Page 114

Tom, Gil and Kev were also nowhere to be seen.

“Where is everyone?” he asked Macy when she returned with his food.

She shrugged. “Believe it or not, they do go home every now and then.”

Theo huffed a laugh.

Macy was watching him.

“What?”

“Dolores says you broke up with Phoebe.”

Theo choked on his drink. This was why he avoided town. Now he had people knowing his business. Humans.

He was used to his entire fucking family knowing what he was up to, but not a town full of … of … strangers.

Although, by the way Macy was looking at him, she already didn’t consider him a stranger. She leaned toward him conspiratorially, like they were … Theo swallowed his sandwich … friends. What the hell?

“She’s really cute,” Macy said with a knowing smile. “I had a crush on her for a while, actually.”

His first instinct was to act like a jealous asshole at that statement, but it was nice to have someone else to commiserate with over the particular torture of pining after Fee.

“I’m going on a ten-year crush on her myself.”

Macy’s brows rose. “I think maybe that’s more than a crush.”

He laughed. “You’ve got that right.”

“Why’d you break up?”

“We were never together in the first place.”

Macy wiped her hands on the dish towel over her shoulder. “I saw you. You looked like you were together.”

“Yeah, well. Looks can be deceiving.”

Macy nodded like she understood completely. “The next ginger ale is on me.”

“Thanks.”

“You bet. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“I think it might be my fault,” he blurted out before she could walk away. He’d pushed Fee away for years, too afraid to try and make her happy. Too afraid of being the failure he knew he was.

And yet, she always came back to him. Even when he was afraid she wouldn’t. His Phoebe always found him again, even when he fucked around with every other woman under the sun. Even when he pretended this thing between them didn’t exist.

Goddamn it. What was wrong with him?

Was he that fragile that he couldn’t handle Fee choosing something other than him?

He hadn’t even let her explain.

“Oh?” Macy said, eyebrows raising higher like she already agreed that it was probably his fault before he’d admitted anything else.

“Yeah. She lied to me, and it made me so⁠—”

“Scared?”