Chapter 14
NINA
“Hey, buddy!”
Jack came running up to Nina and hugged her tightly.
“Hi, Mom!”
It was a Friday and a half-day at school for teacher planning.
It was too early for Theo to get off work, so Nina was here to pick her son up alone.
It was for the best, she reasoned. Over the last few days, Theo had started to feel like an important part of their little family, and it was good for her and Jack to spend some time just the two of them.
It would help them both prepare for the inevitable end of their time with Theo.
“How was school?”
Nina took Jack’s hand, and they started to walk.
It was an unseasonably warm and sunny day in late October, the leaves were filled with the beautiful oranges and reds of the season, and Jack’s school wasn’t all that far from Theo’s house, so Nina had decided to walk.
Jack seemed happy about it, too, as he was skipping along beside her.
“Great!” Jack said. “We did an experiment in science with leaves. It was so cool!”
“Tell me all about it,” Nina suggested. For the rest of the walk home, she listened to her son’s happy chatter. She was listening, but she was also thinking about Theo.
Sometime in the last few weeks, their fake little family had started to feel like a real one.
Seeing Theo in a paternal role towards Jack had made her feel a new kind of warmth towards him.
He wasn’t just arrogant. He wasn’t just a billionaire CEO.
He was also kind and thoughtful and surprisingly fun.
She liked talking to him and spending time with him.
And sometimes, when he looked at her a certain way or when they were laughing together, her heart stirred in her chest in a way she’d been sure was no longer possible.
When they got home, Nina made lunch for Jack and sat with him while he ate.
Then they went out into the yard to play.
Jack had found a beach ball, so they played catch for a while, though he wasn’t very good at throwing yet.
The ball was just as likely to hit the tree or the side of the house as land in Nina’s hands.
“What’s going on here?” Theo’s warm voice cut through the crisp afternoon. Nina turned, surprised to see him, and the ball hit her in the side of the head. It was soft and just bounced off, but she still blinked in surprise.
“Theo? What are you doing home?”
“It was a slow day at work,” Theo told her. “But if you’re busy…”
“No, come play with us!” Jack bounced with excitement. “We’re playing catch.”
“I see that.” Theo came to form the third point of a triangle with the two of them and held out his arms. “Throw it to me.”
Jack tried, but the ball fell short.
“Nice work,” Theo said encouragingly. “Next time, try to look just above my head when you throw, okay?”
Jack tried again and got much closer to Theo this time.
For a while, all three of them played, then Nina took a seat on the stoop and just watched them.
Jack made progress at throwing to a person instead of at them under Theo’s patient tutelage.
It made her smile. It was nice for Jack to have a male role model, even though it was just for a little while.
Even though it was hard for Nina to believe that she was calling Theo a role model.
Theo spent most of the afternoon and evening with them.
After catch, they played a board game together, then sat with Jack while he ate his dinner, though neither of the adults were very hungry yet.
Then Nina went to do bath and bedtime, fully expecting Theo to be working in his office when she finished.
When she came downstairs after putting Jack to bed, though, she found Theo sitting on the couch, waiting for her.
“What’s up?” Nina sat down next to him.
“Want to order takeout and watch a movie?” Theo asked. Nina’s eyes widened.
“Are you feeling all right? That’s about the most un-Theo thing I’ve ever heard. Don’t you always have work to do?”
Theo chuckled. “I promise, I’m feeling fine.
I just… well, I thought it would be good to spend a little more time together.
I wrote to Charles Ackley, and he suggested that we start off with a family barbecue next weekend.
I figured, the more we look like a real family before then, the better.
And that means we should know each other better. ”
“Makes sense.” Nina nodded, but her heart shriveled. Every time she felt like they were getting closer, she was reminded that this was a business arrangement, nothing more. Theo wasn’t home to spend time with her and Jack. He was here to build their cover.
“So,” Theo said, waving the remote in his hand, “movie and takeout?”
“Fine,” Nina took the remote from him, “but I get to choose the movie. And the takeout.”
“Who’s arrogant and bossy now?” Theo joked.
“I never said you were bossy. I think. And I’m not being arrogant. I just know I have better taste in food and movies than you do.” Nina winked. Joking and teasing like this was a good way to keep her disappointment at bay.
“Let me guess,” Theo said, “a rom-com and Chinese food?”
“Do you even know me?” Nina smiled. “I’m nothing close to a hopeless romantic. I don’t believe in any of that rom-com stuff. We’re watching an action movie and eating Indian takeout.”
Theo chuckled. “Fair enough. But I think you really are a hopeless romantic, you know.”
“Right.” Nina rolled her eyes. “My ex left me when I was eight months pregnant. Does that sound like the beginning of a beautiful love story to you?”
“No,” Theo smiled, “but here’s what I know. You love your son with every inch of your heart. I think you have enough love for a great love story, too. It just isn’t the one you had with your ex.”
Nina looked at him, her heart beating out a quick rhythm in her chest. It was hard to take her gaze away from his bright brown eyes and slight smile.
Was he really talking about her falling in love again?
Years ago, Nina had decided that Jack was enough.
More than enough. She’d never expected to find love again, but here Theo was, saying he thought she had a great love story in her future.
Was it possible that he was talking about himself? Surely not.
“I wouldn’t have pegged you for the type to believe in love stories at all,” Nina said. “Are you hoping to fall in love one day, too?”
