40. Theo Fairview
The door opened, and I couldn’t do anything but stare like a lovesick fool, as the golden glow of the hot afternoon sun pooled into the house… It was as if the sun itself were her own personal escort.
She looked absolutely stunning.
She was wearing a white, skin-tight silk dress with tiny spaghetti straps.
It probably cost more than my entire wardrobe.
She’d swapped her black Christian Louboutins for white ones, and I couldn’t help but drink in the long line of her tanned leg, poking out the slit of her dress that stopped just below her hip.
She was clutching the tiniest white and gold purse I’d ever seen, and her almond nails were painted a pearly satin. I swallowed, thinking about how good those fingers felt when she’d used them to stroke me into submission just a few days before.
She was so fucking gorgeous.
Her thick, dark hair was glossier than ever and hung in loose waves down her back, which…oh fuck me…
She turned slightly, and I realized the dress was backless.
I had a sudden vision of what she would look like sprawled out, face down on our bed, as I ran my tongue up her perfect spine.
I bit my lip and shuddered.
This was such a bad idea.
I had it so bad for her.
Why was I fucking sweating?
The second her eyes met mine, it was like the entire world fell away, and it was just the two of us, suspended in time.
In almost perfect slow motion, I watched the expression on her face transform. Her brown eyes turned soft and warm, and a wide smile spread across her face.
It was a smile I’d never seen her give anyone else.
It was a smile she seemed to reserve just for me, and my throat closed up at the sight of it.
“Theo…” she hummed, stalking down the hall and into the living room to greet me.
“Hey, baby girl,” I croaked, unable to take my eyes off of her for even a second.
“You look amazing,” she beamed, and I couldn’t seem to get my brain to function as she leaned forward, pressing a warm, soft kiss to my lips.
It was a casual kiss.
A kiss you would give someone you were in an established relationship with.
A kiss you gave without thinking.
A kiss you would probably forget about because it was just one in a hundred identical kisses you would continue to give and receive.
But I wouldn’t forget it.
I didn’t think I could ever forget a single kiss this woman ever decided to bless me with, and this one was no exception.
“You… You look… Jesus Christ, Cass… are you trying to kill me? How am I supposed to make it through this whole day without fucking you?” I murmured in her ear, and my mother laughed softly, taking that as her cue to drift off to join the rest of our family out in the garden.
Cass preened, and I choked on a laugh at how obvious it was that she knew exactly how hot she looked.
“Here… I got you.” I started fumbling in my pocket like a moron right as she pulled two boxes out of her tiny white and gold clutch.
“I brought rings,” she said matter-of-factly, popping open one of the boxes to reveal an elegant, sleek engagement ring with a massive, white oval diamond.
My heart sank, but I swallowed and nodded.
Releasing the grip I had on my little velvet box in my pocket, I reached out to take the one she was handing me. This one was a more masculine, gold band, and I assumed it was mine.
She frowned as I wordlessly accepted the box and slipped it into the inner pocket of my suit jacket. She cocked her head to the side, looking curious.
“What were you going to say?”
“Nothing,” I muttered, clearing my throat awkwardly.
“It’s not nothing, you said you got me something?” Her eyes were sparkling with interest. “Did you get me a… gift?”
My heart skipped a beat again as I realized she was…excited.
I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck. Even to me, I sounded nervous.
“It’s nothing, it’s stupid. I just… I brought a ring for you, too, but the one you got for yourself is beautiful. If you like it, you should wear it.”
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“You have a ring for me?”
“Uhh, yeah, but don’t worry about it.”
She frowned, her expression strangely soft.
“Can I see it?”
“Uhh, I mean, yeah, but if you don’t like it, like I said, you should just wear the one you have.”
“Theodora. Show me the fucking ring,” she snapped suddenly, and the authority in her tone made my clit throb.
Still sweating an ungodly amount, I nodded and pulled the box out of my pocket. I fumbled with it, and the Q-Tip seemed to catch on the velvet of the box. To my horror, it slipped out too, dropping to the floor at our feet.
Cass glanced down, a confused look crossing her face.
“Oops… sorry…” I muttered, bending down to pick up the tiny swab, but Cass beat me to it.
She snatched it up, studying it carefully, before glancing back at me.
“Why do you have a Q-Tip in your pocket?”
I shrugged, hating how hot my face was getting.
“No reason. I didn’t even know it was in there. You can just throw it out.”
The words felt wrong coming out of my mouth, and Cass’s intelligent eyes were studying me so carefully that I think she could tell I was lying.
“Uhh, you wanted to see the ring?” I rasped, deciding that the whole ring thing was way less humiliating than telling her I sometimes tried to use a Q-Tip as a magic wand to help me deal with being repeatedly molested as a child.
