“Aria and I have been seeing each other for a while,” Theo finally admitted. “Not just at social functions. We’d meet up whenever we could get away without drawing attention. And, last New Year's, we, ah, well we—you know…”
His face went beet red and Lyra couldn’t help but snicker at his obvious discomfort. Theo had always acted like the worldly, cool cat, when he was rather naïve. It was kind of cute.
“And?” Julius prompted when Theo hesitated.
“…I—I panicked,” Theo admitted. “I told her it was a mistake, and a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work. And she blew up at me.”
“I hope she hit you,” Julius sneered. “You called my daughter a mistake?”
“No! Just what we did—I didn’t know!” Theo stammered. “I didn’t know she planned to move to New York and really give us a chance. I didn
