“Did you each invest, or is it still all Vivi’s?” He immediately lifted his hand. “Never mind. None of my business, I just—never mind.”
“No, that’s okay. Yes, we did each invest. Vivi wanted to gift portions to us, but we each wanted a financial stake. And it’s all drawn up properly. If any one of us ended up hating it, we agreed ahead of time the other three would buy her out. And if we all hated it, Vivi agreed we’d sell the farm and sail off with our share of the profits to other adventures.”
“This place seems to suit each of you in your own way,” he said, holding her gaze with a smile.
“Thank you. It really does. Fate was being exceptionally kind when our paths crossed. I’m glad we were crazy enough to all say yes.”
Wyatt continued to look at her, affection, caring, kindness, all of the things she’d always associated with him, right there to see. She couldn’t wish that the other part of him didn’t exist, because it was such a wonderful, beautiful thing, this man he’d become. Not to mention hot as hell. And if she’d loved the boy, as a friend, as something more . . . the feelings she was already having for the man were so much deeper, far more complex.
With their shared history, that tight bond and connection created a ready-made foundation, and things were moving swiftly; she didn’t know how to slow that down. Given the limited time they had, even if it was for a full summer, honestly, she didn’t want to slow it down. She wanted it all, all that she could have, all they could have.
She didn’t—couldn’t—miss the underlying sadness she saw in him, too. She understood it, felt it. Seeing her out here, working with her, talking to her, he knew she belonged to this place and these people every bit as much as she knew he belonged to his world after seeing those videos, seeing him in action, and watching him, firsthand, helping her neighbors, her town, that morning.
They were as perfect for each other as the lives they each led were perfect for themselves. Where does that leave us? How does that work?
Chapter Ten
“I cannot believe we’re doing this.”
Wyatt glanced over at Chey, who clutched her to-go cup of coffee between her fingerless-gloved hands. Unseasonably chilly weather had made a return, along with gray skies and a gloomy forecast. She’d even traded in her customary cowboy hat for a knitted headband that covered her ears. He thought it was adorable but kept that tidbit to himself.
“At least she’s not hard to follow,” he said. The light turned green and Wyatt eased his newly leased Jeep Cherokee away from the curb, a few cars back from Vivi’s red and white Chevy.
“I just hope she doesn’t spot us. I want her to be safe, but I feel awful for prying.”
“She’s never seen this vehicle,” he told her. “And you’re incognito without your hat. We could stop and get you some sunglasses.”
“Very funny,” she said, but he knew the tension in her voice had nothing to do with him.
They were both worried about Vivi. Chey wasn’t the only one with a gut feeling about the meeting. “Once we get to wherever it is she’s going, we’ll take a picture of the guy, get his license plate. I’ll send it to my computer guy, Jon, and we’ll see what’s what.”
“Whomever she’s meeting is probably from out of town, so the license plate won’t help, I don’t think.”
“Even rental vehicles require paperwork.”
Her expression was both dubious and surprised. “Who are you?”
“Just a guy who likes to know what he’s walking into. And you’re being a good friend for wanting to know what she’s walking into. It’s not as if we’re going to be listening in, or barging in.”
“Unless we have to,” she said evenly.
He chuckled, then grinned when she shot him the Queen Vic look. “What? I just think maybe you’ve read one too many spy thrillers.”
“Says the guy who knows a guy who can run license plates and do background checks.”
“Yeah, well, like I said, sometimes it pays to know who you’re getting involved with.”
She glanced at him now, openly curious. “Meaning what?”
“Meaning, in some of the places we go, sometimes we need to use back channels to get where we need to be, with the equipment we need to have. Other times even the totally legit local or government contacts have dual agendas. More knowledge is never a bad thing. That’s all I’m saying.”
“So, could you have gotten like, a bug, or something, so we could have listened in?”
He laughed outright and glanced at her. “I thought you were upset about prying.”
She smiled sweetly at him. “I was just curious about the extent of your superpowers, that’s all.” Chey looked forward again and pointed. “She’s turning left! There, next block down.”
“I see her.”
Chey grinned then. “Yeah, she is kind of hard to miss.”
They ended up following her all the way out to Valley View, the closest thing Blue Hollow Falls had to a nearby city. Vivi pulled in to the circular drive of a posh, five-star hotel and left her keys with the valet.
Wyatt pulled in and stopped on the other side of the fountain that sat in the middle of the circular drive.
“A hotel?” Chey asked. “Now what do we do? He could have parked anywhere. Or worse, he’s staying here, and she could be going up to his room. That’s not smart. Come on, Vivi.”
They had been hoping for a restaurant where they’d see Vivi meet up with her guest before going in. As long as the two were meeting in a public spot, Wyatt wouldn’t be otherwise concerned for her safety. Not her physical safety anyway.
The hotel was still a public space, but Chey had a point. “I know this seemed like a perfectly rational plan when we were lying in bed talking it over at four this morning,” he said dryly. “Now I’m starting to think we’re overstepping.”
“And I’m starting to be glad we came. I mean, he could do anything in there and we wouldn’t even—” Chey broke off and slid down in her seat. “She’s standing out in front of the hotel,” she hissed, as if Vivi could hear them thirty yards away behind a massive, noisy fountain. From inside the Jeep.
“I see her,” Wyatt said, and popped open the center console.
“Does she have the umbrella?”
Wyatt shot her an amused look.
“Well? Does she?”
Chuckling, he got out Chey’s field glasses, which he’d snagged on their way out the door that morning, and his old camera, which went everywhere he did. “Looks like she’s waiting by the curb. Hopefully not for the valet, or that was just the shortest meeting on record.” He glanced back at Chey. “No umbrella. But I can hardly see her. The wind is picking up with the storm coming in. It’s blowing the spray around.”
Chey scooched up just enough to look over the bottom edge of the passenger side window. “Should we move closer?”
He shook his head and kept his binoculars trained on Vivi. “This is a pretty prime spot. Nowhere else gives us this vantage point without also being fully in the open.” He had the Jeep tucked against the curb as snug as possible to allow other vehicles to still use the circular drive. He handed Chey the camera. “Here, you’re on the side closest to the curb. Look like you’re taking photos of the fountain.”