My American Angel (Shower & Shelter Artist Collective Book 6)

by Brooke St. James

  I nodded guiltily, and her eyes got huge.

  "How many?" she asked.

  She was totally serious with that question, and it tickled me. I laughed, shaking my head at her.

  "What? How many? Are you dating? Are you seeing him now? Are y'all in love? I seriously saw him on TV. The whole show was about him."

  She and I stared dazedly at each other for a few seconds. I was thinking back to being in the pool with Theo that afternoon—remembering the way he gently held me close to him and how he kissed me while our faces were still wet.

  "I don't know what we're doing," I said, finally. "It's all happening so fast. I like him and he likes me, and that's kind of all we know. There's no plan. He said his flight was supposed to leave on Monday, and I thought about taking him to feed stingrays tomorrow, but other than that, there's literally no plan. I have no idea what will happen. He might just be in and out of my life after one weekend."

  "Or you might fall in love and marry him," she said. "Can you imagine if you called him up after twenty years and y'all fell in love?" she asked. "You could make another Netflix movie out of that."

  "It already is a movie. That's where I got the idea."

  "What movie?"

  I shrugged. "I don't even remember. I must've seen it when I was really little because I knew about it by the time I was ten. But don't get ahead of yourself. I've only gotten as far as taking him to see the stingrays tomorrow."

  "I'm sure your dad will let you take out his boat."

  "I thought about it," I said. "I might ask him if he wants to go out on the river tomorrow."

  Theo and Colby had set down their remotes so that Will and Zack could move on in two-player mode. Colby and Theo joked about how Will and Zack couldn't handle them, and there was a bunch of good-natured smack talking before Theo headed toward me with a smile.

  "Your brother was asking if I wanted to go fishing tomorrow," he said when he got close enough for me to hear. His facial expression made it obvious that he wasn't opposed to the idea.

  "Do you want to go fishing?" I asked.

  "It might be fun," he said with a shrug.

  I stared straight at him as he approached. It was like a scene from a movie with him walking toward me, smiling the way he was.

  "I think I saw a show about you on Netflix," Katie said from right beside me since she obviously couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer.

  "You did?" Theo asked, coming to stand next to me in the kitchen. He stood so close that our shoulders touched.

  "Is it Shower & Shelter?" she asked.

  "Yep. That's the one," he said with a smile.

  "Are you the guy who started that place?"

  "I am."

  "I saw you tell your story. I remember thinking you were a really cool person when I watched that."

  "Thank you. They showed all my coolest parts on that show."

  "Well, they did a good job because, I was like, that is one cool dude."

  His smiled broadened. "A cool dude," he said. "I like that."

  "Did it get you some business?" Katie asked.

  Theo regarded her like he wanted to answer but wasn't sure what she meant by the question.

  "Did doing that documentary get your company more business? Are y'all selling more art?"

  He nodded. "We are, actually. I didn't go into it with that in mind, but it did have that effect."

  "We Googled you after we figured out who you were, and the internet said you just donated the money to build some massive library."

  "That's in Canada," he said. "It's the same library where I met Caroline. I spent a lot of time there growing up, so it was an honor to give them an upgrade. They needed it."

  "That's amazing," she said.

  "It really is," I agreed. It was the first I had heard of this, and I felt speechless. "Is it the same library I called?" I asked, after taking a second to let it sink in. Theo nodded, and I let out a little uncontrollable laugh. "Well, it's no wonder the guy knew who you were."

  Chapter 10

  The sun had long since gone down, and Katie had been about to put Ben and Jack to bed, so we all thanked my brother for the burgers and cleared out. Will made Theo promise to go fishing with him the following afternoon. He said they'd catch some redfish and bring them home, clean them, and cook them for dinner.

