Page 4 of Wyatt

“It’s just from the salon. They can make anyone look nice,” I tell him, running a self-conscious hand over my hair.

Wyatt snags my hand and brings it down, but doesn’t drop it. His head moves from side to side slowly. “No. It’s all you,” he says, stepping closer to me, causing my head to tilt way back as I try to meet his gaze. “You always look nice.” His eyes dart back and forth as they look into mine. “You’re always beautiful.”

With my free hand, I reach up shakily and touch Wyatt’s chest. Maybe he does feel this too. Maybe I wasn’t so dumb to hope for something with him. The next thing I know, I’m being backed up against the counter and Wyatt’s mouth is on me. His lips are full, and warm as they slide against mine and once I recover from the shock of ‘holy crap, Wyatt Landry is kissing me,’ I join in, sliding my tongue against his lips.

When he parts on a groan and drives his tongue into my mouth, I realize that every little kiss I’ve had before now was nothing compared to the real thing, and this is definitely the real thing. My hand moves to cup Wyatt’s jaw, but as soon as I touch his face, he’s pulling away.

Looking over at Wyatt, you would think that he just performed the worst action on the planet or something if the pained look on his face is any indication. “I-I’m so sorry, Georgie. I never should have done that,” he says, his voice a little shaky, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. After a minute, his expression clears and he laughs a little. “I guess I had a little too much to drink tonight.”

My heart sinks at his words and I blink back the tears that form almost immediately. “Right. Of course,” I say, looking down at myself. My jeans are dirty and cling to my thick thighs, and I’m wearing a sweater that’s about a size too small for my bigger body, a body a man like Wyatt could never want. “Why else would you have kissed me?”

I pass the box of chocolate bars over to him and smile as best as I can while my heart shatters in two. “Can you take those outside for me? I have a bit of a headache and think I’ll head off to bed.” Wyatt frowns and reaches for me, but I back away towards the staircase. “Thanks,” I tell him before my feet carry me up the steps as fast as they can, tears streaming down my face in earnest now.

When I get to my room, I shut and lock the door, knowing that Scarlett will come in if I don’t. As best friends, we don’t have a lot of boundaries, but we know enough that when the door is locked, it means we want privacy, even from each other. Ashamed of how stupid I’ve been, I sit on the end of my bed and look around my room. There are some pictures here and there, but they’re all of me and Scarlett, no one else.

“What am I even doing?” I ask myself. My life has been about surviving my childhood, and after that it’s been about taking care of a family that doesn’t even really need me anymore. Sawyer, Brooks, and Mav all have their wives to look after them now, and Wyatt just made it very clear how he feels about me.

Standing up and walking over to my closet, I pull out my suitcase and start packing my things. Scarlett will miss me when I’m gone, but she’ll understand too. She’s been wanting to get out and spread her wings for a while now, and while I would be more than happy to take her with me wherever I go, I can’t have ties to the Landry’s right now. Where Scarlett goes, they will eventually follow. I need to get over my crush on Wyatt, and I can’t very well do that if he’s still around all the time.

When I’m finished packing, I set my things down by the door. If I try to leave while anyone is awake, they’ll never let me go. As much as I love them for their loyalty, I need to do this. It’s time to take care of myself, even if that means doing the one thing I never thought I would do: leave.

Chapter Three

~Wyatt~

My hand reaches up and rubs my chest as I watch Georgie’s retreating form as she scurries up the stairs. Seeing the look on her face when I told her I was drunk was like a knife to the heart. She looked so hurt, so defeated. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them, but what else was I supposed to say?

I can’t tell her how I really feel, that she makes me feel like a better man, that being near her and kissing her felt so right, so much like coming home that it scared me. Instead of facing that fear, I panicked and blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Why else would you have kissed me?” Her sad words play over and over in my head and I want to go back in time and kick my own ass for putting that kind of pain in her eyes. I’ve had less than one beer tonight, and had a totally clear mind when I kissed her.

If I was drunk on anything it was her. Her beauty and natural goodness that shines through all the damn time is intoxicating. Instead of saying any of those nice words though, I ruined the most wonderful kiss I’ve ever had by being my jackass self. If I didn’t know it already, I know it now. Georgie definitely deserves better than the likes of me.

Clutching onto the chocolate bars like a lifeline, I make my way back out to the campfire, keeping my eyes low so no one can tell that I just made a monumental screw up. I toss the bars on the table, grab a beer from the cooler, and plop back down on a log. Popping the top off the bottle, I take a long gulp of the amber liquid. I wasn’t drunk before, but I will be soon enough. I’ll do anything to erase the memory of hurting Georgie from my mind, if only for a little while.

“Where’s Georgie?” Scarlett asks, her head turning to look back at the house. “It’s her twenty-first and she hasn’t even had a drink yet.”

I try to ignore the concerned look on my sister’s face and the renewed sense of shame it brings. I ruined our kiss and her birthday. Way to go, Wyatt. Trying to brush that aside and appear nonchalant, I shrug a shoulder. “Went up to bed. Said she had a headache.”

Scarlett’s brow furrows. “Without saying goodnight? That’s not like her.” It’s not like her. Georgie is always the last one to bed usually, making sure everyone is taken care of before she even thinks about herself.

“Yea, well. It’s her birthday so it’s her prerogative to go to bed early,” I grumble, finishing off my beer and standing up to get another. When I’m back in my seat, beer already open and ready to be consumed, I look around to see all my siblings staring at me. “What?” I bark, causing baby Albie to stir in him mama’s arms and start crying.

Sawyer cuts me a fierce look and his chest puffs out angrily, but one touch to his arm from his wife has him calming and smiling down at her and their son. “It’s about time we got this little one to bed,” she tells him, nodding over at me before standing and walking towards the house.

Sawyer glares at me and then tilts his head at Mav who gathers his wife and bustles her inside. “Why don’t you head in baby,” Brooks tells his wife Lacey and helps her up before planting a kiss goodnight on her lips. “I’ll be in soon.”

Lacey smiles at him and walks away, but not before grabbing Scarlett and dragging our baby sister in along with her. “Alright, I’m coming,” she grumbles, shooting me a death glare. Scarlett knows I screwed up, and once Georgie tells her what I did, I know there will be hell to pay from her.

Once everyone is gone, Brooks sits on the log next to me and bumps my knee with his. “Want to talk about it?”

“Not really, no,” I tell him, finishing off my second beer and cursing my body mass and alcohol tolerance for not erasing the sight of an upset Georgie from my mind yet. My head tilts back and I look up at the stars, wishing my mom and dad were here to tell me they love me despite all my screw ups, though even they would take issue with the way I treated their surrogate daughter.

Brooks knocks my knee again, drawing my attention over to him. “Do it anyway,” he commands. Brooks is a good five years older than me, but he’s always been easy to talk to. He’s fairly easy going, is less quick to get frustrated like Sawyer, and is less gruff and better at listening than Mav or Scarlett. I suppose I’m going to have to talk to someone. I need to make things right with Georgie, and I don’t have the first clue on how to do that.

After releasing a harsh breath, I fill him in on everything, how I’ve been thinking differently about Georgie for the last year or so, how I’m pretty sure I’m in love with her, and how I screwed up because I know I’m not anywhere near good enough for her.

When I’m finished, I look over at Brooks and see exactly what I expected. He looks pissed. “What the fuck, Wyatt?”