Page 21 of You, with a View

My gaze flits to him and then away. “I should probably get back to work... ing from home. My work at home.” It takes everything in me not to close my eyes over the mess I just made of that statement. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today.”

Paul squeezes my hand with a kind smile. I still see so much of Theo in it, though the emotion is completely different. “Feel free to come by this weekend. We’ll dive into those letters.”

“I’ll take you up on that.”

Theo rises from his seat. “So, what, is this going to be a regular thing?”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure this schedule mix-up is a onetime deal. No more unexpected run-ins.” I wink over at Paul. “Right?”

He puts on a bewildered expression. “I’m still not sure what happened.”

“Mm-hmm.” Theo’s skepticism is clear, but he doesn’t say more. Still, he doesn’t look pleased by the plans Paul and I have just made.

I don’t care if Theo wants to share. I’m going to take every minute Paul will give me. It’s one more minute I have with Gram.

Despite his apparent allergy to spending time with me (which is returned), Theo insists on walking me out. It’s not until we step out the front door that I remember the Bronco.

I stop in front of it. “Oh fuck. Is this your car?”

God, I really need to learn to regulate my brain-to-mouth filter.

Theo nods. “That’s Betty.”

“She’s gorgeous,” I sigh, running a finger over the paint,daydreaming about driving her down Highway 1 along the water with my hair flying everywhere, all of my worries and sadness whipping out of my body into the salty air.

“Yeah.” His voice is low and close. I turn my head, and he’s right there, his gaze bouncing to where I’m touching his car.

But I swear it bounced from my face.

I let out a breath, realizing belatedly Theo is still talking.

“...The first thing I bought when we started making money off of Where To Next. Anton and Matias—those are the other founders—” He says this like I don’t know every goddamned thing about his dumb company. “They put down payments on their places in the city, but all I wanted was this car.” He lifts a shoulder in a careless shrug, running a palm over its side like I imagine he would over a woman’s hip. A craving in the midst of being satisfied. “Took me a few months to track the right one down.”

“This is my dream car, you know.” My tone comes out more accusatory than I want, but when Theo raises an eyebrow, I raise mine right back. I don’t know what it is about him; I want to fight. I want that spike in my blood reminding me I’m capable of emotions that aren’t heavy and flat.

“Was I supposed to avoid it, then?”

“You could’ve gone with something cliché, like a Porsche or a Maserati. A 1970...” I trail off expectantly.

“ ’77,” he supplies, amused.

“A 1977 Ford Bronco, perfectly restored incherry red? Give me a break. That’ssospecific.” I squint at him, only half joking. “Did I mention this to you in high school once or something? Is this some twisted gotcha?”

“That would be a long con, considering I had no idea I’d ever see you again when I bought it.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Your crush isn’t special, Shep. Lots of people have boners for Broncos.”

“I bet you have a car club called Boners for Broncos, you big nerd,” I say.

He pushes his hat up his forehead, and the sun hits his face, illuminating his eyes. There’s a starburst of lighter blue around the pupil, and against the depth of the rest of his iris it looks almost silver, like moonlight touching the ocean. “Don’t be mad just because I got something you wanted.”

It takes all my willpower not to suck in a breath. He hit his mark, but I don’t want him to know it’s true. He’s goteverythingI want: success, accolades, a life with direction. Even this car.

I hitch my purse up my shoulder, my heart beating hard. “I’d love to know where you get your attitude from. It’s certainly not from your angel of a granddad.”

He laughs, but it’s humorless. “That’s a gift from my dad.” I don’t get a chance to process or respond. He turns, lifting two fingers over his shoulder as he walks back inside. “Bye, Shepard.”

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