AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I smiled back and exited the car. “Good morning, Wyatt.”
After Wyatt closed my door, I hit the lock button on the key fob, and the two of us began making our way over to the entrance of the hiking trail.
Yes, I’d finally caved and admitted it was much better on my knees to run on the hiking trails. And now that the weather was starting to really warm up and the leaves were appearing on the trees again, I found the trails offered an even more impressive view than the bike path.
“How was the rest of your weekend after I took you home on Saturday night?” Wyatt asked.
I refused to tell him how badly I struggled not to think about him. “It was okay. I got myself caught up on some things I’ve been meaning to do around the house. Then I called Brooke and Emily yesterday afternoon before I went over to my parents’ house to have dinner with them and my grandparents last night.”
“Sounds like you were busy. How are your friends doing?”
Even though I was running, it didn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. “They’re doing really well. In fact, I don’t know if you recall the guys they were with the night we were out for my birthday, but those guys were twin brothers, and the four of them have gone on a couple of double dates.”
“You seem happy about that,” Wyatt noted.
“I am. They’re having a great time, the guys seem nice, and my friends deserve this. Considering Emily found out only a few weeks ago that the guy she’d been dating for six months was already married with children, I’m especially happy for her. Maybe it won’t amount to anything in the long term, but for now, my best friends are having a wonderful time, and that’s all that matters to me,” I explained.
“Well, then they’re lucky to have you.”
Not wanting him to think the friendship was one-sided, I insisted, “It’s the same for me with them.”
“I’m glad you have that, Rhea.”
“Yeah, me too. What about you?”
“What about me?”
We’d made it to a part of the trail that was a bit wider and didn’t require as much focus on what was around, so I took a second to glance up at Wyatt before I clarified, “How was your weekend?”
He let out a laugh. “You and I are a lot alike.”
“What?”
That single word came out a bit harsher than I had intended, and though I hoped Wyatt hadn’t noticed, I wasn’t so lucky. He hesitated for a moment, clearly caught off guard by the way I’d reacted, before he shared, “I went to my parents’ place late yesterday afternoon and stayed for several hours to have dinner and visit with them, my siblings, and my grandparents, too.”
And there it was.
More and more evidence that Wyatt was the kind of guy I could see myself falling for if the situation had been different for us.
“I bet that’s so much fun, considering there’s so many of you,” I said.
Wyatt chuckled. “Yeah, it’s a good time, for sure. Would you be interested?”
Though my focused remained on the trail ahead of me, my brows knit together in confusion. “Interested in what?”
“Seeing what it’s like to be around all of my family in a party setting,” he answered.
Now, it was my turn to laugh. “How would I do that?”
For some stupid reason, I ignored the extended silence that stretched between Wyatt and me. And because of that, I wasn’t prepared for what he said when he finally decided to respond. “If you don’t have plans, I’d love to have you join me this coming Saturday for my sister’s birthday party.”
My strides slowed, and I came to a grinding halt as my eyes shot to Wyatt. He made it two strides past me, but quickly stopped and turned to look back at me, concern littering his features. “Is everything okay?”
“Did you just ask me to go to your sister’s birthday party with you this weekend?” I questioned him.
He nodded. “Yeah. I was thinking about it yesterday. The party is going to be in one of the ballrooms at the Westwood Hotel, and I’d really love it if you’d attend it with me. I promise it’ll be a lot of fun, and I could even introduce you to my crazy family.”
My eyes blinked rapidly. Was he being serious? Did he really want to do this? “Are you joking?”
