She startled, squirting the sauce all over her wrist. “Ack!”
“Sorry.” Theo fumbled with the napkin dispenser. “Sorry,” he said again as he swiped a handful of napkins over the splotch of red covering her wrist. He’d made a bloody mess of things. Quite literally. He continued to dab awkwardly at her arm. “Um, er … I thought perhaps I could help?”
She looked from the wad of soiled napkins in his hand to his face. “Help, huh?” She shook her head, an exasperated grin curling one corner of her mouth.
“I know, I know. You don’t need any help,” he grumbled.
She tilted her head, mouth pursing in amusement as she considered him. “Actually, I could use your help.” She stepped closer, making room for others waiting to use the condiments. “Here,” she said, sliding the little paper cups she’d filled toward him. “Grab these and some more napkins.” She raised an arm covered in goo. “I need to go wash up.”
“Right. Sorry,” Theo said for the third time, pulling more napkins from the dispenser and stuffing them into his pockets, pretending he wasn’t wishing he could bury himself under a pile of them right now.
She laughed. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Order fifty-eight, don’t be late,” the loudspeaker crackled.
“That’s us. Cassie can handle the food. I’ll meet you back at the table in a minute.” She slipped into the crowd.
Theo tucked a few more napkins into his pockets. Then he struggled to collect all the little paper cups she’d filled. How much sauce did they need, anyway? People were maneuvering around him, shooting him dirty looks for taking so long. Bloody Americans, always in a hurry.
Finally, he had everything balanced and turned slowly, shuffling carefully back to their booth. By the time he arrived, the girls were both seated, and Cassie was pulling containers out of red-and-white striped paper bags. He deposited his load of supplies on the table and slid into to the booth next to Bonnie.
She placed several items in front of him. “I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I ordered a couple different things.” She popped open the lid of a sandwich box, releasing the succulent aroma of grilled meat. His mouth watered.
She opened another container, and the heavenly scent increased. His stomach rumbled with anticipation as he studied the contents of the boxes with avid interest and waited while she laid out a few other items, fussing with bags of crinkly chips and thick fried onions.
“You’re not a vegetarian, are you?” she asked, brow furrowing with concern.
“Me? No.” He swallowed and pulled his gaze from the food to meet her eyes. “Why?”
“You’re not eating.”
From across the table, Logan chuckled. “He’s waiting for you, lass.”
“What?” Bonnie glanced from Logan back to him. After a moment, understanding lit her face, and she smiled, shaking her head at Theo. “Here.” She popped a chip into her mouth. “Better?”
He nodded, embarrassed but satisfied, and took a fried onion from the bag.
“Pass the ketchup, please.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”
She pointed at the little paper cups. “The ketchup.”
“Oh, right.” He pushed one toward her.
Cassie laughed. “She’s going to need more than that.”
Theo glanced at Bonnie, and she nodded. He passed her another cup.
“More,” Cassie prodded.
Theo slid two more cups over. “More?” he asked.
Bonnie shook her head. “I think I’m good for now.”
He watched as she dipped a chip into one of the cups, bathing it in red.
“Don’t believe her,” Cassie warned. “Most people eat their fries with a little ketchup. For Bon, it’s the other way around.”
“Whatever, pickle princess,” Bonnie huffed, drowning another chip.
A bark of laugher escaped Logan. “She’s got you there.”
Theo stared at his friend across the table, eyebrows raised in question. “Pickle … princess?”
“Cassie always orders extra pickles.” Logan slung an affectionate arm around her. “Extra, extra pickles.”
“So what?” she protested. “I like a lot of pickle.”
“Och,” the Scot drawled, accent thickly exaggerated as he leaned down and whispered loudly in her ear, “I ken you do, lass.”
Cassie punched her fiancé in the shoulder and rolled her eyes.
Theo hid his grin in his beer. Next to him, Bonnie giggled. The sound did funny things to his insides. Or maybe he was just hungry. He picked up the burger and took a bite, nearly groaning aloud with pleasure. It had been several years since he’d last had a burger stateside. He closed his eyes and chewed blissfully. God bless America.
