Page 9 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

But because I caught my reflection in the boutique mirror on the way to Jimmy Choo, and I wanted to see something new hanging off my arm.

The bag was fire. It matched the shoes I bought perfectly—a deep emerald with gold hardware. Plus, the clerk recommended a matching wallet.

How could I refuse?

€ 5,600.

Stop Five: More shoes.

Six-inch Louboutins. A strappy black Versace heel. A pair of pink Pradas I swore I wouldn’t put on once I walked out of the store (but I lied).

€38,900.

As I passed Hermès, I spotted a gorgeous Faubourg Joaillerie watch.

Swiss-made, diamond-set white gold dial with pink sapphires.

And I fucking needed it. Let’s call this stop number six.

“Excuse me,” I asked the lady at the desk. “Is the watch in the window for sale?”

She looked me up and down and puckered her lips. “That watch has a waitlist. And it’s sixty-five thousand euros.”

Oh, I didn’t like the way she looked at me.

“Hm,” I tapped Theo’s card on the counter as I pretended to mull it over. “Waitlist, huh? How disappointing.”

Her eyes glowed when she saw that black steel I tossed around casually.

“Well,” she grinned when she realized her mistake. “Maybe we can work something out!”

Too late.

“No, that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to upset your other clients. Thanks for your time!”

And I turned and walked out before she could reply.

Bitch.

I shook off the lingering feeling and held my head high at my other victories.

€110,750.

Spent in under five hours.

Not bad.

Last Stop (And this one’s a freebie): Lunch.

A rooftop restaurant overlooking the coast, with a linen napkin on my lap and my phone facedown beside an expensive bottle of cold rosé. I ordered grilled octopus, truffle risotto, and a side of bread I didn’t even touch.

€625.

I sat alone at a table set for two. And somehow, that hurt more than the empty bed.

From my purse, I pulled out my camcorder, the one I’d carried since I landed. The lens cap was long gone, and the record button stuck sometimes, but it still worked. I flipped it open and aimed it at myself, angling to catch the terrace behind me, where the breeze gently moved the trees.

“First day!” I said, smiling a little for the camera. “Solo lunch because Theo’s working.”

I shrugged. It wasn’t meant to be an accusation.

“He’s got a lot going on. Can’t expect him to stop working cause I’m here, right?” I paused, feeling the dread in my throat as the lies I fed myself left a sickening aftertaste. Shaking that off with a cleared throat, I lifted my glass in a mock toast. “So, to responsibilities!”

Random Voice: And loneliness.

Please. Just go away. Can’t you see I’m ignoring you?

I took a sip of my bitter, expensive wine, making it a point to get it in the shot. Then turned the camera to the bowl of risotto in front of me, showing that too.

“I told myself I’d make the most of this trip.” I turned the camera to show the view: cobblestone streets just beyond the iron railing, a couple laughing at a nearby table, the slow crash of the sea. “And I mean—it’s not the worst place to be alone.”

I set the camcorder down on the table, facing me, and it continued to record. Somewhere deep down, I hoped he’d watch this later. That he’d see I was trying. That even without him by my side, I was still holding space for him.

But still… I wish he were here.

I couldn’t cry. Not when the view was too beautiful to ruin.

Instead, I picked up my phone, opened the camera app, and took a photo of myself—a soft smirk, sunglasses lowered just enough to show my eyes—and sent it to Theo without a caption.

He called almost immediately.

So much for being busy.

I answered on the second ring, lifting the phone to my ear with the same energy I held my wine glass—light, casual, completely unbothered.

“Where are you, Sweetness?” he asked, voice low, almost amused.

“Out to lunch,” I replied breezily, “enjoying the views.”

There was a pause. “I’m guessing you’re upset with me?”

Of course I am, dumbass!

“No,” I said simply. “I’m not.”

“Hm.” Another pause. “Is there a particular reason you decided to spend a hundred thousand euros today?”

“You told me to cheer myself up,” I said, swirling my wine with one hand while balancing my phone with the other. “I took your advice.”

He let out a short laugh. “Last night, you asked me if fifteen hundred on a dress was too much. But today, a hundred grand is just a casual swipe, huh?”

“Need me to return them?” I challenged, raising a brow even though he couldn’t see me.

“Not at all,” he said quickly. “I’m just calling to check on you.”

“I’m good.”

I heard him exhale before his tone softened. “You still enjoying lunch?”

“I am,” I lied. And I knew he could tell.

“Hm. Well, I’m back in our room for a few minutes,” he said after a moment. “If you’ve got some time… maybe we can talk for a bit before I head back to work. I think I owe you an explanation for last night.”

I looked back at the view. As good as it was, I realized it was worthless without him here to enjoy it with me. All this shopping and vlogging felt empty without my Teddy, and the idea of being in the room with him for a few minutes felt better than hours spent looking at the Mediterranean Sea.

I turned the camcorder off.

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

˙???˙

When I walked into the suite, Theo was on the couch, elbows on his knees, head bowed like he’d been waiting for me to come in and say I was done.

What was eating at him like this?

I dropped my shopping bags at the door and toed off my new pink Prada heels, the silence between us growing thick before either of us spoke.