It seemed to work, and her brown eyes fell down to the small box I was still clutching in my shaking hands.
Carefully, I opened it, showing her the vintage ring Iris had given me.
I felt like I was gonna puke.
Jesus.
Why was it like four thousand degrees in this house?
She studied what I was now painfully aware was a very off-brand ring, and I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
“It was my grandma’s,” I said dumbly.
God, I was such an idiot.
Her expression warmed, and her pouty lips curved in a soft smile.
“Theo… it’s beautiful,” she said, her voice gentle.
Before I knew what was happening, she was slipping off the ring she’d bought for herself and returning it to her tiny purse that had clearly been designed for mice.
“Put it on me,” she ordered, holding out her now bare left hand.
Fuck. Me.
Carefully, I took her soft hand in mine–overly conscious of how calloused my palms were from the gym–and I slid the ring onto her finger. I held my breath as it slid home, sparks of adrenaline shooting up and down my arm from the point of contact.
It was a reflex. I don’t remember making the decision to do it, but suddenly, I was bringing her hand to my lips, and I left a soft kiss on her knuckles.
She made a tiny sound that caused me to glance up at her.
She was staring at me, her lips slightly parted, and I suddenly felt like I would do anything to hear her make that sound again.
“Beautiful,” I breathed, and I sure as fuck wasn’t talking about the stupid ring.
We stared at each other, and it felt like a heavy weight was slowly closing in around my heart.
This moment felt significant.
Powerful.
Important.
I didn’t have time to pick apart what it all meant, but just as Cass was leaning forward to give me another one of her lipstick-laced kisses, Ryan awkwardly cleared his throat as he entered the room.
The strange tension we’d been caught in shattered, and we both hastily pulled away from each other.
Ryan gave us a sheepish grin as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his flushed neck.
“Hey, sorry to interrupt. Uhm, the officiant is out back, they said they want to check in with Cass before getting started?”
“Yeah, let me just freshen up my makeup,” Cass said, brusquely digging into her mouse-sized purse again.
I cleared my throat and ran my hand through my hair, turning away. My face felt like it was on fire.
“See you out there?” Cass asked, shooting me a quick smile, and I nodded, grunting an awkward yeah before she strode off to get everything set up.
Ryan and I both watched her leave, but once she was gone, he turned his attention to me. Much like I was, he was wearing the same suit he wore to manage funerals. The only difference was the bright boutonniere he’d fastened to the front lapel.
Giving me a warm but cautious smile, he slid his hands into his pockets, and I did the same.
“Well. It’s your big day. How you feeling?” he asked, and I shrugged, my cheeks getting warmer by the second.
“Fine, I guess. It’s not like it’s real or anything,” I mumbled half heartedly, and Ryan frowned. He glanced back out the way Cass had gone before taking a step toward me.
“Hey… Listen, so… I know we’ve never exactly been much for talking about each other’s feelings and whatever… but, you were a big part of why I was able to see how much of an idiot I was being when Cal first started coming around, so, I’m… I want to return the favor.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise and glanced back at him, cocking my head to the side.
“What do you mean?” I asked, and my brother gave me a warm, soft smile that he’d never given me before. He slid one of his hands out of his pockets and cuffed me gently on the shoulder.
“Whatever was happening when I came in here wasn’t fake, Theodora,” he said plainly. His tone was soft, but his expression was firm, like there was no room for argument.
“That woman is fucking in love with you. Maybe she doesn’t know it yet, but it’s obvious to everyone here… Well… It’s obvious to everyone except maybe you two.”
My mouth parted slightly in surprise as a rush of warmth flooded through my body at his words.
What?
No fucking way.
There was no way Cassandra Walker was in love with me.
I could never be that lucky… Could I?
Ryan squeezed my shoulder and gave me another one of those weird, warm smiles.
“I’m really happy for you, Theo. You always fought so hard for us as kids. I wouldn’t have made it through those early years without you. You deserve to have someone look at you the way Cassandra does. You deserve to be happy. You deserve this.”
Suddenly, my throat felt thick, and there was a lump in it that I couldn’t seem to swallow down.
“Uhm, wow. Thanks, Ryan. I don’t know what to say… but… yeah, I hope you’re right, I guess…”
Ryan chuckled softly at how awkward I was clearly feeling about his blatant display of affection, and he let go of my shoulder.
He gave me a shrug and tilted his head toward the door that would lead us to the backyard, where I knew Cassandra would be waiting for me to walk down the aisle.
“Let’s get out there. Your future wife is waiting.” He gave me a wink, and to my horror, I felt my cheeks flush again as I followed him out into the hallway.
Ugh. Fuck.
I was so down bad…
This was the stupidest thing I’d ever done…
I was absolutely FUCKED.