Page 112 of You, with a View

He still doesn’t respond. No bubbles to indicate he’s even seen it, either rolling his eyes or with hearts in them. I need to see his face to determine which way this is going to go.

My bag is packed in minutes, fueled by the frantic pace of my heart, and I tow my suitcase behind me as I throw open the door.

“Fucking hell!” I shriek at the tall body in the doorway, reeling back. My heel catches on the edge of the suitcase and I’m tipping over backwards—

But Theo reaches out. He grabs me by the arm, holds on tight, and pulls me until I’m steady on my feet.

“Not the reaction I was hoping for,” he murmurs.

“Are you kidding me?” I pant out, dropping my purse and lowering my camera bag so my hands are free to check if he’s real. I press my palms to his chest, feeling the heavy, fast beat of his heart behind his ribs. “I was about to drive back to you!”

He smiles, but there’s anxiety behind it, the corners of his eyes tightening. “Beat you to it.”

“That’s so you,” I croak out around my thick throat.

“You invited me up here, remember?” he asks, stepping closer. “Or has that invitation expired?”

“N-no. Not expired.” Even with my hands on him, it’s hard to believe he’s here. “How did you find me?”

“Thomas and Sadie.”

Oh god. Thomas is going to be smug about this forever.

Theo’s expression turns solemn. “I have so much to say.”

“I do, too.” My fingers curl into his soft gray shirt, encouraging him to come closer. He does, the movement as tentative as the hope on his face. “I texted you a novel, basically.”

“I saw it right after I parked.”

“Theo, I—”

“Me first,” he interrupts, but it’s so gentle that my eyes flood. “Since I came all this way.”

“Typical of you to try to take first, but—” I break off with a smile when he laughs. “Go ahead.”

Theo sobers immediately. “I’m sorry for what I said on Monday and how I shut down. I’m sorry for not explaining myself better when I said our situations weren’t the same. I didn’t mean our job losses, Noelle. I meant what happened after them.”

I nod silently, so he knows I’m really listening.

He makes a frustrated noise from the back of his throat. “You have a strong support system, and I’m used to being alone. It’s... it’s been better for me, historically, to be that way and now my default is processing bad things by myself. It’s hard for me to trust that it won’t be used against me. I didn’t think you’d want me if you knew what had happened, so I thought I was delaying the inevitable by not telling you.”

“Idowant you. No matter what.”

“I know. It took me a while to get there. I had to process what you said and realize that you want to be with me, even with the shit I’m going through.” He lets out a soft breath that stirs the hair at my temple. His words move over my heart the same way—a cool whisper that brings relief. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I say. “For not recognizing that it might take you longer to trust me with something this significant and pushing you to share before you were ready. I made an already shitty situation worse.”

“You were hurt.”

“So were you. My pain doesn’t supersede yours.” Emotion swells in my throat at the look in his eyes—a powerful affection I recognize but want him to name. Theo waits, as patient as I should have been with him, his hands sweeping up my arms. “Clearly we still have a lot to learn about each other and how we respond to things, but I want to learn your—” I shake my head. “I’m not going to call them secrets anymore. Your truths, I guess, when you’re ready to give them to me.”

“Funny you mention that.” His eyes dart past me, further into the room. “Can I come in?”

I push back against him as he steps forward, tilting my chin back. “Can you give me a proper hello first?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Is that the price of admission, Shepard?”

“Yes,” I say impatiently, smiling when he laughs quietly.

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