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“If you pickLove Actuallyagain, I swear to God I’m sleeping in the guest room,” Alex warns.
I laugh and Wyatt smirks before standing up and walking into the kitchen.
“That’s a Christmas movie, you jerk. It’s the middle of May, if anything I would pick10 Things I Hate About You.”
“Don’t do that one either.”
I shake my head and stand, walking into the kitchen to get something to drink. Wyatt is standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter idly. He lifts his drink to his lips and raises his eyebrows at me.
“Do they always bicker like that?” I ask, walking toward the fridge.
“Pretty much.” Wyatt nods. “They can be a little unbearable sometimes. I was hoping your presence here would put them on their best behavior, but it seems they feel just as comfortable around you.”
I smile and lean my hip against the island across from him and open my Pepsi.
“How long have they been married?” I ask.
“Five years.”
My eyes widen a little. “Wow. They were young.”
“Almost as young as our parents were when they got married. Alex and Taylor have that same, earth-shattering kind of love.” Wyatt laughs and shakes his head.
I look over at them now, Alex still has his arm around Taylor’s shoulders and she’s facing him and talking with her hands. Alex rolls his eyes, but he’s looking at her like she hung the moon. It’s the same way my dad used to look at my mom. Taylor says something and Alex laughs, shaking his head.
“I wonder what it feels like to be loved like that,” I whisper, mostly to myself.
“You’ll know one day,” Wyatt says confidently.
“How do you know?”
Wyatt shrugs and gives me a reassuring smile, even if his eyes are full of something that looks an awful lot like regret.
“You’re the kind of girl guys cross oceans for,” he says simply.
Chapter Ten
Wyatt
You’rethekindofgirl guys cross oceans for.
God, I’m an idiot. We’re about halfway into some Marvel movie—I’m not even paying enough attention to know which one. After I uttered those completely insane words to Lucy, I just walked back into the living room like it was the most normal thing in the world. Like I hadn’t seen the way her eyes widened, and her perfect lips parted slightly, and her cheeks turned this adorable shade of pink.
Alex and Taylor sit cuddled up on my couch, their discarded pizza plates sitting on the coffee table. I glance over at them a few times, but they are both thoroughly engrossed in the movie. I try not to look at Lucy, which is proving near impossible with her sitting in the recliner across from me. She’s still wearing my sweatshirt, and sitting sideways, with her left arm and cheek resting against the back of the recliner and her legs pulled up to her chest. She seems to be pretty into the movie, which makes it easier for me to steal glances at her when I don’t think she’s looking.
I don’t even know why I said it. I’m not that guy. I don’tsayromantic things like that, heck, I rarely eventhinkromantic things like that. I typically try to avoid being with girls who bring out that very rare side of me. And I realize that sounds shallow and prickish, but I’m a guy. I date, I just don’t date girls I feel anything for other than surface level attraction. And so far, none of the girls I’ve dated have minded that. We hang out for a few weeks, then I end it. Or, on occasion, the girl will end it. And that’s that.
And I’ve been fine with my dating arrangement. It’s not like I’ve gotten any complaints. But the more time I spend with Lucy, the more her eyes light up when she sees me and she says those sarcastic things that make me laugh, the more I feel something changing. The way she looked when she talked about her mom and dad earlier, and the way she looked at Alex and Taylor . . . my heart physically hurt.
Robert Downey Jr. says something funny on the TV and everyone laughs, including Lucy. She tilts her head back a little and her shoulders shake, before she glances over at me. Her eyes crinkled at the corners and the glow of the TV makes her eyes impossibly green and the freckles on her face shine. God, it was starting to hurt to even look at her.
I smile and stand up.
“Anyone want more popcorn? I need more popcorn.”
Alex raises an eyebrow at me as Taylor and Lucy shake their heads. I walked into the kitchen and put both hands behind my head and take a deep breath. I need to calm down.
“You okay, man?”
