Page 86 of Shifted

"Poor Theo could never go to Lemonade stands." He stuck his tongue out at Maria, and she scolded him back as Joely watched the two of them.

"Because they're overrated!" Theo adds.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Hope Taylor

His phone rings... and rings... and rings... and finally, he moves his face away from the pillow and picks it up as I am now fully awake,

"Hello?" He sighs into the phone sleepily, and I watch as he becomes more alert as the conversation on the other line continues. I knew who was calling him, and I couldn't hide the grin on my face. My eyes drift to the stack of papers in front of me as I refrain from any eye contact, "I'll have to get back to you with Miss Taylor's schedule," He glared at me. "Yes, she's a pretty busy person... Yes, that's exactly why she has me."

"Okay, goodbye now" He ends the call and sits up from the couch, glaring over to me at my desk, "So I'm your assistant now?" He questions.

Recently, I've been giving the guys who've asked for my number my “assistant’s” number, as in Theo. I find it more humorous than making him jealous. He had nothing to be envious of because I already had what I needed. But I found it entertaining as he sat annoyed.

"Would you rather have me give them my actual number?" He didn’t like that suggestion as his mouth parted, shaking his head and sinking back into the couch. "That's what I thought." He got up from the sofa and came behind the desk to me, his arms wrapping around my body lazily from behind my chair.

"How much longer?" he whines. As of lately, all he wants to do is spend time with me. But I knew it was because he was worried about my injuries and making sure I didn’t do anything dumb. He’s been going to work remotely in Boston, but he calls three times an hour.

"I missed three weeks of work. I know Lucas understands, but Mr. Reign. That's another story. We can go get her..." I glance at the ticking clock. Now." He shoots up from the couch in excitement and grabs my briefcase as I reach for my coat. But as I don’t pull it over my sleeve’s he gestures to it.

"Angel, February bites. It's a cold time of year." He warns and helps me into my coat and intertwines his hands with mine as we step out of my office to go get our daughter.

?

After putting the car into the park, he gets out, meets me on the other side, and we make our way toward the daycare. I never felt like other parents' eyes were on me, but the past few times, I knew they were. Because Theo was with me, even Maya talked to me about it.

As we entered, Theo sneaked over to her cubby, grabbing her stuff as I walked over to get her. She was currently using a coloring book, and I could already see the colorful marker stains on her clothes. It will be fun trying to get out later.

"Joel's you ready to go?" She looked over at me, and just as she was about to nod, she looked past me with excitement.

"Daddy!" she yells, running into his arms. He picks her up swiftly, lifting her into his arms. She'd recently been calling Theo's Dad, so it was easy for her to grow an attachment to him. It made things feel more permanent as she let him in so easily.

We talked one night as we joined her tea party. She was introducing Theo to all her stuffed animals she cherishes as we explained our relationship to her. We discussed who Theo was, and I'd never seen her more excited. It’s not that she needed a father figure, and we’d talked about it once before how some kids have both parents or just a mom or dad. She didn’t seem to mind in any way. But finding out that she had a dad, that Theo was her dad. I knew she already loved him but she brought him into her heart so quickly. She's slowly becoming a daddy's girl, and I can't even hate it because I couldn’t help but love him so much, too.

"Hi, princess," he says to Joely. Snuggling deeper into his arms, she begins to giggle. "How was your day?" he asks, kissing her cheek. She squeezes him tight. “Good!” she replies in a small voice. Seeing Amanda in the distance with Zoe at pick-up, he waves to her, and she waves back, tired as Zoe’s running around collecting her stuff.

Making our way out into the frigid temperatures we quickly get into his car. I slide into the passenger's seat as he buckles her into her car seat in the back. Tugging on it to make sure it’s intact, he steps back and kisses her forehead, then closes the door.

"Alright, have you buckled up?" He looks at me, and I nod, containing my laughter. He’s been doing this lately, but my guess was to remind Joely that it’s important always to wear your seat belt.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'm buckled up." I tease him, and he ignores me, rolling his eyes. He turns his attention to the road and begins driving us home. I glance at him as his focus remains strictly on the road, watching out for the bad drivers of Boston. He was home. He apparently had been here on business for months, trying to move operations here. He didn't tell me because he didn't want me to think it was for me.

It was.

Even before he knew Joely was his daughter. Even when I was still dating Reed, he was moving back here for me. But we both want to take it easy and get used to each other again. However, the best way to describe our relationship is like when you see that friend you haven’t seen in so long. But the second you're together, it's as if no time has passed. You simply already know all there is to know, and it's like you haven't spent any time apart.

He made loving him so easy, but he also wanted to kill me sometimes. That’s how our relationship always was. We held a rivalry before we knew it was truly love. He was Bella’s older brother, who would drive me insane, steal my face wash, and be arrogant at points. I was Bella’s annoying best friend, who couldn’t quite bite her tongue. But we were simply two fools in love who didn’t know it yet.

So even in another life, a different part of our lives. We still found each other behind masks and continuing that friction between us. But it was like some force that drove us together. After being pushed apart, we found ourselves again in a new light by chance. Amartolós could have been anyone, even Lucas or Grayson. But instead, it was Theo all along.

It had been over a month since I was shot, and March was just a day away. But still, I wasn't allowed to go on any missions. Theo knew one day he'd have to let me get back out there. But for now, he's kept Isaac at bay, and what's worse is that Lucas agrees with him. Another trick of Amartolós, holding me back so he could get better. But he knows I’d wipe the floor with his ass even if he tried.

?

Joely did another twirl in her purple Disney princess gown. She fell to the floor as we clapped for her moves down the catwalk, which was really her bed. We sat in a circle surrounded by teddy bears lined in a row as we sat up front to her fashion show. This was her fifth look of the night, just before it was time to go to bed.

"Do I look pretties, mama?" She stumbled towards me, a sleepy expression on her face.

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