Page 49 of The Lies Of Omission (Without Limits #3)

I pulled him down onto the bed, into me, against me.

We didn’t speak for a long time. We just breathed each other in.

Held on. Clung to what could be, what we hoped we’d be.

This wasn’t about sex, just closeness. Connection.

Raw and honest. It was proof we were still here.

Still real. Together. Silently vowing to stand and fight for each other.

“I’m moving out,” Theo said quietly, lips brushing my ear.

“Out of my father’s house. That place…it never felt like home.

For the few hours you were there, I felt what a home was meant to be like.

I want that, something—somewhere—that does.

” I tensed. “And when you’re ready,” he added, “I’d love for you to move in with me.

” Silence. Thick and heavy drowned my lungs.

“I’m not saying now. Or next week. But one day. When you’re ready. I’ll wait.”

I nodded against his chest, my voice too broken to answer.

Too overwhelmed because a home of my own where someone loved me for me was all I’d ever wanted.

The broken little boy inside me cried in relief that he could finally stop fighting.

A shuddering breath slipped past my lips and I tasted the salt of my tears on them with the tip of my tongue.

Theo understood my silence as I processed everything he’d said and just held me tighter. Pulling me closer as if he could bury me right next to his heart and keep me safe.

“Okay,” he whispered. “We’ll table that for now.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Maybe… let’s just eat.”

Theo smiled as my stomach let out a loud, undignified growl. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he said, laughter soft in his voice.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text. “Thalia and Claire are back, by the way.”

I blinked. “When did they leave?”

He looked sheepish. “Earlier. I asked them to give us space.”

“Oh.” I swallowed. “That’s… weirdly considerate.”

He chuckled. “They don’t hate me. I think. Claire might still be deciding.”

My lips twitched despite myself. “She’s a tough one to crack.”

“Yeah,” he said, glancing at me with a sideways grin. “But I was hoping… maybe we could all eat. Together. If that’s okay?”

It was more than okay. It was terrifying. Exciting. Exactly what I needed.

“Takeout?” I asked, already imagining greasy boxes of Chinese and too-salty soy sauce.

“Obviously,” he said, grinning like the sun. “I’m not sure if I’d trust you to cook.”

I snickered into the crook of his neck, letting myself lean there for just a moment longer. That moment of levity—of unfiltered joy—was exactly what the doctor ordered. I kissed him softly, letting my lips linger.

Because I was still starving. But not just for him—for this. This life. This possibility. This strange, terrifying, beautiful thing we might be if we just stopped running.

Maybe I wasn’t ready. But maybe I didn’t need to be. Because this time, I wasn’t turning away. I’d stopped running. And now? Now it was my turn to stay.

The food arrived first—cartons of dumplings, crispy noodles, spring rolls, and more orange chicken than four people could possibly eat.

Thalia came back into the room first, eyeing the spread like it was a trap. “This some kind of apology dinner? Or are you just trying to bribe us into not kicking your ass?”

Theo, to his credit, laughed. “Definitely the second one.”

Claire appeared next, hair pulled into a high messy bun, a skeptical eyebrow already arched. She looked from the food to Theo to me.

“You all good now?” she asked, arms crossed.

“I’m working on it,” I said quietly.

Claire tilted her head, then nodded slowly. “Alright. But if he breaks your heart again. We—” She pointed between herself and Thalia. “—will not be held responsible for our actions.”

“God,” Theo groaned, rubbing his temples. “That’s…that’s fair, but just for the record, I don’t intend to ever hurt him again. I want to spend the rest of my days making him happy.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Thalia smiled at me, squeezing my shoulder before grabbing some tequila and shot glasses.

Pouring one for each of us, she lifted her and toasted.

“To Sin and Theo, for finally getting his head out of his ass and realizing what was right in front of him this whole time.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Claire said, downing her shot and keeping her eyes locked on Theo in warning.

We all sat on the floor, circled around a low coffee table that had been filled with the remains of the junk food and empty wine bottles but now bore the glorious burden of shrimp lo mein and wonton soup.

Thalia cracked open a fortune cookie, squinting at the tiny slip of paper. “It says your stubbornness is your strength. That feels dangerously close to an insult. I’m feeling called out right now!”

“It’s a personal attack,” Claire said, digging into her food. “Eat it anyway.”

Theo handed me a spring roll, our fingers brushing. Electricity skittered across my skin, making me shudder. He smiled a devilish smile and licked a drop of sauce off my lips.

It wasn’t the smile he wore at galas or in front of cameras. This one was crooked. Unpolished. Real. It was reserved only for me.

“So,” Thalia said, leveling her chopsticks like weapons across the table. “What’s your deal, Astor?”

Theo blinked. “My… deal?”

“Yeah.” She took a bite of chicken. “What do you do when you’re not kissing Sin and looking like emotional roadkill?”

I almost choked on my rice. “T?—”

“No, it’s okay,” Theo said, holding up a hand, his laugh a little self-conscious. “I, um… I used to read a lot. Still do, when I can. Mostly history. And I was on the sailing team in college.”

“Sailing?” Claire echoed, unimpressed. “So you’re rich, and you wear white shorts on purpose.”

Theo grinned. “It was a phase. I have photos.”

“Oh, we’ll definitely need to see those,” Thalia said, cackling as a blush stained his cheeks.

I leaned back, watching them banter. Watching him loosen up.

Watching his walls fall as my friends welcomed him into our little group.

This version of Theo—the one who could laugh at himself, who could admit he was scared, who didn’t try to wear perfection like armor—was the one I’d fallen for.

And finally, they were starting to see him too.

“Do you really like him? Like, like like him?” Claire asked after a beat, looking Theo dead in the eye.

“I do,” Theo said without hesitation. “I think I always have.”

Claire was silent for a long moment, then nodded. “Ooo he’s smooth.”

A quiet settled over the room as we ate, soft music playing from my speaker, the city breathing outside the windows like it didn’t even care that something was quietly healing here in our little corner of it.

Eventually, Thalia yawned and declared she was taking the last egg roll and going to bed. Claire followed after her, muttering something about needing to recharge her social battery. Which was her code for sex and that things might get loud.

That left me and Theo alone again, surrounded by empty cartons and crumbs and the distant echo of the girls’ laughter from behind their door.

He looked at me, something raw in his eyes. “I didn’t think they’d give me a chance.”

“They didn’t,” I said softly, nudging his knee with mine. “But you earned it.”

We sat there, the glow of the room dimmed but warm, and for the first time in weeks, I felt full. Full of food. Full of hope. Full of him.