  Will had obviously changed his mind about running Theo off once he figured out he was the same guy from the documentary. Apparently, he had seen enough from the film to judge him as a decent enough guy, and now, instead of giving him a hard time, Will was trying to impress him. I didn't mind. Will was a good fisherman and I knew Theo would have fun. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted him to fall in love with my family so that it would be harder for him to leave me once Monday rolled around.

  "Do you want to go by your house before we go to mine?" Theo asked as we pulled out of my brother's driveway later that evening.

  "No, I think I'll just go to your place since my car's over there."

  "Are you sure you don't want to go pick up Elroy?"

  "He'll be fine," I said. "You're not supposed to have pets there, anyway."

  "Yeah, but Elroy's not gonna do anything. I can talk to Neil and give him a deposit or whatever. He's cool. I can work something out if you want to go get him and take him with us."

  "It's okay," I said. "He's fine in his kennel, and my parents can always go get him if I call them."

  "We can just hang out at your house if you want," Theo said.

  "Yeah, but my car's at your place," I said. I made a right to go to Theo's place instead of a left to go to mine.

  "I guess that matters, huh?" he asked as I drove.

  "Yeah, because once you leave my house, I'll be stuck without a vehicle."

  We had one stop to make on the way to his place, but we talked the whole time, and the drive seemed to take no time at all. I enjoyed driving the Range Rover, and Theo seemed content to ride in the passenger's seat.

  We stopped at the grocery store to get some munchies. He went to the natural food section and got hippy stuff like an apple and granola and smoothies and protein bars, and then he went down the conventional aisle and got a bag of Cheetos and a six-pack of Hostess chocolate cupcakes—the ones with the white swirl on top. He smiled at me as he grabbed that junk food, and said the words, 'just in case'.

  I knew two people at the grocery store. One of them was content to just walk by and wave, but the other was a lady my family knew from way back, and she really wanted to catch up with me. She hadn't seen me in so long that she thought Theo was Justin, and she told him they had met before. It was a little bit embarrassing, but I was able to just kind of laugh it off and get out of the conversation without her saying any more.

  It was 9pm by the time we got back to Theo's place. We parked in the driveway, and we had to walk past the pool to get to the guesthouse. I had seen it before, but I was still stunned by how beautiful it was. The design and landscaping were breathtaking—especially at night. It was like something you would expect at a hotel or amusement park, not in a private backyard.

  "Oh my gosh, how can you resist a night swim in that?" I asked as we walked by it.

  "I can't," he said. "Are you gonna swim with me?"

  "I wasn't planning on it, but it's gorgeous."

  We slowed down to almost a stop as we came up beside the pool—meandering, moseying, barely walking. Theo had the grocery bags, but my hands were empty. I was carrying my purse, but it was really a backpack.

  "I suppose you'd be mad if I jumped in right now and pulled you in with me." Theo said it more as a statement than a question but he looked at me as if to gauge how I felt about it.

  I smiled. "I suppose you'd be mad if you did that," I said. "You have that fancy phone in your pocket, and your cupcakes would suffer greatly."

  He grinned. "How'd you know those cupcakes were the thing I'd worry about the most?"

  I smiled and shrugged. "They're the thing I'm worried about
the most."

  Theo quickly but gracefully set down the grocery bags and then took his phone out of his pocket and set it down beside them. He straightened up, smiling at me like all of our problems were solved.

  "Don't you dare," I said with a little shake of my head.

  He threw his hands into the air. "I thought you said it was just about me, my phone, and my cupcakes?"

  "Yeah, but I have my phone, too," I said, daring him with my expression since he was giving me a teasing grin.

  "Where?"

  "In my backpack."

  "So, put down your backpack," he said.

  I was tempted to argue and say something like I don't have any clothes to change into, but the fact of the matter was that I wanted Theo to pull me into the swimming pool, and I didn't care a lick whether or not I had any dry clothes. As far as I was concerned, we could deal with wardrobe later.

