Page 38 of (Un)Planned

He put his utensils down, joining his hands together to look at me fully. “Calla, I want to spend the weekend with you. Just you. Not working, not worrying about clients.” He reached out and intertwined our fingers. “I want us to have a chance to spend time together without any distractions.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“Good.” He smiled, lifting my hand to kiss my knuckles. “Then eat.”

As I polishedoff the last bite of my breakfast, I stood to place the plate in the sink. At least I did before Theo snatched it away. “I can do that.” He nodded to the couch. “Go relax. It’s your day off too.”

“No way.” I reached up to steal the plate back from him. “You cooked, I clean. I’m not going to let you do all the work around here.”

As I squeezed some soap on a sponge, Theo wrapped his arms around my waist. He leaned down, pressing a kiss to the crook of my neck. “I like taking care of you, Calla. And during the week, I don’t get to do it nearly enough.” I leaned back into him, soaking up all his warmth, so I didn’t even notice when he took the sponge out of my hand. “Now, get your ass on that couch and relax, and I’ll reward you later.”

I chewed on my lower lip, looking at the sectional along the far wall. It did look comfortable. I glanced over my shoulder, “Are you sure? I really don’t mind helping.”

Theo shook his head, leaning in to softly kiss me. “Let me take care of you, beautiful.”

Okay, this relaxed, happy Theo was breaking my brain. Every moment I spent with him, I could feel myself falling for him a little bit more. It was fast—too fast to be thinking this way. We’d only started seeing each other a couple of days ago, and I was already falling hard, but it was useless to try and fight it. Every moment I spent with Theo, he laid a little more claim to my heart.

Before I could spiral completely, I moved over to the sectional couch, sinking into the plush cushions. It looked so familiar, but it took me a minute to realize it was the same brand as the one I’d picked out for his office—the one he spentdayscomplaining about.Jackass. I knew he loved that thing.

Reaching for the remote, I scanned through his selection of apps, hating how few he had. I made an executive decision and downloaded Netflix, typing in my account info. Scrolling through the first row of shows, I mentally crossed out all the ones I’d watched before. Hmm, documentary? No way in hell. But as I reached the last group, my eyes widened in excitement.

“Score,” I whispered as Theo lowered himself into the spot next to me, pulling my legs into his lap. My head fell back as his thumbs dug into my calves.

He shook his head when my show loaded, and a bunch of housewives instantly started screaming at each other. “I can’t believe you watch this crap.”

“How dare you, sir,” I teased. “They are the new American masterpieces.”

“No wonder we’re a nation in decline.”

“Have you ever watched it before?”

He snorted. “No. I don’t waste my time watching a lot of television, but if I do, it’s not for mindless dribble.”

“Then you can’t talk.” I smirked at him. “If you’re going to form a strong opinion about my taste in tv shows, then you have to have first-hand experience.” I leaned into his side, letting his warmth surround me. It felt right, being in his arms like this. For so long, I’d been searching for a place I belonged, and nothing had ever felt like this, like I could live a thousand years, and I’d never feel more at peace than when Theo held me. “Give it a chance.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “For me?”

“Devious tactic,” Theo groaned, kissing the top of my head. “But fine. I can’t bring myself to say no to you, beautiful.” He nodded to the television. “Let the torture commence.”

TWENTY-TWO

Hours passed, and we remained on the couch. Every time the option to continue watching came up, I’d look over at Theo, and he’d nod his head. I was shocked that he was still sitting here. After each episode, I waited, sure that this would be the moment he would break from this weird trance, desperate to bury himself in work. Considering that I kept his schedule, I knew how Theo spent most of his time, and curled up on the couch wasn’t it.

I mean, the man barely ever took a lunch hour, much less an entire day off. But he made no effort to leave, only holding me closer and kissing me every chance he got.

As another episode started playing, his phone rang out in his pocket. Pulling it out, we both looked at the screen and saw Jack’s name. I expected Theo to take the call, especially considering this was not the first time Jack had reached out today.

I hugged him a little tighter. “You should answer it. He could have an emergency.”

“He can handle it.” Theo kissed the top of my head. “There’s a reason why he runs his department. Besides, if Ican’t trust the agents to handle their own crises, what use are they to me?”

Makes sense to me. But I didn’t have long to mull it over. After silencing the call, which was a rare enough treat, Theo actually turned his phone off. My jaw dropped to the floor when the screen went black; I was pretty sure Theo had never shut it off before.

I smiled to myself, tucking closer to Theo’s side. As much as I loved watching Theo work, knowing he was putting aside time to spend with me meant the world. He was the kind of person who never took a day off, never bothered to do anything for himself. So the fact that he was here with me meant more than I could put into words.

Theo sighed, tucking me closer to him. I looked up at him, studying his expression. It was content, more than I’d ever seen before. It was refreshing to see this side of him, to see him finally let the stress wash away. I made a silent promise to myself to make more time for moments like this, to pull Theo out of the fray every once in a while and remind him that he needed time to recharge as well.

The rest of the day passed by quickly. Theo ordered enough food to feed a small army, including all my favorite candies, the ones I’d hoard in my desk drawers at work. Little moments like this showed how much he paid attention, even when I didn’t realize it.

Around five, as I chomped down on my third bag of Swedish fish, my phone chimed.

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