“Hey, squirt. I take it, you’ve missed me?” he teases, tickling her.
“Yes! God, it’s been so boring here all afternoon. Why didn’t you get the plane with us? You said you were gonna.” She pouts and fiddles with the collar of his shirt.
He shrugs, his eyes quickly flicking over me before looking back at the little girl. “Had to go pick up my date.”
Her eyes suddenly widen as she looks over at me for the first time. “Is this your girlfriend?” she stage-whispers comically from the corner of her mouth.
I chuckle, but Theo doesn’t look fazed.
“No, we’re just friends,” he stage-whispers back, mirroring her. He sets her down on her feet and puts his hands on her shoulders as he turns her to face me, his grin that of a proud father. “Carys, this is Lucie. And this little ball of fun is my favourite niece, Carys.”
She slaps his stomach and frowns. “I’m your only niece.”
Theo nods. “Hence, my favourite.”
I give her a nod and a big smile. “Nice to meet you, Carys.”
The woman who was with the girl at her table is walking towards us now, and a megawatt smile covers her face as her eyes flick between Theo and me. She’s probably mid-fifties, and she actually looks like Theo a bit; they have the same colour hair and bright smile. There’s a baby sitting on her hip—a few months old, I’d guess. The gentleman at the table finishes the last of his drink in two gulps before he follows behind her.
“Hey. You made it,” the lady greets, leaning in to kiss Theo’s cheek and give him a one-armed hug.
“Hey, Mum. Hi, Dad.” Theo grins happily and nods, instantly—and somewhat expertly—plucking the baby from his mother’s arms, nuzzling his nose against the baby’s cheek until the baby grins and grabs two fistfuls of Theo’s hair.
I slow-blink. Well, goodbye, ovaries! It was nice knowing you.
If I thought he was hot before, throw in a baby, and my underwear seems to have melted. If Aubrey could see this …
Theo’s hand rests on my back again, his thumb doing that soft sweep thing across my skin, and I silently wonder if he can somehow tell what I’m thinking because he looks smug as hell.
“Lucie, these are my parents, Deborah and Kenneth. And this little fella”—he tickles the baby again, garnering another giggle that makes my heart stutter—“is Finley, my nephew.” He turns the baby towards me. “Cute, right?”
I nod dumbly. “Very cute.” And I’m not just talking about the baby.
Deborah steps forward and beams a smile at me before opening her arms and pulling me into a tight hug. It’s the type of hug you give someone you know, not someone you’ve just met. Awkwardness overcomes me, and I pat her back and wince in Theo’s direction, but he just laughs and shrugs one shoulder, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
When Deborah pulls back, she clutches my shoulders and looks right into my eyes. It’s like I can almost see her joy fizzing. No wonder Theo was so desperate for a date. By the looks of this woman’s expression, she’s likely the one who keeps asking him when he’s going to find someone and settle down, like he told me during Lift-gate.
“It’s so wonderful to meet you, Lucie! How was your flight? Are your rooms nice? How beautiful is this place?” She puts her hand on her heart, and her eyes well with tears. “The wedding is going to be so beautiful.” She sniffs, and Kenneth sighs heavily, pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket and passing it to his wife, who takes it gratefully and dabs her eyes, laughing. “Sorry. I’m just so happy at the moment.”
Carys stage-whispers again, “She keeps happy-crying all the time. The plane ride was so fun.” She rolls her eyes, and I fight a chuckle.
Theo steps closer to me, probably sensing my unease. “Flight was good. Rooms are great. The wedding will be beautiful.” He holds up a hand and waves at someone at another table. “We’re gonna grab some food and then hook up with Jared and Amy.”
Deborah sniffles. “Oh, if I’d known you were coming to eat, we would have waited, and we could have all eaten together. It’s even lucky you came in when you did. A couple of minutes later, and you’d have missed us. We’re just on our way out for a walk along the beach; we promised Carys we’d explore. We’re on babysitting duty while Emily and Chris enjoy the night off.”
“And by night off, you mean, they’re in the bar, getting blathered?” Theo raises one eyebrow knowingly, and Deborah chuckles and nods along. “Thought so. Anyway, don’t let us stop you. Go enjoy your beach walk.” He leans in and gives his mum another one-armed hug before passing Finley back to her, dropping a kiss on the top of the baby’s head and ruffling Carys’s hair. “Have fun.” He and the little girl do a fist bump, and he pats his dad on the shoulder as they walk past.
