Page 82 of Under Your Spell

I groan.

‘What happened?’ Theo asks, eyes lit up.

‘She got even more stressed out.’ Lil throws her hands in the air. ‘Who gets more stressed out while meditating?’

‘Okay, you keep saying this, but it was stressful,’ I insist. ‘He said we were going to move through relaxing all the different parts of our body but he started with the top of our heads. How do you relax the top of your head? That’s not a thing! Do you all have secret muscles I don’t know about? I kept trying but it was like the wires weren’t connecting, and then by the time I gave up on that he was already down to the knees and I’d missed a lot of crucial relaxation and I didn’t know whether to just carry on or try and go back.’

Theo is laughing along with my sisters now, and he presses his face into my neck, the gentle huff of his breath warm against my skin. ‘You’re my favourite,’ he says.

‘I’m glad you’re all amused, but there’s nothing strange about being anxious about meeting your…’ – I sift through a list of possible word choices and lose confidence – ‘Theo’s family for the first time.’ The clothes thing probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to them, but I want so badly to get everything right. Things with Theo and me are so fragile that the smallest mistake could send everything crashing towards disaster. At least what I wear is something I can control, and that thought feels like a key in my hand.

‘Look, if it’s worrying you, we’ll sort it out, but I promise that you could turn up in a bin bag and your Theo’s family are still going to think that you are the best thing that ever happened,’ Theo says firmly. ‘And I’ve met all your family and they love me!’

‘That’s true,’ Lil beams.

‘Jury’s still out,’ Serena mutters, but I’d swear she seems to be softening slightly. When Theo grins at her affectionately she barely glares at him.

‘Anyway,’ – Theo slings an arm across my shoulder – ‘we need to get going or we’ll be late.’

‘Right, okay,’ I agree, feeling the nerves really kicking in now. It’s not just meeting Theo’s family that’s freaking me out, it’s that we’re leaving our precious bubble. Together. I have no idea what that looks like.

Going into the real world means that, surely, we are going to have to deal with some of the many, many things that I have been trying really hard to ignore. Things like the fact Theo lives on another continent. The fact that he’s famous. The fact that millions of people want to know what he ate for breakfast (two Pop Tarts, half a bag of Haribo, and three chocolate Hobnobs, because the past six weeks have created a monster and he wanted ‘a last hurrah before it’s all wheatgrass again’). The fact that we haven’t actually discussed any of this.

‘I can hear you overthinking,’ Theo says, taking the bag from me and heading out to sling it in the car.

I want to ask him if he’s thought about this enough, but I bite my tongue. I’m not sure what answer I want.

‘It will be great,’ Lil says, pulling me in for a hug. ‘You’ll have so much fun.’

‘And if you don’t then you can send up the bat signal and we’ll come,’ Serena adds, wrapping her arms around the two of us.

I feel some of the tension leave my body. They’re right; it will be fine. And if it’s not fine, then my sisters will be there.

‘Let us know when you arrive,’ Lil calls, waving as I climb into the car beside Theo.

‘Okay,’ Theo says, slipping his sunglasses on and putting the car into reverse. ‘I have the first episode of that true crime podcast you mentioned, or the next chapter of the audiobook you’ve been forcing on me. I did not think I would be so invested in regency romance, but here we are. That shit is so buttoned-up, it’s sexy.’

I snuggle back in the seat with a smile. ‘I knew it. But maybe we could listen to some music? Something you like?’

‘Really?’ He looks at me in surprise, but he sounds pleased.

‘Yeah,’ I nod as we drive away from the house that has kept us cocooned and safe for the past six weeks. My stomach lurches but I keep my words steady. ‘Maybe it’s time to try something new.’

Chapter Thirty-One

We’re halfway to the hotel when Serena calls.

‘Just wanted to give you a heads up that we’ve had someone poking around outside the house with a camera,’ she says after I put the phone on speaker so Theo can hear.

‘Paparazzi?’ Theo asks, his eyes sliding to mine for a moment. My stomach dips.

‘I think so,’ Serena huffs. ‘He had the requisite darting ferrety features and long lens adored by tabloid trash and perverts alike.’

‘Could have been a bird watcher,’ I say hopefully. ‘There are lots of rare birds around.’

‘My sweet, sweet summer child,’ Serena sings. ‘I love your optimism. Never lose it.’

‘Yeah, yeah, okay. Not a bird watcher, I get it,’ I grumble.