Page 86 of The Reason I Married Him
I place my hand on his stomach and curl in closer. “I’m really happy.”
Harriot claps her hands in excitement. “Oh that makes me so thrilled to hear that. I was worried about you, Aubree. The whole town was.” Wow, okay. Good to know. “You’ve had it so hard, and when Matt left, and then Cassidy died, and well . . . it’s just been one thing after the other. We weren’t sure you would let anyone into your life, and then here he is, looking at you as if you were the only woman on the planet. My little heart can’t take this.”
“Somehow he won me over,” I say, unsure of what else to say.
“It was my wit and charm,” Wyatt says with a wink.
God, he’s good at this. I feel like a stiff robot, attempting to play along despite the subtle short-circuiting in my head.
“Oh, I’m sure of it. We’ve all become quite fond of you, Wyatt.” I’m sure they have. Hard not to when the man walks around, joking with everyone, tossing out compliments left and right. He’s likable, and it’s annoying and frustrating, and also . . . nice.Especially when I feel like I’ve been surrounded by dreadful stress since Cassidy died.
“And me of you. This small town has captured me just like Aubree has captured my heart.”
Okay, there’s no way someone falls for that line. It’s so blatantly—wait, is that a tear I see in Harriot’s eye?
She lifts her hand and blots at the tear. “Oh, look at you making me all misty.” She takes a deep breath. “None of this crying nonsense. You’re here for dessert, so what can I get you?”
She was crying. What on earth?
“What’s your favorite pie, babe? I trust your opinion.”
He barely trusted it an hour ago when I ordered him a burger, but we won’t go there.
“The cherry pie,” I answer.
“Mmm,” he moans in my ear. “Fucking love . . .cherries.”
And once again, my face goes bright red because I know he’s not talking about the same kind of cherry that I’m talking about.
“So should I do half a cherry pie for you two?” Harriot asks, completely oblivious.
“That would be great, Harriot. One fork will do,” Wyatt says.
What the hell is he up to? One fork?
“Not a problem.” Harriot moves around the bakery while Wyatt moves me to the register.
“Need a drink?”
“Water,” I say, my mouth and throat dry.
“And two waters please, Harriot.”
“Coming right up.” She brings us the pie, with one fork, and then grabs us two waters. Wyatt pays, and when I think we’re going to leave, he directs me over to the seating nook away from the main bakery, but right in front of a window so anyone walking by could see us sharing a pie . . . with one fork.
I’ve never met anyone who has been two steps ahead of a situation before, but here he is. Planning and making sure all of our bases are covered at all times.
Once we’re settled and he pops open the short bakery box with our pie, he looks up at me, excitement in his eyes. “This looks phenomenal. Sometimes I forget how homey small towns can be. Look at this pie, it looks like it came straight from Granny’s oven.” He dips the fork into the pie, grabbing himself a big piece. He shoves it in his mouth and moans. “Fuck . . . me,” he says in such a dirty tone that I actually feel my upper lip sweat. “This is fucking delicious.” He takes another bite, completely forgetting that I’m over here supposed to share this pie with him. “Yup, this is really fucking good.” He licks the fork. “Jesus, the cherry flavor is so rich.” He dips in for another bite. Uh . . . hello. “And this crust. Buttery, flaky. The perfect texture. Not too sweet but not bland.” He shoves another bite in his mouth. “Fuck . . . so good.”
“Uh . . . do you plan on letting me have a bite?” I ask.
He pauses as he reaches for another piece, and then the look of realization on his face is so fucking funny that I actually snort.
“Jesus, I forgot I asked for one fork.” He actually blushes as he hands me the fork. “Sorry, babe.”
I stare down at the fork and then back up at him. “You licked this.”
“Yeah, so?”
