Chapter Sixteen

"And have you—?"

"I booked the flights last week. Which I told you at the time, remember?"

Theo drummed his fingers on the other side of Lexie's desk, where he was standing, looming over her. "That wasn't what I was going to ask."

Lexie cocked her head. "Oh no?"

The drumming fingers stopped for a moment. Then, "Fine. I was just checking. Usually Ange books them, so forgive me for wondering—"

"If I'm capable of booking two seats on a flight to Spain on the right day without any hiccups?" She waved a hand in the air when he opened his mouth. "Ange has enough to do, which I told her. So consider looking up flights and clicking the ‘Buy Now' button just another of my many talents."

The drumming fingers started again. "You need my full name. And passport details."

"I know that," Lexie said idly, clicking on another link she'd found detailing all that was to offer at the Fiesta de San Isidro. The problem wasn't going to be finding enough to fill a weeklong holiday—it was going to be trying to figure out what the best parts were, and how to really make the guests feel like they were getting to know the city through the tradition. "I went upstairs while you weren't looking, broke into the flat, and rummaged through your bedside table drawers until I found it." She gave him a sly look. "You really ought to consider what you keep in there."

His eyes narrowed, and she let out a half laugh.

"Relax, T-Rex. Ange gave all your details to me."

He gritted his teeth at Ange's nickname for him, then ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles. "OK. Well, good. Tea?"

She looked at him, like he might be pulling a trick on her with the friendly gesture, but he only raised his eyebrows in question. "Ah, sure. Can I have—"

"Lots of milk, two sugars. I know."

"How do you know?"

"I observe."

She didn't comment on that, not quite sure if she should be suspicious. He got to his feet, stretched. His T-shirt rose a fraction with the movement, exposing a line of very toned-looking stomach. She snapped her gaze away immediately, looking back at her computer screen and getting up the Word document for the itinerary for Madrid.

"Although you really shouldn't have so much sugar in your tea."

She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Because I'm sweet enough?"

"Because the man at the shop where I buy most of my groceries is starting to think I have a serious sugar addiction and I'm pretty sure he's going to report me to Sugar Anonymous any day now."

Lexie let out a snort of surprised laughter. His lips twitched in response and something warm lit his gaze, a sign that he was glad at having made her laugh. She felt a little flutter at that, though she tried to shove it back down where it belonged.

Harry saved her from thinking too deeply about it by calling out, "I'll have a tea too, my man, if that's OK. A green one, if you've got it."

Lexie went back to pulling together what they'd already decided on for Madrid, trying not to track Theo's movements out of the office. She looked up automatically when the front door opened. Her hand went dead still on the computer mouse. The woman came inside a little tentatively and brought one hand up to run it through her curls—curls that were so similar to Lexie's.

"Hi!" Harry bounded over in his puppy-like fashion. "Can I help you?" There were no holidays to theme his outfit around at the moment, but that didn't mean he hadn't tried. Given they were talking a lot about the Madrid trip these days, his current tie was bright yellow-and-red stripes in honor of the Spanish flag. Lexie had asked him once where he got his ties from, and why he had so many, and he'd just nodded along and said, "I know, they're cool, aren't they?" proving that his habit of not actually answering questions was not limited to customer inquiries.

Lexie realized she was still frozen at her desk and ducked, nearly smacking her head into her computer monitor.

"Oh, hi. Sorry, I'm not actually looking for a holiday. I mean, we could all do with a holiday, couldn't we?" Rachel gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry, what I mean to say is, I'm looking for Lexie Peterson."

Lexie had asked her mum, once, why she'd never changed her surname back to her maiden name. And her mum had said that it was too much hassle, that it was just a name—and that, besides, taking his name had meant something, at the time, and that even if it hadn't turned out the way she'd wanted, you couldn't just erase years of your life with a piece of paper. Lexie wasn't quite sure about the latter part, but she did agree with her mum that a name was just that—so sharing her father's surname didn't tie her to him in any meaningful way. Though did Rachel think differently?

"Oh sure," Harry said, and Lexie wanted to groan.

Obviously she was being stupid. She couldn't hide behind a bloody computer monitor—though it had been worth a try.

