Bad Case of Loving You Read online

  “Expedient.” He was impatient with that idea.

  Of course, he would be. Marriage was about love and forever to Theo.

  Lyssa had always known that neither really existed. There was sex and there was now.

  “It was a long time ago,” she said before he could argue the merit of the world according to Theo Tremblay. She might find herself being seduced by possibilities again. “A starter marriage. It just didn’t work out. It was kind of a relief, actually.”

  He was watching her closely and she remembered her old sense that he could read her thoughts. He certainly guessed well. “Did money fulfill all your dreams in the end?”

  If he expected her to admit its inadequacies, he was going to be disappointed. “It gave me financial security, which means I can choose.”

  “No relying on anyone,” he mused. “That was always your mantra.” He tilted his head to study her, his gaze assessing. “Must be lonely.”

  “I get by.” Lyssa didn’t want to delve into that. Alone was better than relying on someone else and being disappointed. “I’m sorry that Mercedes never told me about your call. I would have accepted.”

  “Would you have?” His tone was surprisingly gentle and she risked meeting his gaze. He smiled, just a little, and her heart skipped.

  One thing about Theo, he always listened and he listened intently. There was something wonderful about having his undivided attention. It made Lyssa want to keep talking, just to ensure that he didn’t look away. It was probably part of the reason she’d confided so much in him, once upon a time.

  She couldn’t do that here and now.

  “Yes,” she said with confidence. “I would have.”

  “Why?”

  “I said I want to talk to you.”

  “That can’t be the whole story.” His gaze warmed with what might have been affection and Lyssa felt flushed all over. “Maybe you should tell me what’s really going on here.”

  “There’s nothing going on...” she began to protest, not nearly ready to confide in anyone. It was still a test. Her experiment still might fail.

  “Lyssa...”

  Oh, that low growl of her name, tinged with a bit of frustration and all that old heat. It made her knees go weak. “I told you. We’ll talk on New Year’s Eve. One hour.”

  “We could meet sometime before then and talk,” he suggested, but Lyssa shook her head.

  “It’s too busy over the holidays.” She waved to the group of people behind him and realized she was talking quickly. She couldn’t stop, though. “And you’ve got these pop-ups to do. I want your undivided attention for that hour, and I don’t think I’m going to get it until I keep my promise on New Year’s Eve.”

  Theo nodded once. “I see.”

  She wondered what he did see. “What time?”

  His tone was businesslike when he replied and the moment of awareness was clearly lost. “If you’re only staying an hour, maybe eleven-thirty. It would be best if you were there at midnight.”

  Lyssa knew she didn’t imagine that he put a little emphasis on if. It was clear that Theo expected her to bail on her promise.

  “Give me your number, so I can call if there’s a problem.”

  “So, that’s how it’s going to be,” he murmured and Lyssa flushed.

  “There could be an emergency...”

  “Like you changing your mind.” Impatience touched his expression again. “You can just decline now, Lyssa, and keep it simple.”

  “No,” she said, her tone harder. “I want to do this. I will do it. If Mercedes had told me, I’d have agreed months ago.” She opened the address book on her phone and handed it to him. He typed in a number, sparing her a glance partway through, then returned her phone. Lyssa repeated it back to him. Theo nodded once, then someone shouted his name.

  It was the blond woman with the QR sign.

  Theo waved, then turned back to Lyssa. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Me, too. I’m late.” She touched his hand quickly. “I will be there, Theo. I promise.”

  He eyed her, nodded, then turned away.

  Lyssa watched him skate across the ice and sighed a little at what she’d sacrificed, even though it had been the right thing to do. Maybe, just maybe, Theo would be able to move past his inevitable anger to build a relationship with Logan.

  If there was any man on the planet who could do that, it would be Theo Tremblay.

  She glanced down at her phone and swore when she saw the time.

  Some things never changed, it was clear.

  Theo stole a glance at Lyssa as she raced away from him, fighting his urge to pursue her. She was as gorgeous, fascinating and exasperating as she’d always been—and eleven years without her hadn’t made Theo any more resistant to her charms.

  He hadn’t felt as if lightning was striking when he’d met anyone else, either.

  It wasn’t reassuring that he felt the same way again, as if he’d been given a jolt and was suddenly awake again.

  She’d married the other guy because it hadn’t mattered. How perfectly Lyssa.

  He still wanted to change her mind about love, as if he hadn’t learned anything at all.

  Would he have felt the same way if it had been the model Angel who had approached him, with her flawless complexion and carefully curated appearance? He doubted it. It was because it was Lyssa—disheveled, vital, enthusiastic and unpredictable Lyssa with her hair escaping from a ridiculous yet perfectly characteristic choice of hat—that he’d been seduced all over again.

  “Hey Theo,” Blaine, the video guy said as Theo skated to the edge of the rink. “Do you want to end with you and that woman?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I mean, it’s kind of fun how you two were going at it.” Blaine pulled up the clip on his digital camera to show it to Theo. He only saw himself and Lyssa making out and took a step back.

  “We don’t have a release from her,” he said with a tight smile. “Better not.”

