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“There you are, Lizzie.” He looked almost amused at the sight of her standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a large carving knife in hand. “What are you planning to do with that, huh?”
“I will cut you if you come near me, you motherfucker.”
He waved a finger at her as he stepped toward her. “Now, now. You know I don’t like you using such language.”
“I don’t give a fuck what you like, asshole. You need to leave right now before my boyfriend finds you.”
“Your boyfriend? You mean the one who’s currently lying on the ground, slowly bleeding to death?” All of a sudden, he was brandishing something that looked like an icepick: something small, sharp, and dripping with blood. “He won’t be helping you now, Lizzie. So stop your bullshit and pack your bags. You’re coming with me.”
“No.” It was more a cry than a rebuttal as tears began to trail down her cheeks. “No. NO.” It couldn’t be true. He had to be lying. When a hand closed around her arm, she thrust the knife forward wildly. “NO. NO!”
And then suddenly, she was sitting up in bed, gasping for air, her empty hand jerking forward. It took Beth a few moments to realize she’d been dreaming. Miles wasn’t there. He hadn’t come after her and hurt Wyatt. She wasn’t stabbing anyone.
“Beth? You okay, honey?” Wyatt’s sleepy tone was instantly soothing, and she felt his arms go around her as her heart raced. “What happened? Bad dream?”
She collapsed against him, wiping the tears off her face. “Yes.” Closing her eyes, she took solace in his embrace, seeking comfort as she burrowed against him. “He found me and he hurt you.”
One hand stroked her hair slowly. “He won’t ever hurt me, Beth. I can take him down with one hand, you know that. He won’t ever hurt you, either. I won’t allow it and neither will Freya.” A softwoofindicated the dog was tucked up in the large doggy bed at the end of theirs, but it was clear she was still asleep.
“It was so real, Wyatt. I couldn’t find you so I ran back here and he just walked in, even though I’d locked the door.”
“Shhh.” He placed kisses on her forehead, his strong embrace calming her. “He’s not here and he’s not going to hurt either of us. It’s okay, honey. You’re safe with me.”
She believed that with her whole heart, and after a few moments she felt calm enough to lie back down with him, cuddled against his side. “I’m sorry.” Tears welled up again, and she blinked rapidly.
“You never have to be sorry for a bad dream. You can’t control them. I’m sorry you had one.” His arms were still around her, and she slid one of hers across his chest. “Do you want to try and go back to sleep, or shall we get up and have a drink?”
That he was willing to get up in the middle of the night with her meant more than she realized, and her heart suddenly felt three sizes bigger. “I love you, Wyatt.”
“I love you too.” There was no hesitation on his part to respond in kind, and when she turned her head up toward him, he leaned in and kissed her softly.
“Let’s sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”
They were taking the boat out on the lake in the late morning for a large group of people who were all extended family visiting Silverbell Shore for a family reunion, which meant Beth would need to swing by the grocery store and pick up some supplies. Private tours were more expensive, so she always made up a large charcuterie board with cheeses, meats, olives, veggie sticks, and crackers for the customers to enjoy while they cruised around the lake.
There were almost twenty family members joining them for this particular ride, which meant the boat would be full. She’d already stocked the small fridge in the cabin of the boat with both regular and sparkling water, enough for everyone to have a few drinks, along with some bottles of champagne, but had left the food until the day of so it would be as fresh as possible.
So many thoughts raced through her head as she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Wyatt’s masculine scent surrounded her, comforted her, and she settled down, tried to clear her mind, and eventually drifted back off to sleep.
Thankfully, there was no nightmare this time.
When Beth woke the next morning, she yawned and stretched wide. As she sat up, she noticed the sun streaming into the bedroom through the curtains, which told her it wasn’t that early in the morning. Glancing over at her phone, she panicked when she realized it was almost 10:00 a.m. They were due to take their guests out in an hour and she hadn’t even gone to the grocery store.
“Shit!” Flinging back the sheet, she sat up on the side of the bed.
“Hey, you’re awake.” Wyatt entered the room, a small tray in hand. “Good, I was just coming to wake you. Breakfast is ready.”
Her heart melted a little as she propped up some pillows and got comfortable. “You didn’t have to make me breakfast, sweetheart. I should have been up an hour ago. I need to shower and get to the grocery store.”
“What you needed was sleep. I’ve already been. Everything’s in the fridge. You just need to make the board up, which won’t take long.”
He laid the tray over her lap and when she saw what was on it, she wanted to cry. Wyatt had made her French toast with strawberries and maple syrup, with a side of crispy bacon. A mug full of coffee was next to it. “Thank you.” Her voice was a little husky. “This looks amazing. You didn’t have to put in all this effort for me.”
“I’ll always go to all this effort for you.”
He scooted around the other side of the bed and climbed onto it to sit next to her. She grasped his jaw with her hand and pressed her lips to his repeatedly. “You’re the best.”
He kissed her cheek. “Eat before it gets cold. We do need to get a move on.”