"She's right over there."

Lexie straightened, trying to look like she'd been bent over for a perfectly legitimate reason, like tying a nonexistent shoelace, or picking up a pen. Then she stood all the way up, because it felt weird to be sitting down as Rachel walked over to her.

Rachel didn't look entirely comfortable either. She was twisting a bracelet on one of her wrists, and her eyes kept darting to Lexie and then away again. When had Lexie last seen her, not counting the funeral? She couldn't actually put a finger on it. She was struck again by the confusing sensation that Rachel was so much older than when they'd last met—and yet still so young. Young enough that it should have been Lexie being the bigger person here.

Lexie tried to work up a smile. She could do this. "Hi, Rachel."

Rachel stopped playing with her bracelet and dropped her hand to her side.

Lexie noticed her fingernails were bitten all the way down, the skin around them red and raw-looking. Had she always had that habit? Lexie couldn't remember.

"Hi." She took a deep breath, and under her denim jacket, Lexie saw her chest heave with the motion. "Look, I'm sorry to barge in like this. It's just, you haven't really been answering and I thought we ought to…well, talk. And I heard that you were working here now, so…"

"Right." Lexie felt uncomfortable heat rush down her spine. "Well, I can't really—"

But she was cut off by the sound of Theo's voice—he had apparently slid in the door without anyone noticing. Lexie was ready to take his appearance as a get-out, explain that she needed to talk to him about something—but he wasn't even looking at her. Instead, balancing three teas in his hands, a grin spread across his face as he looked at her sister. A real grin—one she didn't think she'd seen before.

"Rach!" He strode in, dumped the mugs on the corner of Lexie's desk, then wrapped Rachel in a big bear hug. "How the hell are you?"

Lexie stared at the two of them. He knew her? Of course he did. Rachel and Richard weren't estranged, were they? Something hot and ugly bubbled at the base of her throat, even as she tried to swallow it down. She wasn't even sure why she was feeling like this. But seeing Theo greet Rachel like this, like an old friend, compared to the way he'd treated her when they'd first met…

She swiped her tea—the milkier one—off the desk, spilling liquid over the rim and wincing as it seared her fingers. She cleared her throat and the two of them broke apart, Rachel looking a little flushed, but happy, the edges of Theo's grin still lingering. "I'll leave the two of you to catch up, then," she said, gesturing with her tea to the door, and the back room she was going to hide in. It was childish, to try to escape like this, but right then, she didn't care. Rachel shouldn't have just sprung this visit on her. And Theo—he should have told her he knew her sister.

When, Lexie? In all those heart-to-hearts you have?

"Oh no, wait," Rachel said, her voice quick and jittery, the flush in her cheeks deepening but her smile fading. "It's you I wanted to talk to."

"Right," Lexie said. "But I'm a bit busy just now." She gestured around, trying to convey a general workplace busyness. "Sorry you came all this way."

She hesitated, clocking the way Rachel's face was falling. And tried to push away the guilt.

"Sorry," she said again, her voice quieter. "Another time, yeah?" Another time, when she'd had time to prepare. When she didn't have Theo right here, watching the entire conversation.

She walked quickly, doing her best not to spill her tea in the process. When she reached the back room—and thankfully it was empty—she sank into Ange's swivel chair, cupping her mug between her hands for comfort.

Shit. Was she really that pathetic, that immature, that she couldn't handle a quick conversation with her sister? Her little sister, no less? She glanced at the door. She should go back out there. Suggest they go somewhere else—away from prying ears.

But just as she was thinking it, the door swung open, and Theo came barging in, a scowl already set in place. "What the hell was that about?" he demanded.

She scowled right back at him. "None of your damn business."

"You were so rude to Rachel. She's your sister, and you just completely blew her off."

"I'm well aware of who she is, thanks." But she could feel heat in her cheeks and found herself gripping the mug more tightly.

"I think you should go back out there, apologize."

" Do you, now?" She tried to control the anger curdling in her gut. "Well, thanks for your input. But seeing as how, as mentioned, it's none of your business, maybe you ought to keep your opinions to yourself."

