Page 72 of Begin Again

He exhales, rubbing the back of his neck, his eyes flicking to mine. “I slept like a baby.” He lingers for a moment, his gaze softening as it lands on me. After an awkward silence Theo leaves with an, “Alright, I’ll leave you two to it.”

Theo turns and heads back down the hall, his broad shoulders disappearing around the corner.

The moment he disappears down the hall, Celeste turns to me, eyes gleaming. “Oh. My. God.” She grabs my shoulders and shakes them. “You had a sleepover.”

I groan again, shoving my pillow over my face. “He was here late, we drank a bottle of wine, I didn’t feel comfortable with him driving. That’s all.”

Celeste snorts. “Sure, sure. Just wine. And then you oh-so-innocently invited the hot cafe owner into your bed. Totally normal behavior.”

I throw the pillow at her, but she dodges, cackling. “Fine, fine. I’ll leave you alone—for now.”

She slides off the bed, stretching lazily. “I need coffee. And so do you, considering you probably didn’t get much sleep last night. I thought I heard a noise last night.” She wiggles her eyebrows before sauntering out, leaving me to stew in my embarrassment.

With a groan, I flop onto my back, staring at the ceiling. Why is she like this?

I stay there for another minute, hoping the earth will swallow me whole, before finally dragging myself out of bed.

The second I step into the hallway, an amazing scent hits me. Coffee. And… cinnamon?

Curiosity tugs me toward the stairs, but before I can reach them, Celeste comes barreling back up, her eyes wild.

“Oh. My. God.” she breathes, grabbing my wrist. “You need to go downstairs right now.”

I frown. “Why?”

She gives me an incredulous look. “Because there is a half-naked Greek god in your kitchen making breakfast. For you.”

My stomach flips. “What?”

She nods furiously. “Theo. Shirtless. Cooking. In your kitchen. Selene, I am living for this.”

I press my hands to my face. “He’s just—being nice.”

Celeste scoffs. “Nice? Nice? Babe, he is making you breakfast, in nothing but jeans that fit just right. That is not ‘nice.’ That is ‘I spent the night in your bed, let me feed you’ behavior.”

I swallow, my heart pounding. “It’s not that deep.”

She leaves me with a look. “Right. And I suppose next you’ll tell me he just accidentally left his shirt upstairs.”

I shove past her, my pulse skyrocketing as I descend the stairs.

Sure enough, Theo stands at the stove, shirtless, flipping our breakfast in a pan with practiced ease. His back muscles shift as he moves, the morning light casting golden highlights over his skin. The sight wrecks me in my already weakened state.

He glances over his shoulder, a slow smile curling his lips. “Morning.”

I clear my throat, struggling for normalcy. My brain is still processing the sight of him standing there, shirtless, effortlessly making breakfast like he does this all the time. Like he belongs here. The thought sends a warmth curling through my stomach, but I shove it down before it can take root.

“You… cooked?” My voice comes out steadier than I expected, though I’m hyper-aware of Celeste practically vibrating behind me.

He shrugs, turning back to the stove, completely unbothered by our gawking. “Figured it was the least I could do after taking up half your bed.”

Celeste sighs. It’s a wistful, over-the-top sound that makes my eye twitch. “I am so proud of you, Sel.”

I shoot her a glare that promises swift retribution, but Theo just chuckles, plating up fluffy French toast like this is just another normal morning. Like this is normal for us.

“Hope you like cinnamon.”

I step closer, my heart still hammering. “I do.”

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