Page 60 of You, with a View

His voice lowers, amused. “Did it embarrass you?”

“No. God, I loved it. They cracked themselves up dancing in the middle of, like, Glenlake Pizza. After Grandpa Joe died, I’d be her dance partner, which she thought was the best thing. Her laugh made me so happy.” My nose tingles with unshed tears, and I close my eyes, trying to remember the exact cadence of her laughter. “It feels like I’m forgetting it.”

For a moment, Theo simply leads me in a slow sway. From the table, Paul watches with a small, sad smile.

“Was it loud?”

I pull back, frowning. “Was what loud?”

He looks down at me, his eyes shining with mischief. “Her laugh. Was it loud?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“And did it get kind of high-pitched at the end?”

Where is this going? “Actually, yeah. A little bit.”

“Then you can’t forget, because that’s what yours sounds like,” he says. His words clutch at my throat. I stare up at him, gaping, as he moves us to the melody Gram’s laughter drowned out more than once. “I could hear you down the hall most days, Shepard. Your laugh shook the walls until it went into dog whistle mode.”

His words have a bite to them, but his expression is so soft it makes me want to pull his mouth down to mine. “Are you trying to distract me from my sadness by roasting me, Spencer?”

Theo raises an eyebrow. “Is it working?”

I roll my eyes, which are dry now. “It’s very telling that that’s your go-to strategy.”

“It’s very telling that it works on you.”

My laugh bursts out, and I push at him, but he holds on tight. “You’re ridiculous.”

He grins, curving over me and pressing his rough cheek against mine. I want to tell him thank you, but the truth is, he probably already knows. It’s buried in our bickering, in the small secrets we’re giving away.

And anyway, I’m ready to move on. Our conversation falls away, the mood shifting from barbed teasing into something warm I sink into. Theo’s body was made for mine like this; our rhythm is the same, everything lining up in a way that feels like comfort as much as it does lust.

Theo pushes me back, holding his arm out so I can turn under it. Then he grabs me and pulls me back home.

His smile is electrifying and beautiful. I’ve heard people talk about living in the moment, but right now I really understand it. I feel so viscerallyhere. And it’s not that the messiness of our lives doesn’t exist, it’s just that right now it doesn’t matter.

“I have a secret,” Theo murmurs, his midnight eyes fixed on me, full of starlight.

“Tell me.”

“Don’t let it go to your head, okay?”

“Well, withthatdisclaimer...”

His grin is small, but it fades as quickly as it came. “You look so fucking beautiful right now.”

The floor falls out from under me. “Oh.” I swallow, desire mixing with something deeper. “I—”

Theo pulls me close again. “You don’t have to give me one back. That secret was on me. Just couldn’t keep it.”

I don’t know how to respond to that in a way that will keep us safe, but it doesn’t matter anyway. Something vibrates in Theo’s pocket.

His phone.

“Don’t ans—” I start, but his hand is already fishing into his pocket. I don’t need to look at the screen to know it’s his dad; Theo’s face says it all. His contentment bursts, a finger straight into the fragile, magical bubble we created.

“I’ll be right back.”

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