  Without a word, I shrugged out of my backpack and set it next to the grocery bags. The strap had barely fallen from my finger when I felt Theo suddenly sweep me off of my feet and send us both soaring into the pool. I knew it was coming, and yet I was still completely shocked. I shrieked and stiffened up, bracing myself as we fell into the expansive deep end. We knew from our previous swim that we were both confident in the water, so we came up easily and both of us just stayed in the deep, waving our legs and arms just the right way so that we could remain upright with our heads above the surface. It was like graceful dogpaddling, and we just stayed there, catching our breath and smiling at each other. The pool lights continually changed from blue to green to purple.

  "I could get used to swimming in March," Theo said.

  "There's a house for sale right down the road from me," I said. "It's got a pool and everything."

  "How do you know about this house?"

  "I don't. I'm just sure there's a house with a pool for sale somewhere close to me. There are lots of houses with pools around here."

  He grinned at me and tickled me under the water for being so silly. We had been drifting toward the shallow end, and I could tell that he was now able to stand. I swam toward him, and he tugged me toward the shallow, helping me along. Finally, I felt my toe touch the bottom, and then I gained footing taking a few steps. We made our way even further into the shallow, and before I knew it, our shoulders were out of the water.

  He found a spot he liked and stood still, and I came to stand right next to him—about a foot away. He smiled and wiped the water off of his face, so I followed his lead and ran a hand over my hair.

  I felt his hand reach out and grab my arm under the water, and there was nothing I could do to stop the instant smile that crossed my face. He smiled back at me and continued to pursue me under the water. His hand came around the back of my arm, and he used it to gently pull me closer. I felt so swept away at that moment that it scared me to death. It frightened me so deeply that I did the one thing you should never do when it seems like you're about to be kissed.

  I mentioned my ex-boyfriend.

  It was only out of fear that I did it, but I did it.

  "It was a long-distance relationship," I said. "It wasn't at first, but he had to move away for work when we were year into it. He lived in Tampa, and he came home on weekends. He was planning on moving back here once we got married."

  Theo grimaced and cringed when I said that, and I gave him a regretful smile. "Anyway, I found out he wasn't being true to me when he was over there. It was a big ordeal and then there was a huge chunk of my life where I wished I had made completely different decisions."

  "Lots of people have things they would've done differently," he said.

  "You don't." I said.

  He smiled. "Sure I do."

  "Like what?"

  "You," he said. "I wish I had done things totally different with you. I wish that guy never had the chance to waste your time. But if it had to be anybody, I'm glad it was him and not someone who deserved you."

  "I'm sorry for talking about that. I hate that I ruined the moment or whatever, but I just looked at you and I got so caught up with the purple lights and everything, and then it hit me that you don't live here."

  "But I'm here now," he said.

  "Yes you are." I held onto him with a firm grip around the back of his arms near his elbows, and he held onto me the same way, our arms interlocked while our bodies hovered weightlessly in the water.

  "I'm scared, too, if it makes you feel any better," he said. "I don't make personal commitments. Business commitments are one thing. I'm fine with those. It's the personal ones I can't do. Something switched off when my parents died and I was left alone. I didn't realize it was happening, but I think something switched off."

  "You think you can't love?" I asked.

  He shrugged. "It's not just with women. It's all personal relationships. Don't get me wrong. I know a lot of people. One would even go so far as to say I have a lot of friends—but I do maintain a certain level of distance. Lane's probably the one I let in the most. He's smart, and he knows how I operate, so basically he eased himself into being my friend by communicating with me about work. I guess I'm trying to say that I create relationships with a lot of people, but I don't really let anyone in. Does that make any sense?"

  "Yes, it does. And I can completely understand how losing your parents would cause you to be like that."

  "I didn't think I was any sort of way," he said. "I mean, I know I don't really let people into my life in that way. It's just a fact. But I didn't think of it as a bad thing. If anything, I liked that quality about myself… at least until now."

  "It appears we're both a bit out of our comfort zone," I said.

