THAT EVENING, Wyatt led me through the front door of Elizabeth and Sam’s home. We slipped our shoes off and I could hear voices in the kitchen.
“Act normal and don’t you dare make either of them feel awkward.” Elizabeth’s voice held a hard, challenging edge.
I frowned and exchanged a curious glance with Wyatt.
“I swear to god, if you ruin my chance for another daughter-in-law,” her voice broke off and I got the sense she was shaking her head.
Daughter-in-law??? My face burned like molten lava and I refused to look at Wyatt.
“Why are you looking at me?” That was Emmett.
There was a derisive snort that sounded like Avery.
“You’re already making us feel awkward,” Wyatt called, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the kitchen.
Avery, Emmett, and Holden were lined up on one side of the counter and Elizabeth stood on the other side, shaking a wooden spoon at them. I could hear the sizzle of Sam barbecuing outside. Elizabeth turned and greeted us with a too-bright smile.
“You’re here!” She rushed over and enveloped me in a hug, pulling me into her and squeezing me. After a moment she pulled back to inspect my forehead with concern. “I heard you had an accident.”
I shook my head, rolling my eyes. “A little bump. A few stitches.”
“It’s not a little bump. She might have a concussion.” Wyatt opened the fridge and took out a beer.
“I don’t have a concussion,” I told him before turning back to the others with exasperation written all over my face. “We went to the ER and they shined a light in my eyes and said I was fine.”
Elizabeth held up a bottle of white wine. “Would you like a drink?”
I shot her a smile and a nod. “Sure.”
Wyatt shook his head. “She can’t have a drink. Sometimes doctors miss things.”
Avery frowned and tilted her head at me. “Who checked you out?”
“Beck.”
She wiggled her eyebrows with an appreciative grin. “Lucky girl.”
Emmett turned to her. “Excuse me.”
Holden and I both snorted. Elizabeth ignored Wyatt and handed me a glass of wine.
“It’s fine,” I told him. He wore a pained expression, a mix of uncertainty and protectiveness.
Wyatt had been acting weird all day. First, this morning, he had been giving me heated looks that seared my skin and made me shiver. He was thinking about what we did while we were camping, no doubt. I was. It was all I could think about. His tongue on me, his fingers swirling, winding me tighter and causing my brain to explode with stars.
Since I bonked my head in the water, he had treated me like a cracked teacup. He wouldn’t let me do anything all day except lie on the couch and listen to audiobooks. He had phoned Liya and made sure she was okay at the shop before he tucked me into the couch with a blanket and tea. He made me breakfast and lunch, and finally I got bored and took a nap. When I woke up, he was staring out the window at the water while his laptop played old footage from surf competitions on silent.
In Elizabeth’s kitchen, I met Wyatt’s protective, worried gaze. “I’m going to have one glass. I’m not going to drink the entire bottle. I’ll be okay.” I brushed my fingers over his tanned arm.
“One glass.” His throat worked. His forehead wrinkled with worry.
Sam appeared in the patio door with a pair of tongs. “Food will be ready in five.” He gave me a big grin and I saw Wyatt’s lazy, casual grin in his expression. “Hey, Hannah. Heard you bonked your head.”
I nodded and held up my glass. “I did and now I’m getting drunk.”
“She’s not getting drunk,” Wyatt said, too loud, and everyone burst into laughter but him.
My arm snaked around his waist and I jostled him. “You’re too easy.”
He looked down at me with a strained expression before his arm came around my shoulders and a hint of a smile passed over his mouth. “You’re taking years off my life here, bookworm.”
Avery watched us with interest over the rim of her wine glass.
We headed to the table out on the patio and took our seats while Sam brought over the plate of burgers. Wyatt sat to my left and Avery to my right. Across the table, Emmett whispered something to Holden and the corner of Holden’s mouth lifted. I caught the warning death glare from Elizabeth and they dropped it.
“How was the Emily Carr exhibit?” Holden asked, passing me the bowl of salad.
I nodded with enthusiasm. “Amazing. The paintings were beautiful and so different in person.” I shot him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry you missed it. I think there’s another one next month you could catch by another local artist.”
Elizabeth perked up and nodded at me. “I’d love to go to that with you. We could go for lunch after.”
A funny, happy tightness prickled in my chest. “It’s a date.”
“Good.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Emmett, honey, you’re holding up the salad.”
Avery glanced between Elizabeth and me with a small, knowing smile on her face.
Wyatt leaned over and his breath brushed my ear. “Do you need another Advil? Your head feel okay?”
“I’m good,” I whispered back with a small smile. “Thank you.”
He glanced at the bandage on my forehead with a wince before his gaze met mine.
