by Rayne, Piper
Finally, a topic I can handle. “Work. I work at Glacier Point Resort.”
“You do?”
Shit. I probably shouldn’t have said that.
She looks around again and leans in. “Let’s keep that between us. If Wyatt’s dad found out he’s sleeping with an employee, it would be bad all around.”
I blanche, suddenly wanting to shrivel up and disappear.
“Oh no. I didn’t mean that it’s beneath him. It’s the employee and boss thing. As you know, Wyatt was there for a reason and it wasn’t to fornicate with the employees.” She smiles. “But you’re absolutely breathtaking.” She grips my hand and I have no idea if I should feel complimented or insulted.
I smile and sip my wine, hoping he rescues me soon.
“And who is this?” A man I don’t need to be introduced to because his son looks so much like him, kisses his wife’s cheek and sits next to her. He extends his hand in my direction. “Abe Whitmore.”
“Brooklyn… Bailey.” I shake his hand.
“Bailey?” He clicks his tongue along the roof of his mouth. “Have we met?”
“No. I don’t believe so.”
“You look familiar… Bailey…” He snaps his fingers and points at me. “You’re here with Wyatt?”
“Yes Abe, this is Wyatt’s date.” Eva smiles almost as if she’s reassuring me this will be over in a second and to just grin and bear him for a moment.
“Bailey Timber?”
“Yes.” I nod.
“When I scouted out Glacier Point, Mr. Clayton raved about your family like you’re the Kennedys. You must do well in that town.”
“My sister, Savannah, runs the family business now.”
“Her parents passed,” Eva whispers.
Not one ounce of sympathy mars his face. I’m happy I don’t have to reassure someone else that I’m okay, but what does it say about him?
“Of course, Wyatt goes off and finds himself one of you guys and not some normal girl in Lake Starlight.”
His mom laughs but checks to make sure I am too. I’m not. I don’t understand the joke, nor do I think because my last name is Bailey that I’m better than anyone else who lives in Lake Starlight.
But I’m not impolite and I’m doing something nice for Wyatt.
“I see you’ve met Brooklyn?” Speak of the devil. He comes up behind me, resting one hand on the back of my chair.
“We have. She’s lovely.” Eva smiles at me.
“Yes. She is.” Wyatt dips down and presses his lips to my cheek. A million-watt surge courses through my veins but I try to tamper down my surprise and my arousal. “I’m going to take her out to the balcony.” His hand grazes down my arm until my hand is firmly in his. Then he lifts it and I stand from the chair.
“Have fun you two,” his mom says. “It was wonderful talking with you.”
“You as well,” I say.
“Wyatt, come by the house tomorrow morning. We need to chat,” Abe says.
“It’s Haylee’s wedding day. No business tomorrow. Actually, no business this entire weekend,” Eva says.
“That’s ridiculous. I’ll be making deals during the reception.” Abe laughs, but no one else joins in. He doesn’t notice as he picks up his drink. “Come Eva, the Feldmans are here.”
“Mom. Dad.” Wyatt nods and leads us out of the room and out two double doors to a balcony that overlooks Manhattan.
I draw in a gasp. “Wow…”
He guides me to the railing. The lights of the skyscrapers are almost blinding.
“Something, isn’t it?”
“It’s beautiful.” I saw everything on the way to the hotel, but up high like we are now, and at night? It’s spectacular.
“I’m glad you’re here, but I apologize if anyone said anything offside when I wasn’t around. It’s easy to forget how vicious the people here can be.”
This remark isn’t his first. He’s been paranoid people would treat me poorly since we left his condo. Veronica wasn’t great, but it’s obvious she’s jealous. I don’t know the details of their past, and I don’t care to.
I circle around so my back is pressed to the railing. Wyatt doesn’t step away, leaving us close. Too close for platonic friends, but I don’t push him away. I don’t want to and I’m tired of fighting against myself. “Why do you keep saying things like that? Did you run away to Lake Starlight for a reason?”
