My mind has wandered there before—thinking about what marriage would be like with Wyatt—but I won’t let it go there again. Not when all the events of the last couple days have brought me closer to wanting to give things between the two of us one more try. Not when he’s yet to tell me that he loves me.
No, marriage probably won’t be something I stop and think about for a long time.
“I’m glad you didn’t get married,” Heidi announces, taking her orange juice away from me. “I would have punched you in the boob if I didn’t get an invite.”
Once we’re done with breakfast, we head back to the hotel to pack for Phoenix. We’re on the road well before noon, and as Wyatt and I sit in the backseat together, his hand finds mine, clasping my fingers tightly.
“Last stop,” he whispers, and I can only nod my head.
***
Heidi has to leave almost the moment we reach Phoenix six hours later. One of her brothers is already waiting for us at the hotel when Cal parks the SUV. She leaps out of the front seat of the Suburban and sprints across the parking lot, laughing as her brother gathers her up in a giant hug.
“He’s f**king big,” Cal says from beside of me, eyeing Heidi and the tall, beefy guy standing next to her. I tip my head in agreement. “I could probably take him.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. “Thought there was nothing going on between you two.”
“Oh, there’s not.” He starts unloading our luggage, giving me a wink as he sets her suitcase on the asphalt. “But you never know what’ll happen once we get back home.”
Right. I glance back at Cal once as I walk over to Heidi, and when I catch him staring at her, he drops his gaze. Heidi re-introduces me to her brother, and as he climbs inside of his ironically small sports car, she gives me a pained look. “So, apparently my mom really went all out for me coming into town and the entire family is coming over.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
She shakes her head sadly. “My nieces and nephews are possessed. I swore to you the last time you came home with me that I’d never put you through that again.”
I can’t resist grinning. “Want me to wait around for you before I head over to the bar tonight?”
She bobs her head a little too enthusiastically. “I’m hoping it’ll be sooner rather than later, but you know how my folks are.” Her brother honks his horn, and she rolls her eyes. “Ugh, see you later.” She waves her arm dramatically to Wyatt and Cal to signal that she’s leaving, and I watch as her brother’s sports car speeds away. Heidi can complain all she wants about her family, but I know better than anyone how much she adores them. Seeing them will be good for her.
Since Wyatt and Cal have a few things to take care of with the Hazard Anthem guys, I stay in our room after we check-in. The moment that he leaves, promising me that he’ll be back as soon as possible, I adjust the thermostat back to a normal temperature. I don’t plan to fall asleep when I lie down to watch a marathon of The Walking Dead, but it’s pretty much inevitable. The sound of Wyatt returning to the room gets me up, and I flick my eyes to the clock by the bed to see that it’s 8:37 PM.
Yawning, I sit up and swing my legs off the side of the bed. “Didn’t realize it was so late.” I smooth a bunch of stray pieces of my short hair behind my ear. “Do I have time to get ready?”
He nods. “I’ve been calling you,” he says, sitting down in the armchair across the room. “We go on in a little over an hour.”
I grab my phone from the nightstand and release a groan when I realize it’s dead. Since it’s useless, I throw it down on the bed. “The battery in that thing sucks.” If Wyatt’s been trying to get in touch with me, chances are Heidi has, too. I rub my hand over my face in frustration. “Hey, you don’t happen to have Heidi’s number saved to your phone, do you?”
He shakes his head but pulls out his cell, scrolling through his contacts. “Nope, but Cal does. He’s having drinks with Nate and Ben, but he’ll answer.” He presses the send button and tosses the phone to me. I reach up, catching it easily with my right hand. “Be right back,” he says, disappearing into the bathroom.
Just as Wyatt promised, Cal answers on the eighth ring. After he teases me about not knowing my best friend’s number, he promises to text it to me as soon as we hang up. A moment after I hit the end button, the message comes through. “Impressive, Cal,” I say, opening the text.
It takes me approximately five seconds to figure out that the string of messages I’m staring down at isn’t from Cal, but even though I jab the home button quickly, the last three texts between Terra and Wyatt have dug their way into my head.
6:29 PM: You don’t even want to know the room # in case you change your mind?
6:48 PM: I won’t, so lets not waste our time. I told you the other night that it was one time. Fucking drop it.
7:01 PM: You know what? Go f**k yourself, Wyatt.
I hear the bathroom door ease together and he’s talking about Your Toxic Sequel’s summer tour as he rounds the corner. My face must say it all because the moment he looks at me, his words fade away, and the color drains from his naturally tan face. Struggling to keep my breath steady, I glance into his eyes. And I repeat the question I asked him a couple nights ago. The question that I’m absolutely certain he answered with a flat out lie.
“Did you screw Terra?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN