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“I was already awake,” Theo replies.

“But how did you…how did you know I was even out here?”

“I got a notification on my phone from my doorbell camera…”

“Oh.”

I start to ask him why he was up so early, but one look at his thick biceps gives me my answer.

He’s so disciplined that he wakes up early every single morning to work out an hour before heading into the office.

“Come inside,” he says as he takes my hand. “I’ll make you breakfast while you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. “I know I should’ve called first.”

“It’s fine, Maggie,” he says. “Let’s just get out of the rain.”

Then the front door opens again.

A tall blonde appears wearing one of Theo’s T-shirts.

My entire body goes even colder.

Natalie.

Oh. Right. How could I forget the on-again, off-again girlfriend Theo’s been seeing for a year?

Maybe because Theo never, ever talks about her.

I thought they were still in the off phase, but apparently not.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Natalie mutters with a roll of her eyes before she turns around with a huff and storms back inside.

“Ignore her. She’s not a morning person,” Theo remarks.

I start to say that she’s not an afternoon or night person either, based on the previous times I’ve been in her company, but I hold my tongue.

This time she has every right to be annoyed with me.

And I feel even more foolish for showing up here unannounced.

I dig the heels of my sneakers into the wooden porch and pull my hand away from Theo’s. “I should go get a hotel room. Maybe we could meet for lunch if you have time today?”

Theo drags a hand through his damp hair. “You’re not getting a hotel.”

“Teddy—”

“Maggie.” His voice softens slightly. “You can stay here in my guest room, however long you need while you’re in town,” he says when he grabs my wrist and pulls me inside the house.

Another half-laugh, half-sob slips from my mouth. “You might want to reconsider that offer since I’m not going back to Charlotte. Ever.”

Theo stops in the dim foyer to look at me. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

He exhales slowly and says, “Okay,” before leading me to the kitchen.

I take a seat at the bar while he starts pulling out a skillet and ingredients, giving me time to decide what I want to say.