Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
She looked like she wanted the floor to open up, and honestly, I was right there with her.
Theo cleared his throat as he glanced between the man and woman. “I just want to apologize for my attitude earlier. It was a silly mistake. No need for embarrassment or admonishment.” He stared sternly at the man. “Let’s just forget this, yes?”
The male attendant frowned but nodded. “If that’s your wish, Mr. Cavendish.”
“Please. I have a feeling it won’t happen again.” He offered the woman a teasing smile, and she blushed for an entirely different reason now.
“Thank you.” Her gaze flicked to me. “Apologies again.”
I gave her a soft smile, something easing in me as we nodded goodbye. Theo’s hand squeezed around mine as I hurried to match his stride.
He looked down at me as we stepped out of the glass doors, and I gazed back up at him with an expression I worried bordered on adoration.
Relief loosened the tension in him. I felt it.
By the time we boarded the plane, the tension between us had eased. Theo fussed over me, advising me what to choose on the lunch menu, making sure I had enough room, that I was comfortable.
When the male flight attendant returned to ask us if we had everything we needed for the fourth time, his bright eyes fixed on Theo, I realized he’d asked us more than anyone else and tried to contain my snort.
As soon as he was out of earshot, I leaned into Theo. “I think our flight attendant fancies you.”
Theo grinned, a bit smug. “I think you might be right.” Head bending toward mine, he whispered huskily, “Unfortunately for him, I rather fancy you.”
I tried to smother a smile but couldn’t. “It would be quite the conundrum if I fancied him.”
“Don’t be daft,” he murmured, reaching for my mouth. “You fancy the pants off me. You have literally fancied the pants off me multiple times this past month.”
My laughter was swallowed in his kiss.
I kissed him back, a feeling of utter happiness cascading over me.
It amazed me because I didn’t think I could feel like this so soon after losing Grandpa. And I realized that was the magic of Theo.
On the other side of the coin, however, were the cold shadows awaiting me if he ever took his affection away.
Fear niggled in the back of my mind. I kissed him harder to chase away the unwanted emotion.
Eighteen
THEO
The only part of my past life I hadn’t given up was Mayfair.
My flat on Half Moon Street was an uncomfortably close twenty-minute walk from my father’s townhouse on leafy Wilton Crescent. But the flat had belonged to my mother. She’d left it to me, and I couldn’t bear to part with it.
Sarah stared around wide-eyed as we stepped almost directly into the living area of the Georgian townhome that had been split into apartments. The living room was to the left of the main entrance and was the largest space in the house with massive symmetrical windows that let lots of light into the flat. I’d taken a wall down so the kitchen and sitting area were one space. It wasn’t a huge kitchen, but I enjoyed cooking in it. To the right of the entrance was the only bedroom. It was a suite with an attached bathroom and walk-in closet.
My taste ran toward midcentury modern, and my décor was decidedly masculine. I watched Sarah as she toured the flat, eyeing the books on the shelves in the living room with curiosity and then the rowing machine that took up too much space. I itched to use it after weeks without the familiar exercise.
“It’s a great flat,” Sarah offered softly.
“It was my mother’s,” I blurted out.
Sarah turned to look at me. “The flat?”
I nodded, scrubbing a hand down my cheek. I could probably do with a shave, but I’d noticed Sarah liked the bristles against her skin. Therefore, I was reluctant to get rid of it. “She had an entire real estate portfolio my father didn’t even know about. He was just as astonished as Sebastian and me to discover it after her death.” I smirked sadly. “Her parents died when she was nineteen, leaving her their fortune. Sometimes I wonder if that’s why she clung on to my father so quickly.”
“Looking for an anchor,” she whispered, her sympathy genuine and moving and frightening. Because I worried about how easily Sarah could be hurt when she cared this much for people she didn’t even know.
“Exactly.” My voice sounded hoarse, so I cleared it. “Anyway, I think she must have hidden from my father what she was worth. Maybe a tiny part of her knew that she needed to protect that. And she built a real estate business behind his back.”
“Good for her.”
I grinned. “Yes, it was rather a lovely surprise.” Gesturing to the flat, I continued, “She left me this and four other properties. All in Mayfair. All worth quite a bit. I kept this one for myself and rent out the others.”