I relaxed my grip on the tablet and lowered it, realizing how silly I was being. This was Theo, the man who had women beating down his door at home. The appearance of a girl who was thousands of miles away meant nothing to him. This was just a chat between two friends. Two friends whose friendship probably wouldn’t go beyond the screen of a phone or a tablet. It saddened me a bit to think that maybe I’d never see Kate or Theo in person again. But when I thought of the alternative, I would’ve never even known they existed if I hadn’t gone on a vacation that I didn’t even want to take. So, I would take what I could get, because I had to admit, my outlook did become a little brighter since they came into my life, whatever form it was in.
“Oh yeah. I did,” he replied nonchalantly.
“So how are things? How’s Kate?” I was hoping she wasn’t the reason for his late-night call. I had spoken with her two days prior and she seemed to be fine.
“Good. Kate is good. She’s going next week to get a second opinion.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so happy to hear that. I wish she’d confide in me so I could be some support to her. You will keep me posted on how it goes, won’t you?”
“I sure will.” I knew he meant it. Theo talking to me about Kate’s sickness not only kept me abreast of the situation, but it also was an outlet for him to unload.
I held up my index finger to the screen. “Hang on one second. I have to drain my pasta.” I got up from the chair and walked over to the stove, dumping the pot of boiling pasta into the strainer in the sink. “Okay, I’m back!” I announced, and his grin widened. “Can’t sleep?”
He cinched his eyebrows in confusion.
“Isn’t almost midnight there?” I clarified.
“Oh...that,” he replied, finally catching on to my statement. “Actually, that was the whole reasoning for my call, but then you got so caught up on my hair.” He chuckled, then stood up and the screen went blurry with his movement. He turned the camera around and I was staring at the Lower Manhattan skyline.
“Theo! Are you in New York?” I couldn’t contain my excitement.
“I am. I had a very last-minute business meeting scheduled. So last-minute that I didn’t even know I was headed here when I woke up this morning.”
Theo was in New York, and to think just a few seconds ago I was tossing up the idea that I may never see him or Kate again.
“So, how long are you here for?”
“Well, my meeting is tomorrow, so I’m free to go home any time after that, but I suppose I could extend my time a little longer. I was hoping to find a tour guide...someone once said coming to New York and not seeing the Empire State Building was like going to London and not seeing Big Ben.”
I couldn’t contain my smile. “You mean, you’ve never—”
He shook his head.
“Well, I’d be happy to show it to you and all the other clichéd touristy things. Just let me know when, and I’ll be there.”
Funny how just a few moments ago, I was feeling so alone. Depressed over the letter I had received in the mail. Angry over my visit from Jonathan. Now here I was unable to wipe the ridiculous grin from my face.
CHAPTER 10
I HAD GOTTEN up extra early and finished all my work by noon, getting it out of the way before I boarded the bus for the city. Theo and I were meeting for a late lunch at Augustine, a downtown French restaurant that had gotten rave reviews from my coworkers. He was waiting for me out front when I arrived, and it was as if I was staring at a different guy than the one I had met a month ago. In addition to his freshly cut hair, he was dressed to perfection in what appeared to be a very expensive suit. He had transformed from an adorable haphazard boy trapped in a man’s body to an elegant businessman.
“Wow, I feel like I underdressed for the occasion!” I held out my arms and laughed as I approached him, wearing my pink wool coat with jeans and a sweater underneath.
“No.” He chuckled. “I can assure you, I’m quite overdressed. My meeting ran a little later than expected, so I didn’t have time to go back to my hotel and change. I hate this monkey suit.” He pulled on his tie and loosened it before bending over and placing a kiss on my cheek. “It’s so nice to see you live and in the flesh again.” He had that playful tone to his voice that I was used to, assuring me the suit he was wearing may have transformed him physically, but not who he was on the inside.
“You should have sent me a message. I could’ve waited for you to change.”
He waved his hand in a dismissing manner. “It’s fine, I can change after we’re done eating. Besides, I’m starving.” He opened the door to the restaurant and extended his hand for me to walk in front of him. I felt as if I had stepped through some magical portal and was in a bistro in Paris, not a restaurant in the Financial District of Manhattan when I entered. I was
