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Back When We Meet Again Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. Prologue
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-one
  26. Twenty-two
  27. Twenty-three
  28. Twenty-four
  29. Twenty-five
  30. Twenty-six
  31. Twenty-seven
  32. Twenty-eight
  33. Twenty-nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-one
  36. Thirty-two
  37. Thirty-three
  38. Thirty-four
  39. Thirty-five
  40. Thirty-six
  41. Thirty-seven
  42. Thirty-eight
  43. Thirty-nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-one
  46. Forty-two
  47. Forty-three
  48. Forty-four
  49. Forty-five
  50. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  51. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  52. POPULAR BOOKS FROM THE ERA
  53. When We Meet Again
  54. A Conversation with Caroline Beecham about When We Meet Again
  55. Discussion Guide
  56. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  57. What’s next onyour reading list?

Theo regarded her with a small smile, and their eyes locked again.

The restaurant emptied around them and embers glimmered in the fireplace as Theo spoke passionately about his books and the council, then listened to her speak about her project. She understood exactly why he wanted to create these editions for the troops; it was no different than what she hoped to achieve for readers here.

“A reader can have a bond with a character as strong as any relationship with another human being,” he said, his deep voice slowing to a drawl, his gaze intense.

Alice was drawn in, his words disarmingly sensitive, his manner so intimate that she realized she was feeling something for him that she couldn’t fight.

At that point she made herself glance at her watch, saw it was nearly midnight and came to her senses. But she went to her room with a warm sense of contentment that she hadn’t experienced in a long time. She tried not to think about what seemed to be a mutual attraction, but instead how a male colleague taking her into his confidence and treating her as an equal had restored something in her. She wished it could have been Theo that she’d worked with these past few years; he was decent and kind and behaved like a gentleman, not a predator.

In fact, by the time she fell asleep, she was fairly certain that Theo Bloom was the best of men.

Twenty-six

London, April 22, 1943

“Theo, Theo! Wait a moment!” a voice called from across the sun-drenched square.

When Theo swung round, George was walking briskly, wooden cane tapping the ground as he hurried toward him.

“Morning, George. No Nelson today?” Theo asked as the older man drew close.

“Tucked in his basket when I left. Dreaming of chasing ducks and swimming in their pond, I expect.” His chin folded into jowls as he spoke, making him look just like his trusted Labrador.

“Good to see the weather finally brightening,” Theo said, altering his stride to keep pace with George.

“I’m glad I caught you,” George said, glancing sideways at Theo as they continued toward the office. “I’ve been meaning to have a word.”

Theo’s fingers flexed inside his tight leather gloves, suddenly feeling trapped, and he tried not to frown. “What is it, George?”

“How long have you been here now . . . a month?”

“Just over.”