Longing for You (Touched by Magic Book 1) (18 page)

“You didn’t give up Ally to go with me. You gave her up because Paula Jacobs threatened you. Don’t blame this shit on me.”

“Then don’t blame your failures on me.”

Their shouting ceased when they heard voices in the hallway. They grew louder as a wave of panic hit Theo. Hopefully, Cassie wasn’t still here. He couldn’t imagine her overhearing any of his conversation with Jonah or popping in to see what was happening. Luckily, the voices grew softer before fading completely.

The urge to punch Jonah remained but lessened. He wasn’t sure if Jonah felt the same. If they did exchange punches, it wouldn’t be the first fistfight they had. Probably wouldn’t be the last either.

After a moment of silence, Jonah cleared his throat and refaced him. “I don’t want to fight with you. We are supposed to stick together no matter what. Family first, remember?”

“Don’t use those empty words on me. They came from a man who didn’t put his family first. His duty to this country was his priority, then his friends, then his family. Or maybe it was just
me
he put last.”

“Dad loves you, Theo. He made mistakes, but so did we. Maybe if you’d go talk to him, you’d see that.”

Theo turned around and walked back to the table where his phone was sitting. He didn’t plan on bringing his father into this conversation. Now that he had, he wanted to escape. “Our father told me six years ago that he never wanted to see me again. I’m only honoring his request.”

Jonah mumbled something under his breath about stubbornness, then his steps sounded behind Theo. His brother wasn’t approaching him. He was moving toward the door. “I gotta go. I have a few things to do before the weekend starts. I’ll get with you tomorrow after we have calmed down.”

As Theo fiddled with the tuners on his guitar, he exhaled slowly and shrugged. “You know where to find me.”

Great. Jonah finally mentioned the weekend, which would have been the perfect time to bring up meeting Ally and Cassie. Now they were both too angry to discuss it. In Jonah’s current mood, he’d be closed to the topic.

The room grew void of sound, but he could sense his brother’s presence. He turned toward the door and saw Jonah standing in the hallway. “Things happen for reasons we don’t understand. Of all the recording studios in the world, we ended up back in Savannah. Maybe there’s a reason. Go see Dad.”

“Enjoy your evening, Jonah.”

His brother scoffed at his remark but said nothing. A moment later, he disappeared from Theo’s sight. It was a predictable end to a shitty day. At least nothing about this night could get worse. He’d be holed up in this room, doing the only thing he could do right. Make music.

Fuck the demo. Thanks to Jonah, he had enough new material to finish his album. He’d work on it tonight. Come Monday, he’d worry about the rest.

* * *

The filing cabinet door clicked closed once Cassie shut it. She worked her way back to her desk and picked up her phone. There was still no text from Ally about tomorrow, even after she promised to give Cassie an answer by five.

For the second time in the past week, Ally was late. Cassie hoped her friend wasn’t monitoring time on the watch Paula gave her. It was a pretty piece of jewelry, but it couldn’t keep time worth a lick. Of course, had it not been for the watch, Ally wouldn’t have arrived late for their date last weekend. They wouldn’t have gone to Midnight Blues or ran into Jonah and Theo. Still, it wasn’t like Ally to leave her hanging.

Tapping the back button, a list of names populated Cassie’s screen, names of contacts that recently texted. Only one of those messages hadn’t been opened, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to read it.

As her finger hovered above the message, she eyed the words
Mr. O
. Mike hadn’t just sent her a text. He’d sent five within the last ten minutes. After the one he sent over the weekend, she could only imagine what the new ones would say.

He was pissed, had been pissed since he woke up Saturday morning and discovered she’d left his apartment. She hadn’t noticed the message he’d sent later that night. Theo had occupied her time and attention.

Mike played the part of a
concerned guy
well, but it didn’t sit well with her. It felt fake. He never texted her before to ask where she was or why she hadn’t spent the night. Of course, she’d never snuck out of his apartment the way she had last Friday. They hadn’t spoken since and she wasn’t certain they would anytime soon.

