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My breath got stuck in my lungs.
Brooke and Emily were going to lose their minds, because it was just as they had suspected.
I didn’t know what to do.
Luckily, I didn’t have to.
Because I was saved by the sound of my doorbell ringing—our food had arrived.
11
WYATT
Nothing about this night had gone anything like I’d expected.
But just because I had an idea in my mind as to the kind of night I’d have with Rhea, and it didn’t work out like I’d anticipated, did not mean I was upset by the way things had gone down tonight.
In fact, I was willing to go out on a limb and say I was even happier to have this with Rhea.
Because it told me something I’d seemingly needed to have reinforced for some reason. With the way things had started between us, the tumultuous beginning to our encounters had led me to questioning whether I’d ever be able to get to this point.
Sure, we’d managed to have a conversation last night—the longest we’d had since meeting one another—but I wasn’t quite sure that even counted now, considering Rhea hadn’t remembered any of it.
Despite her being completely unprepared to find me standing at her door, Rhea proved I was making progress. Not in a million years did I think she’d invite me into her space and allow me to buy her dinner, so we could talk.
She wanted it.
Finally, after all this time, she thought it was important for us to have a discussion with one another.
And even though I was grateful to have that opportunity now, I had no intention of diving right into any of that with her. Oddly enough, it was no longer my priority, something my family might think I was crazy for feeling.
Unfortunately, regardless of what my family—namely Cooper—might have wanted in this situation, I couldn’t ignore what was happening to me. It was as I’d just shared with her. I came into her ice cream shop a few weeks ago, prepared to do what was necessary to get the job done for my family, but I hadn’t planned on one thing.
Her.
I liked her fiery spirit, her sassy attitude, and the way she refused to simply bow down to my request. She was going to make me work for it, and I never imagined how much I’d enjoy this part of the journey.
Something about Rhea was everything I didn’t know I wanted in a woman. I wanted to say it was because she was new and exciting and different, and perhaps, to some extent, that was part of it. But it was more than that.
She was more than that.
So, although she seemed willing to finally hear me out, to learn what my family had planned for the land we’d been hoping to buy from her family, I wasn’t going to do a single thing to halt the progress I’d made with her.
Because this had gone from being about land to something so much more for me. And I intended to do it right. Not just for me, but for her, too.
And the truth was, I had at least a dozen things I wanted to know about her, and none of it had to do with the farm or my family’s theme park expansion. For the time being, that was all secondary to learning more about this spitfire of a woman who’d captured my attention in the very best way possible.
Now that our food had arrived, and we were sitting comfortably on the couch together to eat it, I figured it was the best chance for me to start guiding the conversation to topics that would provide me with the opportunity to get to know her.
Of course, I was going to have to exercise a fair bit of self-control, considering Rhea had already taken a bite of her food and had moaned like it was the best thing she’d ever tasted. Evidently, she hadn’t been lying when she said it was her favorite meal.
“So, you’re twenty-six now,” I declared, forcing myself to ignore what her moan did to me.
She nodded. “I am.”
“Does it feel any different than twenty-five?” I asked.
A curious look washed over her face as she tipped her head to the side and assessed me.
