Perfect Risk (Mason Creek #1) - C.A. Harms Page 0,25
it felt like it would always be one step forward three steps back.
But did I mention how good she looked wet?
Chapter Fourteen
Sadie
* * *
“You do realize how ridiculous this sounds, don’t you?” I refused to look back at Anna, instead I continued to stir the pot of chili I was making. My mother wasn’t able to cook so Granny Char and I had been taking turns filling the fridge with prepped meals. My father loved chili, he could eat on it for days.
“I’ve met Gus and he is nothing more than a bear.”
“Exactly,” I mumbled. A big snarling grizzly bear.
“Sadie?” Ignoring the way Anna said my name I focused on the pot. After telling her out loud what had happened I admit it did sound a little insane. “Do you think that this pent up frustration might actually be related to something other than a little run in with a gentle giant?”
She thought she was so smart, analyzing me.
“He was pawing at my door. The second I opened it he came trotting in like he owned the place. I swear to it, he purposely herded me right out the door.” She laughed. “Anna!” Ignoring me, she shook her head and laughed harder. “It has everything to do with the dog and nothing to do with—”
“His hot, shirtless owner?”
“You are a brat.” Rolling my eyes, I looked away from her and toward Drew who was playing with his trucks in the middle of my floor. Smashing them into one another making crashing sounds over and over. I smiled, I’d already missed more than I want to of his life. He was such a sweet little guy, but I was biased.
There was no point in continuing to argue with Anna, sometimes I think she knew me better than anyone, even myself. I regretted the minute I’d said Wyatt opened the door wearing nothing but a pair of sweats and I couldn’t remember what I’d gone over to his house for the very second I saw his strong chest and abs. Yep, that was all Anna needed to know to figure out the truth of what I was feeling right then.
“You need to admit that you still feel something for him.” No, I didn’t, and I wouldn’t admit it. “Do you know that when you say his name you get this look in your eyes. Almost a little twinkle and you fidget, twisting your hands in front of you. And when you see him—”
“Okay, enough. You can stop now!”
“Not until you admit that you find him attractive.”
“I’m not blind Anna, of course I find him attractive.” Throwing my hands up in the air in surrender I stared down my best friend. “Fine, since I’ve been back there hasn’t been anyone who has gained even a small fraction of my interest. I’ve found myself comparing every man to Wyatt, but it all goes back to the same place at the end of the day. What kind of idiot would I be to give in and settle for being his second choice?”
“I think that man realized one week into his first choice that she was the wrong choice.”
“Everyone keeps talking about that, but he stayed with her. For years, she was by his side, in his bed.”
“And about three other beds from what I’ve heard.”
I froze mid rant and waited for Anna to notice me staring at her. When she did, she shrugged. “It’s not my place to tell his story, I know this, but you’ve been going on and on about his character. Constantly going back to the girl he loved, the girl he’d spent years with but I think he stayed with her for all the wrong reasons. When he found her in bed with someone else, he booted her so fast I think everyone in town had their heads spinning. He was always holding back, he didn’t start really living until after she was gone.”
“How?”
“He bought land, planned out is house down to the last light fixture. He started helping people around town, volunteering wherever he could, interacting with everyone like they’d always been his family. It’s like Karlie had been holding him back and he was finally free.” Anna stood and walked around the bar getting right next to me. “Beau is his best friend and while you were gone, I can assure you I got to meet the real Wyatt. I got to know him, and the guy I know is kind and caring. He’d never leave a girl standing