His gaze shoots to the skyline behind me, but the light on the balcony above allows me to see what’s in his eyes. Wyatt isn’t transparent, he keeps his expressions in check but usually a stirring of something is evident in his blue hues. “I never thought much of it until I went to Lake Starlight. I was content in the dog eat dog world this city breeds. But...” He looks at me and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. I fail to mention he’s ruining all the hard work I put into making it look naturally wavy because having his touch on me feels right. “You make me wish I was someone else.”
“Why?”
He steps closer and his hand splays along my cheek like it did when we first arrived. His touch is intimate and if I don’t want this to go any further, I need to say so now. I can’t deny I want Wyatt, and Rome’s words ring through my head.
“You’re so angelic. So pure. So perfect. But I’m far from it.”
His words make me feel so light, like I could float away right off this balcony.
“You talk about yourself like you’re an assassin or something. You’re not, right?”
He laughs, his head tilting back. The moon shining on his neck. God, I want him. I shouldn’t, but I do.
“No. I’m not that, but I was raised to get what I want, damn the consequences.”
I lean closer to him, wanting him to see himself the way I do. “That’s not the man I know.”
“You know the Lake Starlight Wyatt Moore, not the New York Wyatt Whitmore.”
I cover his hand on the railing with mine and step into the small space separating us. Damn the consequences. “Be the man you want to be.”
“You make it sound so easy.” His eyes search mine.
“I’m not sure I understand what’s so hard about it.” I tell him the truth.
The pained look on his face tells me I still don’t understand. Why can’t he be the same Wyatt in Lake Starlight and New York?
“Come on. We should get back inside.” He grabs my hand, but I don’t let him lead me. He looks over his shoulder and when he sees my expression he turns back around. “What’s the matter?”
“This.” I wave a finger between us. “I want you to share with me whatever is the matter. Is it family? Your dad? I see how he might be hard on you, but you only get one family. Unfortunately, I know how precious family is and time with them is not guaranteed.”
“See what I mean? You’re way too good a person to be here.”
“Maybe you just don’t know the true me yet?”
He chuckles reaching for my arm. “Let’s go inside before I kiss you under the moonlight.” He stares into my eyes and the breath leaves my lungs in a giant whoosh.
“Maybe you should,” I whisper.
He quirks an eyebrow at me.
Seeing that I’m serious, he steps forward, forcing me back until my back is pressed to the railing. “You want me to kiss you?”
I lick my lips in anticipation, drawing his gaze.
The Wyatt I know is genuine. Yeah, he lied to me about his name, sure, but he was right that night in my apartment, that doesn’t change the man I’ve grown to know these past months. Still do I want to chance another heartbreak by crossing that line?
“Yes. I want you to kiss me.” I hold his gaze so he can see that I mean it.
“Really? What happened to just being friends?” Both his arms cage me in, and he steps forward, leaving no space between us.
The heat from his body calls to me and I can’t help the way I press into him.
“I can’t do it anymore. I need to feel you.”
“Feel me?”
I throw my hands up in the air. “You know what I’m talking about.”
He says nothing, but his smirk says all I need to know.
“You do too, right? I’m not in this alone?”
He chuckles. “You sound like me three weeks ago. If I kiss you, you know the score? No dating, no serious relationship?”
“I do.”
“I’m serious, Brooklyn. I’m not a man who will change. If you allow me to kiss you, I need to know you understand and accept it. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I smile, but I can’t tell whether or not he’s convinced.
“Okay then.” He nods.
“Okay,” I say in a breathy voice.
“Close your eyes.”
“This isn’t my first kiss, Wyatt.”
“Just close them.”
“Fine.” I close my eyes and lick my lips.
“God you’re beautiful,” he says, his voice growing closer.
The wind shifts and runs under the hem of my dress, but it’s a relief to the growing heat between my thighs.
“Ready?” he asks, and his voice is so near, my heart races with anticipation.