“I’m fine,” I repeated.
He nodded and pressed a quick kiss to my temple before tucking back into his food. His mouth against my skin was comfortable, easy and normal.
Wait. Wyatt had kissed my temple in front of his entire family.
My gaze widened and I glanced around the table but no one had seemed to notice. Everyone was pointedly not looking at us. Holden stared at his plate. Emmett was very interested in the label of his beer. Sam studied something on the fence. Avery and Elizabeth’s gazes locked on each other.
Huh.
Sam asked Holden about his latest construction project and they began discussing town permits. Emmett jumped in to explain all the bureaucracy he was eliminating from town hall. Wyatt’s hand settled on my knee. When I glanced up at him with curiosity, he winked at me.
That wink shot right down between my legs.
“When do you pick up your rings?” Emmett asked Avery.
She inspected her bare hand. “I’ll drop by tomorrow and see if they’re finished cleaning them.”
He made an unhappy noise. “Good.” His eyes lit up. “We should renew our vows. I should get you another ring.”
She laughed. “What?”
Emmett nodded. “As a backup. I don’t like seeing your hand without a ring.”
Holden threw his fork down on his plate. “We get it, Emmett, you’re happily married.” Disdain dripped from his tone. “Good for you.”
The table went silent and everyone gave Holden a strange look.
“Holden,” Elizabeth chided. “Stop being so dramatic.”
When we finished eating, the boys stood to clear the plates. I began to stand and Wyatt put a hand on my shoulder to keep me seated.
“We got it,” he told me.
“But…” I started but he walked away with a handful of dishes.
Avery shook her head at me across the table. “Don’t bother.”
Elizabeth poured another glass of wine with a thoughtful expression. “I’m still learning about the patriarchy, but my takeaway is, we’re dismantling it by not doing the dishes.” She held the bottle out to Avery. “Top up?”
Avery nodded eagerly. “Yes, please. I’m not working tomorrow.”
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow at me with a glimmer in her eyes. “No more for you, my dear, or my previously laid-back son will have my head.” She wiggled her eyebrows with delight, like she couldn’t imagine anything she wanted more.
I swallowed and a blush creeped over my face. Was it my imagination or was Elizabeth enjoying Wyatt’s weird display of protectiveness?
“What are you reading these days, honey?” Elizabeth asked me and the endearment made my heart twist.
I began telling her about the historical romance I was reading, how it was so funny and inspiring and silly and the love interest made me swoon. She took down the title and I made a mental note to bring her my copy in case she wanted to read it.
The men returned to the table with plates of key lime pie, and Wyatt settled into his chair beside me before his arm came up around my shoulder. My skin prickled with awareness but I didn’t dare move. I noticed a couple glances our way but perhaps Elizabeth’s words in the kitchen had made their mark on everyone because no one said a thing.
If you ruin my chance for another daughter-in-law, she had said.
Daughter-in-law.
I nearly laughed at the idea of Wyatt and me married. Married was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Wyatt was all about impermanence and no tether.
Marriage was a legal tether, and an emotional one. Wyatt and me getting married would mean something.
Alarm spiked in my head and my gaze flared while I stared at my pie. What the absolute hell was I doing, thinking about marrying Wyatt? Maybe I had hit my head harder than I thought.
Elizabeth was just excited because she wanted good things for her sons. She was getting ahead of herself and dragging me with her. This was what moms did. Mine would have. A little smile grew on my face. My mom would love watching Wyatt wrap his arm around me and press kisses to my temple and bark at people that I couldn’t drink.
“Speaking of town news,” Emmett said, and the look he gave Wyatt was full of mischief before he glanced around the table with an innocent, concerned expression. “Did they ever find that missing hiker?”
I froze.
“What missing hiker?” Holden took a pull of his beer.
Emmett glanced between Wyatt and me, gaze snagging on Wyatt’s arm around my shoulder, before he shot us a wicked smile. “That missing woman shrieking in the woods.”
Avery’s chest shook with laughter but she stared at her plate, Holden put a fist against his mouth but his eyes were bright, and Emmett beamed openly at Wyatt and me. Sam chuckled and Elizabeth glared.
My face was red like a stop sign. “Does everybody know?” I asked the table, mortified all over again.
Everyone started laughing, even Elizabeth. She shot me a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey. Yes. Everybody knows.”
I buried my hands in my face and Wyatt rubbed my arm. His chest shook with laughter.
“It’s okay, bookworm.” His teasing grin was back and his teeth flashed. “I don’t mind everyone knowing what I can do.”
“Ew.” Avery threw her napkin at him.
“We’re just giving you a hard time, Hannah.” Sam grinned at me. “This is what we do.”
