Page 61 of Alpha Theo

He grins, popping the pretzel into his mouth.

“I’m sure she took that well,” I giggle, shaking my head.

“Oh yeah,” Theo grumbles, swallowing. “Hence the reason that I hopped on my bike and got far away from this place before she could tattle to Gray.”

He waggles his eyebrows, popping the last couple pretzels into his mouth, wadding up the bag, and turning at the waist to toss it into the trash can.

My eyes go right to his abs again.Damnit.

I cross one leg over the other, leaning back in my chair and bouncing the toe of my sneaker. “So where’d you go?”

“Pine Mountain.” He brushes pretzel crumbs from the front of his shirt. “It’s really pretty up there, you should let me take you sometime.”

“If it involves your motorcycle, you know my answer,” I sigh, swiveling back to my computer. I find the spot I left off in my code, start typing.

“Aw c’mon, kid,” Theo urges. “It’s not as scary as you’re making it out to be. You got past your fear to get on the ski-lift, and didn’t you have a good time?”

I side-eye him as my lips spread into a smile. Ididhave a good time- but there’s no comparing a ride on a slow-moving ski-lift to getting on the back of a motorcycle with someone that I know is a crazy driver. It’s like comparing a carousel to a roller coaster.

“That’s totally different.”

Theo heaves a sigh, raking a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna get you on that bike someday, kid. And you know what? You’re gonna love it.”

“Doubtful.” I continue typing, patching a defect in my code.

Theo just sits beside me quietly for a few minutes. I can feel his eyes on me as I work. Then he reaches for his jacket again, pulling out the notepad that he uses to take report. Starts flipping through it.

“I talked to Gray about that idea I told you about, for the borders,” he says.

“Yeah?” I stop typing and swivel to face him again. “What’d he say?”

Theo grins. “He liked it. Told me to run with it.”

“That’s awesome, Theo!” I exclaim, smiling brightly.

I swear I see him blush before he looks down at his notepad again. “Yeah, I’m gonna need help from IT to get it up and running. I made a list of everything I think we’ll need…”

He holds up the notepad and I wheel my chair a little closer to him, peering over at it. It’s a lot longer than I expected- the guy has put a lot of thought into this system.

I look up and those hazel eyes meet my own. They’re wide, thoughtful. “Do you think you could help me look into some different options for these things? Or point me in the right direction?”

I nod enthusiastically. “Definitely! Justin is our equipment guy. If you give it to him, he’ll order everything you need.”

Theo tears the page out of the notepad and sets it on my desk, tucking the pad back in his jacket. “Cool. I’ll give it to him on my way out.”

“Once it’s installed I can help get all the systems linked up and running,” I offer.

Theo smiles- that charming, gorgeous smile that always gives me pause. “Sounds good.”

I slide back over to my computer and spin to face my monitor, try to regain my composure since Theo’s making me blush like a frickin’ schoolgirl. Seeing him so motivated makes him even more appealing- and I’m desperately trying to shut those feelings down.

I get a few more minutes of work in before Theo pipes up again.

“You comin’ out to the bar tomorrow night?”

I push back in my chair, turning to look at him again. He’s reclining back with his chair on two legs, peering over at me with a devilish grin.

“Nah…” I breathe, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose. “I think I’m better off staying away from the bar.”