“You could have warned me your mum was a hugger,” I say quietly, waving at her again as she waves Finley’s chubby arm from the door.
“We’re all huggers. Get used to it.” His arm casually slips around my waist as he guides me forward and towards an empty table.
We both order cheeseburgers. He gets a beer, and I order a glass of wine. Dinner is lovely, and the company is even better. Conversation flows freely. He jokes around and makes me laugh. At one point, I laugh so hard that wine dribbles down my chin, but he doesn’t seem to care; he just seems proud of himself. The more I talk to him, the more I see how great he is. This weekend is going to be fabulous, and I’m so pleased Aubrey forced me to come.
“Shall we get dessert?” Theo asks as our empty plates are cleared away.
And even though I just pronounced that I couldn’t possibly eat another bite, my mouth waters. I can’t say no to dessert, just ask my arse and thighs. Thigh gap? Hell no, I have a pie gap—as in no gap, blame the pie.
“Hell yes. What kind of question is that?” I reply.
He grins. “An unnecessary one, clearly.”
I nod and sip my wine. “Exactly. Don’t ever ask me such a stupid question again.”
We order. I go for death-by-chocolate cake, and he orders a caramel sundae. When they arrive, they look like heaven.
As I dig in and the sweetness hits my tongue, I moan in appreciation. “You know, if it were socially acceptable, I’d eat dessert first.”
A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth as he scrapes the caramel sauce that’s running down the side of the glass with his finger and sucks it off. “Same. You know, maybe we’re soul mates,” he jokes. “Maybe that lift meeting was good karma, not bad …”
I roll my eyes. “If it were good karma, I wouldn’t have had to share my doughnuts with you.”
He points his spoon at me and grins. “Ah, but you got extras in return, so you lucked in. Case closed. We’re meant to be.”
He sends me a wink, and I try so hard not to let it make me giddy, but I just can’t help it. I haven’t been flirted with for months—hell, maybe even years. It seems like a lifetime ago when Lucas used to flirty-banter with me like this.
When we’ve finished gorging ourselves, Theo signs to add the bill to our room, and then we head to the bar next door.
As we step in, my eyes instantly land on his twin. I’m momentarily startled when I discover they look exactly alike. They’re not just twins; they’re identical twins. I gasp, and my mouth drops open. When Theo said “twin brother,” I didn’t expect an actual body double. Damn, two of their hotness? It’s almost too much. Two killer smiles and those twinkling amber eyes? Jesus, their mother certainly outdid herself by creating not one, but two fine specimens in one go. I really should congratulate her on her achievement next time I see her.
My eyes rake over Jared as we walk over to him, and I can’t help but wonder how Amy chose between the two of them. If they look exactly alike, how can you fall in love with one and not the other? How would you know which one of them you wanted to be with and marry if they were exactly the same? It seems so weird. An impossible decision, surely.
Jared is standing in front of the bar, drinking a pint of beer, talking with two
other guys. They all smile over at us as we step up next to them.
“Started without us?” Theo gives them all a handshake/chest-bump greeting and then introduces me to his brother Jared; his brother-in-law, Chris; and one of Amy’s best friends, Tim.
Jared’s handshake is a firm grip as he nods a hello to me, and Tim is grinning from ear to ear and already looks a tad drunk.
“Where’s the soon-to-be Mrs?” Theo asks Jared as he waves to get the barman’s attention.
“Causing mayhem, as usual.” Jared motions off to one side with his pint.
I notice that his eyes soften when he does, and a small, wistful smile twitches at the corner of his mouth when he looks at his fiancée. That’s what love looks like. It makes my heart ache.
I look over too. There are three women standing and laughing together. I pick out their sister, Emily, immediately. They all have the same shape to their noses and the same warm, rich brown shade to their hair. My eyes rake over the other two—one is tall, the other short. My eyes zero in on the tall one, and I nod in understanding. She’s gorgeous. Her make-up is on point, cheeks and nose contoured flawlessly. Long, shiny raven hair cascades around her face and down her back. A tight dark purple dress hugs her body to perfection, showing off long legs and a flat stomach.