Allowing her curiosity to have free reign, she tapped the message and opened their conversation. After scrolling past the new messages to the last one she read, she counted twelve total. In the last week, he’d texted at least once a day, twice on Thursday. Add the five he’d sent today and she had a grand total of bullshit.
 

The tone of the messages varied. A few were asking if she was okay. A couple more asked if he did something wrong. Another was his work schedule. When she noticed his hours for today, she read it again. The second glance confirmed the first. He was off work.

Mike rarely took off Fridays. Other than Saturday, it was his biggest tip day. He easily made five hundred dollars, sometimes more if the right band performed.

She’d considered going to see him after work. Of course, she hadn’t planned on working this late. It was probably just as well. She couldn’t handle his mood swings and she sure as hell didn’t want to cuddle. Not with him…

After debating on reading the text from today, she gave in and began scanning each one, but only because she wanted to know why he wasn’t scheduled to work.
 

Hey, darling. I’m starting to think you fell off the face of the earth. Where are you?

I’m still racking my brain, trying to figure out why you’re ignoring me. It’s been a week… What’s up, girl?

Cass… Come on, sugar. Just let me know if you’re okay. Please? I’m on the verge of calling hospitals to see if you’ve been admitted. Text me.

So, the hospitals haven’t seen you, but neither have I. Did you see my schedule? I’m off today. Jimmy needs the extra hours. The owner hates paying overtime. Hit me up and maybe we can hang. Would love to see you.

Okay… Guess you have other plans. Will you please tell me if you’re okay? That’s it. No other expectations. Later, doll ~

Releasing a deep breath, she placed the phone inside her purse then pulled the straps over her shoulder. She’d text him from home or wherever she went once she left the office. It was time to unwind and let the weekend begin.
 

Another glimpse of the clock on the wall reminded her how late she’d worked. The custodian would arrive in an hour to start his shift, and he was a true southern gent, one that could talk for hours. The sooner she left, the better chance she had at not getting held up by one of his long-winded conversations.

There were no clients to keep her here like the other times she’d worked over. Josh left hours ago, as had everyone but Theo. He had to be gone by now. She’d check to make sure then take the back exit to her car.

Once she logged out of her computer and scooted her chair under her desk, she hit the light switch on her way out. She treaded through the hall past a few recording rooms until she reached Studio C. The door stood ajar and a slight tapping noise drifted from room.

She crept around the door and peeked inside. Theo was slumped back in a chair, banging a pen against the table. He stared toward the sound booth, but at what she wasn’t sure.

Something about him seemed off. He was so invested in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed her, even when she entered the room. The past week hadn’t been easy on him. They’d spoken a few times, but he spent most of his time here. Maybe he was avoiding her so she wouldn’t bring up the way he kissed her on Tuesday.

If that were the case, he was right to avoid her because she had plenty of questions. Was kissing her his way of paying her back for doing the same to him on Saturday? He’d mentioned her kiss when they met at the coffee shop. Yet unlike her, he took things a step further. He’d slipped his tongue inside her mouth and rolled it with hers…

Heat erupted in her cheeks as her body tingled. Her nipples hardened at the thought, but the memory was too sweet not to remember. It made her more curious about Theo. If his mouth could make her quiver, she couldn’t imagine what his cock would do.

And the more inquisitive she grew, the more limits she wanted to push.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The desire pooling inside Cassie grew insatiable. She inched further inside the studio, doing her best to ignore the ache deep in her core, but the repetitious throbbing seemed to increase the longer she observed Theo. If she didn’t gain his attention soon, she would do something stupid, like jump in his lap and rip apart his shirt.

Keep your shit together, girl.

She repeated the phrase a few more times, forcing herself to think about more than his body. She needed to know why he was still here. The attraction she felt didn’t stem from lust alone. She genuinely cared about him.
 

They were friends, old friends who were so much alike they could have been twins. He may have carried a bad boy reputation, but she’d seen a side of him that others hadn’t. He cared about people, especially Jonah.

When the pen ceased its tapping, she realized she’d been gawking at him for far too long. He shifted forward and dropped his elbows to his knees. The moment he lowered his face against his palms, she placed her purse on the floor and crept closer. Whatever was wrong, she had to know now.

