"Were you a good girl?"

I jump when I hear Theo's baritone voice right behind me and spin around to look up at him. "Fuck, Theo!"

He takes a step back to give me some room and holds up his hands in an unthreatening gesture. "Sorry. I thought you would have heard me come in."

"I didn't!" I state the obvious with a glare while reaching up to brush some sawdust out of his hair.

"Sorry," he apologizes again. A small smirk crosses his face while I continue to tousle his hair about. "How about I go shower before you make a complete mess of my kitchen floor?"

"I'm making the mess? You're the one coming home like you just got back from a rave where the glitter was made of wood."

He laughs and steps toward me to brush some of the sawdust off of his head and into my hair. "Here, have some man glitter."

"Stop it!" I attempt to shove him back and his laughter stops immediately.

"Sorry." He steps further away from me this time. "I didn't mean to get in your space like that."

I feel bad for my overreaction and step to the side to gesture to the pot on the stove. "It's okay. I just didn't want sawdust in the food. Are you hungry?"

His tense expression slightly eases but there's still an awkward heaviness between us. "Tell me this isn't the first thing you're eating today. It's already almost eight, Milia."

I roll my eyes at him and turn back to the large pot of chicken parmesan pasta to give it a stir. "It's not. I ate some other things."

"Like what?" he asks in an unconvinced tone.

"Some cheese, some chicken... A piece of onion. That's three food groups, Theodore."

"So... you munched on some of the ingredients while you were cooking?"

I glance back at him to find his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. "What's with all the questions? Go shower, Woody."

He continues to scowl at me but I'm almost certain I see a hint of amusement in his eyes.

I raise an eyebrow and take a step in his direction. "Do you need help?"

His scowl changes to a look of confusion. "Help?"

My hands grip the bottom of his shirt and I give it a small upward tug. "Getting ready to shower. You seem to be having difficulties."

He starts to chuckle but the sound is quickly replaced by a sharp intake of air when my fingers brush against his lower stomach, just above his belt buckle.

And fuck, it's a nice stomach. It's not as flat and defined as the men I've been with but I can feel the muscles beneath his skin when he tenses at my touch. My fingers move to toy with the hair peeking out from the waistband of his boxers and jeans and without meaning to, I voice my thoughts. "Damn. Are you hairy everywhere?"

"Um, no," Theo mumbles quietly, then tries to correct himself, "Well, I mean, yes? I guess so, but, uh, no..." He stops talking to grip my hands, ceasing my little exploration. "Yes," his voice comes out strong and clear now that he's moved my hands from his body, "I'm basically hairy everywhere. And no, I do not need help getting ready to shower."

I grin up at him but the scowl on his face stays in place.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Milia," he scolds as he takes his own advice and releases my hands.

My grin falls as embarrassment replaces my amusement. What the hell am I doing? You can't just start undressing a guy in his kitchen, Emilia!

But then Theo leans down to speak directly in my ear, his warm breath creating a delicious shiver through my spine. "I thought I told you to be a good girl, Princess. I did say that, didn't I?"

I nod my head dumbly, and Theo brushes his nose against the sensitive spot just below my earlobe while breathing in deeply.

"Hmm, yeah, I thought so," he muses quietly. "You've given me a lot to think about... I'm going to go take that shower now."

"Okay," I breathe out the word as he steps away from me, then watch his ass in those well-fitted jeans while he walks out of the kitchen.

How the fuck does he always seem to turn things around on me? Maybe I need to up my game...

----------

"This is amazing. Thank you for feeding me." Theo shoves another forkful of food into his mouth. With the way he's been eating, I'm a little surprised he took the time to say anything.

"Well, it is your food. I just tossed a couple of ingredients together." I watch him take another bite. "Maybe I should be the one asking you if you ate today. You're eating like you were starving."

"I ate plenty. I just worked up an appetite."

"I'll bet you did... Good shower?"

His fork pauses before entering his mouth this time and a sly smile touches his lips. "It was, yeah." His eyes linger on my face and his smile grows. "Perfect after a long day."

As much as I want to fish for details, something about what he says sticks out to me. "Rough day?" I ask, trying to sound casual while I wonder if Owen said something to him about my drunken night at the bar.

He shakes his head and places his fork down on his plate. "No, it wasn't bad. It's just... Cal called me. Did he end up coming here?"

"Shit. I completely forgot that I told him we would talk today."

"So he didn't come?" Theo looks a little surprised.

"No. Was he supposed to?"

Theo shakes his head. "No, he wasn't. I told him not to. I'm just surprised that he listened to me."

