AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. Probably late afternoon.”
“That gives me plenty of time to dig him a proper grave before I kill him.” There’s a hint of laughter in his voice but also anger. Jones obviously left him in a bind.
“Addy’s coming back with him,” I continue.
“No wonder his ass is coming back home. He finally convinced her to come back with him. I swear to God, he’s in over his head. He must really love that girl.”
“I sure as hell hope so.”
“Yeah, well, love will do stranger things to a person.” His voice softens and he looks away from me and around at the mess. “I can finish this up if you want to take off.”
“What if I want to stay?” I ask, the simple question having more meaning than he could possibly know.
“You’re always welcome to stay, Chloe. For as long as you want.” Putting the tray back down on the table, he takes a step toward me and grips my waist, pulling me to him. “Forever.”
Or maybe he does have an idea of what I was really asking. I never was very good at getting things past him. Speaking in code was more his thing than mine.
“Good,” I reply, my voice shaky from his proximity. “Let’s get this place cleaned up and go get our daughter. I think it’s about time I apologized to your mama.”
Wyatt’s eyes widen in surprise before he begins laughing. “Um, yeah. About that. Unless you plan on staying here forever and letting her get to know her granddaughter, I think you may want to avoid my mother right now.”
“Nah. She loved me once, she’ll find it in her heart to love me again. Eventually,” I reply, staring deep into his eyes.
My eyes beg him to kiss me, but he doesn’t. From the look of things, I’m confusing him. Either that, or he’s guarding his heart. I would completely understand both reactions.
It’s taken me a while to let down the walls I built around my heart. Wyatt has the power to shatter my heart, the way I may have shattered his years ago. He’s the only one I’ve ever loved. The only one I’ve ever thought I would have a future with.
Even after years of being apart.
After not knowing how he would react to Lola.
I can still see the vision of what we talked about, of the life we planned to build together. The house helped me see it. Watching him with our daughter confirmed it.
Wyatt is the one.
The one man I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. The only man I’ll ever love. I gave him my heart years ago and I don’t want it back. I want him to have it, to hold onto it, to protect it with his life.
The way he looks at me when he thinks I’m unaware tells me that he’s holding on to it with caution. He still loves me. I know he wants us to be a family, making everything we dreamed of having together is within reach.
My gut instinct is to pull him to me and confess my love for him. In time, later, when our daughter is around to hear the news, I will. Until then, I can continue to drop hints and hope he follows the bread crumbs.
After the restaurant is cleaned up and Wyatt’s relief comes in, I patiently wait for him to finish in his office so we can go pick up Lola. The after-work crowd begins to filter in, and the bar coming to life for a second time that day. It still amazes me how much life he’s breathed into our little town.
He’s put Fairview on the map, created a living for himself, and everyone knows his name. They look at Wyatt as a hero, the same way I did all those years ago when he first rescued me. I wish my parents saw what I had seen back then, maybe things would have turned out different.
Maybe not.
There’s no going back and changing things, so it’s best to be grateful for what we have now. Each other.
“Ready?” he asks, sneaking up behind me and placing his hands on my waist.
All day long, since I dropped my first hint, he’s found little ways to touch me. I like it. It reminds me of how he used to hold my hand any chance he could.
I remember every time. Every detail of how his hands felt wrapped in mine. I remember every little thing about Wyatt, our relationship and the way he made me feel.
There were times I tried to forget, even brief moments I wanted to, but I never could. He was a part of me even when we were apart.
“I’m cold,”I complain, pulling my hand from Wyatt’s and shoving it in my pocket. The first flakes of snow began to fall a few hours ago, and we’ve been standing in the middle of the park staring at the sky ever since. Wyatt insisted on holding my hand while we watched.