Now, I know what Theo’s type is—stunning.
Theo grins and cups his mouth, shouting over the music playing in the background and the other people standing around the bar, talking. “Oi. Don’t I get a hello? Rude! I mean, I am the second-most-important man in the wedding, you know!”
The girls’ conversation stops immediately. His sister and the gorgeous model-like girl send him a wave. The other one, the short girl with the pale pink hair, beams and marches over excitedly; she’s all bouncy steps and flouncy arms. Her smile is radiant; it’s one of those contagious smiles that you can’t help but reciprocate. She’s wearing Converse, jean shorts, and a short-sleeved grey top that says, Warning: may contain alcohol. I already like her.
“Hey!” she greets, throwing her arms around Theo. As she pulls back, her eyes meet mine, and they sparkle excitedly. “Ahh, you must be Lucie! Oh, bloody hell, I still can’t believe you got stuck with this one in a lift for almost an hour. How did you not murder him?” she jokes, teasingly elbowing Theo in the stomach. “I would have done it if he’d basically guilt-tripped me into giving up my doughnuts.”
Theo chuckles and rolls his eyes, and Jared wraps his arm around the girl’s waist, gently pulling her to him. Her hand goes to his stomach, and she strokes absentmindedly, as if she can’t keep her hands off him, as he leans in and drops a kiss on the top of her head.
The metaphorical penny drops with a loud clang. This girl is Amy, not the tall, leggy girl with the perfect make-up and killer dress. No, this shorter, gorgeous, smiley girl is the one who has Theo tied in a knot.
Hmm, interesting.
I take her offered hand and give it a shake. “Hi. Yeah, it’s nice to meet you. Thanks for letting me crash your wedding. Though it’s not like I had much choice in the matter; he basically wouldn’t let me say no,” I joke, rolling my eyes.
“You’re welcome,” Theo chirps, winking at me.
The other two girls come over then. The tall stunner I incorrectly assumed was Amy steps up close to Tim and leans against him. I’m introduced to everyone again, and finally, the barman stops at our group.
Amy’s smile widens. “Guys, it’s Thursday. Seeing as it’s a special occasion, I think, just this once, we can extend the tradition to include all of you. What do you think, Hev?” She nudges the raven-haired beauty.
Heather nods in agreement. “Just this once.”
I frown in confusion as Tim and Jared both wince and turn their noses up.
“Tradition?” I ask.
Amy excitedly rubs her hands together, her blue eyes twinkling. “Tequila Thursday. Let’s get them shots going. One shot every fifteen minutes. First one to puke loses.”
One hour and four shots later, the first one to puke is their brother-in-law, Chris. Emily escorts him back to their room, and we all playfully boo and shame them out of the bar. I’m having a great night. Amy and her friend, Heather, are hilarious, and Theo bounces off the two of them like they’re in a sparring word match.
As I watch the group interact, it’s a little strange to see Jared and Theo sitting next to each other. While they look exactly the same, Jared, I’ve noticed, is quieter and more reserved than his loud, outgoing twin. Don’t get me wrong; Jared is funny, too, but his jokes and one-liners are delivered in perfect precision for maximum impact rather than Theo’s all-round friendly banter that doesn’t seem to stop. They’re so different but yet the same. It’s kind of fascinating to witness.
And Amy? Well, let’s just say, I can see why Theo is attracted to her. She’s gorgeously cute and witty, and she never stops smiling. I might even have a tiny crush on her myself by the end of the weekend. She’s amazing and the type of girl you want to be best friends with.
I’m also relieved to finally be able to stop worrying about Theo’s intentions in bringing me here. Seeing them all together, it’s clear that Theo really doesn’t seem to want to disturb or cause problems with the loved-up couple. I now believe he genuinely just didn’t want to come to the wedding on his own and brought me here under innocent pretences. Thank the Lord for small mercies because I really didn’t fancy jail time for murdering him.
At around half past ten, the tequila shots and travelling seem to be catching up with me, and I can’t stifle my yawn, so I try to discreetly hide it behind my hand.
“Tired?” Theo asks, leaning in, his hot breath blowing down my neck as his fingers brush across the top of my shoulder.
