Page 38 of For You I'd Mend
“But you need a place to work now. Why not here?”
“Because it’s yours,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. “You’re right. This space would make a great studiofor you.”
“We can share it. It’s twice as big as your shed, and I only had a tiny corner to work in before.”
“You want me to stroll into your house at 2:00 am when I get an idea for something I want to sculpt?”
“Sure,” Theo said. “If we put in a slider, I won’t even know you’re here. The door between the kitchen and this room is an exterior door. It’s solid as a rock. I doubt I’d hear a thing.”
“By the time Aiden puts the door in, I could rebuild the shed.”
“That sounds like a challenge,” Aiden said, stepping into the sunroom. “How far have you gotten with the insurance claim, Rose?”
Mom peered over his shoulder. “Nowhere. If y’all hadn’t come over to cut up the tree and cart off the debris, it’d still be there. The insurance company says it was the town’s tree. The town says it’s mine. They’re battling it out. I’d make a fuss, but I know several families dealing with the same problem, only the trees hit their homes. When you put it in perspective, our claim just isn’t a priority. I doubt we’ll have a decision for months.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound promising, Hell Cat,” Aiden said wrapping his arm around me. “I got a door guy who needs work.I’ll call him, assuming my new tenant doesn’t mind the noise for a couple days.”
“Don’t mind at all,” Theo said, staring at his boots.
“Well, we better eat before the chicken gets cold,” Mom said with a smirk.
Aiden and Mom went inside, but when I turned to follow, Theo walked ahead of me and pulled the door closed.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” he said. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped away from the door as though giving me the option to leave.
I waited. He backed further from me until he’d wedged himself between one of the glass walls and his box of art supplies.
“More like apologize,” he said, looking down at his boots again.
“To me or your shoes?”
“You, but I’ll never get this out if I look at you.”
“OK,” I said. Because what else do you say to someone who apparently can’t stand the sight of you but invites you to share their awesome new studio space?
“Your friendship means a lot to me, and I never want to do anything to risk it. I’m sorry I crossed the line. I promise to never let that happen again.”
“Well, that sucks,” I said.
He lifted his head and his eyes darkened when they met mine before he turned to face the glass wall. “You should know,” he said, his voice so deep I swear I felt it roll through me from across the room. “We can never be anything more than friends.”
I figured as much, but actually hearing him say it hurt. Bad. I wanted to ask him why. Was it something I did? An annoying quirk? Or several? I wasn’t the easiest person to be around, but Theo never seemed to mind spending time with me.
Or was Rowan right. Had he taken some vow of celibacy to atone for the accident? Pretty sure sex wasn’t involved in thecrash, but I guess, maybe, it made sense in some fucked-up way. If Logan couldn’t have a girlfriend, Theo wouldn’t either.
“Yeah, all right,” I said, trying to sound relaxed, even though I wanted to ugly cry so bad my stomach hurt. I wrapped my arms around my waist hoping to ease the ache. “We’d better get inside before my brother and your friends demolish all the food.”
I flung open the door and stepped into the kitchen where everyone was hovering over the containers, since Theo apparently didn’t own plates. A single plastic spoon rested in the mac and cheese. I’d be skipping that side. Ditto for the coleslaw, baked beans, and mashed potatoes. Since I’d taste tested a few of Rowan’s brownies already today, I didn’t want those either. So, I grabbed a drumstick and a biscuit before tucking myself between Chris and Lauren.
While I choked down enough food to not bring attention to myself, the others talked about the wedding, the bakery, and whether Cammie had shared any more details about her family, which, shocker, she hadn’t. Aiden and Chris even snuck in some football stats. No one mentioned that Theo hadn’t followed me inside. Or that he stayed in the glass room until Lauren shouted it was time for her to get back to Karma.
“Thank you, Lauren,” Theo said, stepping into the kitchen as Mom added water to the devil’s ivy she’d brought. “The place smells and feels great.”
Instead of saying anything, Lauren hugged him, longer and harder than I’d ever seen her hug anyone. A stab of jealousy shot through me while they stood locked in each other’s arms. Finally, she stepped away from him, grabbed my hand, and dragged me from the kitchen. I pulled myself free as soon as we were outside. “Is there something you want?” I asked.
“Get in the car.” She walked ahead of me across the street and slid behind the wheel of her old sedan.
I could have turned around and gone back inside, but honestly, I appreciated how she’d gotten me out of the house without having to say goodbye to Theo. I huffed but joined her.
