Page 55 of Say We've Found Forever
“When do you think you’ll go hunting for dinner?” she asks, sweeping the same patch of kitchen floor she’s already swept ten times.
“Why?”
“No reason. Just hungry.”
They have boxes of snacks from the other house, so he knows she’s in no danger of starving. “Do you and Emma wanna come along?”
“Not this time. There’s so much to do…” she trails off, her smile one hundred percent fake. “Soon, though.”
Is she growing tired of him already? Has he been hovering too often?
Her behavior lately gives him whiplash, though he isn’t one to judge when it comes to running hot and cold. He’d tried to keep her from realizing how attracted he is to her, but over-corrected and pushed her away.
She was about to ask him something at the library that he knew would sound like,‘why are you being so weird?’So he’s done his best to stop behaving like he’s annoyed with her in an effort to hide his feelings.
Since then, she’s been looking at him differently. Gives him delicate smiles while glancing at his lips on a semi-regular basis, and he’s caught her staring at him more than once when she thinks he’s not looking.
If he didn’t know better, he might think she’s…attracted to him, too. Flirting with him even, but her insistence that he leave her alone now reminds him that he’s reading the signs all wrong.
“I keep saying you don’t have to do all this cleaning. The book says to avoid strenuous activities,” he warns.
“Wyatt, I’m fine. I feel great. The morning sickness is even gone today. I can sweep.” She stares out the window at a perfectly sunny day. “The weather looks sketchy. You should get going before it rains.”
Okay, she really is trying to get rid of him.
Fine, he thinks with a stubborn frown. If she wants food, then he’ll show her exactly how good he is at rustling up a meal.
* * *
He returns that evening with a string of rabbits and a full-sized deer on his shoulders. All the game is out in full force with the arrival of early winter, trying to stock up on food for the long haul.
Addison’s smile is quick as she watches him offer up his catch. “You scored!”
“Damn right I did. Come on, I’ll show you both how to prep ‘em. We’re eating good tonight.”
She may have been sick of him earlier, but now he’s proven he has value. He can bring home dinner from the wasteland, and that isn’t something she can ignore.
They spend an hour prepping meat for stew before Emma and Addison disappear into the house with sneaky looks between them.
This shit is getting out of hand. He’ll have to say something soon.
When he sees them again, they’ve dressed up for dinner and left him speechless.
“We found these in one of the rooms. Aren’t they pretty?” Emma flutters the edges of her new dress with little purple flowers across the fabric.
He nods, trying not to stare at Addison’s newly revealed collarbones and how that deep red dress hugs her just right at the hips before flaring out. It’s the kind of thing he assumes women wear on summer days for picnics or whatever type of event calls for a swishy dress.
Swallowing hard, he is transfixed by the sight of her. “What’s the occasion?”
“There isn’t one,” Addison replies. “Feels good to wear something pretty for a change, that’s all. I’m lucky I found one to fit.”
“Nice. Real nice. It suits you.” He almost chokes on the air in his mouth.
She looks at him like it’s the best compliment she’s ever gotten, so maybe he hasn’t completely fucked up yet. Or so he thinks, but those thoughts are dashed when they both act strangely during dinner. There’s a secret brewing. It makes him uncomfortable and wary, even though he knows he shouldn’t be.
“You two got something you wanna say?” He gets right to the point. They’ve been glancing at each other all through the meal, and he’s about to come out of his skin with fear of the unknown.
Addison bites her lip. “We have something to show you.”
