***
As soon as he’s finished showering, he sets about getting dressed. I watch him as he puts on a pair of relaxed dark jeans and a black T-shirt that not only accentuates his toned biceps, but will also hide any bleeding ink on his chest. As soon as he’s finished, he crosses the room to where I’m sitting on the edge of the bed. Leaning over me, he cups my face between his hands and kisses me. “You look beautiful, Ky.”
“Didn’t you know, McCrae?” I start, unable to keep the breathlessness out of my voice. “Your pretty words don’t always make me drop my panties.”
“Fuck . . . apparently not.” He takes my hands in his and guides me toward the door to our room, tucking his hand into my back pocket as we walk down the hallway together. When I glance up at him, he grins at me, giving my ass a firm squeeze. “I’ll try again after breakfast.”
“You’re a determined thing, aren’t you?” I ask as we leave the hotel and walk in the direction of the restaurant where Heidi and I ate breakfast yesterday.
“Always.” Just before we step through the restaurant door to join Heidi and Cal, he stops me, pulling my body flush to his. “But Kylie?”
“Wyatt?” We step to the right in sync to avoid a group of people making their way into the building. Our gazes stay locked for a long pause of time, until I lift an eyebrow. “You plan on speaking or continuing to creep me out with all the silence?”
He lowers his mouth to my ear. “Even if we don’t fuck this morning, you’re still beautiful.” When he draws away from me, taking in my slightly stunned expression, a slow grin drags across his face. I make a noise in the back of my throat in an effort to clear away some of the tightness as I slide past him.
“So are you,” I finally reply, pulling the restaurant door open.
Once we’re seated, I order the same thing as before, the western omelet, and I promise myself that I’ll actually enjoy my breakfast no matter who calls me. In fact, if my phone does ring, I’ll send whoever it is directly to my voice mail.
Cal and Heidi are in deep conversation about something, but when I lift my coffee mug to my lips, he pauses. “What the hell is wrong with your finger?” From the way he’s narrowing his brown eyes at my newly inked skin, I’d think he didn’t have a dozen tattoos of his own.
I take a sip of my coffee before answering him. The steaming liquid burns the tip of my tongue, and shooting Heidi an apologetic look, I grab her orange juice and take a giant sip in hopes that it will cool my mouth. Once I’m able to speak without slurring my words, I say, “New tattoo.”
Despite being on the opposite side of the table, Heidi bends as close to me as she can to examine my finger. Her eyes widen, and she blurts out, “Jesus, Kylie, did you two get married last night?”
Beside her, Cal chokes on his unsweetened tea and then garbles something incoherent.
Before either of them have a meltdown in the middle of the restaurant, I jump to correct Heidi’s assumption. “I can promise you that we’re definitely not married.” I glance over at Wyatt. Although his shoulders are shaking from laughter, something flashes in his midnight blue eyes—curiosity.
My mind has wandered there before, thinking about what marriage would be like with Wyatt, but I won’t let it go there again. Not when all the events of the last couple days have brought me closer to wanting to give things between the two of us one more try. Not when he’s yet to tell me that he loves me.
No, marriage probably won’t be something I stop and think about for a long time.
“I’m glad you didn’t get married,” Heidi announces, taking her orange juice away from me. “I would have punched you in the boob if I didn’t get an invite.”
***
Once we’re done with breakfast, we head back to the hotel to pack for Phoenix. We’re on the road well before noon, and as Wyatt and I sit in the backseat together, his hand finds mine, clasping my fingers tightly.
“Last stop,” he whispers, and I can only nod my head.
***
Heidi has to leave almost the moment we reach Phoenix six hours later. One of her brothers is already waiting for us at the hotel when Cal parks the SUV. She leaps out of the front seat of the Suburban and sprints across the parking lot, laughing as her brother gathers her up in a giant hug.
“He’s fucking big,” Cal says from beside me, eyeing Heidi and the tall beefy guy standing next to her. I tip my head in agreement. “I could probably take him.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I glance at him from out of the corner of my eye. “Thought there was nothing going on between you two.”
“Oh, there’s not.” He starts unloading our luggage, giving me a wink as he sets her suitcase on the asphalt. “But you never know what’ll happen once we get back home.”
Right. As I walk over to Heidi, I glance back at Cal once, and when I catch him staring at her, he drops his eyes.
Heidi reintroduces me to her brother, and as he climbs inside his ironically small sports car, she gives me a pained look. “So, apparently, my mom really went all out because I’m in town, and the entire family is coming over.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
She shakes her head, and I stifle a laugh at how dramatic the sad expression on her face is. “My nieces and nephews are possessed. After the last time you came home with me, I swore to you I’d never put you through that again.”
I can’t resist grinning. “Want me to wait around for you before I head over to the bar tonight?”
She bobs her head a little too enthusiastically. “I’m hoping it’ll be sooner rather than later, but you know how my folks are.” When her brother honks his horn, she rolls her eyes. “Ugh, see you later.”
Before she gets into the car, she waves her arm dramatically to Wyatt and Cal to signal that she’s leaving, and then I watch as her brother’s sports car speeds away. Heidi can complain all she wants about her family, but I know better than anyone how much she adores them. Seeing them will be good for her.
Since Wyatt and Cal have a few things to take care of with the Hazard Anthem guys, I stay in our room after we check-in. The moment that Wyatt leaves, after promising me that he’ll be back as soon as possible, I adjust the thermostat back to a normal temperature.
When I lie down to watch a marathon of The Walking Dead, I don’t plan to fall asleep, but it’s pretty much inevitable. The sound of Wyatt returning to the room gets me up, and I flick my eyes to the clock by the bed to see that it’s 8:37 p.m.
Yawning, I sit up and swing my legs off the side of the bed. “Didn’t realize it was so late.” I smooth a bunch of stray pieces of my hair behind my ear. “Do I have time to get ready?”
He nods. “I’ve been calling you,” he says, sitting down in the armchair across the room. “We go on in a little over an hour.”
I grab my phone from the nightstand and release a groan when I realize it’s dead. Since it’s useless, I throw it down on the bed. “The battery in that thing sucks.” If Wyatt’s been trying to get in touch with me, chances are Heidi has too. I rub my hand over my face in frustration. “Hey, you don’t happen to have Heidi’s number saved in your phone, do you?”
He shakes his head but pulls out his cell. He runs his finger up and down the screen, probably scrolling through his contacts. “Nope, but Cal does. He’s having drinks with Nate and Ben, but he’ll answer.” He presses a button and then tosses the phone to me. I reach up and catch it easily with my right hand. “Going to wash my face before we get going. Be right back,” he says, disappearing into the bathroom.
Just as Wyatt promised, Cal answers on the fourth ring. After he teases me about not knowing my best friend’s number, he promises to text it to me as soon as we hang up. A moment after I hit the End button, the message comes through. “Impressive, Cal,” I say, opening the text.