He looked up. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “I always do.”

He nodded in amusement. “Come sit.”

I hesitated before walking over, settling on the opposite end of the couch.

Not too close. Not too far. Enough to let him know I was open but curious.

He watched me carefully. “Last night… I messed up.”

I didn’t say anything, I just watched and waited.

“I wanted you so bad it scared me,” he admitted, voice low. “And then I started thinking too much. About us. About the distance. About Marcus.”

I blinked. “So you are upset about the call.”

“I didn’t want to be. But yeah.” He leaned back, scrubbing a hand down his face. “I trust you, Carmen. But I can’t deal with him calling you whenever he feels like. Not when you’re not even working for him yet.”

“You could’ve just asked me about it,” I said quietly.

“I know,” he sighed. “I just—I didn’t want to start a fight. I was afraid I’d say something stupid, and you’d get back on that plane.”

I looked at him. “Do you really think I’d come all the way out here to leave after one night?”

“No,” he admitted. “But it’s been three years, Carmen. We’ve been holding on so tight, and I think I’m scared we’re not the same people anymore.”

“We’re not,” I said honestly. “Of course, we’ve changed. I’m not twenty-two anymore, Theo. This distance has been hell. But you can tell me when things happen.”

He stared at me like he needed to hear those words more than he realized.

“I think we’ve both been walking on eggshells,” I went on. “Trying so hard to make the most of the little time we get that we’re afraid to be honest in case it ruins it.”

Theo gave a small nod. “Yeah. That sounds about right.”

I leaned my head back against the cushion, glancing at him sideways. “I didn’t come here to argue. I came because I missed you, and I wanted us to feel something good again. Okay?”

Theo looked at me, his features softening as he nodded. “Okay.”

“Let’s start again. Clean slate with honesty.”

“Okay,” he repeated.

I tried to build the courage to tell him of my reasons for talking to Marcus, but he cut me off first, rubbing his palms together.

His shoulders tightened just slightly before he spoke.

“In the spirit of being honest,” he said slowly, “there’s something I need to tell you. And… It’s probably going to upset you. It’s partly the reason I didn’t want to have sex yesterday.”

I shifted to face him fully, heart thudding, and my own confession lost. “What is it?”

He exhaled hard.

“Remember my birthday?” he asked. “When we had that discussion on FaceTime about me feeling stuck?”

I nodded, lips parting but unsure of what to say. “Yeah… I remember.”

Theo ran a hand through his hair. “It messed with my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterward, and I—I panicked. So I made an appointment and got it reversed.”

I blinked. “You… got what reversed?”

“I reversed the vasectomy,” he said quietly, watching my face carefully. “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone. But it felt like something I needed to do.”

Random Voice: Oh, hell no.

My mouth went dry. The idea of him doing something like that without telling me… was…I couldn’t find the words to describe this feeling.

“Theo—”

“I’m thirty, Carmen,” he cut in gently, voice firm but very vulnerable. “And I know we’re still figuring things out, but I can’t pretend like the future’s not in the room with us every time we talk. I want something permanent. With you.”

I stared at him, eyes searching his face. There was no bravado in his tone. Just the raw, human truth of a man trying to do the right thing before it slipped through his fingers.

But it didn’t make it right.

“Theo…you should’ve told me,” I said, the edge in my voice sharper than I expected. “Something like that—it’s not just about you. What about me? I just graduated! I spent seven years of my life studying for my career. I haven’t even started my job yet, and you—you— ?Haces algo así sin discutirlo! ”

He cocked a curious eyebrow at my outburst. “Your dad teaching you Spanish still?”

I breathed out deeply as I tried to control my temper and nodded shortly.

“How is he?”

Terrible. But I’ll fix it. This is about you!

“Still very sick and still very much in jail. So he can’t help you escape this conversation.”

“I know,” he said quickly. “I know. And I’m so sorry, Carmen. I’m not trying to pressure you into anything. I just… I’ve been thinking a lot. About where this is going. About what we really want.”

I pulled back slightly, sitting straighter. My heart was still pounding—not with anger, but with overwhelm. The words he’d dropped at my feet weren’t small. They came with expectations, consequences… a whole shift in trajectory.

“You think I haven’t been thinking about the future too?” I asked, folding my arms loosely across my chest. “I want a life with you. I do. But I’m not ready to be a mother yet, Theo. Have you forgotten? We’re still doing long-distance.”

His eyes dropped for a moment, then lifted again, filled with guilt. “I didn’t mean to put more pressure on you.”

“But you did,” I said, softer now, because I didn’t want to punish him. “You did. And if this is where your head is, I need to know that before you make appointments that change both our lives.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re right.”

I sighed, brushing a hand through my curls. “Look, I love that you’re thinking long term. I love that you see a future for us. But that future has to be built together .”

“I hear you,” he murmured, reaching for my hand again. “Really.”

I studied him for a minute longer. “Good. Because I want to enjoy this trip and in order to do that, I need you to stop making solo decisions about our lives like you’re the only one in the relationship.”

“I will,” he promised. “I swear.”

“And you better start buying condoms,” I added dryly.

His eyes widened—then he laughed, low and sheepish.

“Yes, Sweetness.”