“You like it?”
Theo opened his eyes to see Bonnie watching him. He swallowed and nodded.
“Oh, good.” She gave him a shy smile. “I got you a hot dog and an Italian beef too. You don’t have to eat it all,” she quickly added. “I just figured you might want to try a few things.”
“That was very thoughtful of you.” He waved at his burger. “This is perfect.”
Her face lit with pleasure.
Something quivered in his chest, too high to be passed off as hunger. He dropped his gaze back to the table.
“Don’t worry,” Logan interjected, breaking the moment. “Whatever he doesn’t eat, I’m happy to take care of.”
“Careful,” Cassie teased, “you’ve got a wedding this summer, remember?” She poked him in the side. “You need to fit into your tuxedo.”
“I’m wearing a tuxedo?” Logan asked, grabbing her finger.
Cassie shot him a warning look, eyes locked and loaded, but he grinned, walking right into the line of fire. “Tell you what,” he teased, lifting her finger to his lips, “you can help me work it off, aye?”
The temperature in the booth shot up a few degrees. Theo squirmed uncomfortably. Next to him, Bonnie shifted on the bench as well. “Tuxedos?” he asked, forcing a note of jovial curiosity into his voice. “Will this be a black-tie event, then?”
“No,” Logan said.
“Yes,” Cassie countered.
“Yes,” Logan echoed.
Theo smirked. He liked that Cassie held her own with Logan, his friend needed a woman who knew how to put him in his place. Still, he couldn’t believe how close the two had become. He remembered when Logan had called him from Chicago last fall, eager to plan something special to celebrate the one-month anniversary of dating Cassie. And then, barely two months later, Logan had called again, with the news of their engagement. Theo took another swig of his beer. “Where will this formal event be taking place?”
Cassie fiddled with the corner of a paper bag. “That’s one of the things we wanted to talk with you about tonight.” She slid a glance at Logan.
“Right.” Logan sat up straighter and cleared his throat. “Cassie and I’ve been discussing this. We’ve decided to have the wedding take place in Scotland. And we’re thinking Eilean Donan.”
“The castle?” Theo paused, eyebrows raised, burger hovering by his mouth.
“I know,” Bonnie said, “I thought it sounded outrageous too, but this whole thing is outrageous—no offense,” she quickly added, glancing over at her friend. “It’s a romantic kind of outrageous.”
Theo bit back a grin. He agreed with Bonnie. This whole plan was bloody bonkers. He looked at Cassie. “What about your family? Won’t an overseas wedding be difficult?”
Cassie shook her head. “We want to keep it small, only close friends and family. Like Logan, I don’t have a big family, just my parents and an aunt in Minnesota.”
“And Eilean Donan is close to Mam,” Logan added. “She plans to bake the wedding cake.” He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Even my sister is on board with the idea. If it makes the women I love most in my life happy, how can I refuse?” He raised Cassie’s fingers to his lips, pressing a kiss to the engagement ring on her left hand
.
Theo chuckled, enjoying seeing his friend so smitten. It was obvious Logan would do anything to please Cassie. What must that be like? To be so in love you were willing to put the needs of someone else above your own? He thought he knew already. Hadn’t he been doing that very thing all his life? He loved his family, and ever since he could remember, he placed their needs above his own. It was a heavy burden which often left him feeling trapped.
But somehow, he doubted Logan felt that way. If anything, Theo noted with a twinge of envy, his friend seemed lighter, happier, and freer than he’d ever seen him.
“It’s getting late. We can talk about this another time,” Cassie said abruptly, bundling some empty wrappers and shoving them in one of the bags. She tilted her head meaningfully toward Bonnie.
Theo followed her gaze. Bonnie was staring down at her half-eaten burger, mouth pulled into a sad little bow. He glanced at her bare ring finger. Blast, he was a git. A bumbling imbecile. Of course, wedding talk would be unpleasant for her right now.
