Page 8 of Thanks for the Love
After we’re in the car for a few minutes, Theo is the first to break the silence.
“I’m so glad your wrist isn’t fractured or worse.”
I nod. “Me too. That would be an awful welcome present.”
“You never told me. What brought you to Miami?” he asks.
I chew on my bottom lip. This is a loaded question. There’s the easy answer, which is a new job, and then there’s the complicated answer, which is that I ran away from my ex-fiancé and my ex-best friend. This answer would start a whole conversation I don’t want to have.
Thankfully before I can answer, our conversation is interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing.
“It’s Lila,” I announce. “Hey.”
“Hi, I just got home. Where are you?”
“We’re on our way home from urgent care.”
“Oh, are you still with Theo?”
I shoot a side glance at him.
“Yes.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve left the office to take you instead of leaving you in the trenches with him.”
Wow. She makes it sound like it’s torture to be with Theo, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. There has to be more to the story of why she doesn’t like him.
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell her. “I’ll be home soon.”
“Great. Reagan’s on her way too.”
I totally forgot about Reagan. The hammock incident and meeting Theo have completely thrown me off my game.
“Everything okay?” Theo asks after I end the call.
“Yep. She wanted to check on me.”
“I bet she was. Lila Barlow hates me.”
I press my lips together. What am I supposed to say to that?
“I don’t know if she hates you, but she did tell me that you two didn’t get along.”
He scoffs. “That’s one way of putting it. You know how there are just some people who don’t mesh well together? Well, Lila and I are those people.”
We pull through the gate of the neighborhood, and Theo waves to the guard.
“That’s William. He works the gate during the day. Nicest man you’ll ever meet.”
I remember Lila telling me about the guards, but that was when she was spouting off information, and I was barely keeping it all straight.
“I really appreciate you taking me to see Dr. Sims. I’d probably still be sitting in a waiting room somewhere.”
“It was my pleasure,” he says as he pulls in front of Lila’s house. “I’m just sorry you had to go in the first place.”
He puts the car in park, and neither of us says anything. I should probably go inside but something is keeping me from opening the door.
“Let me know if you need anything while you’re getting settled,” Theo says, turning toward me. His grey eyes lock on mine as I study the outline of his face.
