Twenty-five
Emily staggered into the kitchen shortly before dawn. Wyatt had left a few moments before, leaning over her for a lengthy kiss good-bye that would’ve turned into something else entirely if they hadn’t been out of condoms.
Sara was on the kitchen counter eating ice cream out of the container for breakfast, which was so unlike her, Emily stopped short. “What are you doing?”
“Rayna e-mailed me,” she said. “She said she missed me, the bitch.”
“Did you respond that you miss her, too?”
“No.”
“Do it.”
Sara sagged. “I can’t. I’m the one that broke up with her.”
“Which still makes no sense,” Emily said.
“Because she’s a ten, okay? And I told you, tens don’t date fives.”
Emily stared at her.
“She’s a model,” Sara said. “An L.A. runway model.” She spread her arms wide. “And I’m a short, chunky construction worker.”
“You’re gorgeous,” Emily said fiercely. “E-mail her back.”
Sara dug for more ice cream. At her feet, on the floor, Woodrow was staring at Sara like the sun rose and set on her shoulders. Emily got why when Sara snagged another scoop and offered it to the puppy.
The wood spoon was quickly licked clean.
“Don’t do that,” Emily said.
“She’s no fun is she,” Sara said to Woodrow. “She doesn’t get that having a broken heart requires a million calories to even begin to heal.”
“You think you’re the only one who’s ever had a broken heart?”
“Of the two of us?” Sara asked. “Yeah.”
“Hey,” Emily said. “What about the Johns, remember them?”
“John Number One was a selfish prick and didn’t deserve your heart. And John Number Two never had your heart. How could he? After John Number One and Becky, and then Mom, you never trusted anyone with your heart again.”
Emily opened her mouth, and then shut it again. “Fine,” she eventually said. “I’ve been stingy with my heart until now, sue me.”
“Until now?” Sara pointed at her with the wooden spoon. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
“No. It means nothing.” Not about to explain that Wyatt was interested in her body but not much more than that— especially when it had been all her idea in the beginning. Emily snatched the container of ice cream and the spoon and started to dig in. Then she looked down at the spoon that Woodrow had licked. She loved him but she didn’t want to eat after him. Tossing it into the sink, she reached for another from the drawer.
“Admit it,” Sara said. “You’re falling for Dr. Sexy.”
Emily choked on her first bite. “Would you stop calling him that?”
“You do realize you’re making roots,” Sara said. “Making friends. Getting pets.” She paused. “Bidding on hot bachelors.”
“I only bid to make sure the charity gets a lot of money,” Emily said. “Someone’s gonna outbid me.”
“How, when you keep checking it every day and upping your bid?”
Good point. She changed the subject. “And any day now, someone is going to claim Woodrow.”
Sara hopped off the counter. “Good to know you’re still the Denial Queen. I’m going to work. Maybe tonight we can have a discussion rooted in reality.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that you’re happy here.” Sara gave her a long look, and then walked out of the kitchen.
“Yeah, well, I’ll admit that when you admit you’re a ten and a stubborn idiot!”
Sara slammed out the front door without admitting any such thing.
That night, Lilah, Kate, and Holly included Emily in the Girls’ Night outing to the guys’ flag football game. It was Bones vs. Firsts—the town’s doctors, dentists, vets, and anyone in the medical field against Sunshine’s first responders like cops, firefighters, and medics.
The Bones were down a member since Dell was on day two of being up north. Emily watched the rough game through worried eyes, sucking in a breath when Wyatt got taken down by a guy who had at least thirty pounds on him.
They rolled viciously around for a moment, and then Wyatt came up, still holding the ball triumphantly.
His opponent pushed to his feet, and Emily blinked in surprise.
It was Evan, the cop who made the amazing chocolate chip cookies.
The two men stared at each other for a long beat before going back to their own lines. Evan shot Emily a smile on his way.
“He’s cute,” Lilah said.
Wyatt strode by the stands, slowing to give Emily a long, steady look that had her blushing.
“He’s cuter,” Lilah said.
The next play involved both Evan and Wyatt rolling around on the ground again.
Kate looked at Emily. “There seems to be some tension there that has ‘about a woman’ all over it.”
Emily bit her lower lip.
“Spill,” Holly said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Right,” Lilah said dryly. “That’s why the both of them keep looking over at you, flexing their muscles.”
“Honey, I’m all for a woman exploring her options,” Holly said, “but you can’t have two alphas sniffing around sharing air space like that.”
“We have alphas sharing air space at the center all day long,” Emily pointed out.
“But they don’t want the same woman.”
Emily sank down in her seat a little bit. “Evan brought me cookies. And wants to date me.”
“What does Wyatt want?”
She knew what she wanted Wyatt to want, and that was for him to indicate that maybe he’d want her to stay, something she’d never have entertained in the beginning, but now . . . now she couldn’t stop thinking about. But he’d not said a single word about a future with her, not once. She thought about the night before, when he’d taken her into her bedroom and given her so many orgasms she’d been boneless for hours afterward, making it perfectly clear what he did want from her.
Lilah took in her facial expression and burst into laughter, and Emily covered her face with her hands. “Oh my God. This is so out of my comfort zone.”
“What, being sought after by extremely hot guys? Stop and smell the roses, babe, and take in the moment.”
“Or,” Kate said quietly, watching Emily’s face, “you could pick one.”
“Picking isn’t the problem,” Emily said, gaze on Wyatt. “Wyatt and I aren’t a real thing.”
He threw a hard, fast pass to Adam, who caught it in the end zone.
Game. Over.
The Bones team tackled Wyatt to the ground, pounding his back, victorious. After a few moments of this, the guys all headed off the field, eyes on their real prize.
The women in the stands.
Adam claimed Holly, who looked all too happy to be claimed. Same for Brady and Lilah. And Grif and Kate.
Wyatt strode past the kissing couples and came straight to Emily.
She nearly swallowed her tongue. “What are you—”
Yanking her in, he kissed her long and hard.
In front of everyone.
She pulled back and had to shake her head to put some sense back into it. “What was that?”
“A victory kiss,” he said.
She wasn’t one to bank her future happiness on a man, ever, but damn. She’d hoped for more.
But hoping was for dreamers, and she was a planner. To the bone. They’d outlined what their relationship was, she and Wyatt, way back in the beginning. Hell, she’d reiterated it to him many times, too many to count.
Which meant that this wasn’t his fault at all.
Nope, this was all on her.
Twenty-six
Wyatt jackknifed up from a dead sleep to the sound of Zoe’s scream. A spider, he thought, but it was worse than a spider.
He fumbled for his glasses and went running. He found her in the basement fighting a burst pipe. Wading into the mess, he turned off the water to the house, but that wasn’t going to solve any problems. “This is bigger than me,” he said. “I’ll call a plumber from work.”
“But in the meantime, we don’t have water.”