Page 10 of Thanks for the Love
So far Lila is turning out to be an excellent roommate. First the thoughtful welcome gift, and now all of this food. Not to mention I’m absolutely starving.
“Lila, thank you for the gift,” a high-pitched voice says. I turn around to see a petite girl with short blonde hair and big brown eyes.
“Hi. You must be Gabby,” she squeals. “I’m Reagan.”
You know how sometimes you instantly get a good vibe from people? Reagan is one of those people.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you,” I say, giving her a warm smile. “Isn’t this house amazing? And look at all of this.” I point to the food and reach for a cracker.
“I know. It’s totally unexpected,” she says, her voice lowering a few octaves. “Oh no, what happened to your wrist?”
Lila hands Reagan a glass of wine.
I sigh. “It’s actually really stupid. When I got here earlier today, I was checking out the backyard. Long story short—I fell out of the hammock and broke my fall with my hand.”
“Ouch,” Reagan says.
“Thankfully, it’s only sprained,” I add.
“I’m not surprised that happened,” Lila interjects. “Anytime Theo is around, there’s chaos. He’s like a wrecking ball that destroys everything in its path.”
“Who’s Theo?” Reagan asks before taking a sip of her wine.
“He’s the next-door neighbor,” I say. “But Lila doesn’t like him.”
I throw a glance that way. She’s nodding her head in agreement.
“You got that right.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Reagan asks as if she’s reading my mind.I knew I liked her.
Lila sighs dramatically. “Theo Jorgenson destroyed my life.”
Whoa. I knew there was more to the story, but that’s quite an accusation. Although now I’m wondering why Theo didn’t give me his side of the story.
“The Jorgensons moved here when I was in high school. At first, we didn’t have any interaction. We had different friends, and our paths never really crossed. When we were seniors, I started dating one of his friends. Everything was going perfectly until my ex-boyfriend, Brent, came home from college. He stopped over here to talk to me about rekindling our relationship, but I wasn’t interested. Anyway, he ended up kissing me right out front, and Theo saw it. The next thing I knew, my relationship was over, and I’m still convinced it was Theo’s fault. I’m sure he sabotaged my relationship by telling my boyfriend Cal about me and Brent.”
She sighs. “It’s been six years, and I’ve never had those kinds of feelings for anyone else. I was so head over heels in love with Cal.”
Both Reagan and I are listening intently until something clicks.
“Wait. Are you talking about Cal Sims as in Dr. Sims?”
Lila stares at me. “Yes, how do you know him?”
I hold up my bandaged wrist.
Her jaw drops, and she puts her hands to her mouth.
“Your wrist. Theo took you to see Cal.”
I nod. “He told me they’d been friends since high school. I wondered if you two knew each other.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize his office was nearby,” Lila says. “I actually sent him a friend request on Facebook a while ago, but I don’t think he goes online much. Or he just ignored my request.”
“Wow, what are the chances that Theo would take you to Cal’s office,” Reagan exclaims.
Lila is staring off into space like she’s a million miles away.
