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Callie: I hope your friends didn’t mind that I stole your attention the whole night. ;)
Wyatt: Believe me, they understood. And I don’t ever ditch them for a woman, in case that’s what you’re thinking.
Callie: I didn’t.
Wyatt: Whew.
Callie: You guys are close. I envy that.
Wyatt: They’ll be happy to get to know you better. They know you’re off-limits though. Finders keepers. ;)
Callie: I’m glad you found me. Both times.
Wyatt: Me too, honey.
There he went again, calling her a term of endearment. Callie was sweet as honey. That much was for damn certain. He didn’t know how a woman like that could still be single. He hadn’t been able to resist taking her hand earlier and brushing his lips across her soft skin. The hint of rosiness on her cheeks was intriguing. She wasn’t as outgoing as he’d first thought, and he loved that he could make her blush like that. If things ever progressed between them, he’d love to spend time exploring her. Kissing his way across her soft skin, touching her intimately as she clung to him, and making her cry out his name in pleasure.
He was getting ahead of himself though. They’d had dinner, not a bunch of romantic dates alone. His phone buzzed once more.
Callie: Thanks again for a fun night.
Wyatt: It was my pleasure. I’ll talk to you soon.
He watched his phone for a beat, but she didn’t reply again. No matter. He hadn’t really expected to text her much at all, just make sure she got home safely. He’d be extremely busy at work tomorrow, but hopefully he’d have some free time this weekend to see her. Wyatt never knew when his team would be called up, but he was hopeful they’d be in town for the next week at least.
Walking over to his laptop, he flipped it open and pulled up some open-source information on the hijacked flight. It was concerning to him that one of the pilots had disappeared. Was it suicide? Too much time and pressure in the limelight that caused him to pull back? Had something more sinister happened?
Callie was safe here in Hawaii, but he couldn’t help but be concerned. The hijacking was behind them, the terrorists all killed, but tomorrow, he’d read over the classified reports when he got the opportunity. Callie seemed scared, and he didn’t like the look of uncertainty or fear in her eyes.
Chapter 10
THREE DAYS LATER, CALLIE still felt like she was living in a dream. Dinner with Wyatt on Thursday night had been surreal—and surprisingly fun. She still couldn’t believe she’d run into him. They hadn’t delved much into the circumstances where they’d first met, just talked and laughed with their friends, getting to know one another. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d felt so carefree. Considering she barely knew the man, they had a lot in common. They were both only children and had forged out on their own in the world after high school. Wyatt hadn’t had a great childhood and had been happy to leave his home in Maryland. Callie came from a close family but couldn’t escape the wanderlust coursing through her. She’d taken her time getting through college and made a career from her love of traveling—not that she was following that path anymore. She and Wyatt were both adventurous, although he was far braver than she’d ever be.
Callie still felt goosebumps coursing over her skin at the memory of the way he’d walked her to her car. Wyatt was protective. That much was obvious. When they’d stood there in the parking lot as they said goodbye and Wyatt had watched her with those eyes that saw everything? She felt a tiny twist of hope. He saw her—all of her. He’d been there at her worst and didn’t think less of her because of it.
She didn’t necessarily want or need a boyfriend, but she really liked that he wanted to see her again. It probably wouldn’t lead much of anywhere, but that was okay. She was taking her life one step at a time. Callie still needed a job and a plan for her future. If spending time with Wyatt was part of how she rediscovered herself, she couldn’t see any harm in that. She liked him and equally as important, knew she could trust him.
Wyatt had told her the other night he’d be in training all day Friday, and she didn’t doubt it. Callie had seen firsthand how he and his teammates worked together to storm that airplane. They were in top physical condition and drilled hard for the job. She’d hear from him soon. Callie couldn’t explain how she knew, she just did. She hadn’t run into him all these months later for him to simply ghost her after getting her number.
Lost in thought, she was surprised as she realized her phone was buzzing with a text a few minutes later. Hurrying over to the coffee table in her living room, she was shocked to see it was actually Wyatt. She fumbled with her phone, smiling as she read his text.
Wyatt: Hey there. Hope your Sunday is going well. Any chance you’re free this afternoon?
Warmth washed over her. She’d just been thinking of him, almost like they’d been on the same wavelength. Callie had assumed they’d get together sometime soon, but days later was a welcome surprise.
Callie: Hi yourself. I’m free today. What’d you have in mind?
Her phone began buzzing as he called her, and then Callie was lifting it to her ear. “Hi.” Her voice sounded breathless, and she hoped he didn’t notice. She felt nervous all of a sudden but didn’t have time to dwell on that thought. This was Wyatt. He was interested in her, and that thought alone made her almost giddy with excitement.
Wyatt’s warm voice filled her ear. “Hey. I was just thinking it’s a gorgeous Sunday and wondered if you wanted to get together and do something outside. I realize this is last minute, but we were in training the past several days. I wasn’t sure I’d actually get the time off until today. I didn’t want to make plans with you and then have to cancel.”
“I’d love to do something together.”
“I know you like exploring, so I thought maybe I could show you one of Oahu’s hidden waterfalls. It’s an easy hike,” he assured her.
“You want to go hiking with me?”
“Well, yeah, if you’re up for it. We could always just hang out on the beach if you’d prefer something more lowkey.”
