5. Theo
Theo stepped onto solid Brisbane ground and sighed happily. He’d been in Europe since December, and he’d just completed the world’s most convoluted journey home. Because of an airport worker strike in France, he’d had to catch a train to Germany and then a flight to Qatar, where he’d had to wait thirteen hours for a flight to Brisbane. That last leg was almost fifteen hours in the air, and even though he’d upgraded to business class, he was still exhausted by the end.
But seeing his home country wiped away most of his fatigue. He’d flown out of Brisbane countless times in the past, so going through immigration felt like he was already home.
Even though he wasn’t sleepy, it was difficult to process the emotions of being back here. Six months was the longest he’d ever been out of the country, and he had very much missed everyone he’d left behind.
He couldn’t wait to see Levi again. And find out how he and Alexis were doing.
But the one person who took up way too much of his brain space was someone he hadn’t heard a peep from in five months.
Sarah.
The memory of their one night together in Byron Bay was seared into his mind forever. He hadn’t realised at the time, but it was one of those defining moments. A perfect sequence of events with the perfect woman.
But the morning after, he’d told her he was being considered for a modelling contract in Europe, and she’d made him promise not to tell Levi or Alexis that they’d slept together. She’d said if he had to go overseas it would be easier to pretend it never happened—and while he wasn’t happy about it, he’d agreed.
They’d actually had a small falling out about it before he’d even left the country, because he’d wanted to date her openly while he could, but she’d held firm. And once he left, he’d tried to maintain contact, but after the first month, her communication dropped off before stopping altogether. He wasn’t sure if he’d accidentally said the wrong thing or given her the wrong impression, but he was so busy, he hadn’t had a lot of time to dwell on it.
But now that he was back, her face appeared vividly in his mind, and he wondered where she was and what she was up to.
After collecting his luggage, he found a cab to take him to his mum’s building. Before leaving for Europe, he’d given up his rental apartment, so he’d need to stay with Evelyn for a short while until he found somewhere more permanent.
Surprisingly, he was looking forward to seeing his mother. She’d maintained their phone call schedule the whole time he was away, and he’d appreciated the connection to home. Levi wasn’t great with phone calls or emails. Or social media, for that matter, so their contact had been limited. He’d visit his buddy once he settled in, but Theo knew their friendship could withstand a few months apart.
The sun had just come up, but it was cold. Europe had been in the middle of a heatwave when he left, so the morning’s cool winter air was a refreshing change.
His cab drove over to Newstead, and he unloaded his suitcases onto the pavement.
He was back.
Just as he was about to press the intercom button to alert Evelyn of his arrival, he froze.
A figure walked up the path, wrapped in a cream wool coat. Her red hair practically glowed in the morning light, and her pale skin made her look like some ethereal being.
He’d pictured her over and over for months, but she was even more beautiful than he remembered.
It wasn’t until she was practically on top of him that she realised he was there.
She stopped a couple of feet away and stared. Her eyes widened. God, he’d missed those expressive green eyes. Which was crazy, considering they’d spent more time apart than together.
‘Hi,’ he whispered.
She said nothing for a moment, continuing to stare at him.
‘Is that actually you?’ she asked eventually.
He smiled gently. ‘Yep. Just flew in this morning.’
‘From France?’
‘Well, via Germany and Qatar, but yes.’
‘How do you look so awake?’
‘Is that your way of saying I still look good?’ he teased.
She blushed, and he grinned. He loved that he still had that effect on her.
‘I see Europe has done nothing to dent that ego of yours.’
‘I’m afraid not.’ Theo had never seen the point of fake humility. When he was younger, he’d been discriminated against for being Asian, so he felt he deserved to enjoy the positive attention he attracted now.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Staying with Mum until I get settled. You?’
‘I was meeting Alexis for a walk before we both have to go into work.’
‘Ah.’
‘Speak of the devil.’
Theo glanced through the glass entry doors and saw Alexis on the other side. She was carrying two coffees. Her focus was on Sarah, but when she realised who was standing beside her, her face broke out into a huge grin.
‘Theo! You’re back.’
‘I am.’
‘We missed you. Didn’t we, Sarah?’
Sarah looked away. ‘Uh, yeah.’
Alexis handed a coffee to Sarah and then held out the second to him. ‘Do you want it? I can go get another?’
‘No, thanks. I don’t want to interrupt your morning routine. We’ll catch up later.’
‘I know Levi is really looking forward to seeing you,’ Alexis said.
Theo chuckled. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Well, you know. In his own way. He wouldn’t say it specifically, but I know he secretly loves you.’
‘I’ll call him later. But right now, I need to say hi to my mother and get some of this travel dirt off me.’
‘You look great, by the way.’
‘He already knows,’ Sarah said dryly.
Theo loved that they’d slipped back into their old bantering ways as if no time had passed.
Except he knew it would take a while to properly rebuild a connection with Sarah. He couldn’t just go over and kiss her, even though that’s what he wanted to do.
He wondered if she was single. How would he feel if she was seeing someone else?
Alexis rubbed his arm as she walked past. ‘We’ll definitely have to catch up later. Levi and I will be home from work after six. Feel free to knock on the door anytime.’
He shot her an appreciative smile. ‘Thanks. Will do.’
Sarah was looking at him with an unreadable expression. Theo wished he knew what to say or do to get them to where they were. Although, he wasn’t exactly sure they’d ever been anything.
She bit her bottom lip and gave him a tiny nod before following Alexis back down the path. He watched her until she disappeared around the corner.
He sighed and pressed the intercom button.
This might be slightly more complicated than he’d expected.