  “Too bad. It’s hot.” Blaine shrugged and turned to pack his gear, leaving Theo thinking he’d had a near miss.

  He shook his head, then directed the clean-up, unable to avoid thinking about the day he’d met Lyssa. There was no near miss. She’d scored a perfect hit the first time.

  And she’d just done it again.

  This had been a really bad idea.

  Of course, it had been Kyle’s idea, which explained a lot. Theo sat in the lecture hall, regretting that he’d listened to his friend’s advice. Of course, it had sounded like a great plan while Kyle talked it up, but he should have guessed that the reality would be different.

  Take an English Lit class in romantic poetry. Meet women. Have lots of sex.

  Kyle’s plan was simple, but this wasn’t simple at all.

  Theo was probably the only business major in the English Lit class, as well as the only British person, the only guy—at least so far—and one of the few people of color. None of that was a deal-breaker. He was used to most of that.

  The issue was the women in the class.

  They were Kyle’s type, not his.

  They looked like clones of each other and Theo didn’t see one who interested him. He liked creative women and ones who weren’t afraid of challenging expectations. He didn’t care what color they were or what kind of accent they had, as long as they were smart and interesting. It was possible there were one or two in the lecture hall, but he decided that Kyle’s plan worked best for Kyle.

  Big surprise.

  He could probably return the textbook for full credit, since he’d just bought it the day before. He checked his watch to verify that he had time to get out of the lecture hall before the prof appeared, and a woman spoke from beside him.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  Theo glanced up, startled. “No.” He reached for his bag, intending to leave, but hesitated to take a better look. She was very pretty, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. Her eyes sparkled as if she was going to bur
st out laughing at any moment and a smile partly curved her lips. She had some freckles on her nose and looked genuine in a way that the other women didn’t.

  He was also intrigued that she didn’t seem to be concerned with her own beauty. She had to know, but she wore no make-up and her long blond hair was tugged back into a messy ponytail. There was a dot of something blue on her cheek and she was wearing denim overalls and a baggy sweater, both of which hid her figure. He thought she might be slender, just by the way the fabric hung, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “Oh, good. Do you mind if I sit here?”

  “No, of course not.”

  He felt like a butterfly was settling down beside him, which made no sense given her bulky clothes and boots. She was light on her feet though, and he had the strange sense that she could just disappear if he blinked—or said the wrong thing.

  “Thank you!” She sat down quickly, a notebook clutched to her chest, and looked around the lecture hall. “I hate being the only one.”

  Theo knew her concern couldn’t be the same as his. The hall was full of women, the vast majority of which were Caucasian. Blondes were well represented as well. “The only one?” he echoed politely.

  She smiled and her features lit as if she was filled with an inner radiance. He couldn’t look away from her, then. “The only one who doesn’t already have all the poems memorized. The only one who’s actually learning this stuff for the first time.” She rolled her eyes. “The only one who thinks poetry is irrelevant.” Theo didn’t have time to correct her on that before she continued. “You don’t look like a Lit major either. Maybe we could stick together.”

  He felt compelled to warn her. “I might drop the course.”

  “Oh.” Her smile faded and Theo wished he’d kept quiet. “Won’t you stay for one lecture just to see if you like it?”

  “I don’t think I will.”

  “I don’t think I will, either, but my advisor said I need a breadth course.” She frowned. “My mentor suggested this one.”

  “What’s your major?”

  “Fine Art.” Her eyes lit with that inner fire again and Theo was transfixed. Her eyes were blue, so blue that he thought she might be wearing colored contacts. “Yours?”

  “Business Admin.”

  She laughed. “So, we’re both fish out of water. I knew it.” She shifted her books, still holding them in front of herself like a shield, and offered her hand. “I’m Lyssa. Lyssa Monroe.”

  “Theo,” he said, taking her hand in his. Her grip was stronger than he’d expected, but not as surprising as her conclusion that they were two of a kind. She looked into his eyes again and he had the strangest feeling. He felt tingly and aware, as if he might be the very center of the universe. His heart was beating faster, like he’d quickened in her presence, and he was more keenly aware of all of his senses. “Theo Tremblay.”

  She wriggled into her chair and grinned at him. “What a fabulous accent you have. Are you really from England?”

  Theo nodded.

  “And I’m just from plain old Pennsylvania. I haven’t got a chance. Everyone is going to be all over you.”

  Her assessment of his romantic chances was so consistent with Kyle’s—and at odds with his own—that Theo didn’t know what to say.

  “I give it two lectures and you’ll be so surrounded by fangirls that you’ll forget about me,” she said cheerfully. Her eyes were sparkling so brightly that he knew she was teasing him.

  His reaction wasn’t the least bit similar to when his sister teased him.

  “Not a chance,” Theo said, because it was true. “How can you not believe in poetry? I mean, you said you’re an art major.”

  “High realism,” she said. “That’s what I do. Pictures that could be photographs.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want to capture the look of things exactly as they are. I want to make the moment permanent.”

  “But don’t you need to look beyond the surface to find meaning?”

