Wyatt shook his head quickly. “Absolutely not. Payton told me photos of us together could be used as some sort of anchor for the hexing, so to my mother’s dismay, they all had to be burned and salted.”
“Salted?” I questioned.
He nodded. “Yeah, you know, like onSupernatural. Felt like a solid idea.”
“I thought that was only for ghosts and demons.”
His eyebrows drew together for a moment before he smiled, only this time it was a full-on smile, a little dimple peeking through. “You watchedSupernatural?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, so what?”
His lips covered mine before he could reply, pressing me back against the counter as his hands came up and slid into my hair. His lips devouring me as if he’d just come back from war instead of finding out I liked a TV show. By the time he broke away, I was breathless and dazed, but a slow clap filled the bakery.
“Oh, that was beautiful, straight out of the movies, bro,” Theo said from behind us. I tried to move to the side so I could glare at him, but Wyatt wouldn’t let me go, his hands still along the expanse of my neck and in my hair.
He shook his head. “No, don’t pay him any mind,” he whispered. “If we just ignore him, he’ll go away. I’m sure of it.”
“Heard that!” Theo hollered.
“I have to get back to work if we have plans later anyway,and this isn’t exactly sanitary for my kitchen,” I whispered back to him.
“True, but I meant what I said. Let’s go out and play later, or I’ll bring you back down here and do things that would qualify as a health code violation,” he said, his thumb rubbing small circles along my throat.
“Deal,” I replied, kissing him once more. “Now, go tell him to go home.”
I watched as he walked back out into the front room of the bakery and pulled his brother to one of the side tables so they could talk.
A fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach hit, a feeling that had been happening a lot recently. Something I was doing my utmost to ignore, because there was no way I was falling for my anonymous masked stalker.
33
MY LITTLE BRAT
Wyatt
“Are you excited?”I asked. Personally, I was excited as fuck for her to officially meet my entire family, but I wanted this to be fun for her. She didn’t talk about her family much, so part of me hoped this could be an extension of the family bonds she lacked with her own, maybe even give her the courage to mend some fences with her own family. Minus her father, that fucker needed to go to jail or in a ditch—whichever she preferred, I would ensure it happened.
She arched a brow at me, and I knew what was about to come out of her mouth would be pure sass.
“Excited? I’m being dragged to your Sunday family dinner because you don’t want to leave me alone, and the only people you trust are your family. I feel like I’m a hostage.”
I smirked. “I can make you feel like a hostage if you’d like.”
She bit her bottom lip as her cheeks turned a light pink. “Shut up, Carragan, and tell me if I’m dressed okay.”
I looked her over, slowly, for the most dramatic effect that I knew would annoy her. I’d obviously already looked her outfit over the moment she came out of the bedroom, but she didn’t know that. I don’t think she noticed just how much I watched her. She was wearing dark grey jeans and a white long-sleeved Henley with gold jewelry and a pair of black boots.
“You look stunning, Ember Rae,” I said confidently when my eyes made it back to hers. I’d been using her first and middle name a lot lately, and I wondered if she knew why. I did, but I don’t think she fully grasped the overarching reason yet.
“I’m not underdressed?” she asked as she started fidgeting with the ends of her hair. The top half had been clipped back, the rest left long in soft curls.
“Ms. Brady, are you…nervous?” I shot back. “To meet my family? Half of whom already know and love you?”
“Ugh, you suck, Carragan, let’s go,” she growled as she grabbed her purse and petted CC’s head a few times. “It’s time to get this over with.”
“I mean, this is basically our first date, I’d prefer not to just get it over with if that’s okay. I’d prefer to marinate in it for a bit.” I knew I was pissing her off, but it was fun, and I couldn’t help myself. I loved watching her squirm.
“Aren’t we a little past first dates by now?” she questioned. “I mean, we’ve been fucking for months now, and you’ve practically moved in with no move-out date in sight.”