I rolled my eyes, despite my burning face. “I know.”
Wyatt cleared his throat and addressed the table. “You know when I was in Europe last year?”
Holden raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“I filmed a music video while I was there where they smeared me in silver body paint.” His expression was unreadable. “I had to wear a merman tail.”
“What?” Holden asked, blinking.
The entire table stared at him with open mouths, including me.
“What are you doing?” I whispered. “Why are you telling everyone?”
Wyatt nodded to Holden. “Yep. You can see me dancing in the background.”
Emmett’s eyes glowed like this was too good to be true. “Name. Artist. Now.” He unlocked his phone, fingers hovering.
“‘Depths of Love’ by Tula.” Wyatt took a bite of pie and ignored me gaping at him.
The opening notes played through Emmett’s phone.
“Oh my god.” Emmett stared at the screen with wide eyes. Avery peered over before she snorted. “First the chopping wood video and now this? Oh my god. This is amazing.”
Emmett made everyone watch twice before Elizabeth and Sam returned to their seats.
“I’ve already sent it to everyone I know,” Emmett informed Wyatt. “I’m dressing up as you for Halloween.”
Wyatt shrugged with a small smile. “Okay.”
I pinched his side and he shot another wink down at me. It dawned on me.
Wyatt told everyone about the video so they’d forget about the search party thing.
“You might as well post it on social media,” he told me, reaching over and stealing a bite of my pie.
Elizabeth straightened up and gestured to me. “Honey, I forgot to tell you. I love the photo of you in the window.”
A smile pulled at my mouth. “Wyatt took that one.” One of my shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I’m trying something new.”
Wyatt squeezed my shoulder. “It’s working.”
Did he mean with the store, or with my hot girl plans, or the finding true love thing? I wasn’t sure.
Sam took a sip of his beer. “You’re breathing new life into that place.”
“I walked past today and someone was painting the wall,” Elizabeth added.
I nodded. “That’s Naya and her team. She’s going to paint a new mural.”
The light shifted in Elizabeth’s eyes and she watched me with a small smile. “It’s time. I can’t wait to see it.”
“I’ll post progress pics on social media. I’m thinking about doing a time-lapse.” This morning, while Naya and her team rolled primer over my mom’s mural, I took videos.
Before Naya arrived, I had taken about a hundred pictures of the wall, including a selfie in front. My heart still twisted at the idea of painting over it, but Elizabeth was right. And my instincts were right. It was time.
“I bought wallpaper,” I blurted out. “I pick it up tomorrow morning at the post office.”
Avery’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t know that. You need help applying it?”
“If you have time, sure. I don’t know what I’m doing.” I frowned. “I don’t know if it’ll look good but I’m sick of the store looking straight out of the nineties.” I rolled my eyes. “I’d still like to rip the carpet up, but one step at a time.”
Wyatt shrugged. “Let’s do it.”
“Do what?” I raised an eyebrow.
“All of it. Let’s rip the carpet up, fix the shelves, and put wallpaper on. We can get a bunch of plants for the front window.”
Holden turned to Emmett. “Do we still have that flooring from the Ucluelet house?”
Emmett frowned in thought, tilting his head. “The one that was boat-access only?”
Holden nodded.
“It should be in the warehouse.”
Holden tilted his chin to me. “We did a reno on a big house last year and the owner changed his mind about the flooring color but we couldn’t return it.” He sat back with his arms crossed over his chest. “It’s nice, it’s a dark cherry wood that would look good in your store.”
Emmett nodded. “We could install it in a day.”
I blinked. “You could?”
Holden shrugged. “Sure. It’s just taking up space in the warehouse anyway.”
Excitement flopped around in my stomach and I bit a smile back. “Okay.”
Wyatt squeezed my shoulder again and shot me an amused smile. “We could do the shelves and wallpaper at the same time. Then you wouldn’t have to close twice.”
Avery raised her hand. “Elizabeth and I can help.”
“I’ve got some odds and ends in my garage for shelves, Hannah,” Sam added. “I’ll 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. “Yes. She does.”
The family made a plan and we decided that on Monday, we’d 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’t even mind that they teased me. Holden and Emmett treated me like they were my brothers. It had always just been my parents and me, and then it was my dad and me, and this was so much different. Louder and more stimulating and more chaotic, more emotional. I studied the Rhodes family, discussing Avery’s 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’d turn thirty. I was spending time with a guy who was going to leave. I was still wasting time but in a different way. Maybe I hadn’t changed as much as I thought. A weird pressure formed behind my eyes and I stood.
“Just going to grab some water.” I shot Wyatt a tight smile before my gaze darted around the table. “Anyone 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. “You okay, bookworm?”
