Page 118 of Meet Me at the Metro

I release aheavysigh of relief. “I’m shitting bricks.”

Vacating the empty spot beside me, he stretches an arm around me and gives my shoulder a light-hearted shake. “Breathe, mate.”

The warmness in those two words is enough to lift some of the weight on my chest. I give myself permission to do as he so kindly commanded and feel the tension in my shoulders ease up a little.

“What are you feeling most anxious about?”

I glance around the apartment looming behind us, ensuring no additional listening ears exist. “Everything—everything about it.”

“You worried about seeing your stepbrother again?”

I nod.

Of course, I’m fucking worried about it, and that mostly chalks down to the uncertainty that comes with being around him again. I don’t know how my mind and body will choose to react to it.

I shudder at the thought. “I don’t want to do it, Harv.”

“Do you not want to see him or not want to deal with whatcomeswith seeing him?”

My breathing catches at that.

Fuck.

I glance down to the floor, shame eating me from the inside out.

“You can acknowledge that and not feel guilty about it, Theo. You two went through a lot with everything that happened…the unimaginable. You have permission to have your reservations about tonight—about seeing him.”

I can’t even fucking speak. Harvey always has this way of making me face all of the truths I fight so hard to avoid. It’s a powersomeone elsehas slowly begun to possess, too.

“I think itcouldgo better than what you’re letting yourself imagine,” he tells me.

“What if it triggers another episode?”

Evie and Nora’s laughter bubbles down the hallway from the back of the flat, causing our heads to turn.

The sound instantly makes me aware of all the reasons I’m so worried about that happening.

I quietly confess, “I don’t want her to see that. She’s seen some of my lows, but not the worst. It could scare her—push her away.”

“Theo, that girl isn’t going anywhere. No matter how much you try convincing yourself that she will. She’s crazy about you.”

I’m fucking crazy about her, too. To consider how tightly she’s got me wrapped around her finger makes the corner of my lips twitch with a smile.

“See. She’s good for you, Theo. Really good. Don’t self-sabotage what you two have.”

Deep down, I know that he’s right. Noraisgood for me—so fucking good. I just have to stop convincing myself that she will bail when she sees the full picture.

As if on perfect cue, a door creaks open in the distance and puts an end to any argument I could have made back to Harvey’s last notion.

Footsteps echo down the hall, and I hear Evie say, “He’s not going to know what the hell to do with himself when he sees you.”

Oh, fuck me.

I’m not prepared for just how right Evie’s assumptions are proven to be when Nora steps into the living room.

My breath hitches as she steps toward us. A dark, maroon dress clings to her body so sweetly, cinched at the midsection of her torso, while the bottom skirt flows freely along her thighs. My eyes skim over the sheer, flowy sleeves covering her arms, imagining all her soft, pale skin hiding underneath. There’s a satisfying, deep v-line dip right along the middle of her chest, and I try not to let my gaze linger on it too long.

Being a gentleman and all…

---