Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love - Kim Fielding Page 0,66
of the dresser drawers. He stuck his hand inside and emerged with...a plush toy. “For you. Also on sale.” He handed it over.
It was a very soft bear with an earnest expression and a three-piece tweed suit, a red heart embroidered on its chest. “It’s adorable.”
“It’s you. You know, Teddy. Bear. Teddy bear. And I can see you in that outfit.”
Teddy stroked the bear with one finger. “And my ears do sort of stick out like this.”
“I like your ears.”
Setting the bear atop the box of chocolates, Teddy gathered Romeo into a crushing embrace.
If they hugged hard enough, maybe Teddy wouldn’t hear the nagging little voice in his head—the one reminding him that this couldn’t possibly last.
Chapter Nineteen
They had to pack in a hurry and wolf their breakfast, but they made it to the curb just as Dave pulled up in the Rolls. He wore his usual inscrutable expression as he hoisted their luggage into the trunk. Once they were all in the car and had pulled into traffic, Teddy couldn’t remain silent. “I’m sorry about your dinner last night.”
Dave laughed. “It’s fine. I like pizza.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“It would’ve been worse if Joyce or I had tried to fix dinner. Ron’s the only one of us who can cook. Joyce can sometimes manage toast successfully, but I’m not even allowed to make tea. Not after the time we had to call the fire department.”
Dave’s admission didn’t help Teddy’s situation, yet it made him feel a little better nonetheless. “I’m glad you didn’t starve last night.”
“I had two of your tarts for breakfast. They’re pretty good.”
Romeo held Teddy’s hand for the remainder of the ride.
The airport was a madhouse, with a long line to check their suitcases and another to get through security. By the time they weaved through the crowds to get to their gate, it was almost time to board. Romeo was visibly nervous as they stood there, scratching his lip and shifting from one leg to the other, so Teddy leaned in close to whisper. “If we were zillionaires and had a private plane, I’d suggest we join the mile high club.”
As he’d hoped, that made Romeo relax a bit. “Probably not advisable on this flight, huh?”
“Probably not.”
Miraculously the plane wasn’t quite full and they again ended up with an empty seat in their row. Teddy sat by the window and Romeo by the aisle, and they lifted the armrests between them so they could scooch slightly into the center. No crying children or harried parents this time, although Teddy was glad they’d sat near that family on the way to Seattle. It had given him his first look at Romeo’s real personality.
This time they had peace and quiet and a flight attendant who winked when he saw them holding hands.
“I still have some drink tickets from last time,” Romeo said.
“You want to order something?”
“Not really.” He cocked his head at Teddy. “You going to tell me what Joyce said this morning?”
Teddy hid his face in his hands. “Do I have to?” he whispered.
He’d known Romeo would ask eventually. Romeo knew Teddy had spoken to her. But it had been nice to hide his head in the sand for a while and avoid the subject.
Now, though, Romeo was waiting, and it wasn’t fair to keep him hanging. Teddy uncovered his face and twisted his fingers in his lap. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
They sat there. Teddy pretended to look out the window, but there was nothing to see except clouds. The inside of Teddy’s head probably looked just like that—gray and featureless and unpromising. At least that’s how it felt right now.
Romeo tapped Teddy’s thigh. “No parachute.”
“Yeah.” Heaving a sigh, Teddy turned to him. “Joyce is going to back the project. She thinks it’s a clever idea, and apparently Dave, who’s the family tech guy, told her the software concept is solid. They went over the specs we left them.”
“That’s really good news. So why do you sound like you’re delivering a funeral announcement?”
Lungs, do your thing. Deep breaths, in and out. That worked okay, but his tongue remained stuck in the back of his throat, threatening to choke him. Or maybe Romeo would choke him for drawing this whole thing out. Shit.
“Joyce says that based on what Dave has told her, you’ve done a fantastic job with the software. She thinks you’re smart, diligent, and innovative—those are exact quotes—and that you have a promising career ahead of you.”
Romeo gave Teddy’s knee a squeeze. “Again with the nice words and the gloom-and-doom