“No.” Theo smiled and turned away, taking the remote back from her and turning to the TV. “You and I are different. You’re the kind of person who has enough room in her heart, and her life, for Jack and for love and for work and for herself. I only have enough room in my heart for work.”
“Sure.” Nina turned her attention to the TV screen as she plucked the remote from Theo’s hand again. “Come on, Cupid. Let’s watch a nice movie with plenty of action.”
Chuckling, Theo sat back and grabbed his phone. “Fine. I’ll order the food.”
Half an hour later, they were sitting side by side on the couch eating chicken tikka masala and naan and watching a spy jump from a helicopter onto the top of an airplane in a death-defying maneuver.
Nina kept stealing glances at Theo. This wasn’t a romantic evening.
They were just watching a movie and eating takeout, for goodness’ sake.
Yet she also felt more comfortable around Theo than she did with anyone but Jack.
She kept most people at arm’s length. Her parents were wonderful, but they lived in Seattle, so Nina only saw them once or twice a year.
She had friends, mostly other moms, but none of them were particularly close.
There was no one she could sit on a couch with, eating dinner and laughing at the ridiculously dramatic antics of a film’s protagonist.
No one except Theo.
It was pretty sad that the only person Nina could hang out with like this was basically her business partner, but she decided not to dwell on that. Instead, she laughed with Theo and stole bites of samosa when he wasn’t looking.
When the movie ended, Nina expected they’d go to bed, but Theo turned off the TV and just rested his head on the back of the couch. His brown eyes were twinkling.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, “the hero was actually his own grandfather?”
“I think that was just implied,” Nina tilted her head to one side as she thought, “but we do know for sure that he was his own third-grade teacher.”
“Right,” Theo nodded, “and he was also the guy who showed up just in time to save himself from the goons who were trying to take over the metro lines of New York.”
“No, that was his long-lost brother,” Nina corrected.
“I thought his long-lost brother was the guy with all the tattoos.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, then burst into laughter. “Okay, this movie didn’t make any sense,” Nina admitted.
“None at all,” Theo agreed, laughing. “The time-travel element was completely ridiculous.”
She turned towards him, still giggling. “I can’t believe you gave up an evening of work for this.”
“Me neither.” Theo gave a long-suffering sigh. “I could have made ten thousand dollars, but instead I had to watch a man go undercover as a gorilla for a case.”
Nina’s eyes widened. “Ten thousand dollars?”
Theo chuckled. “No. Not really. Or probably not. Anyway, I had a nice evening here with you, even with the weird movie. And the food was good, too.”
He’d had a nice evening with her. Nina tried to pretend that those words didn’t warm her heart, but they did.
“I had a nice time, too.”
“Good,” Theo smiled, “we should do it again.”
“Yeah,” Nina smiled back, “we should.”
“But next time, I’m picking the movie.”
She threw a pillow at his head, which he narrowly avoided. “No way. I know lots of great movies. This just wasn’t one of them.”
“So you say. But I have yet to see any proof of that.”
“That’s why we need another movie night.”
They smiled at each other again. It reminded Nina of lazy college days, lying on her twin bed while her roommate lay on hers, chatting. Except that Nina had never wanted to lean over and kiss her roommate, and she did want to lean over and kiss Theo.
Every time she thought she had him figured out, he showed a new side of himself. A caring role model for Jack. A friend. A confidant. A handsome man who didn’t mind spending the evening watching a terrible movie. A handsome man in general…
And now he was looking at her with those warm brown eyes. She could see the curve of his jaw and the dusting of five o’clock shadow across his cheeks. He smelled masculine, somehow, like an aftershave she couldn’t name. And one of his hands was just inches from her leg.
If she shifted a little closer, she could kiss him. It was all too easy to imagine those warm, broad lips on hers, him wrapping his hands around her waist to draw her closer, his breath against her cheek…
Nina quickly sat up and started to gather the takeout boxes. She needed to get out of here before she gave in and actually kissed him. Maybe this was a sign that she needed to start dating again. Dating people who actually wanted to date her.
“Listen, I’d better call it a night. This has been fun, but I need to be up at six tomorrow.”
“Six?”
“I need to get a little work done before Jack gets up.” Nina stood, her hands full of takeout boxes. “Have a nice evening.” She turned away, but before she could leave, Theo called out.
“Nina.”
She turned back. He was sitting up straight and looking at her, his brown eyes intense, as though he had something important to tell her. Nina’s breath caught. Could he have felt the same spark of attraction she had? Was he about to close the distance between them and sweep her into his arms?
“What’s up?” she asked. Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears.
“Just… let’s talk tomorrow,” Theo said, “about the Charles Ackley meeting.”
“Of course.” Nina smiled, though she didn’t quite feel it. “We can talk over breakfast.”
“Pancakes?” Theo asked.
Nina nodded. “Sleep well.” Then she left.
The longer she and Jack stayed here, the more the lines were getting blurred.
For all of them. A few more casual nights with Theo, and Nina worried she was going to kiss him.
That would ruin the agreement they’d made and their tentative friendship.
Worse, it might throw their situation into jeopardy, and she couldn’t risk Jack’s future on what was surely nothing more than a fleeting crush.
It had just been too long since she’d been close with a man. That was all.
So, Nina went to bed by herself and read until she was so tired, her eyes could barely stay open. Then she drifted off to sleep, hoping Theo wouldn’t find his way into her dreams.