what he was defending himself from, Mia hadn’t sussed out yet. In the same way Josh used to hide in his house, Wyatt hid himself away by pretending not to care about anything.
But Mia knew better. By now she’d seen for herself how much Wyatt cared about Josh, and how much he cared about Birdie and Andie too. They were essentially his adoptive family. Which was sort of strange, considering he had such a large and powerful family of his own. The very dance hall they were in right now bore his family name and was run by one of his uncles.
“Why aren’t you playing up on that stage?” Mia asked as they danced past the band. She was getting a little better at matching Wyatt’s footwork after a couple of revolutions around the floor.
He laughed as he whirled her around a slow-moving older couple. “Because that’s a real band up there.”
“Shiny Heathens is a real band.”
“No, we’re a bunch of amateurs having a good time, which is the way I like it.” His gaze drifted to the six-piece swing band, and Mia could swear his blue eyes looked wistful. “Those are real musicians up there.”
“I’ll bet your uncle would let you play here if you asked. Didn’t you say he was your favorite uncle?”
Wyatt shook his head, a faint smile curving his lips. “He wouldn’t give me anything I hadn’t earned, which is one of the reasons he’s my favorite uncle.” His smile turned wry. “That and the fact that he hates my dad’s guts.”
She squeezed his shoulder as he led her through a turn. “Your family’s like a soap opera.”
“More like Game of Thrones,” he replied in gruff amusement.
“Game of Thrones is just a soap opera with swords,” she pointed out.
Wyatt’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “Fair enough.”
“Who are you using me to hide from?”
His smile slipped a little. “Just some girl who’s looking for a boyfriend and didn’t like it when I told her it isn’t going to be me. Same old story.”
“Don’t you ever want something more?”
Wyatt lifted her hand over her head, leading her into a surprise spin. Miraculously, she managed to follow his signals and mostly keep step with him. He smirked as he spun her back into his arms. “What’s better than having great sex with lots of beautiful women? What more could I possibly want?”
Mia clutched his hand, feeling pleased with herself but also a little dizzy from the spin. “What about love? Partnership? Commitment?”
He made a face. “No thank you.”
“Come on, don’t you ever get lonely playing the field?”
He spun her again, twice in a row this time, before pulling her back to him once more. “You’re getting pretty good at this.”
“And you’re trying to distract me.”
“Do I look lonely to you?” he asked with another smirk.
She looked him in the eye. “Yes.”
“Not me,” he said lightly, shaking his head. “I’m allergic to commitment.” His smirk faded as his gaze focused on something behind her. His expression seemed to freeze in place for a second before he shifted his attention back to Mia with a shrug. “Seriously, I dated someone for a whole month once, and I got this scratchy throat I couldn’t kick, and my skin started feeling itchy all over. Eventually it got so bad it felt like I couldn’t breathe. But then we broke up, and the very next day I felt fine. All cured.” He shrugged again. “What can I do? It’s a medical condition.”
“You’re so full of shit,” Mia told him, and he laughed and spun her again.
“Congrats on the job, by the way.” He glanced over at the table where Josh stood watching them. “I’m glad you’re staying.”
“Me too,” Mia said, smiling.
She’d gotten her official offer letter from Bowman that week. Josh had insisted she apply for other jobs and give them serious consideration before making up her mind. He hadn’t wanted her to compromise her aspirations for him, and had promised her they’d figure it out if she decided to take a job in another city.
But unlike Paul, he’d actually meant it. Josh’s way of figuring it out involved serious conversations about bringing on an apprentice cheesemaker and handing over day-to-day management of the farm to Ray.
Mia was deeply touched that Josh was willing to even consider doing something like that for her, but she wasn’t the slightest bit tempted to take him up on it. She was glad he’d insisted she go on other interviews though, because they’d cemented her decision to stay