I frown at his answer. "What? Why did you tell him not to come here?"

"I didn't want him to bother you. He was in a mood and I had to talk him down. I was worried that he was going to come over here—"

"And what, Theo?" I interrupt as I pick up my plate and fork and walk them back to the counter.

He's quiet for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure what I did wrong here."

"You don't get to decide who does and doesn't talk to me!"

He remains sitting in his chair but doesn't seem interested in eating anymore. "I know that," he replies calmly, "but I had told you that no one would bother you here and I knew you were tired. I just asked Cal to give you some time. I figured you could talk to him when you went back to their place. You're going back there soon, right?"

My frustration dissipates into mortification. I had completely misunderstood him this morning when he told me I could stay as long as I wanted. "Yeah. I am," I manage to say in a bored tone, "I'll go right now."

Theo sighs. "Milia, I wasn't trying to tell you to leave. Stay for a bit. I think I have some ice cream." He gets up from his chair to walk to the freezer, and I take my opportunity to escape.

Of course, it doesn't take long for Theo to notice I've left the kitchen. He comes into the living room after me, just in time to see me pick up my bag off the couch.

"Milia, I didn't mean to upset you. Could we..." He fades off when he notices me carrying my backpack that I had retrieved earlier today after I watched Cal leave his place with Emy. "Why do you have... Oh."

"I just misunderstood you this morning. Don't worry about it, Theodore." I try to keep my voice casual though I feel anything but. This is so embarrassing.

"No! No, you didn't," Theo says quickly, walking toward me to grip my bag. "I said to stay as long as you like. So if you want to stay, of course, you can."

"You didn't mean I could move in! I don't know why I took it that way. I was hungover and wasn't thinking clearly, but it's fine. I'll just—"

"Milia, please." He gently tugs on my backpack to take it from my hands. "Stay. Really. I think it's a good idea. This way you can stay in touch with Cal but still have space from each other. It'll be good for both of you."

"And what about your space? You don't need your brother-in-law's crazy ex staying with you. It's stupid, Theo."

He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't need space. I'm basically working all the time and rarely home anyway. I can set up the spare bedroom for you and I'll hardly notice you're here. I don't mind, Emilia." He studies my face while he waits for my answer, then adds, "And as far as I'm concerned, Cal is the crazy ex in the equation. I mean, you've met the guy. He's hard to top."

Despite myself, I can't help but smile at Theo's last comment. "You have a point there."

Theo grins back at me. "So you'll stay?"

I shrug my shoulders. "I guess so. I really should go talk to Cal though."

Theo swings a strap from my backpack over his shoulder. "I'll get your room set up."

"Thanks, Theo." I have the sudden urge to hug him but I keep it to myself. "You know, you're not so bad when the stick is out of your ass."

Theo chuckles. "I'm just doing it for the home-cooked meals. You'll keep those coming, right?"

I nod my head quickly. "Of course. I can do that."

Theo frowns now with a puzzled look on his face. "I was joking, Emilia. I don't expect you to cook for me."

It's my turn to frown. "I thought you liked the pasta."

"Yeah, it was great. But you didn't have to make it."

"So do you just want me to clean or something?"

Theo frowns again, then awkwardly smiles. "You're messing with me, right?"

"No, I'm not. I don't have any money, Theo, and I realize I need to earn my keep somehow so—"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Milia. I don't want anything from you. You're not putting me out here or anything. You can stay without any strings, alright?"

I hesitate to accept this. There are always strings. If he doesn't want me to cook or clean, what does he want me for? Is it because of my flirting earlier? Because it had mostly been all talk... I'm not exactly ready to jump into bed with someone right now and I don't know when I will be.

"Stop doing that," he says in a quiet voice while gently resting his hand on my shoulder.

"Doing what?" I mumble absentmindedly while my brain continues to spin.

"Thinking so much, trying to find my ulterior motive. You won't find one, except maybe that I want a little more peace in my sister's life."

Right. He's doing this for April. That makes sense. It's an answer I can work with. "Okay. Well, thanks again, Theo. I'm going to go find Cal now. Wish me luck?"

He steps toward me to wrap his arms around me but waits for me to sink into his embrace before he pulls me close. "Good luck, Milia. Don't let him be an asshole, okay? Just tell him to shut up and come straight back here if he raises his voice at all."

I suppress my chuckle by pressing my face into his chest.

If I listened to Theo, I'd probably end up back here before Cal managed to get five words out, but I'm not worried. Cal Jones doesn't scare me.