“Guess what?” he asks.
“What?”
“You get to sleep with Daddy tonight in his big bed.”
“Yah!” she chirps, her eyes lighting up. “But why do I have to sleep in your bed?”
Over Aria’s shoulder, his eyes shift to mine for a moment before going back to her.
“Because we’re going to let Jules have your bed for now,” he explains.
She frowns. “But why isn’t she sleeping with you?”
When Theo looks back at me, I drop my eyes away. I hate knowing I’m taking Aria’s bed away from her, but the thought of sharing a bed with Theo has my stomach churning with nerves.
“I can sleep on the couch,” I offer.
“No,” Theo states firmly. “She’ll be fine in my bed for a few days. Won’t you, squirt?” She giggles when he tickles her ribs. The sound has my lips twitching.
“Yep.” Turning her head, she says. “You can even sleep with Mr. Waffles.”
She points to a stuffed giraffe lying on her pillow. I smile and give them both a nod.
Theo puts Aria down. “Go brush your teeth and hop in bed. I’ll grab your blanket and be in there in a few minutes to tuck you in.”
She runs to the door, then stops and turns to look at me with her gorgeous eyes. “Good night, Jules.”
My heart melts at her childlike, sweet voice. “Good night, Aria.”
She turns and skips out of view. Reluctantly, I look back at Theo. He’s standing with his hands shoved in his pockets, a small smile playing on his lips.
“You doin’ okay?”
I get up from the bed and walk over to him, stopping in the doorway several feet away.
“Yes. I hate to take away Aria’s bed. I really don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”
He reaches out, and I lock my knees in place when he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear.
“You’re not sleeping on the couch. It’s either Aria’s bed or mine.”
I swallow and drop my eyes from his intense ones. Theo intimidates the hell out of me, especially when he looks at me with an expression that says he’s holding something back. The look has been getting stronger and stronger over the last couple of weeks.
“I’ll sleep in Aria’s bed,” I mumble.
I lift my eyes when he chuckles. “Okay. We’ll give it a few days and see how you feel then about moving to my bed.”
I nod, but know deep inside it’ll be more than a few days before I feel comfortable enough to share his bed.
He walks past me to Aria’s bed and pulls off her pink Strawberry Shortcake blanket. “I’ll grab you another one from the closet. There’s a bag in the hallway that has some more clothes that Ella brought over. There’s something to sleep in in there. When I get paid this weekend, we can go shopping and get you some clothes.” His hands tighten in the blanket. “Unfortunately, I can’t afford the high-priced clothes you’re used to.”
“It’s okay, Theo. I’m sure whatever we get will be fine.”
He comes to me and stops way too close. The blanket in front of him brushes against my stomach, and the knuckles of the hand holding it touch just below my breasts. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but I still don’t like it.
I take a step back and jump when I run into the doorframe. He sees the move and frowns. “Jules,” he murmurs, closing the short distance between us again. “There’s no reason to be scared of me.”
I clutch the bottom of my shirt and nod. I freeze in fear when he leans toward me, like he’s going to kiss me. I don’t understand this irrational fear he instills in me.
I squeeze my eyes closed when I feel his breath brush against my mouth. My head thumps against the wood behind me and my hands automatically lift to push him away. The blanket is still between us, thankfully, separating his body from touching mine. Even so, I don’t want even his lips touching me.
I know I can simply turn my head away to prevent him from kissing me, but something stops me from doing so. It’s like I’m frozen in place, unable to move. Although I don’t want him to kiss me, I’m scared of what he’ll do if I rebut him.
When his lips finally touch mine, I make sure mine are tightly closed, telling him without words that I’m not comfortable with the kiss. His lips are wet as he feathers them across mine. It leaves me feeling dirty and wrong. When his tongue darts out to run across the seam of my lips, I can’t take it anymore, and I turn my head away. His head lands on the side of mine. Feeling his heavy and hot breath rush across my neck has a wave of nausea forming in my stomach.
“I’ve missed you so much,” he groans into my ear. “I’d never hurt you, Jules. I just wish you’d give me a fucking chance.”
I flinch at his harsh words and try to push back further into the wall. A sob tries to work its way up my chest. That’s the problem, I don’t know if he would hurt me or not, because I don’t know him. But the thought of him doing so scares me more than anything. Not because of the actual pain he would inflict, but because that means my judgement of him was so off seven years ago. I know in my heart I wouldn’t have married him if I didn’t love him, so to find out that love was misguided would be devastating.
I open my eyes and see Aria standing in the doorway leading into Theo’s room. Her eyes are wide and there’s no masking the pain and confusion in their depths.
I press against the blanket, trying to push Theo back, but he doesn’t move.
“Please, Jules,” he whispers. “I’d do anything for you.”
I turn my head slightly and keep my voice low when I say, “Please step back, Theo. Aria’s in the hallway watching.”
I can practically hear his teeth grinding together as his jaw clenches. I’m surprised to see anger come over his face. I’m even more surprised by the tone of his voice.
“Aria,” he says harshly. “I told you to get in bed. I’ll be in there in a few minutes.”
Her already wide eyes turn to saucers. They dart from Theo to me, back to her father, before she turns and runs into the other room, slamming the door behind her.
Anger surges through me at the way he just spoke to Aria. It burns in my stomach because I know she’s already uncertain of me, and Theo has made that uncertainty grow.
When I push him again and he still doesn’t move, I know I’m taking a big chance when I reach for his side and twist the skin. My bravery grows when I hiss, “Move back.”
“Fuck,” he mutters, dropping the blanket and rubbing his side. His eyes narrow, and the look sends shivers across the back of my neck. “What the fuck was that for?”
I shove back the panic coursing through me at my bold move and tell him icily, “Your daughter was in the hallway. She didn’t need to see that. You wouldn’t move, so I made you.”
“Yes, and I told her to go to the room. We weren’t finished.”
“Yes, we were.”
Something dark and ominous enters his eyes for a split second before it’s gone. His face softens, and his gaze turns regretful. “I’m sorry.”
I remain rigid but give him a curt nod. When he takes a step toward me, I stiffen, and this time he stops.
“This is just so hard on me, Jules. I lost you for years, and I didn’t think I would get you back. It’s killing me not touching you.”
Guilt plagues me, because I know this isn’t easy for him. He remembers our time together. He remembers all the touches and looks and softly spoken words. It was him who went through the emotional pain of the accident, I’m sure leaving him feeling helpless because there was nothing he could do.
“I’m sorry,” I croak, tears clogging my throat.
“Don’t apologize. All I ask is for you to give me a chance. I know I can make you love me again.”
“Okay.”
We stand there in silence with several feet separating us for a moment, before he bends to grab the blanket.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Jules,” he states. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”
“Good night, Theo.”
He brushes his hand against my cheek. I hold still and wait for him to walk away before releasing a painful breath.