Jo shook her head. “I saw the way he was looking at you all night long, and it’s different than any other woman he’s been with. He may not be admitting it to you or anyone else, but it’s evident.”
I looked down at the tiled floor, trying to register this newfound information. There was no way this could be true. Theo and I were buddies. I thought back to the way his beautiful green eyes fixated on me earlier in the night at Kate’s house and the way my heart leapt with excitement over it. Could Jo be right? If she was, I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t. Yes, I found him very attractive, and I cared about him a lot, but Theo was too good of a friend to me. I finally found the courage to look at Jo once again. She was gazing at me with a warm, sympathetic smile as if she could read my thoughts completely. “I promise you—I would never, ever do anything to break that man’s heart.” My voice faltered with just the mere thought of ever hurting Theo.
CHAPTER 18
“I’M REALLY SORRY Phoebe pulled that stunt tonight,” Theo said as we walked back to Kate’s.
“It wasn’t a big deal. Jo and David are great.” I deflected, not wanting to even give Phoebe or Roger a second thought.
“Yeah. They are,” he agreed. “I took your advice and I told Phoebe it’s over. It was wrong of me to keep stringing her along all this time.”
“Oh…and how did that go?”
“As expected. She called me every name imaginable. Said she wished she’d never met me. Wished me a slow, torturous death. You know the usual stuff when one gets dumped.”
“Yikes.” I cringed. I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to say after someone has a breakup?” I grinned.
“I wouldn’t even say it was a breakup. It wasn’t like she was my girlfriend or anything…more like a stalker.”
“A stalker with benefits,” I added, causing us both to roar with laughter.
I was happy to see that we were joking around like normal, erasing any thoughts that Jo had put in my head about Theo having feelings for me beyond friendship. When we arrived back at Kate’s, Anna was sitting on the couch looking frazzled. “Everything okay?” Theo asked.
Anna sighed heavily. “Kate was in a lot of pain earlier. I gave her some of her meds and it helped. She’s finally sleeping now.” Her voice was laced in distress. “She refused to let me call you. She wanted you and Jillian to have a nice night out.” Anna shook her head. “She made me promise I wouldn’t.”
Theo immediately went upstairs to check on Kate while Anna gathered her things. As I walked her to the door, she still seemed rattled, so I gave her a hug to reassure her.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I whispered.
“I wish I hadn’t listened to her, but she begged me not to call him.” Her eyes were welling with tears.
“It’s okay. She’s sleeping now. Please don’t feel bad.”
She nodded and took my hands in hers. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jillian,” she replied, seeming a little calmer.
Theo came down the steps just as I closed the door after watching Anna drive away.
“Is she okay?” I asked.
“I guess. She’s sleeping, and I don’t want to wake her up to see.” He shook his head. “What the hell is wrong with Kate?” he shouted. “She can be so damn stubborn. I should have checked in with Anna to see how everything was going.”
“Oh, Theo. Don’t blame yourself for this. There’s nothing more you could’ve done if you were here. Anna gave her the medication she needed and now she’s resting. Don’t beat yourself up over this.” All the stress and worry the last few hours had alleviated from him was now back in full force. His face was sunken in. His swollen eyes were encompassed in dark circles and his complexion paler than normal. “Go upstairs and sleep in the guest room. I’ll take the couch. You’ve had way too much to drink to be driving anywhere tonight.”
He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and part of me wondered if he had even heard what I just said. “No...I’ll sleep down here. You go on upstairs to bed,” he finally replied.
“Theo, I really think—”
He held up his hand to stop me, and I didn’t protest any longer. I knew he didn’t have the energy for it. I walked over to where he was standing and stood on my tippy-toes, placing a gentle kiss on his razor-stubbled face.
“It’s been a very long, emotional day for you. Please get some sleep.”
He nodded and whispered, “Good night, Jillian.” His raspy voice was so beaten, causing my heart to break a little at the sound of it.
After checking on Thomas, I got into my pajamas, then slipped into bed with a million thoughts running rampant through my mind. Everything from tonight at the pub, Jo’s little talk with me in the ladies’ room, and the terrified look on Theo’s face as I headed up the stairs just a short time ago. I fluffed the pillow, turning from one side to the other, trying to find a comfortable position before finally falling into a fitful sleep.
I lifted my head from the pillow when I was awoken to a strange noise coming from the hallway. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand to find that it was after 3:00 a.m., I jolted out of bed to see what was going on. I treaded across the hardwood floor, opening the bedroom door to find Theo sitting on the floor by Kate’s room with his back against the wall and his hands covering his face.
“Theo?” I whispered, rushing over to him