“Um hmm.”
I brace myself. This is it. I’m finally going to kiss this man and I’m not going to think about tomorrow or what happens when he leaves Lake Starlight. I’m not going to worry about our destiny. I’m just going to enjoy kissing and touching and hopefully having sex with him tonight. The future be damned.
“Our first kiss will not be with one hundred people bearing witness,” he whispers into my ear and goose bumps scatter along my neck.
I open my eyes and he’s right in front of me.
“Because once my lips land on yours I’m certain I’ll turn into a caveman until you’re naked and writhing beneath me.”
I blow out a breath and try to calm my pounding heart.
“Now let’s get tonight over with so I can get you back to my condo and get you out of that dress.”
“Boy, New York Wyatt is kind of dirty.”
He laughs. “Told you I was different here.”
“I kinda like it.” I giggle, allowing him to take my hand and guide me to the doors leading inside.
“Then you’re in for a great night. Make sure you finish your meal. You’ll need the energy.”
I’m so busy laughing when he opens the door, I fail to realize that every set of eyes is on us. The man with the microphone at the front of the room says, “You’d think you were the celebratory couple.”
“Sorry,” Wyatt raises his hand in the air, looking a little sheepish.
“Typical Wyatt Whitmore!” some guy in the crowd yells.
Wyatt ignores him and rushes us to the table, right next to his dad whose face is beet red.
I don’t know the man at all, but I know that can’t be good.
Thirty-Three
Wyatt
The fact that my dad’s eyes are laser focused on me should have my attention focused on silently apologizing for the spectacle I made by coming in late. I guess it shows that I haven’t changed as much as I’d like to think I have. But instead of my dad, it’s Brooklyn occupying my mind.
She’s a permanent fixture in my thoughts at this point, but it’s usually because I’m trying to figure out some way she can fit into my life after I leave Lake Starlight. Right now, I’m trying to decide what I want to do to her first when we get back to my condo. Or whether I should even allow us to cross that line. I’m not naïve—she’s going to get hurt because Brooklyn doesn’t just let someone come into her life like that without growing attached.
Is that what she realized? That no matter if we slept together or not, she’ll be affected when we part so she might as well take what she wants? If so, then why shouldn’t I do the same because as much as I try, I see no way she’ll fit in my life. At least not any way that won’t tarnish everything good about her.
“Hey you,” she whispers, her hand sliding to my knee under the table.
I smile over at her. I can’t seem to not smile when I look at her. “Hey.”
“You okay?”
I nod, sliding my hand under the table and squeezing hers. She is too damn good for me. It was easier to pretend that wasn’t the case back in Lake Starlight. But here, with reminders of the person I used to be, the person I’m trying so hard not to be anymore, it’s so much more obvious to me.
“Brooklyn, tell me about yourself,” my dad says while cutting up his salad.
“I’m not sure what to say.” She’s stiff and that sweet smile is now filled with anxiety as she moves her hand from mine and grabs her wine glass.
“You mentioned your sister runs your family business. Do you work alongside her?”
My dad is so busy cutting and eating, he doesn’t see the way her eyes shoot to me and then my mom and back to me. Why are my mom and Brooklyn acting cagey?
“Who cares what she does, Abe. I want to hear about Lake Starlight.” My mom looks over to Bradley’s parents and grandparents. “The pictures Wyatt posts on Instagram would steal your breath. It looks so beautiful there.”
Bradley’s parents politely smile and look over to me.
“How do you expect me to know her if I don’t know what she does?” my dad interrupts my mom’s attempt at changing the subject.
I’m definitely missing something here. My mom hasn’t been this on edge since the day I got my rejection letter to Harvard Business School and my dad wouldn’t stop asking why I hadn’t heard back from the school yet.
“Because that doesn’t say who she is.” My mom smiles sweetly and touches my dad’s arm as though they actually love one another.
My dad slides a tomato off his fork into his mouth and looks to Brooklyn waiting for her to answer.
