Conner never was a big fan of dating sites and meeting strangers, yet this girl got more and more interesting with every minute. Before he knew it, he was chatting with her day and night, talking on the phone before both fell asleep and sending her a “good morning” message first thing in the morning when he opened his eyes.
His recovery might've been slow and life at the verge of desperation, but he couldn't complain about his “curse.” He felt happy—strangely happy. Inexplicably happy.
Chapter 5
Anthea could not believe as little as three weeks could build such closeness with a person she had never met for real. Although her first feelings of Connor's moods and difficult personality had frightened her. Now, as their friendship grew tighter day by day and he opened up to her, she discovered more traits of his character that she could admire. For once, she seemed really lucky to have met a nice guy. Considering her past misfortunes, this was quite a rare thing.
A voice inside her—the voice that always sensed trouble coming up her way—suddenly seemed to yell at her to come back to Earth and come to her senses. Nothing was going to be easy. She had never seen easy paths for herself. Neither for him... Her stomach clenched.
She had gotten home early and her only desire was to call Connor. He had been nagging and complaining about having a boring day. And his grandpa had made some terribly spicy soup for dinner. Anthea smiled as she imagined his beautiful face twist as he was forced to eat the soup not to let his grandpa down. She imagined those deep gray eyes narrow every time he took a spoonful of hot soup into his mouth. Although she had not seen him for real, she had looked at his photos so often that at times, it felt as if she knew every gesture and every expression on his face.
Her inner voice warned her that she could eventually be bitterly disappointed when they met in real life. Not when - if, Anthea reminded herself. Connor had not once mentioned about the possibility to meet. He was either worried about his injury too much or did not like her enough. She needed just to hear his voice to discard the latter.
Although slow, he was making some progress to recovery. He could already walk in the house on his own. She had been encouraging him a lot, and had even tried to direct her energy to him in a failed attempt to ease his pain. It didn't work.
Usually, they called each other late in the evening and talked until one of them fell asleep on the end of the line. Sometimes, their conversations felt quite romantic. At times, she even had an impression that he was flirting with her, although he did resist it quite obviously and changed the subject pretty quickly.
Today, Anthea had a glass of wine earlier in the evening with a friend who had talked way too much about her new romance and how happy she was with her new boyfriend. As if that had not been enough, Clara had even reminded Anthea that she had been single for quite a while. Anthea dialed Connor's number immediately as the memory of that conversation fueled her determination.
"You are early," he picked the phone on the first ring. She could almost hear the smile in his voice. A heart-warming smile.
"Hey," she smiled back, sadly, he could not see it. Or maybe it was for the best. She wasn't sure a guy like Connor was going to like the real her. "I got home early and figured I missed ya."
"You did?" he laughed. "How unexpected."
"Aww, did you not miss me?" She let out a pout, knowing all too well that he was joking.
"Nah, I've had too hot a day to miss you," he said firmly. Hmm, too hot day sounded quite promising. Or maybe it was the direction of her thoughts.
"You are always hot," she blurted out before she could stop herself.
"Is that so?" Connor chuckled. "Are you hinting at something, Thea?"
Anthea shook her head. This was madness. She had never been good at expressing her feelings, let alone talking naughty on phone and enjoying it. What on Earth was she thinking and why did she feel this irresistible lure? Or maybe she was sensing his excitement and mirroring his feelings and desires? It would make her feel so much better if it was Connor making a step and not her.
"You are silent," Connor spoke again. And this time, his voice sounded very different. It was lower - almost like a whisper, tempting and caressing her. "Thea, talk to me. I need to know what's on your mind. Please."
There was so much on her mind. Behind the confident mask, Anthea had been hiding a lot. And she was not yet ready to reveal anything to him. Except maybe for her feelings—those uncontrollable feelings that she never expected to find online. She might hide a lot, but she knew Connor was straightforward and honest. At times, painfully honest. A trait, she knew he had inherited from his ancestors that he spoke often about—those highlander warriors of the past. And even if he never admitted it, their stories fascinated him. Even most of his song lyrics carried that theme. It was funny that Connor didn't know how obvious that was.
"Thea, have I lost you?" Connor asked and Anthea realized she had been silent for too long.
"I'm here," she spoke shyly.
"Hi," his voice carried that smiling tone again.
"Hi," he always succeeded in making her smile. "What are you doing?" She hoped her miserable attempt of a distraction would work. It did not.
"I'm alone in my bedroom," Connor started. "Grandpa went to a pub with some friends. I'm all alone and very lonely," he said meaningfully. "And I was thinking about your company and how fun it
