Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Perry
Theo is breathing softly beside me when I wake up the next morning. He has his cute little mouth open the way he always does, and it takes everything in me not to lean in and take it. I heard him come back to bed late last night, so I don’t want to wake him. I’m not sure where he was or what was going on, but when I mumbled at him, wondering if everything was okay, he told me it was good and to go back to sleep.
I leave him resting, get out of bed, and sneak from the room. There’s noise coming from the kitchen, so his family must already be up. I go to the bathroom first and take a leak before making my way down the hallway.
Theo’s parents and sisters are in their small kitchen, cooking breakfast. For a moment, seeing them like this steals my breath. With it being just me and Mom, I’d never had this. Yes, the two of us would do these same kinds of things because we were close, but there’s so much laughter here and so many more people, and I swear, I feel the love in the air.
Carrie notices me first, offering a large smile. “Perry! You’re awake! I hope you like a big breakfast. We all have our specialties and decided to make them all.”
“I’m the pancake queen.” Katie takes a bow.
“I’m always on eggs,” Sara adds.
“They leave me with the bacon, but I think it’s less that I’m great at it and more that they’re sacrificing me to the grease gods,” Tom teases, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Hey, I do the breakfast potatoes. That’s a little dangerous too!” Carrie playfully swats him.
“What does Theo usually do?” I ask, pushing my hands into my pockets.
“He’s never made you his famous cinnamon rolls?” Carrie puts her hands on her hips. “You should give him a piece of your mind about that.”
“Wait. He can make cinnamon rolls and he never told me? I don’t know how I can ever forgive him for that.”
“What if I teach you?” Theo asks, coming around the corner and surprising me.
“That might help soothe the distress I’m feeling right now.”
He grins…and I freeze when he leans in and presses a kiss to my lips. “Good morning, boyfriend.”
Um…something has definitely changed since last night.
“I knew it!” Sara shouts.
“Oh my God. They’re so cute!” Katie adds.
My gaze darts to his parents, who are both watching us with a smile. It’s Carrie who speaks first, “I was with you two for all of thirty minutes before I realized you’re more than friends.”
“I guess I’m the only one who was clueless,” his dad says, “but Carrie filled me in this morning, and I’m wondering how I missed it. Just so you both know, as long as Theo is happy, I’m happy.” He turns to Theo, holding his gaze, clearly trying to get a message across. “About all of it.”
I don’t know what all of it is, but I have a feeling Theo opened up about school last night. He nods at his dad, and I put my arm around him and kiss his temple.
There’s a chorus of awws before Tom clears his throat. “Better finish this food. You gonna make the cinnamon rolls or what? We can eat those afterward.”
“Yeah. I’ll make them,” Theo replies, and while everyone starts cooking again, I lower my mouth to his ear.
“I’m proud of you, Puppy.”
And damn, I want to make him proud of me too.
We have an awesome morning with Theo’s family, and he does, in fact, make the best cinnamon rolls known to mankind. Seriously, he could sell the damn things and get rich.
When it’s time to head back to San Luco, I don’t want to leave. I was so nervous about coming, but they couldn’t have been more welcoming, loving, and accepting.
Carrie pulls me into a hug, tightly, the way my mom always does. “Thank you for coming…and for making our boy happy. He told me how you help him…the reading and things. I…don’t have the words for how much I appreciate that.”
I close my eyes, breathe her in, wish my mom were here, meeting Theo, the way I’ve gotten to meet his family. “I’ve never really wanted to make anyone happy the way I do him,” I admit, my throat feeling full. That feels a whole lot like admitting I’m in love with her son. The fear I felt before at the thought of being in love, about giving myself to someone that way, is smaller than it used to be. It’s still here, but Theo is working his magic on it just like he worked his magic on me.
She squeezes me again. “I hope you’ll come home with him next time.”
“Absolutely.”
We finish our goodbyes and get into the car. As soon as he’s driving away, I turn to him. “I feel like I missed a lot while I was sleeping.”