Page 30 of What Comes After

Without thinking about it, I threw my arms over his shoulders and gave him a hug. “Hey, Teddy. I’ve missed you.”

His strong arms came around me and hugged me back as the clean, masculine scent of him surrounded me. God, I wished I could hold on to him like that forever.

“I’ve missed you, too, Devyn. How’s it going?”

I didn’t want to dive right in with my news, even though I knew it was only going to get harder the longer I waited.

I figured a distraction was in order.

“No, no, no,” I started, loosening my hold on him and stepping back to allow him to come inside. After closing the front door, I said, “I want to know about this project. Can you finally tell me about it?”

“I can.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to reveal whatever it was. When he said nothing, I asked, “Well, what is it?”

“I think we should sit down,” he suggested.

My brows pulled together. I took in the look on his handsome face, and the creases I found there told me a different story than the one I had in my head. He was worried. Tense.

Not wanting to delay whatever this was, I led us to the living room and realized my mistake.

I had some boxes I’d already packed sitting out.

“What’s all this?” Theo asked.

“Um, well, I kind of have my own news,” I said. “But you go first.”

He shook his head. “No. No, you need to tell me what’s going on. Why do you have all these boxes here?”

I offered a sympathetic look and pressed my lips together. Theo was concerned.

“I’m selling the house.”

“No, you’re not,” he fired back. It wasn’t him telling me I couldn’t sell the house; it was him expressing his disbelief.

“I am,” I confirmed. “It went on the market this afternoon. I told my realtor I didn’t want a sign out until I had the chance to tell you about it tonight.”

Theo turned around, moved toward the couch, and sat down. Long, silent moments stretched between us as he attempted to wrap his head around the news. “Why? Where are you going to go?”

I joined him on the couch, my hand covering his clasped ones. “It’s too much house for me to handle, Theo. And I’m staying in Iris. I’m just going to move into an apartment.”

“Are you okay? Do you need financial help?” he questioned me.

I let out a laugh. Theo was obviously working and had gotten a few jobs, but he wasn’t exactly in a place where he could help solve all of my financial woes, not that I’d ever allow him to do that anyway.

“I’m okay. There’s the financial side of it, but there’s more to it than that. It’s a big house for one person. It’s a lot to take care of on my own, and every room I walk into is a reminder of my parents.”

Theo unclasped his hands and wrapped them around mine, which had been resting on top of them. All the fear I felt about the whole situation had vanished with that simple gesture.

Something moved through his eyes as he searched my face, and after a long bout of silence, he declared, “I did it.”

A crease formed between my brows. “Did what?”

“The secret project I was working on was actually an audition,” he clarified. “I got the part.”

Theo was an incredible actor, so I wasn’t surprised to learn he’d gotten another role. “That’s excellent news. What’s the part?”

He swallowed hard. “It’s for the lead role in a major motion picture, Devyn. I’m going to be in my first big movie.”

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