Wyatt (7 Brides for 7 Soldiers #4) Read online

  He wanted to shove away from her and go to his room, slam the door. How dare she? But he made himself stay even while his temples throbbed with emotion. She didn’t deserve his anger. “I did talk to someone. They make you do that after a mission.”

  She smiled softly. “Okay then. I just… I remember what you said, that you wished it had been you instead of Danny. And you seem to blame yourself for not saving him, even though you said being a SEAL is the most dangerous job in the world. It was for him too, and he knew it.” She hesitated. “I’m glad it wasn’t you who died, Wyatt. I’m glad you’re here with me.”

  Paige couldn’t quite believe she’d admitted that to him. Then again, what was wrong with it? She hadn’t asked him to pick out wedding dates or anything. Surely he couldn’t get upset about something so innocuous. And yet she felt as if she’d exposed herself in some way. Left her heart dangling in the breeze.

  Which didn’t make sense because what did that mean? That she cared about him?

  Her mouth went dry. That’s precisely what it meant.

  Oh no. Oh dear heaven, no.

  He wasn’t hers, was never going to be hers. And she wasn’t so pitiful as to fall for a man simply because they’d had sex.

  It’s more than that and you know it.

  She wanted to shake her head. To deny it.

  But she couldn’t. Some crazy part of her was falling for this man.

  Wyatt’s gaze was stormy, brooding. He closed his eyes. She swallowed. What if he knew how she felt? What if he said he was sorry and looked at her with pity in his eyes?

  But he didn’t look.

  “Thanks,” he finally said. He studied their hands where they were still joined, and her heart beat like mad. “I feel less guilty as time goes on, but that bothers me too. Like why is it any better just because it’s been a few months? Lisa still doesn’t have a husband, and Emma doesn’t have a dad.”

  “Oh, Wyatt.” She wanted to hold him, but she didn’t dare. Not now when she was so confused. “It’s not better. It just hurts a little less, that’s all. You won’t forget him. They won’t either. You just learn how to live without him.”

  “You sound like you have experience,” he said, frowning.

  “Lily—that’s Lily Ashwood, from the show—had a younger sister. She was born with a congenital heart defect. She died when she was ten and we were fifteen. It was hard on Lily and her family. I was there. I hurt too, but nothing like they did.”

  “You two are close?”

  Paige found herself hesitating. “We were. I think maybe we’ve grown apart a bit. She’ll always be my bestie. But I think we want different things out of life. I feel like we’re moving in different directions.”

  Lily wanted to fly to Paris and buy expensive handbags. Paige wanted to make videos about her ideas and gain viewers so she could entice a business partner to work with her. Lily would always be content being an Ashwood and living off her parents’ money. She’d marry someone eventually, but it would be the right someone. Someone with a fortune equal to hers.

  Paige wasn’t sure that mattered. In fact, she was certain it didn’t. It wasn’t what a man had that mattered. It was what he could give you. And by that she meant the intangible things he could give you. Love, belonging, happiness.

  “Don’t let that relationship go, Paige. Not if it means anything to you. People grow apart, but I’ve had the same best friends since I was in high school. We all got detention together for a semester, and we’ve been friends since. I could call any of them up and they’d drop everything to help me. I’d do the same for them.”

  “What do they say about what happened with Danny?”

  He frowned. “I didn’t tell them.”

  “Why not? You said they’re your best friends. Why wouldn’t you tell them?”

  And yet he’d told her. It wasn’t lost on her that she knew something about him that his friends didn’t.

  “I didn’t want to bring them down. They’ve all had their own things going on, and I’ve only just come back to town. It’s not fair to burden them with my problems when they’ve got lives of their own.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Wyatt, for God’s sake—that’s what they’re for. Your friends want to help you. If they’ve been your best friends since high school, then I’m sure they care about you. Do you at least talk to them regularly?”

  “Just about every day. Well, Ryder, Zane, and Adam anyway. They live in Eagle’s Ridge. Jack lives in Seattle, and Ford lives in Virginia Beach. Noah’s in DC, but he’s coming back soon. His cousin is dying. He’s taking custody of her little daughter, Bella.”

  Paige couldn’t help but put a hand over her heart in sympathy. “Oh no.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty tragic. Lainey is a sweetheart. And Bella—” He sighed. “Well, she’s a doll. I’ve babysat her a couple of times. Bright kid. She’s going to be okay with Noah, but she’s going to have it rough too.”

