“And you should stay away from my husband,” she said in a snarly voice, loud enough for everyone in the cafe to hear. Nora looked up at the people who were looking at her from the corner of their eyes. A few of them were familiar locals and she colored deeply. Grabbing her coffee cup off the table, she clenched her jaw at Violet…debating whether to say more. Then she decided against it, turned and stormed out of the cafe.
She rushed to her dad’s parked car and got in, banging the door shut behind her. She sat, breathing hard for a few moments, trying to regain her composure. As much as she hated Violet and as embarrassed as she was, the truth was that Theo was somebody else’s husband. Bound to her by law if not by love. And she had slept with him.
Nora started the car and drove to the hospital, furious and embarrassed the whole way and now regretting her decision to remain in town a while longer. Now that some time had passed since that fateful night, she was beginning to realize that there was no hope for Theo and her and that she should be anywhere else but here.
Chapter 19
She brought her dad back home four days later, and it had been nearly a week since she last saw Theo. Nora could sense that he had been avoiding her. Every time she left the hospital and returned, her dad said that Theo had visited him. It was almost like he’d been keeping an eye on the hospital to make note of when she wasn’t going to be there, so that he wouldn’t have to bump into her.
Now that her dad was back in the house, Theo had practically no choice but to see her again. Nora opened the door when he knocked that evening, and he was standing on the other side with his hands thrust into the pockets of his jeans.
Nora felt a wave of emotions when she saw him. She was relieved and excited to see him, instantly aroused by just his sight and at the same time she was embarrassed and angry.
“Hello, Nora. You look well,” Theo said in his usual deep smooth voice which prickled her skin.
“Hi,” she replied meekly and tucked some of her blond hair behind her ears.
“How is Andy?” he asked, stepping into the house and Nora closed the door behind him. She was in a loose navy striped t-shirt and was wearing small denim cutoffs underneath. She noticed how his eyes travelled down her legs and back up again. He couldn’t help himself, just like she couldn’t help staring at him either. Now she knew exactly how his body moved, how his skin felt against hers, the strength in his grip…she gulped.
“Dad is fine. He’s in his bedroom now, with the TV on. The doctors have advised him to take it easy for a few days,” she said, following Theo into the living room.
“You’ll have to enforce the rules around here,” he said with a casual smile and their eyes locked and Nora looked away. She couldn’t stop herself from blushing while he stared at her, drinking her in.
“Nora, I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you these past few days,” he said and she shook her head, trying to make him think she didn’t care as much as she did. “But I needed time away from you to think and clear my head. Do you understand?” he spoke like he was speaking to a child and Nora glared at him. She didn’t need him to explain what was happening. She knew already!
“I spoke to your wife. Or rather, she spoke to me,” Nora said and folded her arms over her breasts. She noticed the way he followed her movement and his gaze settled on her breasts for a moment and then he looked away again.
“Violet spoke to you? Where?” he asked, crossing his brows.
“We bumped into each other at the cafe and she insisted that we have a little chat,” Nora said and Theo took in a deep breath.
“What did she say?” he asked and Nora could already see the rising anger in his eyes.
“She suspects that something happened between us on the night that dad had his stroke. And she threatened me to stay away from you,” Nora said and saw that Theo was now clenching his fists and his jaws. He was pissed off.
“She is vile,” he said through gritted teeth and shook his head. “I’ve lost count of how many men she’s slept with over the course of our marriage,” he said and Nora’s eyes grew large. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.
“Violet’s cheated on you?” she asked and Theo threw her an angry look.
“At least a dozen times, as far as I know,” he replied and Nora felt confused again.
“And you both are still together!” she said and Theo gritted his teeth.
“I keep forgiving her and she keeps begging for forgiveness. Not that what happened between us is somehow all right just because Violet cheats on me,” he said and Nora gulped. She could feel her heart beating fast, her knees feeling weak. What gave him the right to be this righteous? Why couldn’t he for once do what felt right and not what he thought was the right thing to do?!
“Theo…I…” she began to say, with a tear rising in her voice and he threw her another threatening look.
“I’ll deal with Violet, don’t worry. I’ll make sure she never harasses you again, Nora,” he said in a kinder voice and she shook her head. Facing harassment from Violet was not the problem. The problem was that she didn’t want to stay away from him. The past four days when she didn’t see him was torture, and he didn’t seem to understand.
“Okay, but…” she tried to say again but Theo interrupted her.
“You don’t have to worry, Nora. I’m sorry about all this,” he said and stepped towards her. Nora’s heart raced in her chest as she anticipated being in his arms again. She stepped towards him too and when they were inches away, they heard footsteps on the stairs.
“Theo, is that you? Come look at the tray of medications I’m supposed to be taking!” her father’s voice blew in and Theo backed away from her.
“Be right up, Andy!” Theo called out, keeping his eyes locked with hers. She bit down on her lip, suppressing a cry of anguish as she watched him walking away from her.
“Take care of yourself, Nora,” he said before he left the room.
