NORA
Theo and I were quiet as we walked back up the steps to Ky’s beach house, the voices of the remaining bonfire guests fading behind us.
But even though we weren’t saying many words, his hand stayed in mine, our shoulders brushing now and then, as if we weren’t quite ready to let go of the closeness we had on the beach.
When we reached the bedroom we’d be sharing for the next few days, I glanced toward the bathroom and asked, “Mind if I change first?”
“Sure,” he said, nodding. “Go ahead.”
So I grabbed my pajamas from the drawer I’d stowed them in earlier and slipped into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
The second I was alone, I braced my hands on the counter and let out a breath.
What was happening between us tonight?
I’d spent the past year barely getting a guy to commit to a coffee date… But now I was sharing a bedroom with Theo—the very guy I’d daydreamed about kissing so many times—after sitting in his lap while he’d held me. Caressed me.
And not like it had all just been for show. But like he actually wanted to.
I shook my head, trying to pull myself together before I could start building a whole happily-ever-after montage in my head.
Just because it felt real to me didn’t mean that it was real to him.
For all I knew, Theo was just a really, really good actor.
He’d literally agreed to be my fake boyfriend for the weekend.
And since Theo was good at everything he set his mind to, of course he’d be good at pretending to be interested in me.
So it would be in my best interest to stop trying to read into any of it.
Right?
After taking a few deep breaths, I put on my striped, yellow cami-and-shorts set that had white flowers on it. Then after brushing my teeth, I opened the door and tried to look like I was completely at ease.
Like sharing a bedroom with an incredibly sexy man was just a regular Tuesday for me.
I mean, we were already living in the same house. It should be easy-peasy at this point.
“Your turn,” I said.
“Perfect.” He nodded, grabbing his things before stepping past me into the bathroom. But on his way, instead of taking a wide arc, he stepped close enough that his arm brushed mine.
Just barely.
But it was enough to make my pulse jump and my thoughts scatter all over again.
I moved around the room, pretending to straighten things that didn’t need straightening, giving myself something to do while I waited.
When the bathroom door opened again, I turned around, only to immediately wish I hadn’t.
Because when Theo stepped out in a white T-shirt and black gym shorts, my temperature instantly rose. And while his expression seemed calm enough, his eyes were not.
No, those hypnotizing green eyes were very much alert. Heated.
And possibly a little wild.
Oh boy. I let out a low breath, all my blood rushing to my core and making me feel lightheaded.
“I forgot my toothbrush,” he said, setting the clothes he’d worn earlier on the dresser before grabbing his hygiene bag. “But if you need to use the bathroom for anything else, feel free.”
“Oh—yeah,” I said quickly. And even though I’d used my toothbrush less than five minutes ago, I added, “I need to brush my teeth, too.”
We ended up side by side at the sink, brushing our teeth in silence.
Well… not real silence.
In the proximity of this small bathroom, every single small movement and sound was amplified.
My elbow bumped his.
Then his shoulder brushed mine when he reached for the faucet.
I glanced up at the mirror only to catch him already looking at me.
I quickly looked back down at the sink, not sure what to do with the sudden awareness I was feeling.
The tension building between us was becoming harder and harder to ignore.
By the time we finished and stepped back into the bedroom, my thoughts were a mess.
I hadn’t felt this aware in so long.
Not this on edge.
Like every nerve ending was just waiting for something to happen.
I hovered near the edge of the bed as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to do next.
Do I just climb under the covers and say goodnight?
Pretend like everything was completely normal between us and that I wasn’t trying to find the right way to suggest we just make out right now?
“So…” I said finally, pulling the covers on my side of the bed back. “How do you think tonight went?”
“I think it went well,” he said, turning down his side of the duvet. “I don’t know Diego well enough to know what he thought of it, but at least we seemed to have Ky convinced.”
“We certainly did,” I said, remembering how Ky had interrupted us right when I was just thinking about pulling Theo away from the group and finding a more secluded space on the beach to explore each other a little more.
Yeah… I had definitely not been thinking straight.
But could you really blame me when a man who looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine was holding me and touching me and whispering things in my ear?
If anything, I deserved an award for having so much self-restraint.