I nodded, pulled a glass down from the cupboard, and ran the kitchen tap to fill it. “I’m fine.”
He stepped up behind me and placed both hands 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’t 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.
“We can leave whenever you want,” he murmured, his hands brushing my arms, sending goosebumps up and down my skin.
I nodded. “I know. Let’s stay a bit longer.”
“I 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’t want me around. Never. Not once.
“I like being here.” It came out as a whisper. “Even if you’re being crazy and overprotective.”
He grinned against my neck.
I tilted my head. “Stop worrying about me so much.”
“I won’t.” He leaned down and stole a quick kiss and my breath caught. “I have to tell you something.”
My stomach lurched. Here we go. “Okay.”
He brushed his hands up my arms. “The nurse at the ER thought you were my pregnant wife.”
A laugh choked out of me. My eyes were saucers. “Oh.”
He lowered his forehead to my shoulder with a sigh. “I can’t get it out of my head.”
My mind raced to process this. “Why did she think that?”
He shrugged and kissed my neck again. “Don’t know. And I didn’t correct her.”
“Does Beck think I’m pregnant?” I whispered the last word.
“I corrected the nurse about that. But not about the other part.”
“The wife part.”
“Mhm.” Another soft kiss on my skin.
“Why not?” My heart thumped against the front wall of my chest.
His voice was low in my ear. “Because I liked the idea of it.”
My brain skidded like it was slipping on ice. “But you…” I wasn’t sure how to word it.
“Yeah, I know.” His teeth scored my skin and I sucked a breath in. “Just 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.
“You getting hurt was my fault, bookworm.” His voice was low and my center clenched. “And now I’m going to take care of you.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “All 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. I couldn’t get turned on in my mother-in-law’s kitchen.
Wait, mother-in-law? I shook my head hard. No. No, no. Stop, Hannah. She was Avery’s mother-in-law.
He thought about us married, though. Wyatt. The guy who didn’t believe in long-term love.
“I was thinking,” Elizabeth said, stepping into the kitchen through the patio door, jarring me from my thoughts. “We should start a book club.”
“A book club?” I raised my eyebrows and blinked.
“Well,” she winced. “More like, you recommend books, I read them, and we talk about them over lunch.”
“Oh.” I blinked more. “Sure. I was going to bring you that historical romance I was telling you about anyway.”
She smiled wide at me. “Wonderful. That would be wonderful.” She watched me for a moment with a wistful expression. “I just adore you, honey. Your mother would be so proud of you.”
My throat closed up and I couldn’t breathe. I started to turn away but Elizabeth’s hands came to my arms and she turned me to her. I couldn’t hide.
“I forgot you knew my mom.” My voice wobbled and I cleared my throat.
“I sure did.” The apples of her cheeks popped when she smiled. “I remember how proud Claire was of you as a little girl and then as you grew up, as a teenager.” She nodded. “Oh, yes. If she saw you today, running that shop and chopping off your hair and camping and surfing, she’d be thrilled.”
I didn’t say anything, just let her words settle. They rolled around in my mind as I considered them.
Maybe she would be proud.
“The only thing she ever wanted was for you to be happy. That’s all I want for Wyatt.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what that looks like, as long as he lives a life that’s good for him.” She raised an eyebrow and that wolfish gleam appeared in her gaze. “But it sure looks like what’s good for him is you.”
My mouth fell open. “I don’t—”
“It’s none of my business.” She rubbed my arms again and stepped away with a smile and a wink. “You don’t have to explain anything to anyone.” She disappeared through the patio doors and I stood there, feeling seen, special, confused, and torn.
We sat out on the patio until it got dark. Holden had to head home because he had an early morning the next day and Emmett wanted to get up for a run and Wyatt was sending me more of those worried glances, so we said goodbye, exchanged hugs, and headed home.
Holden’s reaction to Emmett and Avery’s ring discussion popped into my head. “Do you think Holden’s lonely?”
He made an amused noise of disbelief. “No. He could date if he wanted to.”
I thought back to who I was before this whole thing with Wyatt started. How I wanted someone but didn’t know how to go for it. I had hid in my bookstore with my nose pressed up against the glass, watching the world go by. “What if he doesn’t know how?”
When he pulled the truck into his driveway, anticipation fluttered in my stomach.
We hadn’t discussed where I would sleep tonight. Mid-afternoon, we had stopped at my place and I had packed a bag of clothes and books. He’d probably offer his bed to me like a gentleman and sleep on the couch.
I didn’t want that, though. I wanted more of what we did while camping.
I smiled to myself. I was going to be brave and go for what I wanted.
