揑抳e got some odds and ends in my garage for shelves, Hannah,?Sam added. 揑抣l make you some new ones. Do you want some flower boxes for outside??
I could barely speak, it was happening so quickly and images flashed in my head of a beautiful new bookstore. The same store but better. The same store but with my stamp on it, this time.
Wyatt snorted at my baffled expression. 揧es. She does.?
The family made a plan and we decided that on Monday, we抎 close the store and make the changes.
Deep in my chest, something ached. Two months ago, I ate dinner alone in my kitchen or with my dad, reading my book.
Now I sat at the dinner table with people who felt like family, people who were helping me make the store beautiful again.
My heart twisted. I didn抰 even mind that they teased me. Holden and Emmett treated me like they were my brothers. It had always just been my parents and I, and then it was my dad and I, and this was so much different. Louder and more stimulating and more chaotic, more emotional. I studied the Rhodes family, discussing Avery抯 restaurant and whether she wanted to rent a food truck for Pacific Rim or not, and a sense of home struck me.
My throat tightened. Next week, I抎 turn thirty. I was spending time with a guy who was going to leave. I was still wasting time in a different way. Maybe I hadn抰 changed as much as I thought. A weird pressure formed behind my eyes and I stood.
揓ust going to grab some water.?I shot Wyatt a tight smile before my gaze darted around the table. 揂nyone need anything??
Everyone shook their heads and I stepped back into the kitchen, where it was quiet and I was alone and could think. Where I could shove these emotions back down where they were safe.
Wyatt stepped into the kitchen with a worried frown. 揧ou okay, bookworm??
I nodded, pulled a glass down from the cupboard, and ran the kitchen tap to fill it. 揑抦 fine.?
He stepped up behind me and placed either hand on the counter, caging me in. He warmed my back and it took everything I had not to lean into him. He stepped forward and didn抰 give me the choice. His arms wrapped around me and his mouth dropped to my neck below my ear. I shivered at the sensitive contact and he made a pleased, humming noise against my skin.
揥e can leave whenever you want,?he murmured, his hands brushing my arms, sending goosebumps up and down my skin.
I nodded. 揑 know. Let抯 stay a bit longer.?
揑 like you being here.?
I hated how much I loved those words. I hated how welcome and wanted I felt with him and with his family. I never felt like he didn抰 want me around. Never. Not once.
揑 like being here.?It came out as a whisper. 揈ven if you抮e being crazy and overprotective.?
He grinned against my neck.
I tilted my head. 揝top worrying about me so much.?
揑 won抰。？He leaned down and stole a quick kiss and my breath caught. 揑 have to tell you something.?
My stomach lurched. Here we go. 揙kay.?
He brushed his hands up my arms. 揟he nurse at the ER thought you were my pregnant wife.?
A laugh choked out of me. My eyes were saucers. 揙h.?
He lowered his forehead to my shoulder with a sigh. 揑 can抰 get it out of my head.?
My mind raced to process this. 揥hy did she think that??
He shrugged and kissed my neck again. 揇on抰 know. And I didn抰 correct her.?
揇oes Beck think I抦 pregnant??I whispered the last word.
揑 corrected the nurse about that. But not about the other part.?
揟he wife part.?
揗hm.?Another soft kiss on my skin.
揥hy not??My heart thumped against the front wall of my chest.
His voice was low in my ear. 揃ecause I liked the idea of it.?
My brain skidded like it was slipping on ice. 揃ut you厰 I wasn抰 sure how to word it.
揧eah, I know.?His teeth scored my skin and I sucked a breath in. 揓ust wanted you to know that.?
Between my legs, pressure built. The same pressure that happened when I saw Wyatt chopping wood without a shirt, muscles rippled and sweat dripping down his forehead.
揧ou getting hurt was my fault, bookworm.?His voice was low and my center clenched. 揂nd now I抦 going to take care of you.?He dropped his voice to a whisper. 揂ll night long.?He slapped my ass and I yelped with surprise. He headed back out the patio door with a sly wink and I stared after him with my mouth hanging open.
My center ached and I had the urge to drag him out of here, not caring who saw or what his family thought.
I groaned and downed half my water glass. I couldn抰 get turned on in my mother-in-law抯 kitchen.
Wait, mother-in-law? I shook my head hard. No. No, no. Stop, Hannah. She was Avery抯 mother-in-law.
He thought about us married, though. Wyatt. The guy who didn抰 believe in long-term love.