揧eah, but you will. And this is a big deal. Good job, professor.?
His gaze flared with heat and he watched me over the rim of his mug. 揇o you want another hot dog? I brought lots.?
I shook my head. I抎 already had two. 揥here抎 you find veggie dogs? I didn抰 think they sold them in the store in Queen抯 Cove.?
揑 drove to Port Alberni yesterday to grab them.?
揟hey抮e surprisingly good. Even for hot dogs.?
That made him grin. 揥e have to eat hot dogs when we抮e camping, bookworm. It抯 the rule.?
We smiled at each other for a moment. The idea of sleeping in Wyatt抯 tent flashed into my head again. Would it smell like him in there? How would I sleep with that intoxicating, masculine scent in my nose?
Above us, stars winked down from the dark sky. Less light pollution in the woods made the sky look like someone had scattered a handful of glitter.
揑t抯 so quiet out here.?
揗hm.?He nodded, gaze on me. 揘o cell service. No background noise. Just quiet.?
揑 keep having the urge to check my phone. Oh, I didn抰 tell you. I set up an online store.?
His eyes widened with surprise. 揧ou did? That抯 great. When did that happen??
揂 couple days ago. My social media posts picked up a bit of traction and there were a couple customers from around Vancouver Island asking about purchases. Some people wanted to order some books in so it was easier to set up the store online.?I shrugged.
揕ook at you.?His grin was easy. 揑抦 proud of you.?
My chest tightened in a good way, and my face warmed. I tried to hold back my grin but failed.
He nodded. 揧ou抳e done a lot for the store recently. And for yourself.?He tilted his head, still watching me. 揑 like seeing you like this.?
揕ike what??I was fishing, but I didn抰 care. I needed to know what Wyatt liked about this new me.
揑 like when you do things for yourself, and when you push yourself even though you抮e worried or nervous or scared.?His eyes flicked to my hair and he smiled. 揑 like your haircut. You look cute.?
Another flush of warmth to my face. I blinked down at my hands in my lap. 揝ometimes I think that I抦 turning into a new person.?I chewed my lip and thought about it. 揃ut then I wonder, maybe this is who I actually am, and I was holding myself back from everything good.?I shrugged. 揊rom trying things, from failing.?I lifted my gaze to him, where he watched and waited. 揑 hate failing at things. Or hated.?I frowned. 揑 don抰 know anymore. I抦 getting better at being bad at things.?
揓ust in time for your birthday.?
A shiver of unease rolled through my stomach. My birthday loomed in the background of my mind at all times. Sometimes I could ignore it, or pretend it wasn抰 there, but then I抎 be paddling for a wave or reading my book or posting on social media or walking to the grocery store and it would pop into the forefront of my mind.
Thirty. I was going to be thirty in two weeks.
The store was back in the black this month. It was too soon to tell whether I had saved it or not, but the website, social media, and weekly farmer抯 markets were bringing in more sales. If sales kept up, we might stay in the black into the winter.
I felt pretty the other night when I was on the date by myself. I loved my new haircut. I could surf at a beginner level and had asked guys out on dates, even if none of that panned out. I could safely check off the hot girl goal.
But I didn抰 have a boyfriend, I hadn抰 found true love, and I wasn抰 sure if my mom would be proud of me.
I think she might, though. I was pushing myself, making changes and doing the scary things. I thought about kissing Wyatt, how I never would have done that before all this. I smiled to myself, playing with a thread on the arm of my camp chair. My mom would have loved to hear how I had kissed a boy. She would have been excited to hear that I had made the move.
Were all these things enough? Would my mom look down at me and say, yep, that抯 my girl, she抯 killing it? Or would she be disappointed still?
揥hat抯 going on in that head??Wyatt抯 voice was casual but his gaze pinned me. He rubbed his jaw.
A corner of my mouth lifted in a half-smile. 揓ust thinking.?
He shifted in his camp chair, getting comfortable and taking another sip of wine, giving me the option to tell him more or not. I felt a bizarre pull to divulge everything to him.
揗y mom, she厰 I narrowed my eyes up at the blanket of stars. 揝he went for things, you know? She had such a fun spirit, so passionate about things, and she took control over her life. She loved books so she opened a store to sell them. She always had music on in the house and she loved going on adventures around the island.?
A memory appeared in my head and a huge grin grew on my face. 揑 remember when the Spice Girls came to Vancouver. This was back when you either bought tickets in person or on the phone.?I leaned forward to Wyatt. 揝he was on hold on the phone for hours.?