Page 99 of The Reason I Married Him
Can’t tell you why.
I just think it’s nice that he’s not just older than me, but by seven years.
He’s also wearing a shirt that seems to cling very tightly to his chest today. His pecs are defined, pressing against the fabric. Once again, not something I should notice, but I do.
Oddly, the most disturbing thing about the picture is that it looks like he fits right in with this town and all its eccentricities. Like he belongs in the railroad museum, laughing it up with Rodney. As if he belongs in this small town of Almond Bay and should have been here all along.
My phone dings with a response.
Wyatt:Rodney got it for me at the train convention he went to this past weekend. It’s engine 576, the last standing J3 from the World War II era. Duh, Aubree.
I snort. Ugh, why can he make me laugh so easily? It’s infuriating.
Aubree:Didn’t know you were a train nerd.
Wyatt:Just one of many things you need to learn about me. I think trains are pretty neat. I like planes as well, and I’m a fan of automobiles. Basically, I enjoy all sorts of transportation other than human-propelled toboggans, suspension railways (elevated monorail that dangles from the tracks), and any horse/reindeer/elk-powered sled for obvious reasons.
Aubree:I have so many questions.
Wyatt:Please, ask away.
Aubree:1. How do you know that many forms of transportation? 2. What human is propelling a toboggan? 3.There are monorails that dangle? 4. What about horse-drawn carriages?
Wyatt:I’m so glad you asked. 1. My protagonist in THE NIGHTLY WALKER (NYT, USA Today, WSJ bestseller, thank you) was an educator on all things transportation, so I researched different forms. 2. There are many versions of a human-propelled toboggan. You would be surprised. 3. Yes, there is a monorail that dangles from the tracks in Germany, and there is no way in hell you would ever see me on that thing.The only objects I approve of dangling are tits and testes. 4. I do not approve of any sort of animal-led carriage or sled, especially in any major city. The animals are treated horribly. Look it up. You’ll never think a ride in Central Park by a horse-drawn carriage is romantic ever again.
Aubree:That was . . . a lot to take in.
Wyatt:Want more? I have other forms of transportation I can talk about as well.
Aubree:No, really, that’s okay.
Wyatt:If you ever change your mind, I’m your guy.
Aubree:Won’t be changing my mind.
Wyatt:Fair. So how’s your day so far? Do you need anything from me? Currently, I’m lounging on the back deck of the inn with a pad of paper and a pen, plotting an idea for my next book.
God, he’s nice. Not sure Matt ever asked me if I needed anything, and we were actually dating. I knew Wyatt had a good heart because he was Clarke’s brother, but he just seems to go the extra mile.
Aubree:I’m good. Is the plot about a marriage of convenience?
Wyatt:Actually, it is. The heroine marries her stepbrother so they can both take advantage of the trust fund the stepfather left the daughter. But what the daughter doesn’t know is thatthe stepmother and stepbrother are in cahoots, and they’re actually lovers who killed the father together.
Aubree:Umm . . . wow, that’s pretty dark and twisted.
Wyatt:Has that Lifetime movie “My Stepson, My Lover” vibe.
Aubree:Just a little.
Wyatt:Smells like a bestseller to me.
Aubree:How does it end?
Wyatt:Can’t be sure. Sometimes I like to make the good person win, and sometimes I can picture them gurgling blood out of their mouth as they see the person who betrayed them right before they die. So you know, just depends on the mood.
Aubree:You say that so casually. Don’t you care about playing with readers’ feelings?
Wyatt:All I care about is if they have feelings toward the book.
