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She hesitated. “Alright. I didn’t know you felt that way about spiders.” She plucked the tarantula from Graham’s hand and walked over.
“Last chance. You sure you want to do this?” she whispered.
I’d never been more certain of anything in my entire life. “Give him to me.”
A little lightheaded, I watched Everly rest the spider in my sweaty palms. Its long furry limbs gently brushed against my skin as I moved one hand and then the other so that the creature would keep having somewhere to walk. Amazingly, it was a lot lighter than I expected.
“You’re doing great, Wy.”
A burst of warmth flooded my chest.See that, Graham?I wanted to let out a primal yell. I’d tame a nightmarish monster for Everly too.
“Awesome, man. Good for you, facing your fears like that.” Graham turned to Everly, his dopey expression telling me where their conversation was headed next. “I know we’ve only just met, but I feel a real connection with you. Could I get your number? I’d love to meet up and grab a tea sometime.”
I clenched my jaw and set the tarantula down, hoping no one would notice my trembling hands.
No. No. No!
Everly’s fingers brushed against my arm. “Actually, Wyatt and I are on a date right now.”
That’s right. Granted it was only because she was doing Johann a favor and thought I was her brother at the time she matched with me, but never mind all that. Graham didn’t need to know the details. I wrapped my arm around her waist and glowered.
Graham raised his hands and took a step back. “Sorry, man. I didn’t realize.”
Bet you’re getting a good read on my aura now. Just back away, Mountain Man.
Once he’d left, I turned to Everly. “Are you certain you didn’t want to go out with him? I know how you have that dating pact with your friends.”
Everly’s hand grabbed hold of mine, warm and solid. “Yup. I’m enjoying my time with you.”
In the distance children laughed and screamed as they searched for and found spiders. The rest of our group had ventured further into the field. Taking advantage of our moment alone, I brushed my thumb across her knuckles, my gaze lowering to her mouth.
This was it. Now or never. “Ev?” I tugged her closer, and her curves pressed against my body wrecking havoc to my self control. Forget that we were in public or that Ben would have my hide for making a move on his sister; I’d loved Everly for years, and I was about to make her mine.
“Yes?” she murmured.
“I—"
In the distance, someone yelled, “Tarantula!” Everly jerked away and turned toward the voice, and just like that, our special moment was broken.
Irritation snaked underneath my skin. First Graham, and now even the tarantulas were conspiring against us. Couldn’t a guy get a break?
Everly turned her attention back to me, and her expression softened. “Ready to get out of here? I want to show you my favorite spot in Sunnyvale.”
Annoyance turned to curiosity as she led me away from the group, back toward the lake, and up a hill covered with compact shrubs and clusters of gangly yellow flowers. The surrounding nature was wild and beautiful, but I kept my eyes on the even more gorgeous woman walking beside me. What was going on in her head? Had she felt that pull between us too?
The climb grew steeper, until we finally reached the enormous, sprawling oak tree on top of the hill. A weathered wooden bench sat beneath it.
“Dad put this here when he saw how much I enjoyed the view.” Everly sat on the bench and gestured for me to join her. “Welcome to my favorite spot in Sunnyvale.”
Quietly, I took a seat beside her, admiring the surrounding hills and the vast expanse of ocean and sky.
“You should see it in spring. That’s when it’s prettiest. The fields are dotted with gorgeous poppies and lupines. I dreamed about getting married in this very spot, but Lukas and Seline said the ranch wasn’t fancy enough. The sad thing was, I was ready to go along with whatever they decided.”
Guilt tore at my insides. Why had I left her side? If I had been there, I’d have seen how bad things had gotten. I would have reminded her not to doubt herself.
Ev wrapped her arms around her body, and I couldn’t tell whether it was because she was cold or just trying to hold herself together. “I believed that loving someone meant focusing on making them happy. But I was mistaken, and somewhere along the way, I lost myself.”
