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Theo came back much later than expected. Kate had already gone to bed, and I was sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea with Anna, who had stayed a little later than usual. She too was distraught over the news Kate had laid on everyone.
“Where’s Thomas?” Theo asked, stepping into the kitchen, his face still riddled with despair. He had changed out of his work clothes from earlier into jeans and a black polo shirt.
“He’s in bed already, believe it or not. Jillian wears him out,” Anna replied. I noticed Theo didn’t ask where Kate was. Was it because he was still upset over the choice she had made? “Jillian, I’m so sorry. I feel like I led you here under false pretenses. Instead of being on holiday, you’ve been playing nanny to my nephew. That wasn’t my intention at all. I didn’t know—”
I held up my hand to stop him from talking. “It’s perfectly fine. I love spending time with Thomas, and despite the circumstances, I’m enjoying my time with you and Kate too.”
The corners of his mouth curved up into a tired but grateful smile.
“Well, why don’t you take Jillian down to the pub tonight and unwind a little. I don’t mind staying a little later to keep an eye on Thomas if he should wake up. I can get a good catch-up on my shows,” Anna suggested.
I glanced at Theo, leaving it up to him. I was game either way. “Jillian, did you feel like going?” he asked.
“Sure, if you’re up to it?” I didn’t want him to feel as if he had to go to keep me entertained.
“Yeah, I can actually use a drink or two...or ten.”
“Okay, let me just run upstairs and make myself a little more presentable.”
“I think you look quite lovely just the way you are,” he said with total sincerity as I brushed past him.
My eyes locked with his, and I felt my face heating, certain my cheeks were a tinge of red. “Well, thanks for that. I promise I’ll only be a minute.”
Anna was grinning from ear to ear when I looked her way. As I headed up the steps, I was unable to get the way Theo had just looked at me out of my head or my heart.
CHAPTER 17
THEO AND I walked down the cobblestone street to the pub that wasn’t too far from Kate’s house. Before we left, he had asked me if I was okay with him inviting two of his friends to meet us there, and I happily agreed. Along the way, we ducked into a little antique shop that was getting ready to close for the night. The owner was more than happy to allow us to wander around while he straightened up.
“They have some great old pieces of furniture in here. Wish I could get them home on the plane with me.”
“What would you do with them?” Theo asked.
“Paint them. A friend of mine has a booth at a flea market not far from me. I’ve redone several pieces of furniture, and she allows me to sell them there.”
“Do you make a lot of money doing it?”
“Not really.” I ran my hand along the smooth wood of the old oak dresser. “By the time I buy the supplies, and the time it takes to do, I’m pretty much breaking even. But it’s therapeutic to me, and I love turning old things that were once loved into something new to be cherished again.”
He smiled. “I really love your outlook on things. You know that?”
I shrugged and we continued browsing, stopping at the display of pocket watches behind a glass case. “My grandfather used to have an old pocket watch like these. It was in our family for years until he lost it, so it never got to me. I always had a thing for them.”
“Well, these are really nice. Why don’t you buy one and start a new tradition of handing it down?”
“It wouldn’t have the same sentiment. My great-grandmother had gotten it for my great-grandfather before he went off to fight in the First World War. It meant something. What would I do? Give this to Thomas and say, ‘here you go, I bought this at an antique store because I thought it was cool’?”
I understood completely where he was coming from. Some of the most expensive things didn’t hold any value unless there was a special meaning behind them.
We came out of the shop both empty-handed and continued with our walk. Theo was silent for a good part of the time before blurting out of nowhere, “Are your mother and father still alive?”
I thought that was an odd question to come out of the blue with, but I replied as if it was a perfectly normal one. “They are, but I’m not particularly close with my mother. My dad took off when I was six and didn’t show back up in my life again until a few years ago. So, needless to say, I don’t have much time for him. Why do you ask?”
He shrugged. “I just realized after all these months of talking to you, there’s a lot I still don’t know about you.” He was right. That was a topic we had never covered. I had told Kate all about my family when we were on vacation, but never Theo. “Brothers or sisters?”
“Two brothers. My mother got remarried when I was eight and popped them out one right after the other. I always felt like the odd man out with their new little family, so I spent a lot of time with my grandmother. I think my mother preferred it that way. I was a reminder of the man who walked out on her and her old life. My grandmother said you only get one