“Hey.” She kept her voice soft so she wouldn’t startle him. His back straightened then he dropped his hands and faced her.

“Hey. I didn’t know you were still here.”

“Likewise. What has you here so late?”

He glanced at the pen and paper beside him. “Inspiration hit. I’ve been writing songs. I have enough to finish my album. What about you? Why are you still here?”

“I had a few things to finish. It’s been a crazy week.”

“Yeah,” he grunted. “I know what you mean.”

She inched closer, brushing her hip against the edge of the table until she reached him. “What’s wrong, Theo?”

He gazed up. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

“Because,” she leaned closer and examined his face, “you don’t have that normal spark in your eye.”

The corner of his mouth lifted, then he nodded. “Jonah’s been busting my balls all week to finish the demo. The music his contact provided isn’t… my style.”

“What do you mean?”

“It sounds like something geared toward a bunch of teenage girls. I’ve been trying to tweak it enough to fit the band, but I can’t focus.”

“Why not?”

He shook his head and glared in the direction of the sound booth. “I don’t know. Boredom. The lyrics suck.”

It was more than crappy music upsetting him, but she didn’t pry for answers. If he wanted to go into detail, she’d listen. The vibes he emitted said he’d rather not.

A moment later, he rose to his feet and pushed the chair back to the wall. “So, enough depressing shit. Are you ready to put our plan into action tomorrow?”

“I am. Ally hasn’t returned my text about where she and I are meeting, but the night isn’t over. She’s a late night texter.”

“Good… I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to hanging with you again. Saturday was fun. It’s too bad we couldn’t have hung out last Friday.”

“Funny you should mention that.” She hesitated as he lifted his guitar from the floor and placed it inside its case. “I actually came back to the club once Ally was tucked into bed.”

Theo closed the case and pivoted toward her. “You did?”

“Sure did. I’d planned on finding you so we could chat more, but I spotted you leaving through the back door. Your evening appeared to be
full
already
.
”

His brows kinked as if he were confused, then relaxed a few seconds later. “Well, sugar, you kinda ditched me. A couple fans wanted to hang out, so the guys and I followed them to another bar.”

A twinge of jealousy grew in Cassie, but she didn’t let it show. She had no right to be jealous of anyone he spent time with. They weren’t dating and she’d spent part of that same night with Mike. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling.

Theo gathered the papers on the desk and tapped them against the top as he kept talking. “Honestly, we parted ways around one-thirty. I ended up at Jonah’s suite, playing cards with him, Allen, and Jesse until three a.m.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation, Theo. All I wanted is for you to know that I did return. Things happen.”

“You’re right, and we saw each other on Saturday. Now we have tomorrow too.”

Indeed they did, and the closer it grew to tomorrow, the more anxious she grew to see what would happen.

“I assume Jonah is on board with everything?”

Theo continued cleaning up his mess. He didn’t look her way when he replied, “Cass, you should know this by now. I could tell Jonah he was meeting Ally five seconds before she arrived and he’d be on board. That’s why we’re doing this, hot stuff.”

Part of her wanted to call his bluff, but she couldn’t. She was too busy watching him remove his shirt. His muscles rippled as he grabbed the sides and pulled it over his head. After he wadded it into a ball, he tossed it into a black bag under the table and retrieved another.

Though his personality was the same, the one thing about him that
had
changed was his body. The muscles entrancing her were twice the size she remembered. There were more of them too. Guess he’d been busy in the gym while he was in New Orleans. The proof had her biting her lip the longer she stared.

She swept her eyes over each groove separating his abs. Wasn’t she about to ask him something? No… Or did she mean yes? It was hard to concentrate on anything but him. Her mind wasn’t the only thing he consumed. The mere sight of him had her body reacting. She grew wetter the longer she watched him.

Once he slipped the new shirt over his head and chest, he met her gaze. He didn’t hide the grin that formed shortly after. When his cheeks dimpled, hers burned like a cherry red poker. Reality was such a brutal bitch, and her reality showed in the curl of his lips. He knew she was checking him out.