As if sensing the weight of everyone’s eyes on her, Bonnie looked up. She offered Cassie a weak little smile. “It’s fine, Cass. Really. I can do this.”
Cassie shoved the paper cups out of the way and reached across the table to clasp Bonnie’s hand. “But you don’t have to. Not right now. I shouldn’t have even brought it up tonight after I found out—”
“That my fiancé was sleeping around on me? That the guy I thought I’d known for over twenty years is a complete stranger to me?” With each sentence Bonnie’s voice rose, words warbling with tension and heartache.
Again, Theo’s hands tightened into fists. Five minutes. He just wanted five minutes with the bugger.
Across the table, Logan caught his eye, and Theo sensed the same restrained violence, recognized the same urge for retribution reflected in his mate’s face. “I told you he was a wanker.”
“Shh,” Cassie hushed Logan, focus still on Bonnie. She squeezed her hand again. “You want to get out of here? Go get a drink?”
Bonnie licked her lips. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather just go home—back to the hotel, I mean.”
“Sure. Of course,” Cassie agreed.
“I’m sorry I’m being such a bummer,” Bonnie began, but Cassie cut her off.
“Please. This is totally my fault. I wasn’t thinking. Can we drive you?”
“I’ll take care of her,” Theo said, his mouth moving before his brain could catch up. “I mean,” he stuttered, turning to Bonnie, “if that’s all right?”
“You don’t have to—”
“That’s great!” Cassie interjected, a little too brightly.
A staring match between the two women ensued.
Thanks to his sisters, Theo was well-versed in this game of ocular arguing. Steering clear, he shifted his attention to Logan. “Shall we clean up?”
Just as eager to escape, Logan helped Theo load the rubbish onto trays and followed him to the bins. “If you ask me,” Logan began, dumping his tray, “the lass needs a distraction.”
Theo stacked his empty tray on top of Logan’s. “Nobody is asking you.” He headed to the loo to wash his hands.
Logan trailed him. Over the roar of the air dryer, he tried again. “Come on, lad. She needs a bit of fun to take her mind off things. And I’m not blind, I know you’re dying to shag her.”
The dryer shut off mid-sentence, and the Scot’s words echoed in the tiled space.
Theo pinched his lips together and glared at his friend in the mirror.
“Don’t give me that hoity-toity face,” Logan scoffed, staring back. “I know I’m right. And you two are staying at the same hotel, for Chrissakes. It’s perfect. What could be easier?”
That’s the problem, Theo thought. It would be easy. Oh, so easy. He replayed the short, sweet, but startlingly hot moment they’d shared yesterday in his hotel room. The details were still sharp—as he’d been recalling them over and over again ever since it had happened.
A stall door banged open, interrupting his thoughts. “I’m not having this conversation with you.” Theo escaped the loo, Logan on his heels.
“Fine,” Logan agreed tartly. “Have it with her, then.”
“What?” Theo growled under his breath, weaving through tables. “Ask her if she’d like to sleep with me? Just like that?”
“Why not? What’s the worst that could happen? She says no?”
Theo ignored his friend, slapping a smile on his face as he approached the booth where Bonnie and Cassie stood waiting.
He hated to admit it, but Lo had a point. If she said no, it would be the end of this … whatever this thing between them was. If she said no, he could force himself to shut it down, move on.
But Theo wasn’t worried about her saying no.
He feared what would happen if she said yes.
* * *
“Everything okay?” Bonnie asked while the cab idled at a red light.
“I should be asking you that.” He turned toward her, but in the dark interior of the backseat, couldn’t read her face. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine,” she said.
He felt more than saw her shrug. “I’m fine too.” Pathetic, mate. Very, very pathetic. He thought again about what Logan had suggested at the restaurant. The persistent bastard had even sneaked a rubber into his hand when they’d said good night. Bloody Scot. Did he just carry those things around everywhere?
