There’s a little pool with fishing rods to get the frogs and a stand with jugs you have to throw the ball to knock down. “I hate that game,” I say as we pass it.
“Me too.” Wyatt laughs. “My stupid brother would always pick it.”
“Why the hell would you go against the star baseball player in a throwing game?” I ask. Seems a little stupid to me.
“We would rock, paper, scissors for who could choose. Zach always won, so Trent and I were destined to lose.” Wyatt explains.
Presley warned me about the three of them. She explained that as much as they bicker, they’re unbelievably close. They take the meaning of brothers very serious. If one calls, they all go. She said it’s the way they’ve always been, and that by dating Wyatt, there’s a very clear message that they’ll have to deal with all the Henningtons if anyone fucks with me. It sounded like the Southern version of the mafia.
“Wyatt! Angie!” Macie yells with her arms open “There you are!”
“Sorry, Mama.”
“Don’t be sorry. Trent is tired, and at this point we’re starting to lose money.” She laughs. “I’m going to have to start paying people to kiss him.”
Kiss? I look around, and spot Trent sitting in a booth with lips all over it and a sign that reads: Kisses for a Dollar.
Umm. I’m not really sure how I feel about this.
I grab his arm. “You didn’t tell me it was a kissing booth.” My voice is low, and I’m sure he hears the undercurrent of irritation.
“Awww, you’re jealous.”
“I am not.”
I don’t get jealous. It’s not like we’re married or even really dating. I mean, we are, but that’s not the point. The point is, I don’t get jealous. I’ve never been like that, and I’m not going to start now. I’m just not looking forward to watching girls kiss him when I’m not even supposed to be kissing him. That’s all. I’m also a hormonally imbalanced freak with a baby sucking up all my common sense.
“Then why do you care what kind of booth it is?” His brow raises. “I mean, wasn’t it you who said I should help my mama?”
I grit my teeth. I did say that. “I didn’t know it meant you’d be kissing other girls.”
He runs the back of his fingers across my cheek. “Does it help if I say I’ll be pretending they’re all you?”
“No!”
“You two okay?” Macie asks with a glint in her eyes.
Oh, these ladies are good. They’ve managed to orchestrate all this, and they did it with precision. I would bow to her if I weren’t too busy freaking out over whatever is going on in my heart. I know I have to play this cool.
“We’re fine, Mrs. Hennington.” I smile.
“Good. Wyatt, please go relieve your brother. Angie and I will hang here and girl talk.”
“Yes, Mama.”
I watch him walk off while I burn holes in the back of his head. I can do this. It’s fine. I’ll prove to myself after the first kiss that I’m not jealous. Wyatt and I might like each other, and I may think he’s all sorts of great, but we’re going to part ways at some point. This is just practice for the future.
Macie tries to make idle chitchat with me, but I keep missing what she says. Each time I look over toward the booth, she calls my name. So far it’s been two minutes and forty-three seconds, and no one has bought a kiss yet.
“I’m sorry. I’m exhausted.”
She nods. “I’m sure. It’s hard tryin’ to pay attention to me and wait and see who he has to kiss.”
“I’m not—” I start to say, but she puts her hand up.
“I give you a lot of credit. If it were Rhett, I would’ve marched his hide right out of this place. There would be no way he was kissin’ anyone else but me. I know you and Wyatt aren’t really serious, right? I know you’re biding your time and all.”
“I don’t know what we are,” I admit. “I also know you and Mrs. Kannan knew exactly what would happen.” My tone is soft and bordering on admiration.
Macie laughs and grabs my hands. “Don’t be upset. Sometimes us old ladies need to push you young people a little. I happen to know working beside a man can be very eye opening. I also know—” her eyes shoot to something over my shoulder and widen a bit.
I follow her gaze, and my stomach drops. There’s a throng of girls rushing toward the booth, and the front runner is none other than Charlotte.
No, no, no.
His lips are not touching hers. Over my dead fucking body.