  "It appears we are."

  "I guess the only thing we can do is keep taking it one minute at a time," I said. "One day at a time—just see how things go."

  "What things?" he asked, flirting with me.

  "This thing between me and you. Whatever it may be." I wrinkled my nose at him for making me come out and say it, and then I gave him a sincere expression as I tilted my head at him. "I know this whole thing is crazy. I know today's been a whirlwind. I didn't bring up all that about my past because… What I’m saying is that I know you didn't come down here to try to get into anything long-term."

  "How do you know that?" he asked.

  "I just don’t want you to think I'm trying to call you up and make you come down here, expecting that you'll—"

  I cut off my sentence because Theo touched my lips. He reached up and put his fingertip right on my mouth, making me stop talking. His face was even more irresistible when it was soaking wet. His dark hair was slicked back with water, and I watched as a droplet fell from his hairline and down his forehead. His eyebrow did its job, and the droplet didn't make it all the way down to his eye. I couldn't believe this was my guy from Canada and I was in such close quarters with him that I was able to stare at droplets of water on his face.

  "Stop expecting nothing from me," he said.

  I had been so lost in thought that I didn't even remember what I had been talking about to make him say that.

  "What should I expect from you?" I asked, giving him a teasing grin.

  "You should expect something," he said. "Definitely not nothing."

  Chapter 11

  Theo and I stayed in the pool for about fifteen minutes before deciding to get out. We were fully dressed and soaking wet, so Theo volunteered to get out first so that he could get towels. I was wearing capris and a lightweight T-shirt, so after I dried my face and hair, I wrapped the towel around me as if I had just gotten out of the shower even though I had on clothes underneath.

  There was one bedroom in the guesthouse, and I followed Theo into it so that he could dig through his luggage in search of something for me to wear. He came up with a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.

  "Is this gonna work?" he asked, handing them to me with an apologetic expression.

  As the youngest of three with two older brothers, I was no stranger to wearing
boys' clothes when I was in a pinch. I smiled and took the clothes from him. "This is amazing. I was thinking I was gonna have to wear your jeans."

  He smiled tentatively at me. "Do you want a pair of jeans instead?"

  I laughed. "This is fine," I said, lifting the stack of clothes he had just handed me. "It's perfect."

  I looked around as if searching for somewhere to change, and he pointed toward the attached bathroom. "You can stay in here," he said. "I'll take my stuff and change in the living room."

  "I'll meet you out there in a minute," I said.

  I took a few minutes to adjust Theo's clothes to fit my body (rolling the waist and the cuffs and things like that). I also towel dried my hair and ran my fingers through it. I did my best, tucking and adjusting until I made the most of having wet hair and boy clothes. I looked myself over in the mirror, honest-to-goodness wondering how kissable I would be to him. I wanted it to happen so ardently that I instinctually glanced around the bathroom for some mouthwash. Unfortunately, there was nothing. I dug in my purse in search of gum, but I had no luck.

  There was, however, a Dum-Dums lollypop in the bottom of my purse—three of them, actually. It didn't surprise me that they were in there because we always had them at the store, and I often kept them in my purse as bribery for my nephews. I opened a cream soda flavored one and popped it into my mouth on my way to the living room.

  I didn't know what I would find when I walked out there, but I saw that Theo was sprawled out in a chair. It was an oversized chair with a recliner and he was kicked back in it, staring straight at me when I came out of the bedroom. He was all the way on the other side of the living room, so I just stopped where I was and waved at him.

  "You look comfortable," I said.

  He grinned. "I am comfortable. And you look amazing in that."

  I did a little goofy mascot-style dance move for him to show him how comfortable his clothes were, and he laughed, giving me a slow clap as I bowed, assuming he loved my moves.

  I loved making him smile.

  I stepped closer to him, but I walked slowly, looking all around and noticing the beautiful picture books that were on their coffee table.