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“Oh?” Her nose crinkled and he fought every urge in his body to lean forward and kiss it.

He smiled and let every feeling he had for this woman shine through. Maybe it was the whiskey-laced tea or maybe it was this day spent in good company or maybe it was all the memories this trip had dredged up, but Theo was feeling brave. “I thought the woman could be you.”

“Me?” The word was no more than a squeak.

“Who else?”

“Theo—” There was a warning in her voice, a warning not to hurt her again. He hated that she needed to warn him, that he deserved the doubt written across her face.

“Fee, I’m serious.”

“Maybe they did drug the tea,” she murmured, her eyes wide. They were back to her original brown and even in the semi-darkness, Theo could see the amber around the center.

“Just hear me out.”

Whiskey and love and utter recklessness flooded through his veins, but he couldn’t stop himself. Couldn’t it be as simple as this? Couldn’t it be that he wanted to be with her, that he only wanted to be with her. That he couldn’t imagine a day without her by his side? That he was so tired of running from this.

Maybe he just needed to convince her that he could do it. That he could be with her and not fuck it up this time. That they could be more to each other. He’d been a broken man the last time they’d shared a bed, the last time he’d wanted to kiss her and hold her and tell her she was his.

But he was different now.

He could do this.

“I propose a trial period.”

“A what?”

“A trial period.” He tugged her closer until he could count the freckles on her nose if he wanted to. As if he didn’t already know there were thirty-two sprinkled across it and spilling onto her cheeks. “We’re still search party teammates. Unless you want to bail now?”

She shook her head, her short hair rustling against the pillow. “I don’t want to bail.”

Theo blew out a sigh of relief. “Okay, then. So, we have to be together and we’re both undeniably attracted to each other,” he said with a wink.

Phoebe rolled her eyes, but a small laugh escaped her anyway.

“Let me show you that this could work. That we could work.” There was an edge of desperation in his voice that he couldn’t hide. Suddenly, after a decade of avoiding this exact moment, he was hurtling forward and he couldn’t stop himself. Like he and Fee had been balanced precariously on the edge of a cliff, and he had just tipped them over. If Fee agreed to fall with him.

Her lips twisted to the side. “Why now, Theo? After all this time. I thought⁠—”

Why now? Why now?! Because he couldn’t fucking stand it anymore. He couldn’t keep his hands off this woman anymore. He was done trying.

“I know I’ve hurt you. I know I’ve screwed up so many times, but me and you, we just seem … inevitable.”

“Inevitable.” She breathed out the word. “Theo, I can’t⁠—”

“Just until we find Lena.” He sighed and tipped his head toward hers. She met him halfway and she leaned her forehead against his. “Let’s just stop fighting it. For now.”

“That’s an awfully short trial period,” she said, a small smile tipping the corners of her mouth. Theo couldn’t help the grin spreading across his own face.

“We can always extend it, if you’re satisfied.”

Her smile grew. “What would it even look like, this trial period?”

“Whatever you want it to look like.” He wrapped a hand around her back and tugged her closer until her soft little body was flush with his. “More touching, I would imagine.”

Phoebe’s laugh was low and breathy. “Still trying to get in my pants even after all these years?”

Theo let out a low growl as Fee wrapped a leg around his hip, notching them together. “Christ, Fee,” he gasped.