Chapter One
The Surprise Engagement
Ingrid
Wilder Cox isn't just my first love's best friend. He's the reason I'm not stuck in a long-distance, unfulfilling relationship with Cash Allred right now.
Don't get me wrong, Cash Allred has decent qualities of his own—honest, brave, attractive. But he's not bottled-up lightning. He's not rare or electric. He's notwild.
Cash Allred is the past. Wilder Cox is my present—my future.
Thank gawd.
The bright sun catches the tiny heart diamond on my left ring finger. A promise about our future. I haven't taken it off since Wilder gave it to me at the end of last summer.
You're mine, Blondie.
And he's mine, too.
“Geronimo!” Wilder interrupts the fond memory as he jumps out of the oak tree and into the creek below.
I watch from my towel as his dark head disappears beneath the crystal-blue water.
A year ago, I would have held my breath, anxiously waiting to see if he broke his neck. But now, I wait patiently for him to reappear. Now that I live a little more like Wilder—more adventurous, freer, truer to myself. A lesson I'm grateful Wilder Cox taught me last summer.
“He hasn't resurfaced yet,” Cash groans beside me.
“Give him a minute,” I say. “You know he's fine. He's just messing with you.”
Cash stands anyway and hurries over to the creek. “What if this is the one time—”
“Your face,”Wilder sputters as his head shoots out of the water. “You fall for it every time, Cash.”
“What if one day you actually need help?” Cash shoots back. “You ever think about that?”
Wilder wades out of the creek, beads of water clinging to his lean torso. I can’t help staring.
“You worry too much,” he says as he claps his best friend's back.
“Someone has to,” Cash grunts as Wilder makes his way over to me.
“Blondie.” Wilder's hazel eyes sparkle in the afternoon light as he bends to grab his towel. “You knew I'd be alright.”
Blondie. He still uses that nickname around Cash. But when we're all alone—when it's just us—he calls me Ingrid.
I shrug and remind him, “If you break your face, Archibald Allred is a plastic surgeon. He can fix it.”
Wilder gives me a playful wink. “Speaking of your dad, Cash, how is he doing?”
But Cash dives into the water, avoiding the question.
“Stop bugging him,” I quietly warn Wilder. “He's having a hard time processing Archibald's new life.”
“Why?” Wilder plops down beside me, planting a soft, lingering kiss on my sunburned shoulder.
“Because unlike you, Cash is still figuring out how to share his absentee father with a half-sister.”
“He'll be fine.” Wilder's hand slides along my bare stomach and I inhale sharply as his eyes rake over my body. “He has us.”
