Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 215

She pointed toward the dining room, where a row of glass jars filled with brilliant red berry wine lined the shelf.

“Well… have some grapes then,” Theodore said. “By the way, Grandma’s been out for ages and still isn’t back. When are we picking her up?”

That happened to be exactly what Emma was about to bring up.

“Grandma’s heading straight to the airport tomorrow. I’ll—”

“Emma.” Theodore cut her off.

Emma looked at him, puzzled.

He sat down beside her. Whatever he hadn’t managed to say during dinner, it seemed he was determined to get out now.

“So…” He hesitated, searching for words. “Do you think we could maybe change our trip to the Highlands?”

“Change it?” Emma glanced at him sideways.

“Yeah…” He tried to smile. “How about we go a week later? I’ve actually got two weeks off this time, so maybe we could head to the Highlands after the first week.”

“So what are you doing this week, then?” she asked, her tone cool. Going to the island with Cecilia, I suppose?

Emma had hit the nail on the head.

Theodore hesitated, then said, “Here’s the thing, Emma. Back in college, I promised Cici that once we made some money, we’d go to the island together. She was there with us from the very beginning, helped us start the business, went through a ton with us. I never kept that promise, so I thought… I’d take her to the island first. When I get back, we’ll go to the Highlands, okay?”

“When are you leaving for the island?” Emma was practically giddy inside. This was perfect—if he was gone, she and Grandma could go to Capital City with no trouble at all.

“Tonight. My flight’s in the middle of the night.”

Wow, that was fast. No wonder he’d been acting so attentive all day.

Emma kept her inner sarcasm to herself but put on a reluctant face. “But… our tickets and plans are already set. It’s too late to cancel now without losing money.”

“I’ll pay you back for whatever you lose. Just show me how much it is, and I’ll cover it,” he said quickly.

Well, a little extra cash before he left certainly didn’t hurt.

And since she’d taken him off her WhatsApp block list earlier that day, his messages started coming through: Did you get it? Still mad at me?

Emma didn’t reply. All she could think about was how he’d have to get ready to leave soon if his flight was at midnight.

Bringing you a present—anything you want?

She couldn’t care less about souvenirs. The best gift he could give her was getting out of her sight as quickly as possible.

She hadn’t locked her door—of course not, he still needed to come in and pack. Best to let him do it smoothly and be gone.

Sure enough, Theodore pushed the door open a moment later.

“Mrs. Whitman, could you help me pack?”