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“I don’t have to say so.” She looked annoyed. “I know so.”
“Okay.” He couldn’t help but smile.
She munched on her breakfast, eyes narrowed. “You’re still arrogant as hell.”
“Yep.” He grinned and tucked in to his breakfast. “I am.” He paused and arched an eyebrow. “You’re still a bit of a snob. Definitely prickly and defensive.”
Regan opened her mouth to reply but then shut it without a word. The two of them ate in silence for several moments, and after a time, she cleared her throat and sat back in her chair.
“I’m not prickly. Or defensive.”
“Damn straight you are.”
She tossed her napkin. “When have I… Give me an example.”
Wyatt finished his potatoes and took his time drinking the last bit of orange juice. He was enjoying this…this back and forth. He wasn’t used to women challenging every damn thing he said. The women in his life were pleasers, as in they lived to please him. They did what he wanted to do and agreed with whatever came out of his mouth. Hell, he was pretty sure if he told Miranda the sky was purple instead of blue, she’d agree with him if it meant him appearing with her at an event. There was no friction in his life.
Regan Thorne was friction. He was really digging the friction.
“Let’s see.” Wyatt watched her closely. He didn’t have to think too hard. “In senior year when I signed up to volunteer for the food drive, you asked Mr. Tomlinson to disallow it.”
“How did you…”
“He told me.”
She pursed her lips but remained silent.
“You told him I was a meathead jock who had no business working on the food drive because my motives weren’t…pure, I think is the term you used.”
“They weren’t.” She was drumming her fingers along the top of the table.
“Says you.”
“Says Lana Parson.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Regan.” He leaned forward. “She wasn’t the only reason I volunteered for the food drive. When I came on board, you were so pissed, you treated me like trash and ordered me around like the help. Christ, you had me running in circles compared to everyone else. That last night, you had me stay and sort all the food. And there was a shit-ton of donations. No one else showed, and I found out later you’d told them all it was done. You wanted me to fail. I was there until two in the morning and had an exam the next day.”
Regan grabbed her coffee mug. There wasn’t anything in it, but he supposed she needed something to do with her hands. The woman didn’t like losing, and he’d just called her out.
“What was your other reason?”
Wyatt pushed out his chair and got to his feet. “My mom started the food drive. It was one of her things, and each of us boys did our time.” He placed his dishes in the sink. “She was my other reason. I did it for her.”
“I didn’t know.” Her voice was small. Qu
iet.
“Like I said. You don’t know everything about me. But don’t worry about it. We were kids, right? We all did stupid stuff back then. It’s part of growing up.”
Regan got to her feet and joined him at the sink. He had hot soapy water ready and she dried as he washed. They worked in silence, and once the small kitchen was put back in order, he headed for his room.
“Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready to take you home.”
Wyatt quickly brushed his teeth and changed his clothes. When he came back to the main room, Regan was dressed in her winter jacket and waiting quietly near the door. She followed him out into the bright sunshine. It took him a good twenty minutes to chip away at the ice on his windshield, and then they were on their way.
The roads had already been sanded and salted, so they were good to navigate, and he and Regan made small talk on the way into Crystal Lake. When they reached the community center where the alumni dance had been held the night before, her lone, ice-encrusted vehicle was at the far end. The sun was beginning to heat up a bit and melt some of the ice, but Wyatt pulled up alongside her car and overrode her protests. He got out and helped break up the ice.
When her windows were cleared and the car ready to go, she stood by the driver’s side door and offered a small smile. “Thank you for…last night. I had a bad day, and it was good to get away from everything.”
