Page 49 of Unconditional

“Well, I forgot just how much of an asshole that man is, although I can’t complain about the way he looks after you, piccola,” Theo muses.

“What did you want to talk about?” I press.

Theo runs a hand through his hair as his face softens. Vulnerability replaces the cockiness that was there, making my chest ache. “I’ve missed you.” My heart rate kicks up at the honesty I see on his face. “I know a lot of time has passed but there is so much I want to tell you.”

“Where are Melody and your baby?” I blurt the one question that has been on my mind since the moment I saw him again.

I don’t miss the way his body tenses or the discomfort in his eyes. He’s saved from answering when the waitress returns. She quickly takes our food order, not that I’m hungry anymore, and leaves.

“I want to tell you everything, piccola, but I don’t want to do it here. Just know that whatever you thought, whatever youthink,it’s all a lie.” I frown at his cryptic words. He smiles, and it’s so breathtaking my breath catches in my throat. “Can we get the food to go? I’m renting an apartment on the showground and would love to talk to you there inprivate,” he enunciates the word, and it makes my pussy clench with thoughts of all the things we did in the privacy of my apartment in Wellington.

Even though I think it’s a bad idea to be alone with him, I find myself nodding in agreement. It’s time to face this head on and stop being a coward. I want to know everything that happened with Melody. What he’s been doing and where he’s been for the last ten months.

Theo asks the waitress to pack up our food, he pays the check, and we leave.

It’s time to face the truth. I just hope it doesn’t break me in the process.

* * *

I manage to convince Greg to take me back to the showground so I can see Theo. I told him that I just want to hear him out. That we both deserve that much, and to not make a big deal out of it. He conceded, but he wasn’t happy about it.

I make my way to the apartment Theo is staying in. He gave me the details and I almost laughed at the fact he’s a floor below Francois and me. We are directly above him. The powers above are either playing some kind of sick joke or it’s some twisted fate that we have no control over. But when did Theo and I have any control when it came to us?

I frown as Francois enters my mind. I wonder where he got to and why I haven’t heard from him. Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I hit dial on his number. He answers after a couple of rings, sounding very out of breath.

“You ditched me at lunch so you could have sexy time with Henri, and you didn’t even tell me,” I tease.

He huffs a laugh. “I wish. Some fucker locked me in my tack room. I couldn’t even call anyone because my phone was in the pocket of my gilet which of course I left at the stable. I have been banging—and not the banging I like—on the door for nearly an hour. Someone eventually heard my cries for help. They had to use metal cutters, Thalia,metal cutters,” he enunciates as if I don’t understand the seriousness of the situation,“to get me out the damn thing because the key was missing.”

“Are you okay?” the concern in my voice is evident.

“I will be. Who would do something like that, baby girl? I mean I know I’m not perfect, but I don’t get in anyone’s business, and I keep to myself. I got so claustrophobic, I nearly had a panic attack,” he cries.

I stop in my tracks, thinking back to lunch and Theo turning up.

My eyes widen in realization.

That motherfucker.

Locking my poor friend in a tack locker all so he could ambush me at lunch. My blood boils but I don’t tell Francois about my suspicions. It’s obvious it was Theo. He must have somehow overheard our conversation and taken his chance. I know I’ve avoided him, but this? It’s too much.

“I’m sorry, Franny. I have something I need to do but I’ll meet you back at our apartment in an hour?”

“Yeah. Okay. Take your time, I still need to meet Henri.” He ends the call and I storm towards Theo’s door, pounding my fists on the wood when I reach it.

Within seconds it’s pulled open. I open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, only for it to drop open. He must have showered in the time it took me to get here because he stands before me in nothing but a pair of grey sweats, his perfect tanned six pack on display. God he is beautiful. Mouth wateringly so.

My eyes trail up his body to his face where I find him smirking. That snaps me out of my ogling and brings me back to my anger. I point a finger at him.

“You locked Francois in his tack locker,” I accuse.

His shoulder lifts in a shrug. “I had to get you on your own somehow. I saw my opportunity and took it. I don’t feel bad for doing it, not when I got what I wanted. You, here, to talk,” he says unapologetically.

I cross my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes on him. I should be mad and I am. But I’m also impressed by the lengths he would go to just to see me. Jesus, my moral compass is so wrong when it comes to this man. “You have an hour,” I mutter, moving past him and into his apartment. It’s the same as mine, just a slightly different layout.

“Where’s your shadow?” Theo asks.

I turn to face him before dropping down on the couch. “He stayed at his apartment. I don’t think I’m in any danger walking a level down from my own condo.”

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