He folded his arms. "She's upset. I know her, and she's trying to hide it, but she is."

"Yes, you know her. I got that." Her voice was a snap.

"What, so now you're upset that I've met her before?"

"Don't be so ridiculous." Was that what she was upset about? It had shaken her, yes. But right now everything felt tangled and she couldn't work it out. One thing was sure, though—Theo clearly knew Rachel well enough to care whether she was upset or not. Whereas, with Lexie, he hadn't cared one bit.

"She lost your dad too, Lexie."

His voice might have been gentler, but hers grew louder. "I know that! For fuck's sake, what are you after here? Don't you ever consider that I might have my own emotions to deal with?" She set her mug down on Ange's desk and got to her feet, suddenly unable to sit still. She started pacing. "Doesn't it occur to you that the reason I can't talk to her is because our dad is gone? And because she had a completely different dad from me, and I don't know what to say to her about that? Because I don't want to make it worse for her?"

She glanced over at Theo to see a flicker of a grimace there. "Shit, Lexie, I'm—"

"But no. You don't think, do you? As usual, you are jumping to assumptions about me, and then blaming me for those assumptions, like I've done something terrible to you, personally."

"I don't—"

"Maybe next time, Theo, you can keep your opinions to your damn self. Maybe you could remember what you said in France—that we don't know what each other is thinking." She stopped a yard or so away from him, folding her arms and mimicking his pose. God, she shouldn't have let herself get drawn in, even for a second—should have remembered the many reasons she did not like this man.

"You're right," he said quietly, the fire in his eyes banking a little. "I'm sorry."

She frowned. She didn't know what to do, when he came barreling in one minute, then apologized the next. "Right," she said. "Well, then."

"I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"Why buck a trend?" she muttered under her breath. But he was apologizing here—and she didn't want to keep arguing. So she lifted her chin, looked him in the eye. "OK, fine. You're sorry."

Yes, great, sound more like a petulant child, why don't you, Lexie?

He took a step toward her, and it seemed careful. "I really am sorry. I just didn't like seeing it."

"Rachel getting upset?" she asked quietly.

"Both of you getting upset."

He kept his gaze on hers as he said that, and she felt her breath hitch, just a little. Found herself remembering what it had been like, to pull him toward her, to feel his mouth on hers.

"But I know it's not that easy," he continued, then shook his head cynically—not at her, she realized, but at himself. "Trust me—despite the incredible lack of judgment I've displayed when it comes to you, I do get the whole complicated family thing. And I have a habit of projecting sometimes."

He took another careful step toward her, and she swallowed. There was only a matter of inches between them now.

"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice no more than a murmur.

His eyes held hers in a way that was both too intense and impossible to look away from. Would it be the same, if she kissed him now? Would it send her blood humming? Already she felt a pull inside her, one that she wanted to deny. What was with this? How could she go from being mad at him to wanting him within the space of minutes? The air between them thickened, and she felt sure he knew exactly where her brain had gone. Seemingly of its own accord, her own gaze dropped to his mouth. When she looked back up, the amber in his dark eyes flared.

Then the door swung open, and the two of them jumped apart.

"Well," said Ange, looking between them. "I'm all for a healthy argument, but poor Harry out there has turned up the music so loud that it's impossible to get any work done, even in the flat." Lexie cringed internally. "Now, Theo," Ange said, turning to look at him sternly, "leave Lexie alone. She's right. Her relationship with her family isn't any of your business, unless she wants it to be." He winced a little. "And Lexie." She gave Lexie a once-over, like she was checking for damage. "I'm all for not bottling everything up, but I doubt you want strangers overhearing you, so maybe take a beat and come back out when you're ready?"

Lexie nodded, and Ange gave them both another glance, before turning to leave.

The door clicked shut behind her, and Theo and Lexie looked at each other again. There was a moment of silence between them. Then Lexie made a snap decision. She grabbed her coat off the hook and headed for the door, Theo moving out of her way as she did so. Because as much as she still wanted to put off talking to Rachel, she didn't like the idea of her hurting. And because, in that moment, running after Rachel seemed like a safer option, all things considered, than staying in this room with Theo.