Well Suited (Red Lipstick Coalition #4)(61)

But I continued, “You two believe in the same kind of magic, so it works. For me…well, it’s like an atheist trying to date a Lutheran. Doomed from the start. But Theodore and I are on the same page. We’re partners. We believe in logic and reason, not fairy tales. That’s why we work so well together. It’s all relative to who you’re with and your belief systems. If all the things line up, your relationship will thrive and grow.”

“And you and Theo are thriving and growing?” Rin asked.

I smiled. “We are. He just makes everything easier. And as uncomfortable as this pregnancy has made me, he’s made the whole thing less scary. It doesn’t seem so intimidating.”

“God, I never even thought what it would be like if you were alone,” Rin said.

“It would have been much, much harder,” I answered. “I need a steady hand, and Theodore always has his extended, just waiting for me to need it.”

The three of them smiled wistfully.

“He’s perfect for you,” Val said. “I knew someday, someone would come along and snag you, someone who just got you. Although, I’ll admit, I didn’t think he’d be that tall.”

Laughter bubbled out of me. “Or that handsome. I was sure I’d end up with someone like Eagan.”

“An asshole?” Val asked.

“An intellectual. I think it might actually be a genetic disposition to be smaller if you’re smarter. Easier to route more blood to the brain,” I joked.

“I mean, Theo’s no plebeian,” Amelia added.

“It’s true,” I said. “He’s highly intelligent. I wonder sometimes what he would have become if he’d gone to college. But the truth is, he’s resourceful, and no matter how he got there, he’d have been successful. He and Tommy owe it to street smarts. The school of hard knocks and all that.”

“There’s plenty to be said for that. Some people are just destined to be successful,” Amelia said.

“I wouldn’t call it destiny. I’d attribute it to experience and circumstance, amplified by the Banes’ high testosterone output.”

Val snorted a laugh.

“What? It makes them far more determined and aggressive in their goals and thrill-seeking.”

“And in the bedroom,” she added with an eyebrow waggle.

I smirked. “Yes. And that.”

Amelia leaned in. “Is it weird to have sex when you’re pregnant? I mean…a baby in the room is bad enough, but a baby in the womb?” Her little nose creased.

“She doesn’t know what’s happening, so I don’t really think about it. Although, once she woke up, which was distracting. It’s hard to concentrate when your fetus turns a complete circle in utero while you’re getting nailed.”

They grimaced, laughing off their discomfort.

Val’s smile widened. “I want to know if it’s weird sleeping with twins. Like, do you ever look at the other one and get turned on?”

Amelia and I simultaneously winced.

“They look nothing alike,” I said flatly.

Rin and Val shared a look, but Amelia was nodding.

“Seriously,” she said. “I don’t even put them in the same stratosphere. Theo’s so…well, he’s so serious. And his smile is backward. And his hair is too short.”

“Tommy looks like a savage. I really wish he’d shave his face,” I said. “He’d never be on time if it weren’t for you and Theodore. He couldn’t even order his own groceries without Theo.”

Amelia laughed. “That’s true. He’d drive you crazy.”

Rin and Val just shook their heads.

“You guys are so weird,” Val said. “They are exact copies.”

“Except they’re not at all,” I insisted. “Tommy is the king of the smash and grab, and Theodore is the voice of reason.”

“Which is why Theo is perfect for you,” Amelia noted again. “Maybe someday, you’ll find yourself believing in magic.”

“I don’t need magic to be happy,” I said. “I think I just need him.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Val raised her glass. “To the men we need, even though we’d be damn fine without them.”

And with a laugh and a clink of our glasses, we drank to that.



It was after eight by the time Amelia and I made it home, parting ways on the sidewalk.

I was ready for bed.

I didn’t care that it was too early to sleep—I’d wake up at four in the morning, ready to party. All I wanted were pajamas and my bed and Theo. And not to be standing.

My feet were swollen and smooth, the bones in the top buried somewhere under my skin. I wanted my flats off. Maybe Theo would massage them. I liked when he massaged them very much.

Smiling, I entered the house. Sarah had already retired to her room, and I scanned the room, walking lightly so as not to draw the attention of my mother. She’d follow me around talking for an hour, and after spending the last two hours extroverting with my friends, I was done.

I snuck up the stairs, ears perked for signs of her but found none. Theo wasn’t in the living room or kitchen like he usually was, and I frowned my disappointment.

I’d find him just as soon as I had on loungewear and my feet were free.