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“This sounds wonderful,” Emily declared.
“Yeah, I agree,” Brooke added. “Although, I guess I’m wondering if he’s just been showing up to run with you so he can get you to listen to what he has to say about the offer to purchase part of your family’s farm. Has he bored you with all the details of what his family’s company is planning?”
“Nope. In fact, that’s sort of my problem right now.”
“What do you mean?” Emily asked.
After taking a sip of my cocktail and setting the glass down on the table again, I shared, “The very first day he was there, I told him I didn’t want him talking to me, that I preferred running in silence.”
“And he honored your wishes?” Brooke pressed.
“He did. We only spoke briefly afterward, when he asked about my knees. And that’s the thing I’m struggling with,” I explained. “He hasn’t attempted to convince me to sit down with him to talk about the letter they sent. He’s respected my wishes, didn’t talk while we were running, and keeps it very casual afterward.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about the stuffed mantis. They’d make so much more out of this than I wanted it to be. And the truth was, ever since that day, he hadn’t done anything crazy like that again.
Tipping her head to the side, Brooke’s eyes roamed over my face. “Is this a bad thing?”
I shrugged. “I guess it shouldn’t be, since it’s what I asked for, but now I’m not so sure.” My friends looked at me like I’d lost my mind. I figured it was best to offer more clarification. “At the start, I’d preferred to have things my way, because I felt the need to take control of the situation. I didn’t want him thinking he could strong arm me. I hadn’t wanted to risk having him talk to me about the farm, and I was accustomed to running on my own. But now, it’s a bit unnerving, because all I’m getting are the pleasantries from him when I get there in the morning and a confirmation that he’ll see me for a run the next morning when we finish.”
“He just sort of made himself part of your morning run routine.”
“Yes. But at this point, I’m dying for him to say something else to me,” I confessed.
They stared back at me with disbelief marring their features. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand; I was just as shocked by my admission.
The last thing I had wanted was Wyatt Westwood anywhere near me. But he’d effortlessly constructed us into this daily run duo, and I was so determined to keep up the façade, I refused to break the ice.
“So, now you want him to talk about buying part of your family’s land?”
I shrugged again. “I don’t know. I just know I don’t like this. I don’t understand what he’s doing. He should have said something to me about it by now, right? I mean, it’s been two weeks.”
“Well, I think that depends.”
My eyes shot to Brooke. “On what?”
“On how he feels about you,” she answered with a bright smile. “Maybe he’s finding he likes your spitfire personality or the way you look running next to him.”
“Oh, I bet you’re right,” Emily squealed.
“What? No. If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that a man like him always has a motive. He came into my ice cream shop convinced this was going to be a simple fix, and he didn’t get what he wanted. Men like Wyatt don’t just give up that easily,” I insisted.
“Maybe not. But you know not all men are like Tristan, either, don’t you?” Brooke reasoned.
“I do. But I’m not sure if Wyatt is one of them,” I argued.
Emily sat up straighter, tossed her hand out in front of her body, and noted, “Well, maybe you’ve got the wrong impression of him. I mean, he is being respectful of your feelings by not talking about something you already gave him an answer to. Isn’t that how you want him to be?”
I swallowed hard, because Emily had made a valid point, and I didn’t like thinking I’d gotten it wrong. “I do. Of course, I do. But he’s not saying much of anything else to me. I guess I just don’t know what the endgame is here.”
“Perhaps it’s just like I said. Maybe he likes you,” Brooke maintained. “It isn’t unreasonable to think the guy is smart. And if that’s true, it’s obvious he’d take one look at you and know he’d be a fool to not even try to get to know you.”
I didn’t think that was what was happening at all, even if there’d been a lot of innuendo on his end. “He’s not doing that either, though.”
Brooke laughed, and Emily giggled beside her. “It’s like you don’t know who you are. The man might be smitten, or even just intrigued, but he’s also wise. I’m willing to bet he’s sticking around, showing up every morning, because there’s something else he wants more than he wants your family’s farm.”
I groaned, my head dropping forward. “I don’t want this. Why can’t I just meet a normal guy?”
“You don’t think he’s normal?”