She sank down on the couch. The very one they had made love on and she could hear his voice upstairs as he laughed with her father. She covered her face with both hands as she tried to think what the best thing to do would be. Leave, that would be the best option.
Chapter 20
Mr. and Mrs. Miller came to visit her dad at the house the next day, and while her husband was upstairs chatting, Juliet Miller came down to the kitchen to help Nora with the coffee and cookies.
“How are you doing, Nora?” Juliet asked, and Nora smiled and nodded her head.
“I’m fine, thank you, just glad that dad is recovering so well,” Nora replied and when she turned around, she found the older woman staring at her with narrowed eyes. She could sense that something was up, but the fact didn’t strike her immediately.
“Nora, I want you to know that you can confide in me. I know you’ve always felt the absence of a mother in your life, but it would make me very happy if you felt free to talk to me about anything,” Juliet said and Nora crossed her brows and then shook her head.
“Thank you Juliet, for the offer I mean…I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, arranging the cups on the tray. Juliet stepped closer to her and placed her hands on Nora’s shoulders, peering into her eyes.
“You can tell me honey, if you’re going through something,” Juliet insisted.
“I’m fine. Dad is fine and I’m not worried anymore,” Nora said, staring back at the older woman.
“Not just about your dad, about anything that you might want to talk about,” Juliet said and Nora tried to think about what she was actually getting at.
“Do you want to ask me directly what you want to know?” Nora said and Juliet rubbed her shoulders affectionately.
“I’ve been hearing the rumors, but I wanted to speak to you directly…you know how rumors spread in a place like this,” Juliet continued and realization hit Nora.
“What kind of rumors are you talking about?” she asked and Juliet sighed.
“Apparently there was an altercation between Viole
t and you at the cafe?” she replied and Nora rolled her eyes and tried to wriggle out of her grip.
“Okay, what are they saying?” she asked, turning back to the counter to open the box of cookies. She heard Juliet sigh again.
“That Violet was angry…about something,” she said and Nora felt the back of her neck beginning to burn with fury.
“About what?” she prodded Juliet, who she knew was bursting to talk about it but was trying to pretend to be prudent.
“About Theo for some reason,” she said and Nora whipped around to face her.
“You can go ahead and ask me directly, Juliet,” Nora snapped and she noticed the visible look of shock on the other woman’s face. She had clearly never expected Nora to lose her temper so quickly.
“Okay, are you sleeping with Theo, dear?” she said, and pursed her lips like she was expecting the juiciest gossip. Nora let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. This was exactly the reason why she liked to stay away from this place, there was no chance of privacy.
“I don’t think that is anybody’s business, Juliet,” she said, glaring at her while Juliet tried to avoid looking directly at her.
“Well, we are all like family here, dear, and I would feel very guilty if I didn’t warn you or have a talk with you. That is what your mother would have done and what she would have wanted her friends to do,” Juliet said and Nora rolled her eyes again. She turned back to the counter and started arranging the cookies on the plate.
“I don’t know my mother, so I have no idea what to do to please her,” she said in a low voice and she felt Juliet place a cold clammy hand on her shoulder.
“But I knew her, dear, and I want to step in on her behalf. Sleeping with an older man…someone who is your father’s friend, who knew you since when you were a child…it’s just wrong, honey,” Juliet said and Nora shrugged her shoulder away from her touch.
“I didn’t say that I’m sleeping with him. You’re making that assumption based on some rumors and I’m telling you that it is none of your business,” Nora said curtly.
“Well, that is not what your father will think if he found out. He won’t think it’s none of his business,” Juliet said and Nora whipped around to her again.
“Are you threatening me?” she asked, glaring at the older woman and Juliet shrugged her shoulders.
“No, honey…I’m just trying to look out for you,” she said.
“And Theo is your friend too, have you tried having this conversation with him as well?” Nora asked and Juliet’s face colored slightly.
“I wanted to come to you first. Theo is a man, men do things sometimes without thinking about the consequences,” Juliet said and Nora scoffed impatiently. She couldn’t believe how small minded people in this town could be, but then what else did she expect?
“Juliet, you’re lecturing me about something that you don’t even know to be true or not!” Nora snapped.
“And I’m asking you if it’s true or not!”
“I don’t have to tell you that!”
The two of them had raised their voices by now, and when Nora realized it, she dropped the decibel.
“Please just leave me alone, Juliet. My personal life is none of your business and if you want to discuss it with my dad, when he’s trying to recover from a stroke…that is your decision to make,” she said, which rendered Juliet speechless for a few moments.
“Your reaction to this is very telling, Nora,” Juliet said in a much colder voice than before.
“The coffee’s gone cold now, I’ll have to make a new batch,” Nora said, ignoring her statement and Juliet huffed at that, before turning and walking out of the kitchen.
When she was gone, Nora leaned her forehead against the cupboard and pressed her eyes close. She was certain now that everyone was going to find out, and it wouldn’t have bothered her this much if her father wasn’t included in that group.
Chapter 21
Jack called her the next day, while Nora was watering her father’s plants in the front yard. He had given her very specific instructions on how to take care of them while he was incapacitated and she was trying to follow them closely.
