Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
All the blood drained from my face.
Oh, God.
Theo chuckled, stepping back and allowing my next breath. “Come on,” he said.
Then he turned with the confidence of a man who knew I’d follow.
And follow him I did.
Theo didn’t tell a soul we were leaving the boat — not even Captain Chuck. Instead, he motioned for me to follow him quietly as he led us down to where the jet skis and tenders were in the water. Next to them was a rowboat, one I’d seen Theo take out a few times in the early morning. He was the only one I’d ever seen in it.
Until now.
He helped me climb inside the small boat, handing me a few bags before he climbed in, too. Then, he fixed the two oars to the sides and started paddling us away from the yacht.
The sun was beginning to set over the small island of Capri, though it seemed to be taking its time now that Theo and I were on the water. The sky was a brilliant orange, the water a stunning aqua blue, and the white limestone crags of the coast seemed to glow a color somewhere between the two. I longed for my camera that I’d left behind, but took mental snapshots, instead.
Theo watched me as he paddled us toward the coast, his brows furrowed, the muscles of his arms ebbing and flowing with each row. I wore the same shorts and sports bra I’d answered the door in, but I’d taken enough time to throw a t-shirt on before we left, and it was as if that fabric caused him physical pain.
“You’re pretty good at that,” I commented as we made our way toward the limestone.
“Rowing?”
I nodded.
“I try to keep some semblance of my routine when I’m on vacation. Back home in New York, I row every morning,” he explained, leaning forward before he pulled back again. I found myself mesmerized by the way his abdomen flexed with the shift, the way the setting sun played on every rise and fall of his muscles. “Five a.m. sharp.”
“Five?” I asked incredulously. “Why so early?”
“Why not?” He shrugged. “There’s only so much time in each day. I want to seize as much of it as I can.”
“Carpe diem,” I said with a smile. “How very Roman of you.” I paused. “What’s it like living in the city?”
“Loud. And boisterous. And dirty and bright and chaotic,” Theo said, the corner of his mouth tilting. “So, absolutely perfect.”
I laughed at that. “It sounds like a nightmare for me.”
“Why, because of the people?”
I nodded. “I’m much more at home in the mountains of Colorado.”
Theo shrugged. “I think it’s just because you’ve never been to the city.”
“How do you know I haven’t?”
“If you had, you wouldn’t be so quick to write it off. Trust me. There’s something magical about Manhattan. And as much as I love the mountains the same as you, I think you’d find more of a home in New York than you think.”
I shook my head. “I haven’t found much of a home anywhere at all, to be honest.”
Theo watched me curiously. “I get that. I feel the same way sometimes.”
“You?” I laughed. “You seem at home no matter where you are. I mean, you speak a dozen different languages and make every stranger feel like your best friend.”
“Maybe,” he answered. “But you make every stranger feel human. Seen. Understood.”
“When I have my camera, maybe.”
“Even without it.” Theo paused rowing. “You don’t see it, do you? The way people feel stripped by your gaze.”
I wanted to laugh, but the gesture was stuck inside me in the form of a large lump in my throat.
“Don’t look at me like it couldn’t possibly be true,” he continued. “So many people love to hear themselves talk, or are desperate to tell you what they want you to know about them. They want to paint this beautiful picture. But you? You don’t let them. You’re the creator. In the quiet way you observe others and truly listen to them, you know more about them than even their closest friends within twenty minutes of meeting them.”
My chest tightened. “That’s a lovely way to be thought of.”
Theo smirked, but the smile fell quickly, and he frowned again with his next row. “I haven’t seen you at all since Positano,” he said. “Did you end up sick like Joel was?”
I sighed, casting my gaze out over the water. “No,” I said. “I just… I’ve had some family stuff going on.”
“Your sister?”
I nodded, and as if mentioning her brought her to life in my head again, I heard her voice whispering warnings.
You are playing with fire.
“Is she okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?” Theo asked.
I laughed, because the answer to that question should have been simple, but it was so far from it. “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s talk about you, instead.”