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Because if that was how things looked to them when they weren’t right beside me last night, I wondered what it looked like to Wyatt.
Worse, what could we have discussed to make me look that way to my friends?
“What am I going to do?” I asked, leaning forward and pressing my forehead into my palm.
“What do you mean?”
Waving my opposite hand out in front of me, palm up, I said, “I can’t remember anything. It’s a sure bet that Wyatt is going to be there on Monday morning when I go for a run. How should I handle it? Do I tell him the truth, or do I tell him that I still don’t want to talk while we run, in hopes that I won’t have to acknowledge anything that happened yesterday?”
“Don’t run away from this, Rhea,” Emily ordered. “Honestly, I think you should give yourself the chance to get to know the guy.”
Was she serious? “What makes you say that? You can’t possibly believe it’s a good idea.”
“Uh, Rhea?” Brooke called.
My eyes slid to her. “Yeah?”
She held my gaze in silence momentarily before she said softly, “I do believe that for two reasons.”
“Which are?”
Brooke hesitated briefly. “I had one drink last night. I might not have been close enough to hear what was said between the two of you, but I know what I saw. Not only were you the happiest I’ve seen you in a long time, but I saw Wyatt, too.”
I hadn’t considered that. The moment those words were out of her mouth, I froze. Because I wondered what exactly she saw when she saw Wyatt. “What does that mean?” I asked, my tone revealing my hesitancy and nervousness about what her answer might reveal.
Brooke offered a small smile. “Wyatt didn’t look like a guy who had one thing on his mind. Or, well, I guess I should say, I don’t think he had his family’s business or your family’s land on his mind. He looked like a guy who was completely captivated by the woman he was holding in his arms. Honestly, I think he likes you.”
That wasn’t possible. He didn’t know anything about me to like me. Unless… unless I said something to him while he was holding me in his arms that could make him look at me in a way that had convinced my best friend he was interested in me like that. “This is humiliating. I can’t believe I don’t remember anything we discussed. What if I said something horrible?”
Shooting me a look of indifference, Emily reasoned, “It couldn’t have been that bad if you did. My guess is he wouldn’t have agreed to dance with you if that had been the case.”
“You say that like you’re certain I’m the one who asked him to dance,” I pointed out.
Both of my friends laughed, but the sound of their soft laughter did not do anything to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “We didn’t need to be close enough to hear you ask him to know that’s precisely what happened. You stepped away from him, started dancing as you moved back toward the dancefloor, and urged him to join you with the sway of your hips and the crook of your finger. Trust us. That man was waging a battle in his brain as he watched you. Plus, you pretty much confirmed that’s how it went down when we were in the car after we left.”
I remembered dancing. Of course, I did. But I didn’t recall being the one to coax him to do it with me. Hearing I’d indicated this to them last night, I asked, “What else did I happen to share in the car?”
“That was the other reason I had for believing it’s a good idea for you to give yourself the chance to get to know him better,” Brooke said. I sat up straighter, feeling beyond intrigued. That’s when she continued, “For a long time, I’ve seen you so guarded. And I know you’ve had your reasons, but it’s taken too much of a toll on you. When I was driving you home last night, you couldn’t stop saying how Wyatt was nothing like you imagined, how you’d gotten it all wrong. Even though I tried to get some specifics out of you, you didn’t give me any. You only continued to give me some version of those same sentiments. You made one thing very clear. Wyatt wasn’t the man you thought he was all along.”
Great.
Just great.
This was just an indication I really had forgotten whatever conversation we’d had. Worse, after all I’d been feeling as the last two weeks of him running with me had progressed, I’d been hoping for some answers. It seemed I’d gotten some last night, and now, all I could do was feel regret.
“Exactly how good do you think inebriated Rhea’s judgment is?” I asked my friends, feeling such disappointment with myself. Sighing, I said, “Can I trust the words I said to you last night? Because right now, I’m wondering if the best thing that could happen on Monday morning, because there isn’t a chance he won’t show up for a run, is that he just pretends yesterday didn’t happen.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” Brooke returned with a smile on her face. “He was too infatuated for that to be the case, and you were pretty smitten yourself. Honestly, I’d be willing to bet if you’d given him your number, he’d have already called you today.”
“Well, I haven’t received any calls, so I think I’m safe there,” I told her.
There was an extended silence before Emily reached out and gave my arm a squeeze. “Rhea?”
“Yeah?”
She waited until I had my attention focused on her before she said, “Earlier in the evening, you were telling us how you didn’t understand what his motives were for running with you every morning if he hadn’t brought up his company’s interest in your family’s land. After what we saw last night mixed with what you said in the car, I think it’s safe to say we both understand why you asked that question. I think you already knew the answer. He likes you, and that’s why he’s showing up every day. Maybe, instead of asking him not to speak about it when you see him on Monday, you should give him the opportunity to tell you whatever’s going on in his head. Instead of driving yourself crazy about it, let dinner with him happen. Then you won’t constantly be questioning everything.”
“I agree. Do yourself a favor, and give the man a chance. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by him,” Brooke said.