The light changed, and Theo shifted on the seat, tucking his hand in his pocket. He fingered the edge of the wrapper, wincing at the sound of crinkling foil, convinced she would hear it over the thrum of traffic. He folded his hands in his lap and proceeded to detail all the reasons he would not be asking Bonnie if she wanted to spend the night with him. The pain in his forehead returned, and Theo pinched his fingers against the bridge of his nose.
Suddenly, the touch of a feminine hand, smooth and soft, brushed over his brow.
“Headache?”
“It’s nothing,” he said, his voice rough pebbles skittering in the quiet darkness.
She slipped her thumb between his fingers, rubbing gently along the bridge of his nose.
A groan escaped him.
She hummed in sympathy. “Hurts?” she asked, pressing harder, her thumb making a soothing circle in the center of his brow.
You have no idea. He didn’t want her to stop, wanted her hands all over him, her fingers stroking him everywhere. “I’ll be all right,” he said, tugging her hand away from his face. He pressed a kiss to her wrist and caught the faint, salty sweet tang of the sauce she liked so much lingering on her skin. He wanted to lick her. Nip and bite. Devour her. Lust heated and thickened his blood.
The cab made a sharp turn, and she rolled against him.
“Oh!” a sound of surprise escaped her. She cleared her throat and righted herself, gaze straying to his groin.
Theo bit his lip, releasing her hand. Their little encounter must have revealed the effect her nearness was having on his body. An awkward silence ensued. Luckily, the cab rumbled into the courtyard of the Waldorf a minute later. The car lurched to a stop, and Theo busied himself handling payment.
Rather than wait for him to exit the vehicle and come around to hold the door for her, Bonnie hopped out and stood by the entrance to the hotel.
For once, Theo was grateful for her reluctance to let him play the gentleman. By the time he drew up next to her, he had things, well, one thing in particular, under control.
The awkward silence followed them into the lift. He stole a few glances at her, but every time he looked her way, she was studying the floor, or the ceiling, or the panel of buttons, as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world.
He had the sense, though, whenever he looked away, she was stealing glances back at him.
Finally, they reached their floor.
“Well,” she began, a forced cheerfulness to her voice as they walked down the hall. She bit her lip and continued, in a more normal tone
this time, “You’re going home tomorrow?”
He nodded, not ready to speak yet. Afraid if he opened his mouth, that question would slip out.
“Well.” She paused outside the door to her room, dropping her gaze and staring at the floor. “I guess this is good night, then.”
“I guess so,” he managed to croak, joining her in contemplation of the hall floor, studying the diamond pattern on the plush carpet beneath their feet. He looked at her little black boots, noting how they hugged her trim ankles. He remembered how her ankle had fit in his hand, how his fingers had wrapped around the delicate bones. He imagined trailing his fingers up her leg, along her calf to her knee, then her thigh … his eyes traveled the path his mind was taking.
Mouth dry, he focused on the hem of her skirt, falling just above her knees, offering the barest glimpse of skin. He pictured the freckles on her knees and wondered where else she might be freckled. He decided he had to know.
Logan was right, what did he have to lose? It was one night.
“Unless…” Theo took a breath and stepped closer, filling her line of vision.
She looked up, eyes skimming over his body. He felt it, skin tingling every place her gaze touched him, as sure and real as if it were a physical caress.
“Unless what?” she asked, face tilted up to his, eyes wide.
Just go to your own room, lad. Say good night, turn around, and walk down the hall. Do not look back. Theo waited while she dug her key card out of her handbag and slid it through the lock.
She opened the door and began to step inside, pausing on the threshold to look over her shoulder at him. “Did you want to come in—?”
Yes.
“No.” The word came out brusque, heavy and loud, landing with an awkward thump between them.
“Oh. Okay.” Her cupid’s bow of a mouth drooped, cheeks pinkening. “I guess this really is good night, then.”
See? She made it easy for you. Say good night. Turn around. Walk away. Don’t look back. He reiterated his instructions to himself, but his mouth didn’t open, and his feet didn’t move. He just stood there, staring down at her.
Smitten by the Brit--A Sometimes in Love Novel Page 11