I place my arm around the back of her chair, tired of whatever it is that’s going on here. “She works at Glacier Point.”
My mom’s gaze dips to the table and a small groan comes from Brooklyn’s throat.
“You do?” My dad places his silverware down on either side of his plate and wipes his mouth with his napkin. “In which department?”
Brooklyn sits up straighter and leans forward. “Housekeeping,” she says in a low voice as though she doesn’t want anyone else to hear it.
My dad’s narrowed gaze lands on me. I’m familiar with his look of disappointment. It’s the same one I get with any life decisions I make. But what I don’t like about this one is that he’s displeased with Brooklyn.
“You’re a maid?” he clarifies.
She swallows her wine. “Yes, but um…” She looks at me for a brief moment. “Wyatt has been helping me start another business.”
“What kind of business?” My dad directs the question to me instead of Brooklyn, but I won’t respond for her.
“Essential oils,” she says.
Both my dad’s eyebrows raise. He’s not exactly the type of guy to dab lavender onto his wrists to help him sleep.
“Oh, I just tried a sample when I was shopping the other day.” My mom looks to the ceiling, thinking. “I think it was vanilla almond, but I don’t remember what it was good for.”
“Yes, when we flew to Paris last month the flight attendant passed around these little vials of lavender oil.” Bradley’s mom nudges his dad who looks about as impressed as my dad. “Remember when I thought they were handing out cocaine?” She laughs, my mom, of course, joins in.
“There’s a lot of benefits to vanilla oil,” Brooklyn says.
“Really? Like what?” my dad asks, sounding skeptical. I’m surprised he hasn’t pulled me away from the table yet.
“Well, it relaxes you. If you put it in a diffuser and fill in a room, it helps calm your mind. It also works to nourish hair and skin.”
“I think that’s what the lady told me.” My mom is more excited than the topic warrants, but I know she’s desperate to let Brooklyn shine. “I think she mentioned that in the winter it helps with dry skin?”
Brooklyn nods. “Yes.”
“You’re telling me she spends a small fortune every year on all this health and beauty crap, but all she needs is a little vial of your oil?” My dad laughs with Bradley’s dad.
I grind my teeth together. “Brooklyn gave me some eucalyptus for my headaches, and it’s helped.” I smile at Brooklyn hoping to give her the encouragement that what she’s doing matters.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” my mom says, turning to Bradley’s mom. “Wyatt has suffered from headaches since he hit puberty. Sometimes the migraines were so bad he’d lock himself in a dark room.”
Bradley glances over to me with mock concern.
No need to mention I haven’t had to take meds nearly as much since I moved to Lake Starlight since I haven’t suffered from as many headaches. Although I feel one coming on now.
The waitstaff clears the salads away.
“Wyatt has been so wonderful in helping me get everything set up,” Brooklyn says.
“That’s very altruistic of him since he’s there to do a job for me.” My dad doesn’t look at me now which means his anger is brewing inside.
“Oh, he’s done great things with Glacier Point as well. Although, he may be a little stricter with the employees than they’re used to though.” She smirks at me and my heart swells that she’s trying to boost me up to my father.
“Not strict enough. We’re not in the black yet.”
“Now Abe, we shouldn’t talk business at the table.” My mom’s hand lands on my dad’s forearm, but he ignores it.
I tilt my head. “How would you know?” I ask him.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be keeping an eye on what was going on?”
My insides go cold. Of course, I should’ve known he’d never trust me enough to manage a hotel on my own.
Brooklyn grows quiet and I try to calm myself before I grab my dad by his shirt and knock him out.
Everything I’ve been through with my dad comes like a freight train barreling through my mind. All the memories of his disappointed looks, the comments meant to undercut any self-confidence I had, and the jabs that I’ll never find success. How he can’t count on me or trust me to do the right thing. What he really means is I’m not him. That somewhere I strayed from becoming what his vision was for me. I might be riding on the train track right next to him, but we’re on different paths.