My feet are on the ground and moving before I realize what’s happening. We have rules. Rules that included no other people. Rules that he agreed on. I’m not kissing anyone else while I’m here, neither should he, especially not her. I’m perfectly within my rights to fight this. That’s the point I plan to drive home.
“Angie,” Macie calls out when I’m halfway to the booth.
I don’t respond.
I’m on a mission.
I dig in my back pocket for the cash I put in there and head straight to the front of the line, moving Charlotte out of my way. My hand slams down on the counter as his brown eyes stare into mine. “Here’s two hundred dollars.” I thrust the cash toward him. “You’re not kissing anyone but me.”
Wyatt doesn’t waste a second. He’s on his feet, his hands grip my face, and he kisses me in front of everyone.
There are catcalls and hollers from various people. His lips are planted on mine, and I don’t care that he’s staking his claim. I don’t care if last night was supposed to be nothing. Right here, he’s mine.
Wyatt Hennington’s lips are not touching another woman’s lips while I’m around.
I turn around and see his mother, Mrs. Kannan, Mrs. Townsend, and Mrs. Rooney all standing there with huge grins and clasped hands. I’m surprised they’re not doing some sort of happy dance.
“I knew you liked me, Big City.”
I roll my eyes and release a deep breath. “Come on, Rhinestone Cowboy. I bought you for the day.”
“You bought me for much longer than that.”
“TWO DAYS IN A ROW you’ve woken me before the sun came up.” I grumble as I throw on some clothes. I have no idea where he’s taking me. He instructed me last night that we were going out for the day. Apparently, when I paid the money for the kissing booth, I got the day after too.
“Come on, darlin’. We’re going to be late.”
“Late for what?”
“Make sure you use the bathroom!” he calls out.
“Why won’t we have a bathroom?”
Wyatt refuses to say anything other than we’re going to spend the day together.
I grab my sweatshirt, since I have no idea if it’ll be freezing at this crazy time in the morning, throw on my sneakers, and make a note to buy a pair of cute cowboy boots. Since I’m here, I might as well. Plus, they’re kind of practical and stylish. Grace has a pair with teal on the side, I definitely need to find those.
“You ready?” he asks, holding the door open.
“Not sure why we have to be up and out of the house when I can still see the moon. I don’t know many stores that are open this early,” I push. I’m dying to know what he has planned.
“The fish bite the best in the morning.” He slaps my ass as he closes the door.
“Fish?” I choke. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
Wyatt throws a box in the back of some vehicle now parked outside the house. “Hop in.”
It’s a mix of a truck with no roof and smaller tires, a golf cart, and some sort of wagon. There’s dirt and mud all along the side, which makes me think the boys use it for more outdoorsy stuff, which I definitely don’t do.
“Angie.” Wyatt waves his hand. “Get in the Gator.”
“Wouldn’t you rather go see a movie? Or maybe have a day at the spa? Do you have a spa close?” I ask with hope.
He laughs. “Do I look like I go to the spa? Get in. It’ll be fun and relaxing, I promise.”
I don’t like the outdoor
s so much. But I promised myself I would step outside the box, and Wyatt did bake cupcakes, which was clearly not his thing. When in Rome.
I climb in and search for a seat belt, but there is none. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. How am I supposed to not fall out?”
“You hold on,” he says as if it makes perfect sense.
There’s a bar in front of my seat that I guess is what I hold on to? “This is nuts. Is this safe?” It doesn’t seem very safe.
“You’re safe with me. Always.” Wyatt has a huge grin on his face as he starts the Gator. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll make you country yet.”
“I doubt that.”
“We’ll see.” He heads down the road, and I hold on to the bar for dear life. My hair whips around my face, and I silently curse the fact that I forgot a hair tie. The trail is bumpy, and I feel slightly motion sick. Thankfully, we reach the lake fairly quickly.
