“Okay,” he said slowly. “I also wanted to thank you for coming with us today. You made my mom really happy.”
I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at the corners of my lips. “I’m glad. She deserves it.”
He blew out a deep breath. “I know she does.” We were quiet for a while, both of us avoiding eye contact as the awkwardness intensified. “Listen, Callie, I’m sorry about today.”
“Are you really?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Because if you were really sorry, you’d regret what you did, and I have a feeling, if the same circumstances arose, you’d do it again.”
He looked away, reaching one of his big hands up to scratch the back of his neck. “I don’t want to lie to you–”
“Then don’t,” I cut in.
He sighed again and met my eyes, rendering me basically useless. Their caramel-colored depths were warm and apologetic, and so comforting, I could stare at them all day. But it was nothing compared to the way he made me feel when he looked at me like that. Like nothing else mattered but the two of us. Like nothing was more important than me. Like I was the sun and he only lived to orbit around me.
But that was absurd.
I shook my head and looked away. I didn’t need his soft eyes convoluting my brain right then.
“The truth is, if I saw that guy all over you again, I’d do exactly what I did today.”
Thankfully, the words coming out of his mouth broke the spell of his captivating eyes.
“Why, Wyatt?”
“I didn’t like him.”
“You don’t know him.”
“And you do?”
“I know him better than you do!” My voice was getting louder, which would eventually attract attention, but I was past caring at that moment.
“And is he a good guy, Callie? Is he who you want?”
“No, you pain in my rear, I don’t!”
“Then why did you let him touch you like that?”
My head fell back on my shoulders and I stared at the canopy of branches above me as I tried to control the urge to throttle him. “All he did was put his arm around my shoulders. And I was just about to remove it myself before you came barreling over like an angry bull.”
“I still didn’t like it.”
“You don’t have a say!” I yelled much louder than I’d intended. I glanced around again to make sure no one was outside their houses before I continued. “You don’t have a say,” I repeated for good measure.
Wyatt pressed his lips into a thin line and looked away. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he remained quiet. Finally, I’d had enough and spoke up again. “You wanted to be friends, Wyatt. That was your idea.”
He ran a rough hand down his face and stared at the gravel beneath our feet. “I know that.”
“Then what are you doing?”
He looked back up, fire in his brown eyes, and I forgot what we were arguing about for a moment. “I don’t know, Callie.”
I looked away and shook my head to clear it of the Wyatt-induced cobwebs. When I looked back, he was facing away from me, staring into the forest like it held the answers for him. “I don’t know either, Wyatt, but when you figure it out, let me know.”
With that, I turned around and headed back toward the lodge. I half-expected him to chase after me, or even just call my name, but he did neither. I wasn’t sure if I was upset or relieved by that, so I pushed the whole situation aside.
I didn’t know what was going on with Wyatt, and it looked like not even Wyatt knew what was going on with Wyatt. Which was another reason I should have stayed uninvolved. I knew he’d be a complication. I knew nothing with him would be simple or easy and I’d gone against my better judgement.
But if I was being honest with myself, I hadn’t been happy about the friends arrangement either. After we’d kissed, everything changed for me. I didn’t want to run from him anymore. I didn’t want to push him away anymore.
For once in my life, I was willing to do whatever it took to see where things could go with a man.
But Wyatt had other plans.
Which was part of the reason I was stomping up the stairs to my bedroom instead of having dinner with my pack in the kitchen.
I was sick of the back and forth, the runaround, the confusion, the miscommunication. I thought being Wyatt’s friend was better than being nothing to him, but now I was rethinking that too. Maybe I’d been right to begin with. Maybe I was better off alone.
***
“Are you coming down for lunch?” Evey asked as we walked down the hall toward the stairs.
We’d finally had the much-needed conversation with my brother about everything going on with the murders. He and Beatrice had divulged what they knew to Evey, Del, and me like they should have months ago.
Thankfully for them, they’d had the decency to look ashamed of the huge secret they’d kept from us.
We’d tried telling them the rest of the pack deserved to know what was going on too, if for no other reason than it would help them protect themselves, but all they’d said was they’d think about it.
“I just need to run to my room for something. I’ll meet you down there.”
“I heard Ms. Elsie made chicken and dumplins so you better hurry before the enforcers get to ‘em,” Del added.
I waved them ahead and left them walking down the stairs arm in arm before heading toward our wing of the lodge. My eyes were trained on my phone instead of my surroundings, so it wasn’t until I turned down our hall that I realized I wasn’t alone.
Wyatt was standing in front of my door, his hand up in a fist, ready to knock. I stood there for a moment, taking him in before making my presence known.
I hadn’t seen him in almost a week since that disaster of a shopping trip. He’d texted me a few times, but he’d had nothing to say that I hadn’t heard before, so I’d ignored him. Now, it seemed he was done being avoided.
The shock of seeing him wore off and anxiety took its place. If someone saw him there, outside my bedroom door, the repercussions would be catastrophic. I hustled down the hall, and when he looked up and spotted me, it almost stopped me dead in my tracks.
How had I already forgotten how still the world went when our eyes met? How right everything felt. How perfect each moment was as long as our gazes were locked.
I had to look away before I did something stupid.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper-yelled.
He held up a greasy bag and tray of drinks, a wide smile on his face. “I brought you lunch.”
I checked the hall behind me to make sure no one was around before opening my bedroom door and shoving him inside. “Get in before someone sees you!”
He stumbled into my room and turned to me with a frown. “What’s the matter?”
I glanced down the hall one more time before closing my door and turning to him. “Did anyone see you come up here?”
His face fell the smallest bit as his lips thinned into a straight line. “I don’t think so.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.” Pushing off the door, I took a few steps toward him. “What’s this about lunch? We don’t have plans.”