“Are you back in New York?” Jack said.
“My dad had a stroke,” Nora told him.
“Oh Shit! Is he all right?” Jack said, and she got the sense that he was running on a treadmill or something. He was huffing and panting as he spoke to her.
“He’s recovering, but I’m going to have to stay with him for a while,” she said and Jack didn’t sound too pleased to hear that.
“That’s no good to me. I was going to ask you to join me on a double date tonight. You’ve met Lucas right? He’s madly in love with some girl he wants me to meet, and I was thinking you could come so that it wouldn’t be too awkward,” Jack explained and Nora sighed.
“Lucas is madly in love?” she asked and she heard Jack laughing.
“Yeah, or so he says. I’m sure it’s just a phase and he’ll get over it in a few weeks,” he said and Nora couldn’t help but feel her heart ache a little.
“Why would you think it’s a phase? Is he incapable of falling in love?” she asked him and she heard Jack sigh.
“I really don’t want to have this discussion with you again, Nora. There is no such thing as love,” Jack said and Nora dropped the hose from her hand, to concentrate on this conversation.
“So what do people feel when they want to spend all their time with their partner? When they want to marry them and start a family?” she asked and Jack sighed irritably again.
“Friendship and affection and I don’t know…like they’ve found an ideal partner to raise a family with? I’m not sure, Nora,” Jack said and she bit down on her lip hard.
“You’re not sure because you don’t feel that way about anyone…about me,” she said and she heard the electronic beep of him shutting off the treadmill.
“Every time I call you these days, Nora, all you want to talk about is soppy stuff. What is going on with you? You should probably come back to New York,” he said and she could hear the laugh in his voice. This was all a joke to him.
“It’s not soppy stuff if it’s important to me, Jack!” she quipped.
“It wasn’t important to you a few weeks ago, before you went home,” he said, hardening his voice.
“I think I need some time away from you,” she said to him.
“You’ve already spent a lot of time away from me,” he replied with another hearty laugh.
“No, I mean that we need to go on a break,” she told him.
“Don’t be silly, Nora. We’re just having a discussion,” he said.
“I’m not being silly. I think we want different things from life and we should recognize that and just move on,” she said.
“Are you breaking up with me?” he asked, seriousness entering his voice now.
“Breaking up what? We didn’t have a thing to break in the first place, did we?” Nora asked, gripping the phone tightly to her ear.
“You’re over reacting to this whole thing. Just come back to New York and we can talk about it properly.”
“When I do come back to New York, I won’t be letting you know. Goodbye, Jack,” she said and cut the call.
When she looked up, she saw that Theo was standing at the gate of the house, with his hands in the pockets of his dark pants. Nora’s cheeks colored because he had caught her arguing with Jack again. She admired the way his chocolate brown hair was swept back neatly from his forehead, the lines around his mouth as he grinned at her softly. His green eyes were sparkling as he stared at her. He was strong and masculine and knew what he wanted. She had always been in love with him, and trying to hold a relationship with anybody else was just a futile exercise. He could make her come just by staring at her.
“I’m glad you did that, Nora. For your own good,” he said in his deep voice and she cradled her cell phone in her hands.
“It’s no big deal,” she said, squeaking the wo
rds in a soft voice. Theo took a step on to the pebbled path and Nora felt Goosebumps erupt on her skin. Every minute away from him was torture.
“You shouldn’t make the same mistakes I did. You deserve healthy loving relationships,” he said, piercing her with his glare and her cheeks flushed. She didn’t care what she deserved or didn’t, she wanted him.
“There is no mistake that can’t be rectified. It’s never too late,” she said, finding the courage in herself somewhere to say the words. Theo stared at her, like he was actually thinking about what she had said, and then he sighed.
“I’m here to see Andy,” he said, like he didn’t want her to think that he was there to see her.
“He’s upstairs,” Nora said, her heart sinking a little at the thought of them being separated again. She wanted to cling to him for dear life.
“He called me and asked me to come,” Theo said and Nora nodded her head and smiled.
“He relies on your company,” she said but he wasn’t smiling.
“He asked me to bring you upstairs with me when I arrived,” he said and Nora’s heart dropped to the pit of her belly. They were staring at each other, the color draining from her face as she did. This could only mean one thing and she wasn’t prepared to face it yet.
Chapter 22
Andy was sitting propped up in bed with a magazine open on his lap when Nora and Theo came into the room. He dragged his spectacles off his face when he saw them and Nora noticed the grave look on his face.
“How are ya, Andy?” Theo asked, walking around the bed to the other side, while Nora lingered near the door. She was afraid of them being able to hear her heart beating out of her chest. She wasn’t prepared to have this conversation with her dad, especially not now when he was still recovering. There was no telling how this could affect his heart.
Nora couldn’t believe that Juliet…or possibly a different friend had told him this rumor in the middle of his recovery.
Single Dad’s Plaything: A Single Dad First Time Billionaire Romance Page 79