Wyatt and I exit the vehicle, and he starts getting the supplies out of the back. He has two blankets, some fishing poles, a tackle box, and what looks like a basket of food. When I offer to carry something, he gives me a sideways look and a smirk.
It’s gorgeous out here. There’s a lot of trees around it, and beautiful views. Everything looks untouched by man, it’s so serene.
“This is really gorgeous, is this the same lake Presley and Zach are on?” I ask, scanning the tree line again for their house.
“No. They’re over on the east lake.”
I stop and look at him, and I’m sure I look silly with my mouth hanging open and my hair a wind-blown mess. “Wait. How many lakes do you guys have?”
“Five, but we only stock this one so that we can fish when we want. I love fishing at the river, but this is much calmer, and I didn’t think you wanted to do fly fishing.”
Yeah. No. “I don’t know the difference really, but I’m going to assume you’re correct.”
He laughs. “I’ll grab the canoe, you stay put.”
I’m sorry, did he say “canoe”? “I can’t go in a canoe.”
“Well, it’s actually a Jon boat. And it’s going to be awful hard to fish if you don’t get in.”
“Can’t we just stay on the shore? That way if a bear or some other hungry animal shows up, we can get to the truck thing?” His eyes gleam with humor. It seems I’m entertaining him. I slap his chest. “I’m serious!”
“I bet you are, baby.” Wyatt kisses my temple. “I never picked you for being a chicken shit. I figured a tough city girl like you could handle bein’ out on a boat. But,” he puts his palms out, “I guess you’re not up for the challenge.”
Well played, my friend. He knows damn well what he did. I have two choices. I can steal the Gator, as he calls it, or I can go out there and show him I’m not a wuss. I’ve never been fishing. I’ve never even contemplated wanting to do this.
There’s also no way I can back down.
“Fine.” I surrender. “Go get the boat.”
Wyatt steps forward, grips my elbows and pulls me against him. “I’ll reward you, I promise.”
I lean in, letting my lips graze against his. “I plan to make you pay.”
“I have no doubt about that.”
He lets me go and gets busy. I never realized how intensive fishing is. He’s got all kinds of gadgets and different boxes. I’m praying the Jon boat or whatever it’s called is bigger than what I’m imagining, because I don’t know where all this crap will go.
Wyatt pulls a silver flat boat over. It has two benches on the inside and two oars. I cannot believe I’m entertaining this.
At. All.
He puts the boat half in and waves me over. “Hop in. I’ll push us off.”
I start to freak out a little. Not because I can’t swim, but because I don’t have any spare clothes or a bathroom close by. Does he expect me to handle fish? My stomach rolls at the thought, but I refuse to look like a baby, so I get in the boat.
Wyatt gets us out into the water without issue. It’s clear he knows what he’s doing. Maybe I’ll be okay.
“All right,” he says, breaking the silence. “Move over on this side, and I’ll get us set up.”
“Move?” I ask.
“Yes.” He nods. “Come sit over here. I’m going to put the blankets out and move this bench so we can sit on the bottom.”
“Yeah, it’s the moving part that I’m not really all that keen on.”
If we move . . . we rock the boat. I will freak out.
“Here,” he says, holding his hand out. “Trust me.” I close my eyes and count to three. I can do this. My hand touches his, and he slowly helps me over. “See, you did just fine.”
I’m so out of my element.
“We’re doing a spa next time.”
“Whatever you say, baby.”
Wyatt arranges the bottom of the boat with blankets, creating a bed-like spot for us. He helps me back down and curls up with me. His arm is around my back, and my head rests on his chest. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of his heart. “You know we could’ve cuddled at home in bed,” I joke.
“But this is more intimate.” He kisses the top of my head.
He’s right. It is. Even with the chill in the air, I could fall asleep.
There are no sounds other than a few crickets and the faint sound of water lapping against the side of the boat. The only light is from the rising sun, and I know that if I opened my eyes to look, I would still be able to see a few stars. Normally the silence would freak me out, but it’s exactly like it should be here. The world moves around us, but right here, it’s only Wyatt and me. This is the most tranquil I’ve ever felt.