I nod and turn my eyes to his, seeing he looks exhausted too. His eyes are slightly droopy. It’s a good look for him. “Yeah.”
“Let’s call it a night and get some sleep. Then, tomorrow, we can do something fun,” he suggests. “There’s this little village I Googled that’s not far away. They do all sorts of water activities there, like kayaking or paddle boarding or waterskiing. Fancy that?” he asks, but then his face falls, and his eyes tighten. “Or do you just want to be away from me and sunbathe on the beach or walk in the woods on your own? Like I said, your time is your own. If you don’t want to hang with me, that’s fine, honestly.”
Water sports? Oh, heck yes. I’m more than up for that.
I used to love that kind of stuff and never really got to do it with Lucas. He didn’t like activity days. Our holidays were more the sunbathe and dip your toe in the pool type. He wouldn’t even let me ride the banana boat last time we went away—too dangerous, he said. You can imagine how much I rolled my eyes at that. Lucas’s idea of danger was ordering something from the Thai menu that he’d never tried.
“Hell yes! Let’s do that. And if I’m too hungover tomorrow to do anything, we can get a two-person kayak, and you can paddle me around the loch while I hurl over the side and feed the fish.”
Theo’s grin dazzles me. “Great. It’s a date then.”
I scrunch my nose and wave my hand in a so-so gesture. “Fake date.”
He laughs and nods. “Fake date,” he agrees before turning back to everyone else. “Guys, we’re gonna turn in.”
We all say our goodbyes, and I smile as I push myself up to my feet. When the world tilts slightly inside my fuzzy head, I wobble, and Theo’s arm snakes around my waist, holding me steady. After my afternoon whiskey sours, a couple of glasses of wine, and the tequila shots, I now regret my stiletto heel choice.
The walk back to the room is in relative silence, but it’s not an uncomfortable one. When we stumble in through the door, I notice the sofa bed has been made up, as we requested.
“Okay if I use the bathroom first?” I ask, clutching my pyjamas to my chest, silently thankful that I brought nice ones with me instead of a raggedy pair or something revealing.
“Sure.” He nods and absentmindedly looks through his ow
n suitcase.
I head in, changing, wiping off my make-up, and doing my business. When I step back into the room, Theo has changed already; he’s wearing loose-fit shorts and T-shirt pyjamas and is sitting on the edge of the bed, watching the door. He turned off the overhead light, so the bedside lamp casts a soft glow over everything.
I smile awkwardly because I didn’t expect to be sharing a room with him tonight. Only a handful of people get to see me without make-up, and hot guys I barely know are not among the few.
As Theo goes into the bathroom, I put my phone on to charge next to the bed and then slip between the sheets. A sigh of contentment falls from my lips as the soft mattress caresses my body to perfection. I scoot to the middle and starfish, revelling in the space. After sleeping the last three months in an uncomfortable second-hand bed, this is like actual heaven. I can’t temper my happy smile as my eyes already start to get heavy.
Minutes later, Theo returns and climbs into the sofa bed. He lets out a groan, and I roll to the side, propping myself up on one elbow, watching him as he wriggles, punches his pillow, and tries to get comfy. He’s so tall; his feet comically hang off the end.
“Well, my TripAdvisor review of this place just took a sharp decline,” he grumbles, shifting uncomfortably again as he rolls his eyes.
I chuckle as the springs creak. “I don’t want to rub it in or anything, but this bed is like sleeping on a cloud.”
He throws me a dark look, and I giggle, flicking off the lamp and settling back against the pillows. A few minutes later, he’s still moving around, trying to get comfortable, and I start to feel slightly bad for him. Those sofa beds are probably designed more for kids, not hulking six-foot sexpots. The trouble is, I won the bed fair and square, so I can’t relent now. If I do, it’ll set a bad precedent for the weekend, and he’ll expect me to cave on all my decisions. No. He can suffer for the night. Tomorrow, if for whatever reason we can’t get another room sorted, I’ll switch with him, and he can have the bed.
Just as I’m about to drift off, he speaks, “Thanks for coming with me, Luce. I really appreciate you being here. It honestly does make it easier.”
Stand-In Saturday: (A standalone romcom. Book 2 in the Love For Days series) Page 8