’mon, stalling won’t change anything.”
“You’re right. One thing is for sure, this weekend won’t be boring.”
Theo chuckled. He’d make sure her parents stayed off her case while he enjoyed the time with Livie.
They got in line to pick up the car, and Theo pulled out his wallet. If he was going to be her boyfriend, he’d be driving the car and paying for it—fake or not.
“What are you doing? I already rented a car,” Livie said as she opened her purse to pull out her wallet.
“They can switch it to my name with you as the alternate driver. I’m. your boyfriend, remember? There’s no way I’d let you pay for this.” Theo watched the expressions play across Livie’s face as she absorbed his words.
“You don’t have to do that. It’s not real,” she whispered, like someone in line might overhear them.
Theo murmured into Livie’s ear, and she shivered. “Let me do this. I don’t want you to have to pay extra to add me as a driver. And I will drive the car. There’s no way your boyfriend would let you drive home. Right? If we are going to pull this off, we’ve got to sell this from the beginning.”
Livie sighed. “Fine, you win. But when we get back home, I’ll buy your meals at the Ready Room for the next month.”
“Not necessary, baby.” Theo grinned as she blinked up at him. He’d obviously surprised her when he called her baby. She probably hadn’t noticed that he’d said it when she was having her panic attack earlier.
Considering it was the day before Thanksgiving, the line moved quickly, and a half hour later they were in the car and headed to Ellijay. Livie insisted on driving part of the way and took the first leg.
Once they were on the highway, Theo got out his phone and opened the note app.
“What are you doing?” Livie asked.
“I’m taking notes. If we’re going to be successful, we need to answer any question your family asks. Since you’re driving, I figured I’d ask you questions and take notes.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea. You’re right, they will grill you big time. Probably not tonight, since it will probably be after ten by the time we get there. You’re right, we should be prepared for the grand inquisition tomorrow, especially with my brother and sister there.”
Theo laughed. “You really think it will be that bad?”
“Yes. Without a doubt. My parents have been waiting for me to settle down. They’re probably hoping that if I get married, I’ll give up the whole doctor idea. Plus, my sister and brother will love egging them on. This is going to be, I don’t know, since I’ve never brought a man home before.”
“Never? Not even in college?” Theo looked up from his phone as she spoke. Her admission triggered a bunch of questions. Had she ever dated? Was she totally inexperienced?
“Nope. Don’t get me wrong. I dated in college, just no one for very long. I’m not a virgin or anything. Bringing a guy home would mean I was serious about him. Since I wasn’t, I never did.”
“That means they are going to be waiting for me to propose?” Theo should be rethinking this crazy plan. Except he wanted to spend time with Livie, and if it meant putting up with her family, then so be it.
“I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re probably right. Good grief, what was I thinking asking you to do this? Damn. What were you thinking when you agreed?”
Theo chuckled. “Maybe we were suffering from over oxygenated air from the plane.”
“That’s as good an excuse as any, I guess. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Livie glanced at him before concentrating on the traffic.
“I’m sure, and that means we need to learn all we can about each other in the next hour.”
“Yup. I guess we should start with how we met. Let’s go with the Ready Room. We might as well keep it as real as possible.”
“I agree. The Ready Room it is. How long have we been dating?” Theo typed all the answers into his phone. He had an excellent memory, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
“Hmm, it can’t be before August since I was home for the summer and didn’t mention you.”
“Okay, so how about I invited you to a Labor Day party at my friend’s house for our first date?”
“That’ll work.”
Theo could barely make out her expression in the dim the light from the passing cars, but he saw her smile.
“What’s your specialty going to be?”
“They won’t expect you to know that. I doubt they know it. They’re probably praying I don’t pass my boards or get chosen for a residency.”
“Maybe, but I want to know. Did you pick something yet?” He couldn’t understand these people. How could they treat her like what she wanted didn’t matter? That she’d put up with their mental abuse for all these years spoke volumes about her character. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to fall for Olivia Anderson hard.
“Actually, I have. I want to be a pediatrician.”
“Any particular reason?” Her choice didn’t surprise him, but he was curious about her reasons.
“You really don’t need to know all of this.” Shaking her head, she sighed.
“But I want to know.”
“When I was in elementary school, I had a close friend with horrible parents. I didn’t realize until I was older that they’d probably been abusing her. No one had noticed or cared back then. One winter, she got very sick and stopped coming to school. When I asked about her, the teacher told me she died. I don’t think her parents ever took her to the doctor. I want to help as many children as possible, so they don’t end up like Lanie.”
“That’s horrific. I’m sorry you lost your friend. My parents had to deal with abusive situations sometimes. I guess as teachers, they saw too many children suffering in abusive homes.”
Livie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. “Okay, enough of that. What’s your next question?”
“How about some easy ones? Favorite color, food, movie, drink? I already know you take your coffee with creamer and two sugars.”
“You remember that?”
“Yes. Naval intelligence, remember? I’m hyper observant and retain almost everything. I don’t have an eidetic memory, but it’s close.”
“I’m jealous. I’d love to remember everything. Medical school would be a breeze.”
“I can show you some tricks to help.”
“Really? I’d love that. Though I doubt we’ll have time this weekend.”
“We can do it after we get back home,” Theo said as he tapped more notes into his phone.
“Um. This is fake, right? We won’t be seeing each other in Virginia.”
“Let’s see how this weekend goes. I see you at the bar, and I can always give you some hints then, right?”
“True. All right. Let’s see, favorite color is purple. Favorite food, hmm I don’t really have one. Favorite drink would be a dirty martini or red wine. I rarely have either since I’m either working or studying, so maybe it’s really coffee. What else did you ask?”
“Your favorite movie?” He couldn’t wait to hear her answer. He’d bet it was a chic flick.
“It’s a tie between Deadpool and It’s a Wonderful Life . Before you say anything, yes, I know they are complete opposites, but I still love both of them.”
Theo laughed. Her choices were like her: sweet and snarky, funny and touching. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know. As he got to know her, he realized it would be hard to walk away once they got back home.