Page 23 of Claimed By my Frenemy

We eat in companionable silence for a few moments, and I can’t help but sneak glances at him. There’s a different side to Theo tonight, one that I’m not sure I’ve seen before. He’s relaxed, almost vulnerable, and it’s making me see him in a new light. I kind of like it, and that scares me.

Our conversation doesn’t start up again until we’re both about halfway done with our omelets. “So, about the bed and breakfast… How’s the planning going?”

I shrug, setting my fork down and wiping my mouth. “It’s a lot of work, but I’m getting there. There’s so much to do, and I want to make sure everything is perfect. I don’t have a specific timeline because I did get a little money with the estate, but I’d like to open it in August and get a few end-of-summer guests.”

“I can help, you know,” Theo offers. “Not just with fixing pipes, but with the planning, the renovations… Whatever you need.”

“I appreciate that, but you’ve got your own projects to worry about.” There’s a tiny part of me that wonders if Theo’s offer is generous or if there’s more to it. What if he’s just making the offer so helookslike a good guy? He’s trying to make me feel more open and comfortable with him, but then, he doesn’t really mean it.

But as I’m thinking these thoughts, I remember Theo kneeling in the mud, getting his hands dirty as he helped me with the pipe issue. Sure, he caused it. But he could have just shrugged and left me to deal with it on my own.

“I can make time,” he insists. “Besides, I owe you after today.”

I laugh softly. “You don’t owe me anything, Theo. But I won’t say no to help. I… I guess I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

Theo smiles, and I love it. A tiny part of me melts. “Good, because I want to see this place succeed. You deserve to make it just the place you want it to be.”

His words send a shiver down my spine, and I realize just how much it means to me that he cares. Maybe there’s more to Theo than I’ve given him credit for.

“If youweren’there renovating this place, what would you be doing?”

I think of my life back in Raleigh, the life I left behind without much of a second glance. “I had a job in Raleigh. I was working in the finance department of the county water. It was… boring.”

“Boring? What were you doing? What were the duties your job required?”

“Oh, well, I had to process payments from people. Then, people always came in to pay in person even though they should know to pay over the phone by now. And there were a few who would come in, begging not to have their water shut off. They always had a sad story.”

I take another bite of my omelet. “I sound heartless, but it’s just that after days of dealing with it, weeks, then months, I didn’t have room in my heart for any more sad stories. Besides, there are rules about payment, and if we just keep giving them water without payment, then we were losing. I just had to sound sympathetic before telling them it was out of my hands. It wore on me.”

“It doesn’t sound like a fulfilling job.”

“It wasn’t. It wasn’t what I imagined myself doing when I was in high school.”

“I know. I remember.” Theo smiles at me, and I’m sure he’s thinking of my sketchbooks. I wish I knew where they were, but I would have to sort through boxes of things at my parents’ house to find them.

“You know, you’re not so bad,” I tell Theo as I finish my last bite and lean back comfortably in my chair.

He trains his eyes on me in a rather unnerving way, like he can see past my exterior to the thoughts inside.

“You’re not so bad either,” Theo echoes the sentiment. And then, his hand snakes across the table and lands on mine. My heart starts rushing, beating hard, and I’m not sure how I can breathe.

It’s like my body forgets how to function.

I leap out of my chair and grab both of our plates. “I’ll get these washed up!” I shout, hurrying into the kitchen to escape how close I was to kissing Theo again. Or worse… We are alone in this house, and there is no one to interrupt us.

12

THEO

Like a magnetslowly being pulled into the other room, I stand and follow Mia into the kitchen. I stare at her back as she rinses the dishes off in the sink.

Then, she bends over to put them in the dishwasher, and I can’t help what I’m feeling. I want to grab her and press her body against mine. I want to take her pants off and press that ass of hers into my groin area.

I can feel my dick starting to get hard, so I slide to the other side of the counter so it hides what’s happening in my pants.

When Mia stands, her face is a little red. I wonder if mine is, too. Maybe we’re both thinking the same thing.

“So,” Mia says, leaning against the counter’s other side. There’s a large piece of cork-board between us now, and I wonder if Mia has done it on purpose.

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