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It made Beth’s heart ache a little to hear of the fun Wyatt had with his family. It had only been her and her mom growing up. She’d never known her father; he’d decided when her mother had been pregnant with Beth that he didn’t want the responsibility of being a dad and all it entailed, so he’d taken off.
But her mother had loved her more than two parents combined, and she’d never lacked for anything growing up. They didn’t have a lot of money, but love had been plentiful.
“Sounds wonderful.” She meant that, and a very small part of her wished she’d still be around when they came to visit.
“You could meet them this summer.”
She stiffened and put a little distance between them. “Wyatt, you know I can’t stay.” Her voice was a whisper, and it was physically painful to say the words.
He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again, and she saw the battle warring on his face. “I know you can’t, honey. Just wish you could.”
“Me too.”
They stared at each other, and Beth realized his was a face she could happily look at every single day for the rest of her life. And to know it was the one thing she could never do broke her heart.
ChapterEleven
The week passed quickly as Beth worked her way through the disaster that was Wyatt’s office. She’d managed to get all the paperwork sorted and either filed or shredded, and the next week would see her setting up a new financial system for record keeping and adding everything to it. They’d spent most of their time together, going for walks or working or sharing meals.
By the time Saturday night rolled around, Beth was nervous, more than she’d ever been when preparing for a first date. She carefully added mascara to her lashes, her hand shaking just a little in the mirror. She’d splurged a few days before and bought a minimal amount of makeup at the town’s drugstore. Getting dolled up was something she’d felt obliged to do with Miles, but Wyatt hadn’t made her feel like she needed to go to any trouble for her date with him.
But she’d wanted to make an effort. Look pretty for him.
Once she was ready, she gave herself one last look in the mirror. She was wearing her nicest dress, a knee-length red number with tiny flowers all over it. It buttoned down the front and swished around her when she moved. She’d added her favorite black wedges to it, along with a necklace that had belonged to her mom and a pair of diamond earrings she’d inherited from her grandmother.
Wyatt had told her she wouldn’t need to bring anything, as he was cooking them dinner, so she smacked her lips together one last time and headed for the living room when there was a knock at the front door.
Flinging it open, her heart melted instantly. Wyatt stood in front of her, dressed in a crisp light blue button-down shirt and black pants. Freya sat by his side, and Beth couldn’t stop the gasp of delight she let out when she saw not only the bunch of flowers he was holding but the large, pink bow Freya was sporting around her neck.
She pushed open the screen door and stepped out, closing the wooden door behind her. “Hi, you two.”
Wyatt’s voice was gentle. “Hi, Beth. You look absolutely gorgeous.” A smile bloomed on her face, full and genuine. He offered the flowers to her, and she took them with thanks, bringing them up to her nose and breathing their fragrant scent in. This was the second time in as many weeks Wyatt had bought her flowers, and she felt spoiled. “Thank you so much, they’re beautiful. Can I put them in some water before we go?”
“Go ahead, we’ll wait for you here. There’s a vase in the cupboard above the stove.”
She gave him another smile and went back inside to put the flowers in some water before rejoining her dinner companions on the front porch. She felt comfortable enough to leave the front door unlocked, instead accepting the hand Wyatt held out to her and felt warmth blossom in her chest when he weaved his fingers through hers.
“I hope you’re hungry.”
She nodded enthusiastically as they began to walk. “Starving, actually.”
“Good, because there’s plenty of food.”
“Yum!” Her brows furrowed as they followed a path she’d never noticed before through the trees away from the lake. “Where are we going?”
Wyatt gave her a mysterious smile, keeping his gaze ahead. “Not far, I promise. You’ll see.”
He was right. Their destination was only about three minutes from their cabins, but when she saw where he’d taken her, her mouth fell open.
There was a clearing in the forest, and in the middle was a gazebo. It looked brand new, painted white with fairy lights strung up all around. Inside was a round table and two chairs, and a large cushion on the ground to one side.
Beth turned toward Wyatt. “Did you build this?”
The corners of his mouth tugged up in a smile. “I started it some time ago but never got around to finishing it. I thought it might be nice to have dinner here tonight, so I finally got my butt in gear and got it done.”
She stepped closer, tugging on his hand, to find the table had been set with what appeared to be a silky white tablecloth. Two long, tapered candles were in the middle, newly lit. A single red rose sat in a small, pewter vase. Each setting had a plate with a bowl on top, and cutlery on either side of a placemat, along with two different sized glasses. A bottle of champagne sat in a silver bucket filled with ice, along with a couple of cans of soda.
“Wow, this is beautiful, Wyatt. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”
