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“He showed up because I was ignoring his calls,” Rhea explained.
“Okay, but what did he want?” her mom pressed her.
Rhea didn’t hesitate to respond. “He wanted to me to consider getting back together with him. He insisted he realized he’d made a mistake and wanted us to have another chance. When I told him it wouldn’t happen and that he needed to leave, he refused to listen.”
“And that’s when you stepped in, Wyatt?” Leon asked me.
I shook my head. “No. I stepped in the moment he started telling Rhea that she would never find anyone better than him.”
A collective silence ensued, and I wondered if perhaps I shouldn’t have revealed what I did, but then Edith spat, “I never liked that guy. I don’t know what makes him think he’s so special.”
Still concerned about how the whole encounter went down, Danielle pressed, “How did Tristan respond to you, Wyatt?”
Shrugging, I said, “I don’t think he liked me very much, for obvious reasons. Rhea and I weren’t exactly official or anything like that when he showed up at her place, but I didn’t let that stop me from sharing how I felt about her.”
“How do you feel about her?” Leon questioned me.
My eyes went to Rhea briefly before I look at her father and answered, “I’m in love with your daughter, sir.”
He nodded slowly, but said nothing in response.
“See? This is how it’s supposed to be. When you like someone, you tell them,” Henry chimed in.
My lips twitched. My grandfather was going to love Rhea’s grandfather, because they were exactly alike. Rhea shared, “Tristan wasn’t happy, and he told me I was going to regret not choosing him.”
“Well, we all know that’s not going to happen,” Edith argued.
“Especially because Wyatt told him he didn’t like that it sounded as though Tristan was threatening me,” Rhea reasoned.
At the mention of his daughter being threatened, Leon jumped back into the conversation. “He threatened her?”
Since it was clear he was addressing me, I replied, “I can’t say for sure, since I don’t know him at all. It’s possible he was merely saying words to sound tough, or he could have had ill intent. Either way, I didn’t like it, so I made sure he knew that I wouldn’t tolerate him even thinking about harming a hair on her head. Whether or not he’ll heed that advice is unknown.”
The look I’d seen only moments earlier on Leon’s face returned, but this time, he decided to share what he was thinking. “I think Rhea is right.”
“About what?”
“You’re nothing like him. I’m glad to know she’s found somebody who is willing to stand up for her and look after her like you did. Thank you for doing that for her.”
I smiled at him and said, “It’s been my honor.”
“That guy is a coward,” Henry declared.
“Yeah, I don’t suspect he’ll follow through on anything, especially if there’s a chance he could suffer a blow to his ego,” Danielle added, clearly in agreement with Henry.
Silence fell over the table again, but there wasn’t any awkwardness surrounding it. I think Rhea’s family was merely trying to let the news they’d just been given to sink in.
“To be clear, you two are officially together now, though, right?” Danielle asked.
“We are,” Rhea confirmed.
“And if you don’t mind me asking, Wyatt, where do things stand with the land acquisition discussion?” Leon questioned me.
It seemed Leon was interested in keeping most of his conversation directed right at me, and I didn’t mind at all. Rhea was his daughter, and he wanted to know what my intentions were with her. Not only did I expect it, but I appreciated it. My dad would be the same way with my sisters, and I was sure I wouldn’t hesitate if and when I had daughters down the road.
“We’re working on it,” I told him. “Two of my brothers are working with the engineers to redesign some things, so we’ll be able to proceed with the project without needing to acquire any land from your family. And I’ll just say, I do apologize for any heartache or strife receiving that letter from my family might have caused. Rhea has made it clear that the land isn’t available for purchase, and I’m not going to try to convince her otherwise.”
“What exactly were you planning to do with the land?” Danielle asked.