  There was surprise in the quick way that Lyssa glanced up at him. Their gazes clung for a long hot moment, one that sent fire right to Theo’s toes. He didn’t want to sit anywhere else but exactly where he was, and any idea of dropping the course was forgotten.

  She pointed a finger at him. “Now you sound like my mentor. I don’t see the point.”

  “Well, I don’t know anything about creating art, only about looking at it.”

  “Let me guess—you know what you like.”

  Theo laughed, because she was teasing him again. “It’s true, I do, but what I like usually is more than the appearance alone. I like paintings that make me reconsider something or think about it in a new way. Like Dali and those melting clocks. It makes me think about time and how my perception of it changes, depending on what I’m doing.” He shrugged, feeling foolish because she was watching him closely.

  She smiled. “Maybe he just painted them in a really hot place.” She produced a wet paintbrush, pausing to align the bristles before setting it on the lip of her desk to dry, a paperclip and a heavy black marker. She eyed the collection then leaned toward Theo. “Can I borrow a pen?”

  “Sure.” Theo reached into his satchel and got a second pen.

  “You’re so organized,” she whispered, leaning over to look in his bag. “I should get a bag like that.” She smiled at him again. “I guess even if I got a bag like that, it wouldn’t come with a guarantee that it would stay organized.”

  “Or even always have a pen.”

  “Then I’ll have to throw myself at your mercy when I forget. You have to stay in the class,” she concluded breezily. “To argue the merit of poetry and lend me a pen when I forget one.”

  She smiled and that sounded just fine to Theo.

  The prof swept into the lecture hall then, scanning the students as she placed her books on the lectern and adjusted her glasses. “Nineteenth century Romantic Poets is the title of this course. If you’re in the wrong place, now’s the time to leave.”

  Theo knew that he was in exactly the right place so he stayed.

  Why had Lyssa approached Theo now? Had it just been coincidence? He doubted it. She’d been at Wollman Rink because of their anniversary, too. But why? What did she want to talk to him about? She’d twisted him right around her finger, just like old times, and he wanted her as fiercely as he had all those years before.

  So much for once bitten, twice shy.

  So much for learning from experience.

  But Lyssa was back in his life, if only for a moment, and Theo couldn’t deny that he was excited that they’d see each other again.

  If she kept her promise.

  He’d better not tell the team until he was sure, even though that might be New Year’s Eve.

  What did she want to talk about? Why now?

  Cassie was enthusing about the pop-up in the cab back to F5 and checking on the visibility on her phone as they rode. “When is Kyle doing his?”

  “Probably right about now,” Theo said, glad to give her the details and think about something other than Lyssa. “We decided to do the first few between noon and four eastern for the light.”

  It was more than a week to New Year’s and Theo found it hard to believe that Lyssa had no time until then. He could have made time, even doing this promotion.

  And that annoyed him. Why should he turn his schedule inside out to accommodate her impulse?

  Because she was Lyssa. He remembered this sense of being so vividly aware, of being attuned to everything around him with one electric, invigorating, fascinating woman at the eye of the storm. She lived in the moment, always had, and being with her made everything more intense for Theo.

  In a way, he felt as if that kiss had woken him up again.

  Oh, Lyssa.

  “So, between nine and one in California.” She was tapping frantically as Reid eyed her phone. “When does the official video post?”

  “As soon as it’s edited. The plan is for it to be quick
, but the ones people share will inevitably post sooner.”

  “There are thirty already.”

  “You’re kidding.” Theo leaned over to look. She wasn’t. The number of posts using the hashtag for the club increased as he watched.

  “Who’s doing the video edits?”

  “A new company. They’re buddies of Nate’s, vets just starting up their business.”

  Cassie flicked a glance at him. “That sounds like a nice choice, but are you sure they have the experience?”

  “They don’t but they have the enthusiasm. The trailers they did are awesome and they’re determined to make this a showpiece for their services.”

  “Fair enough,” Cassie said. “I liked the first one. It looked like you two were in the same room.”

  “Yes, the green screen stuff is pretty awesome.” The cab stopped in front of the club and Reid waved Theo on, indicating that he’d get the fare. The lobby of F5 was unusually crowded.

  What was even more unusual was that the people turned and their faces lit when they saw Theo step into the building. “It’s him!” was the cry in various forms, then Theo was suddenly surrounded by women. He froze in shock and heard Cassie laugh.

  “So much for just sliding in and out unnoticed,” she murmured and Theo realized his life wasn’t going to be the same, thanks to this promotion.

  Maybe it would die down in the new year.

  “Will you sign my phone case?” asked the first woman, thrusting her cell phone toward him with a marker.

  Theo was astonished. “Sure.” He signed his name, gradually realizing that all the women gathered around him wanted a signature or a word with him. He posed for a dozen selfies. They gushed about the pop-up and how fantastic it was, more than one complimenting him on his moves. Another teased him about giving out kisses and Theo realized that his embrace with Lyssa had been witnessed, too. He finished the signatures, feeling self-conscious, and tried to politely extricate himself.

  He’d wanted to meet more women, but he wasn’t sure about this unexpected visibility. He was used to going where he wanted without anyone much noticing. Having women follow him like fangirls was a bit weird.