Chapter 146

Chapter 146: Ayla I was folding up the clothes from the last drawer of my old dresser when Theo returned with our take-out delivery. He handed me the bag of my favorite sesame chicken and the best fried rice in five territories.

“I think I’m going to miss this the most,” I said, my eyes rolling back as I took my first bite.

Theo chuckled. “We’ll have to find a restaurant in the city that will suffice.”

“It’ll never be the same,” I said melodramatically.

“So,” Theo said, “who is this Adam Grant guy and should I pay him a visit?”

My head snapped up, and my face reddened when I saw Theo looking through my junior high diary.

“Theo Avery Arden, you put that down,” I yelled, jumping up and launching myself over the bed. “I promised baby pictures, not reading my diary.”

Theo laughed as he held the book out of my reach.

“Calm down,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was. I just happened to open it up to that page.”

“Uh-huh, I’m sure.”

Theo tossed the diary away. It landed in a box near the door. Then my back hit the mattress, and a deep growl sent shivers through me as Theo pinned me down.

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O ୮ 10:51 Chapter 146 Ayla 288 Vouchers “You didn’t answer my question, mate,” he said, grazing his lips along my jaw. “Who is Adam Grant?”

His scent was intoxicating as electricity flowed through me. Desire built in my core as I writhed against his hold.

“Answer me, love,” he insisted.

“My eighth-grade crush,” I said.

A rumble emitted from Theo’s chest. “And did he reciprocate your crush?”

I laughed softly. “Are you sure you want to know?”

He nipped my ear. His knee went between my thighs, and I hissed at the pressure.

“Did he like you?” Theo pressed.

“He was my first kiss,” I said. “So I thought so.”

Theo paused, pulling up to look at me with a concerned look.

“You thought so?”

I chuckled. “Theo, we were thirteen-year-old, awkward kids. Then life happened.” I leaned up and kissed him. “What matters to me now is that I know exactly who my last kiss will be.”

Theo kissed me again. This time it was gentle and loving. My arms wrapped around his shoulders, pressing against him. His mouth moved down my jaw to my neck.

“I love you, Ayla,” Theo whispered.

“I love you,” I returned.

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O à­® 10:51 Chapter 146 Ata 288 Vouchers.

His hand slipped below my shirt, gliding up my skin. I moaned as he kneaded my breast. His mouth took mine again, our tongues meeting each other eagerly. I needed him. I needed to feel every inch of him. I slipped a hand between us, snapping the button of his jeans. He groaned as I wrapped around him, stroking his hard length.

We were interrupted by my phone ringing.

I let out a frustrated grunt as Theo sighed heavily.

“It’s probably your mother,” he said, rolling over.

“Yeah,” I huffed, pushing myself off the bed.

I never would have answered if she hadn’t had limited scheduled phone time. I grabbed my phone from the dresser. It was the rehab clinic, which meant Theo was right.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hi, sweetie. It’s Ma,” my mother said.

“Hey, Ma,” I said. “How is everything going so far?”

“It’s a change,” she replied. “But everyone has been kind.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I sat back on the foot end of the bed, and Theo slid down behind me. “We’re here at the house this weekend. I need to know if you want me to store your stuff.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, I would appreciate it,” Ma said sheepishly. “I’m okay with selling the house, but... I’m not ready to give up the bed I shared with your father.”

I smiled. “I understand, Ma,” I told her. “We can store it with Kylee’s stuff for you. You guys can decide what to do with it later.”

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Chapter 146 Ayla 288 Nouchers “Thank you, my sweet girl,” Ma said.

“Is there anything else specific I should look out for?” I asked. “If not, I won’t worry about going through anything in your rooms.

I’ll just pack it all up in boxes and let you guys sort through it.”

“That should be fine,” she confirmed. “Other than my jewelry box. You can keep that safe for me.”

“I will, Ma,” I agreed.

“Oh, actually,” Ma said quickly, “your father would tell me every year on my birthday that if we ever moved, to remind him not to forget the shed.”

“That’s weird,” I replied, a little thrown. Dad never forgot anything, so it was strange that he would say that to my mother. Even more so because I had no idea why it would be so important to take the garden shed.

“It drove me mad,” Ma said with a laugh. “But you know your father. He was always saying strange things like that.”

“Yeah, I guess your right,” I conceded. “I’ll check it out and see if I can figure out what he was talking about.”

“Okay,” she replied. “My time is almost up. I still need to call Kylee. I love you, Ayla.”

“Love you, too, Ma. Take care of yourself.”

I hung up, thinking about my dad’s odd words.

“It sounds like we need to check the shed,” Theo said from behind me.

“Yeah, I guess so,” I said with a shrug. “It’s probably just some 56.08%

10:51 く Chapter 146 Ayla 288 Vouchers keepsakes. He used to keep everything from when we were kids. But I’ m not sure where they’d be. I’ve cleaned that thing out dozens of times since he passed.”

“Still, it won’t hurt to take a look,” Theo said as he stood from the bed, pulling me up behind him.

He led me through the house. I grabbed the key for the padlock from the h*ok before heading out the back door. The garden shed was off the side of the house. After unlocking it, I opened it to see what I expected.

It was a small space. We both couldn’t fit inside with the shelves and broken down mower in it. I stepped in and checked through the shelves, looking through any of the containers.

“All of these are just holiday decorations we couldn’t get in the attic,” I said. “Everything else is for the yard. I don’t know what Dad would have been talking about.”

“Watch out,” Theo said, tugging me out of the way.

Stepping inside, the floorboards creaked under his weight.

“Well, that’s a little off,” he said.

“I don’t know, babe. You definitely have a few pounds on me,” I teased.

He shot me a cheeky look before pulling the lawn mower out to give him more room. He bounced on the wooden planks for a second, listening to them groan beneath him “They shouldn’t be making that much noise if they’re just laid over solid ground,” he indicated.

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10:51 Chapter 146 Ayla 288 Vouchers Kneeling down, he felt around and eventually managed to yank a board loose.

“Uh, babe,” Theo said over his shoulder, “I think I found what your father was talking about.”

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