Page 197 of The Reason I Married Him
“I have a crush on her.” I shrug, trying to play it off like it’s nothing because if I think about it too much, I’ll start worrying, and I don’t want to worry. If I worry, Aubree will worry, and she’s skittish. I don’t want to give her any impression that I’m not fully in this.
“Yes, but it wasn’t long ago when your heart was broken.” Laurel squeezes my hand. “You never talk about what happened. You never talk about her. And honestly, I’m worried about you. I need to know that you have healed.” She takes a step forward. “I know this was all my idea, but I honestly didn’t think you would go through with it, and now that you are, I just . . . I want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” I say.
“Wyatt—”
“Laurel,” I say in a stern voice. “I said I’m fine. Okay?”
She sighs and takes a step back. “Okay.”
Feeling guilty, because I know her heart is in the right place, I pull her into a hug and whisper into her ear. “I’m better. I know Cadance wasn’t the one for me. I’m trying not to think about it because I don’t want to be nervous and make Aubree nervous. Just trying to chill. But thank you for worrying about me.”
That eases her mind because she hugs me back and then pulls away.
I glance over at Rhonda and say, “I’m sorry you had to hear my stern voice. Not something I’m proud of.”
“Oh yeah, I was really shivering over here.”
I let out a hearty laugh. “Yup, I think we’re going to be great friends.” Just then, I hear the guest house door shut, and I turn around to find Aubree standing at the door, her hands connected in front of her, looking so fucking gorgeous that my heart skips a beat.
She chose a simple light green dress for the evening with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a longer hemline. Her hair is half up and half down with her curls perfectly defined. Her subtle makeup makes her eyes pop, and those gorgeous lips are coated in a gloss, beckoning me to taste them again.
The past few days have been interesting between us, to say the least.
I’ve worked on the website. She’s worked around the farm.
I’ve helped bring in hay bales for the ceremony. She’s helped Maggie set up décor.
We decided on a brunch wedding instead because I told her I wanted to take her somewhere after, and I needed travel time. She easily agreed. Maggie was not happy about the change but went with it. That’s when we volunteered to help, and she accepted it.
At night, we haven’t said much, just slipped into bed where I held her.
No good night kisses.
No not-so-innocent caresses.
Nothing.
The last time I tasted her lips was when I showed her the website, and now, I’m practically drooling every time I see her, hoping for a spontaneous kiss when she’s grateful for something.
Maybe she’ll give me one tonight. Shyly, Aubree waves, and I walk over to her. When I reach her at the steps of the guest house, I take her hand in mine and whisper, “You look gorgeous, Aubree.”
Her cheeks pinken as she says, “Thank you.”
With her hand in mine, I bring her over to Laurel, and I say, “Aubree, this is my best friend Laurel and her girlfriend, Rhonda.”
“We haven’t really given each other titles yet,” Laurel says, but Rhonda steps in.
“She’s my girlfriend.”
Laurel smirks and shakes Aubree’s hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. Wyatt has said a lot of great things about you and the not-so-great things, I ignored and didn’t believe.”
“Laurel,” I reprimand, which causes her to chuckle.
“It’s fine,” Aubree says. “I still say not-so-great things about him.”
“Wow,” I say. “Thanks a lot, babe.”
