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Or, at least, he had all that I’d normally find attractive in a man’s physical appearance. It was too bad he didn’t have anything else I found appealing.
Apparently, I’d taken too much time thinking about Wyatt and his looks that he decided to fill the silence.
He took a step closer to me, the scent of him surrounding me first thing in the morning more than I was prepared to handle. “Look, how about I make you a deal? If you run here all the time, and you honestly believe I’m stalking you, why don’t you test out that theory?”
Intrigued, I asked, “And how would you suggest I do that?”
“Go for your run, and see if I can keep up,” he answered. “If what you believe is true, and I somehow found out where you’d be this early in the morning on a Monday morning, you’ll leave me in your dust, won’t you?”
I hated that my eyes scanned his body from top to toe. It didn’t matter that we were both dressed for the colder temperatures. There was no way he would miss what I’d done, and it would only be another boost to his already over-inflated ego.
The thing was, I could see Wyatt was at least in reasonable shape. Even if he wasn’t a regular runner, I had a feeling he’d be able to keep up with me. And if it meant doing something that might give him the opportunity to achieve his ultimate goal, I wasn’t convinced he’d find himself running out of breath any time soon.
I should have said no.
Deep down, I knew I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors.
But the last thing I refused to do was present myself to him as vulnerable or insecure. I knew just how easily weakness could be exploited.
“Fine,” I spat. “Like you said, it’s a public place, so I can’t tell you to leave. And if you think you can keep up with me, feel free. But just so you know, I normally run alone, so I’m not interested in having a conversation.”
He shrugged. “That works for me. I generally like to take in the view anyway.”
His eyes scanned my body, much like I suspected mine had done to his. But where I tried to focus the anger I felt about that happening in front of him, Wyatt didn’t seem the least bit concerned or displeased with his wandering eyes. In fact, I was willing to bet he was glad I saw him checking me out.
Unwilling to put myself in a position where I’d grow even more frustrated, I decided to pretend Wyatt wasn’t there. I spun around and continued to make my way across the lot toward the bike path. As soon as I took that first step onto the path, I took off.
And despite how much I wanted to pretend he didn’t exist, it was impossible not to hear the rhythmic pace of Wyatt’s footsteps beside mine.
Minutes into it, I was struggling.
My effort wasn’t about the running itself. Instead, I was exerting immense energy in trying to remain unaffected by Wyatt being there at all.
It was such a strange experience for me, and I had all sorts of emotions moving through me. Because the more I ran, and the more he kept up, the more I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the conversation I’d had with my friends.
I’d told Brooke and Emily I’d agree to have dinner with Wyatt if he approached me again about it. Given what I believed I knew about men like him in general, I didn’t think it was possible he would allow this opportunity to pass him by. He’d probably try to convince me that this coincidental meeting was a sign I should reconsider my refusal to have dinner and discuss his company’s proposal with him.
I was already dreading the whole thing. Because if one thing was true, it was that I was a woman who stood by her word. And since I’d made a promise to my friends, there wasn’t a chance I wouldn’t follow through.
But beyond the fretting I’d been doing about having to agree to talk to Wyatt about his family’s offer to buy a portion of my family’s land, there was something else I was having a difficult time with.
Wyatt wasn’t in his suit.
He wasn’t in that suit, and he was still unbelievably handsome. It just wasn’t fair.
I didn’t think I was ugly by any means, but Wyatt was on another level, and he had money. I did just enough to get myself out of bed and the house this morning, so I could come on this run. The way I looked hadn’t really factored into the equation.
And now, I hated to admit, I was regretting I hadn’t done anything to make myself look just a bit more appealing. Because even if there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d ever want anything to do with Wyatt in a romantic sense, there was no question I would have felt more confident if I looked just a bit more presentable.
Plus, there was the money factor. While I didn’t think it should have mattered, I wasn’t stupid. It was a necessary evil in the world, making too many people do more harm than good.
I wanted enough to be able to live comfortably, to raise a family, and thrive. Wyatt had all that and more—good looks, money, and confidence. It just wasn’t fair.
If there was one good thing about running beside Wyatt, it was that the time seemed to pass quickly. Maybe it was because I’d been lost in so many of my thoughts about him that, before I knew it, I’d reached the end of my run.
Unfortunately, Wyatt had proven me wrong. Because not only did he manage to keep up with me throughout my entire run, but he didn’t even seem to have broken a sweat. He wasn’t even winded.
Worst of all, he took one look at me and knew he’d successfully proven his point to me. He was a runner.