I doze off, so comfortable in his arms. The sun is finally overhead, and it wakes me. I lift my head to find him looking at me with a grin. “You feel better?” he asks.
“I feel good.”
His eyes grow serious as he stares at me. “I want to always make you feel good. You and that baby are my world, Angie. I know you’re scared. I see it, but little by little, I want to help show you that you have nothing to be afraid of.”
I’m not afraid, I’m freaking petrified. I don’t know how to be the girl he wants. I don’t fish or hunt. I don’t do dirt or animals. I’m the girl who paints her nails and shops like a pro. This isn’t me, and I don’t know how long he’ll find that cute.
“I think you underestimate how different we are.” I rest my chin on my hand.
“Different is sometimes better.”
“True.” I sigh. “It also can mean we’re not right for each other.”
Wyatt looks at the sky, rubs his hand on my back, and then moves my face closer to his. “I think the fact that we can lie in this boat, driftin’ on the water together, and not need to fill the silence is all the right we need. You’re not like any woman I’ve ever known. I think, considering all the women I’ve been with, the fact that I’ve never wanted more with anyone but you says something. You’re right; you’re different. You’re mine because I want you to be.”
I smirk. “So I’m yours?”
His grin grows playful. “You will be again.”
“Does that mean that you’re mine?”
“I’ve never been anyone else’s.”
I think about that. Neither of us have taken the steps to be with anyone on a serious note. We’ve both kept ourselves without strings. I think that means something. But Wyatt has known love. It may not have been reciprocated, but he’s felt it. I haven’t.
Instead of pushing and possibly ruining a tender moment, I just nod.
“Enough bein’ lazy. Fish need to eat, and we need lunch.”
“Umm.” I sit up a bit straighter. “I thought you were kidding. The only way I like my fish is rolled around some rice.”
Wyatt laughs. “You really have a love for food.”
“Shut up. I’m serious! I’m not really a fish person.”
“Have you ever fished before?”
“No.” I shake my head.
“Well,” Wyatt chuckles, “how do you know you don’t like it? Plus, if you don’t catch anything, you’re going to be hungry,” he says as he grabs the poles. “I only brought stuff for a good fish fry.”
My stomach churns at the thought. I’m not a seafood person, especially not if it’s a fish we’re going to have to handle. I shudder. “That spa better have a salon attached.”
He ignores me and hands me the rod. “The line is ready, bait the hook.”
I have no idea what the hell he said. “Can you talk city to me?”
“You gotta put the food on the hook.” He hands me the tub full of worms.
I shake my head. “No, no, no. Not happening.”
“It’s a worm. It doesn’t bite.”
He opens the top, and I start to gag. Oh, I can’t. I put my head over the side of the boat in case this baby helps me a little.
“Hey.” He touches my back. “I’ll do it, baby. Don’t get sick.” Wyatt runs his hand up and down as I try to focus on anything but hurling. Because that won’t be embarrassing at all.
I take a deep breath through my nose and push it out of my mouth.
“Better?” he asks as I sit up.
“I’m okay.”
The nausea fades, but I know better then to watch what Wyatt is doing. So. Gross.
Wyatt tosses the line over the edge of the boat and then hands me the rod. “Just hold it out there, and if it gets a tug, start reeling it in.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
No one tells you that fishing is literally the most boring thing. We sit like this for five minutes, and I’m ready to row my butt to shore. After another ten minutes pass with Wyatt sitting there not doing anything and not talking, I can’t stop myself. “So?” I ask, looking at nothing. “What do we do now?”
“We wait.”
“For the fish?”
“That’s the goal.”
Wyatt looks content. I try to follow his lead, but I’m no longer tired thanks to our nap, and I’m going out of my skull. There’s nothing to watch. No people doing weird things that I can observe. The trees move. That’s about it.
“Wyatt, what happens if no fish . . . get snagged?”
“You mean, bite?”
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