揙h, wow.?
Naya had finished the mural. It was even better than the sketches. I pressed my hand to my mouth, blinking hard.
A story for every soul.
I nodded to myself, swallowing past the lump in my throat, blinking away the tears in my eyes. 揝orry,?I laughed, wiping my eyes. 揇on抰 know why I get so emotional when I see this thing.?
Wyatt抯 arm wrapped around me. 揃ecause it抯 a big deal.?
I nodded and we stood there, staring up at it. 揧eah. It is.?
He pressed a kiss to my temple and I closed my eyes, drinking this moment in when everything was right and happy. The mural wouldn抰 bring my mom back, but it was as close as I抎 ever get.
Wyatt抯 warm hand came to my lower back and he gave me a gentle push forward. 揋o ahead.?He pulled his phone out. 揑 want to get a picture of you.?
I skipped over to the mural and craned my neck up at it. My smile reached ear to ear. I glanced over at Wyatt as he snapped a picture. The phone came to his side and he tilted his head at me.
揋et enough pictures??I asked with a grin.
揙ne moment.?His gaze rested on me, memorizing me. 揙kay. Yeah.?
I was the luckiest woman in the world, and I抎 love Wyatt Rhodes until the day I died.
揑 think I抦 too full to have a drink,?I told Wyatt as he ushered me through the door of the bar.
揟oo full, even for champagne??He shot me a cocky grin and I laughed, turned to find an empty table, and froze.
Every person in the bar stared at me. Jaws were on the floor and beers hovered inches from mouths.
I took a deep breath and pulled myself up to my full height. Th閞鑣e wouldn抰 shrink. My mom wouldn抰。 Neither would I. Wyatt抯 hand came to my lower back and the tension in me eased a notch.
Right. This was fine. It wouldn抰 kill me for people to stare.
揋rab a seat and I抣l get us some drinks.?His breath tickled my ear as he murmured the words, and then he dropped a quick kiss to my cheek before giving my butt a playful tap.
Well, if they weren抰 staring before, they sure were now.
My face heated but I zeroed in on an empty table off to the side as I walked to it and took a seat. My hands itched to pull out my phone and mindlessly scroll but I resisted, clasping them together in my lap and tentatively taking in my surroundings.
A group of young women sat at the table beside me, sipping drinks and whispering, sending me side glances. My stomach clenched up. Were they whispering about me? I took another deep breath. I wouldn抰 wilt. Not tonight. Tonight, I was going to have fun. For me, but also for Wyatt. I didn抰 want him to play the role of my mentor or teacher tonight. Tonight, he was my?
Boyfriend?
My stomach fluttered at the thought.
In the bar, I caught the eye of one of the women at the next table before I quickly looked away. They were in their early twenties.
揧our dress is really pretty.?She had long black hair that cascaded down her back in curls.
I glanced over at her. They were all smiling at me.
Another one of them nodded eagerly. 揝uper pretty. I wish I had the confidence to wear that.?
I gave her a tentative smile. 揙h, I抦 not棓 I broke off and shifted in my seat. 揂re you on vacation??
揥e抮e from Seattle.?The third woman sipped her drink and played with the little paper umbrella. 揟his town is so cool, we love it.?
揧ou抮e so lucky to live here.?The fourth one leaned her chin on her palm and gazed at me with a dreamy expression. 揑t抯 like a TV show.?
揙h,?I laughed. 揝ometimes, I guess. But yes, I抦 lucky to live here.?
揇id you grow up here??
I nodded and told them about the town, about the funny festivals we had and about my bookstore.
揙h my god, Pemberley Books is your store??The dark-haired woman抯 eyes widened and she gestured to her friend. 揟asha showed us the mural photos. We were going to go see it tomorrow.?
揑t抯 so cool that you sell romance,?Tasha added quietly. She rolled her eyes at herself. 揑 mean, I know they抮e dumb.?
I held a hand up to stop her. 揟hey抮e not dumb, they抮e awesome. Things aren抰 dumb because women like them.?
The women blinked at me and I realized how forcefully I had said the last part.
揧ou are so right,?Umbrella Drink said. 揑t抯 like when my coworkers make fun of me for drinking pumpkin spice lattes. Like, just let me like it.?
I nodded. 揂bsolutely.?
Something behind me caught their gazes and their mouths dropped open. I turned as Wyatt set two drinks on the table and slipped into the seat across from me.
揟hanks.?Both of our drinks were pink with salt rims. 揥hat抯 this??I licked the rim and his gaze dropped to my tongue.
揚aloma,?he said, still staring at my mouth. 揋rapefruit and tequila.?