Page 22 of Aperture

Wyatt swallows his bite of chicken and takes a drink of water before replying, “he chooses his victims carefully. They are mostly alone, with few family or friends”

A shiver runs through me as he speaks. He could be talking about me. Sure, I know people around town, but my entire family is gone, and other than Gwen, I don’t spend time with anyone regularly.

Looking to change the mood of the conversation, I make a lighthearted joke.

“The only person I’ve met recently who has come out of nowhere is you.” I smile. I could say the same thing about Theo, but I met him through his sister, so the situation isn’t quite the same.

“And you gave me your address and let me into your home without a second thought,” he replies flatly.

I sense judgment in his tone, and I don’t appreciate the insinuation.

“I’m not stupid, Wyatt,” I tell him, not giving him a chance to respond.

“First, you’re a police detective.” I hold one finger up.

I add another finger. “Secondly, we’ve gone out once already. Lastly, you’ve met my best friend.” Now three fingers are waving wildly in the air.

“If I disappear, they are coming straight to you, buddy.” I push my chair back and go to stand. Wyatt quickly stands and reaches out to grab my wrist. He can tell I’m angry, but he also seems slightly amused, which angers me more.

“Millie, wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset.” I drop my finger-wielding hand to the side.

“Well, you just told me I’m dumb enough to get myself killed.”

He shakes his head. “That is not at all what I meant. It’s just that this guy is brilliant. He has been doing this for years now. And you’re just so sweet and so trusting.”

“Those aren’t bad things,” I say softly, looking down in embarrassment.

Wyatt walks over and stands right in front of me. He puts his hand under my chin and tilts my head up until I look into his ocean-blue eyes. “It’s not bad, Millie,” he says sweetly. “I just don’t ever want to see anything bad happen to you.” He leans in and stares at my mouth, causing me to take a sharp breath, thinking he will kiss me, but instead, he pulls me into a tight hug.

Because of our height difference, my ear presses against his heart, and I close my eyes and listen to it beat. I take a deep breath, and, as always, he smells amazing, woody, earthy, and masculine. It’s warm and comforting. His body is so strong, firmly wrapped around me. I could stand here forever, but Wyatt kisses the top of my head and breaks our hug, taking a step back.

“I’m going to check that alarm,” he says. I sigh as he walks away. He’s so confusing. He asked me to dinner. We have spent time together a few times now, but I can’t tell if he’s interested in me romantically or just sees me as some helpless girl who needs rescuing. I felt a fire between us, but he also passed up the opportunity to kiss me.

At least, Theo is making his intentions clear, I think to myself.

A few moments later, he comes over to the sink where I’m doing dishes.

“It’s an older system but it seems to be working OK. You might want to change the code though, if you’ve been using it for a while.”

“OK, I will,” I tell him.

“Can I help with the dishes?”

“No, thanks. I’m almost done,” I say more brightly than I feel.

He pauses for a moment, knowing as I do that any moment we could've had has now passed.

“OK, well, I’m going to get going. Thank you for dinner,” he says politely.

I walk him to the door, and Milo follows, standing next to me and looking back and forth between us.

He turns to me, once again pulling me into a hug. I can’t help how my body responds as I tightly wrap my arms around his waist. He pulls away slightly, kisses my cheek, and then reaches down to give Milo a pet on the head.

“See ya later, M&M,” he smiles and walks out the door.

Feeling defeated, I shut the door behind him and lean against it. Milo looks up at me expectantly.

“I know, boy. I like him, too, but I’m unsure if he feels the same about us.”