I peeked back at Theo, studying his tall, muscular form. Taking in his biceps. Following the winding veins in his sexy forearms.
This man was a work of art.
And not only that, he was also just an amazing human. A hard worker. A great dad.
When I was younger, I’d often daydreamed about the kind of guy I wanted to marry. Made a whole list of the qualities and attributes I wanted him to have.
My list had contained things like: has a good work ethic; is good-looking; has nice eyes; is kind, smart, and funny; he likes kids and kids like him; doesn’t make enemies easily; is my best friend…
I’d listed all kinds of things that sounded nice, hoping I’d one day find a guy who had all those qualities and also wanted me back.
But as the years had gone by and I’d ended up more and more heartbroken with every failed dating attempt, I started to wonder if I was just asking the universe for too much.
If a guy like that could even exist.
Because while I’d seen guys like that in movies and read about them in books, I never seemed to be able to find someone like that in real life.
But with Theo… I was pretty sure he might just be able to check every single one of those boxes.
I guess the only question now was whether I was someone he would want in return.
If it was even possible for a man as accomplished, amazing, and kind as he was to be drawn to someone like me.
Did I even stand a chance? Or was I just living in some sort of fantasy?
I sighed, not sure I even dared do anything to try and figure that out. Because if this thing I’d thought might be building between us turned out to indeed just be all an act… I didn’t know if I actually wanted to burst that bubble.
Sometimes it was better to live in delusion than find out your dreams were never possible in the first place.
So, forcing my thoughts away from suggesting we do something crazy like have a practice kiss, I took a deep breath instead and simply climbed onto my side of the bed, tugging the covers up to my waist and smoothing them down.
Yes, I could act normal. I could pretend for a night like I had everything together and wasn’t looking for any little signal that he was interested in me jumping his bones.
Okay, so maybe I was still definitely on high alert for all of that. I was a mere mortal, after all.
Theo climbed in bed then, too, the mattress dipping under his weight. And as he slid lower and pulled the covers over him, I was intimately aware of just how close he was to me.
I was used to sharing this very bed with someone else, since I’d shared it with his sister multiple times before.
But Lucy was my same size. Just five foot one and didn’t take up very much space.
But Theo… Well, I didn’t know if Lucy had always just hugged the edge of the bed without me realizing it or if Theo had simply climbed in closer to the center than I’d ever thought to, but… suddenly, this bed didn’t seem as big as it had before.
And I didn’t know if I should be happy or worried about that.
Worried because if he happened to accidentally brush his arm against mine during the night, my amped-up brain might just take that as an invitation to cuddle.
Would it even be possible to keep my hands to myself when he was sleeping inches away?
Because after a year of unintentional celibacy, I honestly didn’t know if I had the self-control to not at least try something.
Especially when it was Daddy Theo lying right there.
And it wasn’t like he was made of stone. He had to have some kind of sex drive, too, right?
Needs.
A pulse.
Thoughts he probably kept locked up behind that calm, responsible face.
I mean, I wasn’t delusional enough to think taking things all the way was on the table.
But making out?
Getting a little lost in kissing for a while?
After how close we’d come on the beach… it was hard to believe he wouldn’t be open to that, too.
“Goodnight, Nora,” Theo said, interrupting my thoughts before I could decide whether to act on them or not.
And so, deciding I had no other option but to be a good girl, I said, “Goodnight, Theo,” before sighing and settling deeper under the covers.
A beat passed.
Then another.
The room stayed quiet; the only sound the steady rhythm of our breathing and the ceiling fan.
I stared up at the ceiling, tracking the lazy spin of the fan like it could save me from looking at the very tempting outline of Theo Archibald lying inches away.
We lay like that for about ten seconds, completely still and silent, but then there was a soft rustle under the covers as he reached over to the nightstand.
The lamp clicked off and darkness filled the room, broken only by the faint glow from the window.
My pulse kicked up.
Because suddenly, not being able to see him made it worse.
I could hear him breathing.
Could feel the mattress subtly respond when he moved.
Could sense the exact distance between our bodies, as if my nerves had a ruler out.
I told myself to relax.
It was bedtime.
Normal people slept.
Normal people did not lie awake thinking about the way a man had touched them in front of a fire.