Page 85 of The Romance Library

‘Did you think she was talking about…?’ Theo asked.

‘Yep.’ I slapped my forehead.

‘I did too at first, but then I thought it would be fun to go along with it!’

When Theo spoke about him just sitting there whilst I did most of the work and he used his hands, Maddie thought he was talking about sitting at the keyboard whilst I sung. Not that he meant I sat on his lap and rode his cock on a rocking chair whilst he squeezed my nipples and stroked my clit.

‘Funny! Let’s hope that’s the only performance the town hears about from us.’ As my laugh faded, Theo’s eyes met mine. The heat from his gaze sent shivers racing through me. I needed to change the subject. ‘Crumpets, eh?’ I looked down at his plate. ‘Didn’t have you down as a crumpet lover.’

‘On the contrary,’ he said, licking his lips, ‘I love a nice bit of crumpet…’

‘You did not just make a joke about crumpets!’ I laughed.

‘Who said it was a joke? I love crumpets. I’d have crumpets in the morning, crumpets in the evening. I’d feast on crumpets all day long if I had the chance.’ His lips twitched.

‘Are we talking about the crumpets on your plate, as in the savoury yeasty thing you eat with butter, or are you talking about the other meaning?’

‘Other meaning?’ Theo raised an eyebrow playfully. ‘I think you’re going to have to explain yourself.’

‘Please.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Are you telling me that your private school education didn’t teach you that crumpet also means an attractive woman?’

‘I think you’ll find that nowadays it can be used for both women and men.’ He smirked. ‘As for which meaning I was referring to, I’ll leave that for you to decide.’

My guess was that he wasn’t talking about the crumpets on his plate. And even though the word wasn’t my favourite, I’d be happy for Theo to feast on me all day long.

No, no, no.

Focus.

‘I see you’re reading.’ I flicked my gaze away to the book resting on the table.

‘Listening to you talk about books inspired me to try again.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes.’

Hearing that made my heart sing. Although I was still waiting to get my reading mojo back, I was glad that he’d picked up a book because of me.

‘So? How is it? Are you enjoying it?’

‘I love it. I read it on the train from London back here yesterday and I had a bit of a stressful start to the morning, but as soon as I started reading, I got lost in the story and forgot about everything else.’

‘Sorry to hear you had a stressful start.’ I frowned. ‘What happened?’

‘Just work stuff.’ He waved his hand dismissively.

‘Oh. Well, it’s amazing that reading helped you escape your problems. Mrs Davis said something like that when we first came here. She said books are like a holiday for the mind and that they allow you to travel and experience a million different adventures without leaving home. I’ll always remember those words.’

It was true. I used to love how books allowed me to escape the monotony of my life and forget about the misery in the world.

When I opened a book, I was able to live through those characters. Lose myself in an epic love story. To walk in someone else’s shoes and experience things or visit places I might never get to in real life.

‘Sounds like she was a wise woman.’

‘Yeah. Obviously I didn’t know her very long, but she seemed to be. That’s why securing this space for the library is so important…’ My voice trailed off and Theo winced. I understood why. Me winning this meant Theo losing and vice versa.

‘I understand. But I’m also under a lot of pressure to secure Seaview High. My father has made it very clear that failure isn’t an option,’ he said firmly.

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