Page 95 of Apparently, I’m Trouble

But then there was the thing he almost said in my apartment. About taking me home to talk to Kira. And the danger of that was even more terrifying.

For a single, painful second, as Theo’s touch burned into my waist, I wished it could just be as simple as this. As easy as two people meant to be together. And it almost felt that way as we walked hand in hand down the street and into the subway.

He pointed out girls holding hands with their moms and told me stories about Kira as a little girl. How she used to run in with picture after hand-drawn picture of ducks just because he’d once told her he liked feeding them.

And if that wasn’t cute enough, he told me about the suit phase she went through after he let her watch Men In Black when she was eight.

“She thought memory erasers were a real thing, and I found this one online. Here.”

I put my head on his shoulder as the subway carriage jostled and stared at a picture of a gap-toothed Kira wearing black sunglasses and a pantsuit, holding a carbon copy of the silver memory eraser from the now-ancient hit movie. The way he talked about his daughter was almost brain-melting.

His grip was strong as he led me out of the subway and through the city streets. We jostled shoulder to shoulder with other New Yorkers on our way to Wrinkled Pages.

I sighed in relief as the bookstore’s glass doors closed behind us and let go of Theo’s hand long enough to lift my hair from my sweaty neck.

“Hotter than Satan’s taint out there, isn’t it?”

He snorted a laugh out through his nose. “Let’s find this book so I can get you out of here.”

I went straight to the New Releases table, where book after book sat side by side in a series of bright colors.

Theo’s weight pressed into my shoulder as we searched for the book I wanted, until someone bumped the table on their way to join the long line of people waiting by the back of the shop.

“That’s probably the line for the signing,” I said, watching Theo stretch to his full height as he scanned the queue.

“It’s long,” he grunted.

“Are you here for the Arlena Brandowe signing?” gushed a nearby adorable sales assistant in black-rimmed glasses. “You can join the line if you want a copy of her new book. I don’t think she has many left.”

I groaned. I didn’t think the line would be this long. And there were so many romance readers. I wanted to do something nice for Lilly, but what if they tried to talk to me about their genre?

I said as much out loud, and Theo raised his brow. “I’m pretty sure you’d enjoy that.”

I scoffed and playfully nudged his arm. “Excuse me?”

He gestured to the queue. “I know you don’t read the books, but after what you told me about the universe, I’m pretty sure you’re as into this as they are.”

I straightened as a few gorgeous women talked excitedly amongst each other in the line, glancing nervously at Theo as they did.

Ah, crap. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was fighting a losing battle, and I liked this genre more than I wanted to admit.

“Well, it’s not like I have much of a choice anyway.” My grumble was a bit put on, so I whipped my hair for emphasis as I stalked to the back of the store.

Theo laughed, then came to join me. He kissed me softly, and the woman in front of me sighed. When I looked at her, she was practically swooning.

“All right, all right.” I poked Theo’s chest. “You have to go to the thriller section.”

He looked confused. “Why?”

I lowered my voice. “Because you’re distracting me.”

“I like distracting you.”

I tried to give him a stern look. “If you keep kissing me, we’ll hold up the line.”

His chuckle was low as he shook his head at me, but he did what I asked, giving me another heart-meltingly soft kiss before he made his way across the store.

The woman in front of me flicked her glance in my direction, and something about the way I watched Theo leave made her do a double take. “You miss your boyfriend already?”