I shook myself. Wyatt wasn抰 my type.
Someone like Beck, he was my type. A handsome, kind man who read books and took an interest in things I liked. If things worked out with us, Beck and I could read books together every evening.
I nearly snorted. If things worked out? He was a hot doctor, and every single girl in town was interested in him. He probably only agreed to the date because he felt bad for me.
揃ookworm??Wyatt was right in front of me.
I jolted to attention. 揌i. Yes.?
His mouth twitched with amusement at my daydreaming. 揇idn抰 realize you were still out here.?
I held up the camera. 揑 was getting some footage.?
He shrugged. 揙kay. Let抯 get breakfast.?
揃reakfast??
He nodded and kept walking.
I checked the time before jogging to keep up with him. 揑 have to be at the bookstore by ten.?
揥e抣l get you there in time.?
I picked up my own board, letting my camera hang from the strap on my shoulder, and we walked along the sand towards the surf shop.
揝o, did you figure out what my brand is??
A big smile lifted on my face. In the evenings, I had been reading about marketing and social media engagement, and the thing that resonated most with me was that your brand should be authentic to the person or business, and unique.
揑 did,?I told him, pulling my too-eager smile back as we walked over the sand. 揑t抯 this.?I gestured out at the water behind us.
His eyebrows rose in amusement. 揝urfing??
I laughed. 揘o. I mean, partially surfing, but being out in nature and being in Queen抯 Cove. It抯 part of you. Queen抯 Cove is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and you surfing with the mountains in the background厰 I sighed and shook my head. 揋orgeous.?
揧ou think I抦 gorgeous??The side of his mouth hitched further in a roguish grin.
I stumbled on the sand and huffed an embarrassed laugh. Of course, I did. 揑 meant the mountains. The mountains are gorgeous.?
揗hm. You like this social media thing.?
Warmth filled my chest and I nodded. 揑 do. It抯 fun.?
揋lad someone enjoys it. How are your dates going??
My stomach tied itself into a knot. 揑 think I抦 going to cancel.?
Every time I remembered asking all those guys out, I shuddered with embarassment. Now I had to go out and make conversation with men in a public place, when I抎 rather be in my pajamas at home under a blanket with a glass of wine and the latest Talia Hibbert book.
But I抎 been doing that for years and it got me nowhere.
揥hat? No.?He shook his head. 揧ou can抰 cancel, bookworm. The hard part is over.?
揟he hard part is not over; the hard part is me having to spend time around people and convince them to like me.?
He frowned. 揧ou don抰 need to convince anyone to like you. People either like you, or they don抰 know you well enough, or they don抰 matter. You can leave your board there.?He gestured to the sand in front of the shop. 揅arter抯 teaching a beginner class this morning.?
I set the board down on the sand and dusted my hands off. 揑抦 meeting him at the bar tonight.?
Amusement grew on his features. 揃etter get your dart game ready.?
I groaned. 揑 don抰 want to go.?
He nudged my arm. 揅ome on, bookworm. This is how you figure out what you like.?
揃y dating half the town??
揧ep.?
揂re you only saying that because that抯 your method??
Another flash of teeth, wolfish this time. 揈xcept we don抰 really date, if you know what I mean.?
A quick stab hit me in the gut. I made a grumbly noise and rolled my eyes. Why did I care if Wyatt had hooked up with every girl in town? I didn抰。 In fact, that was why I was here. Because Wyatt was so good at dating and meeting people. Wyatt knew hot girls. I should be getting tips from him instead of making it weird.
He tilted his chin across the street. 揕eave your suit on, we can sit outside the food truck. I抦 going to put my board away.?
He disappeared into the shop with his board and returned a minute later. We wandered over barefoot across the street to the small patio with picnic tables. Music played and greasy food smells wafted out of the truck. Something sizzled inside.
We studied the small menu and I shot him a side-long glance. 揝o, say I wanted to hook up with Carter, what would I do??
He crowed with laughter. 揧ou don抰。？
No, I didn抰， but I wanted to know what I would do in case it ever came up with anyone else. 揗aybe I do.?
The look he gave me made me feel like he could see inside my brain. He shook his head, still laughing. 揧our body language with him told me you don抰。？
I thought about getting naked with Carter and my face automatically pulled into a grimace.