Hearts & Minds | WATTY Winner

Chapter 14 | Pied-à-terre | Part 3

     As a matter of fact, there had been word from Theo. Nora had told Rainey and Margaret about Gene Furlan's visit, but not about him claiming Theo was pre-engaged. That was information she still wasn't sure how to process. And until she figured it out, she needed time to think.

The day after Gene Furlan stopped by, Theo texted, something simple: Hi, long time no text.

She ignored it. She ignored his likes on her Facebook photos. And his two voicemails. And his emails.

A death in the family she could face head on. Dealing with the loss of her family's home and business was a challenge she accepted. A possibly lying suitor? Running for the hills seemed like a good option.

She just needed to think. She needed space and time. She needed a time machine. She needed to go back to that moment after paella when they had kissed—and kissed oh so well—and stop him mid-caress to ask, "But what about your pre-engagement?"

And then, just like that, Theo himself showed up. In the flesh. Again.

There he was, coming through the door of the tea salon, right during the afternoon rush. Had Nora been a rookie, she would have dropped an entire Royal We Tea Service, but instead, she merely jiggled it and got it to its destination—a meeting of the Tea Cozies Book Club that met twice a month (those quinquagenarians sure could read) at the Cottage. She couldn't help but see echoes of his father—the way he scanned the room before letting his eyes land on her. His dark, handsome looks, how he moved—confident with a cat-like steadiness.

Yet when he smiled at her, all comparisons lost their value. His eyes were kind. His smile was real—even a bit goofy, playful. It was real because it was for her. Not some other woman.
But there was another woman. (Maybe.)

Nora gave Theo a perfunctory smile. Before she could decide what to do—table six needed more napkins but he was pinning her down with that look—Rainey punched him in the arm with her small yet effectively bony-knuckled fist.

The spell was thusly broken.

"Hey T-bone, where you been?"

"Ow," he said. "That really hurt."

"Yeah, I've got moves. Bring it in, Furlan."

Rainey squeaked when Theo picked her up and squeezed.

"Look, we're super busy right now," she said, back on her feet. "Want to wait on the bench outside? A spot just opened up."

Theo looked for Nora, but she had disappeared. "Sure. Tell her where I am, will you?"

"No doubt."

Rainey found Nora in the kitchen checking over an order Claudia had just assembled.

"What are you doing?" Rainey hissed.

Nora shook her head. "What is he doing here? Why did he just show up?"

"He didn't just show up. I told him to stop by."

"You what?"

"He sent me a Facebook message because you haven't been answering him. He was worried about you. So I told him you were fine and that he should come see for himself if he didn't believe me."

Nora processed this silently.

"Don't worry, I covered for you. But what are you playing at, big sister? Is there someone else?"

"No," Nora said quickly. Not in the way you think. "There isn't even Theo."

"Okay. Right."