“Phoebe, this is Jillian,” Theo introduced.
“Jillian.” Her thin lips tried their hardest to curve into a smile or what she perceived to be as one, but it was as fake as the concern she had shown for Kate moments ago.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” I stood up and shook her hand. Her eyes scanned every inch of me, almost as if she was the one intimidated by me and not vice versa.
“Oh”—she covered her mouth—“your accent. I wasn’t expecting that…are you American or Canadian?”
My accent? Okay, I supposed since I was in England, I was the one with the accent. “I’m American,” I replied.
“Oh.” She nodded, still assessing me as I sat back down. “And are you a friend of Kate’s or Theo’s?”
“She’s friends with both of us,” Kate answered. “Do you and Theo have a date or something tonight because I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s after nine. I’m knackered, and I’m sure Jillian is too after her long flight. So if the two of you are headed out, then do you mind going now?” Kate was firm but cordial.
“No. We didn’t have plans for this evening,” Theo said. “Phoebe, I’m sorry. Kate is tired, so let me walk you to your car.”
Her mouth went agape over Theo’s blunt dismissal. She turned on her heels without a goodbye to neither Kate nor me and marched toward the front door with Theo following behind.
“Honest to God.” Kate shook her head when the front door closed. “Some women just don’t get the hint. He makes zero time for her, and more than likely uses her for one thing. I know I wouldn’t stand for that.”
I shrugged. “Maybe she has self-esteem issues. I don’t see how with a body and a face like that, but you never know what’s going on in someone else’s mind. Theo should come clean with where he stands…or should I say make it clearer to her. Honesty is always the best policy, no matter how much it hurts.” Did I really mean that? I was honest with Evan and look how that ended up.
Kate’s scornful expression faded and was replaced with understanding. “I suppose you’re right,” she whispered.
Theo was back in no time, and part of me wondered if he just walked her out the door or to her car. Kate shot him a disdainful glance and he held out his arms in innocence. “What? I told her not to show up here. Didn’t I, Jillian? You heard it.”
Kate stared at him incredulously as I nodded, not wanting to get in the middle of the little tiff that was about to ensue. “And she’s going to continue to show up to places you are until you tell her otherwise or until you just break it off completely with her. You can’t have it both ways. Regardless what you think, she has feelings too,” Kate lectured.
I mentally gave Kate a high five for telling her brother exactly what I was thinking, even though I wasn’t quite sure if it was registering, judging by his blank expression. Maybe men and women really were from two different planets. Kate may have been the little sister, but she certainly was much more mature and wiser where this was concerned.
CHAPTER 15
KATE WAS GOING for her treatments in the morning and was exhausted by lunchtime. Theo had taken a few days off, so Anna had made us a picnic lunch, and we took Thomas to the park while Kate rested.
We arrived at the park and walked the trail, following the signposts to the meadow area. The main path was wide enough to push Thomas’ stroller as he took everything in, squealing with excitement and pointing when a bunny rabbit or squirrel would cross in front of us. We passed several sculptures along the way, and Theo pointed out an old elephant house all the way back from 1939 when there used to be a zoo on the property, which had remained open for two decades. I listened with great interest as he gave me a brief history of the park, fascinated by the wealth of information he was spewing.
Thomas had finally given in to his exhaustion and fallen asleep in his stroller once we reached the serene haven we’d been trekking to. We chose a bench in a shaded area and sat down. It was as if Mother Nature had used all the colors in her paint box when she had created this place. Lush green grass as far as the eye could see with flowers in every shade imaginable, sprouting up all over the place. The fallen petals from the cherry blossom trees covered the ground like a beautiful pink carpet while the birds sang from every branch, in perfect tune with each other.
“This place is so peaceful,” I said to Theo. “Do you come here a lot?”
“I used to a long time ago when I was a lot younger…like teenager younger.”
“Oh, so is this where you’d take the girls to try and get lucky?” I teased, nudging him on the shoulder.
His grin answered my question. “Like I said, that was a very long time ago.” Theo reached into the picnic basket that Anna had prepared and pulled out an array of sandwiches along with some scones and homemade cookies.
“Does she always make enough food to feed a stadium full of people?”
“Always,” Theo said, pulling out a bottle of wine from the basket. “But this was all my idea.” He smiled triumphantly as he held up the bottle.
“Are you allowed to drink alcohol here?”
He shrugged. “As far as anyone knows”—he reached back into the basket and placed two paper cups on the bench—“it’s grape juice in these cups.”
I shook my head and laughed. I was feeling so relaxed. I hadn’t thought of my job, or the lack thereof, since I had stepped off the plane, and it felt good. I knew I had to decide