  “Of course she will. Losing a mother can’t be easy.”

  The fire crackled and popped, and he reached for the edge of the blanket, parting it to reveal her naked body. Goose bumps rose on her skin. Her breath caught and her sex ached.

  “I’m tired of talking about sad things,” Wyatt said. “I’d rather do something happy.”

  She lay back and spread her legs so he could see everything. “Does this make you happy?”

  He slipped a finger into her folds, stroked over her clit while she bit the inside of her lip and tried not to sound too needy.

  “It’s a good start.”

  Chapter 21

  Paige was happy. Deliriously happy. And she shouldn’t be. Not really. She had work to do, a life to get back to.

  But every moment with Wyatt Chandler carved another notch into her heart. She lay in his arms, on the bear rug in front of the fireplace, and didn’t care that it was a cliché.

  Bear rugs and lovemaking went perfectly together. No wonder it was a fantasy. Her body still tingled from the aftermath, her mind going back over everything they’d said to each other tonight.

  They’d said a lot, much of it about feelings—but none of it about feelings that had to do with each other. She thought of returning to Seattle soon and her chest began to ache. What would she do when she didn’t have this?

  Her eyes teared up as she listened to Wyatt breathing. He was asleep, his chest rising and falling evenly. She wanted to look at him, but that would mean turning in his arms and disturbing him. She wouldn’t do that because he needed sleep.

  She couldn’t sleep though. She’d been thinking about everything that had happened over the past twenty-four hours. Her relationship with Wyatt had moved onto a new level—but what did it mean to him? Anything?

  Probably not. She had to acknowledge that fact and face it head-on.

  She also had to face whatever happened with her stalker. What happened when they caught him? Would there be a trial?

  She tried to remember everything she could about Joshua, but the truth was she’d hardly paid him any attention. He’d been like a prop to her, soon forgotten once he was gone. He’d been average height. Bigger build than average. Good-looking but not memorably so. He’d never gone home with her, but that wasn’t because the studio hadn’t wanted him to.

  She hadn’t wanted him to. She’d insisted she didn’t need personal security in her home. She lived in a building with its own security, and she’d felt perfectly safe there. But Joshua had dropped her at her building. And he knew which apartment she lived in.

  He knew because he buzzed up to her once, when she was running late and not answering her phone—she’d accidentally turned off the ringer—in order to tell her he was outside with a car.

  My God, that man had driven her places. Been by her side for a month on set and at appearances. It made her shiver. He could have done something to her then. He could have taken her somewhere and raped her or held her for ransom. He could have killed her.

  She lay in Wyat
t’s arms for another hour, letting her thoughts drive her crazy. The fire banked and glowed. The sun began to rise over the valley. The darkness in the room grew lighter as the sun slipped into the sky.

  “Ready for coffee?” Wyatt growled into her ear.

  She jumped, tingled, and melted all at once. “Yes. How did you know I was awake?”

  “I felt it in the tension of your body.”

  “I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “You didn’t. I wake early. I also sleep in snatches. Learned that on patrol.” He ran his fingers down her side beneath the blanket they lay under. “How long have you been awake?”

  “A while. I couldn’t stop thinking about things.”

  “Joshua?”

  “Yes.” She pulled in a breath. “He was close to me for a month. He could have done anything.”

  “But he didn’t. You have to remember that. He didn’t.”

  “I know. It’s just so… creepy.”

  “Yeah, I know. But he’s not getting near you again, Paige. I won’t let it happen.”

  He got to his feet and pulled her up, wrapping the blanket around her and kissing her forehead. Then he grabbed his athletic shorts from where they’d landed on the chair and slipped them on before going over and fixing the coffeepot.

  A shaft of sunlight came through the window, illuminating his body, and she watched him with a troubled heart. He meant something to her. More than she wanted him to.

  She’d never been in love before—didn’t think she was now—but how did anyone ever know? Was it a lightning bolt? A spreading warmth like sinking into a hot bath?

  “You want breakfast now or later?”

  She shook herself. “Definitely now. I’m starved.”

  He looked up and grinned, and her heart careened out of control. “Me too. You gave me a workout.”

  “I gave you a workout? That last time wasn’t my idea, mister.”

  “Yeah, but did you mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  “I didn’t think so.” He opened the refrigerator. “Eggs and bacon with toast?”

  “Sounds good to me.” What was wrong with her? Back in Seattle, she’d be having a protein smoothie. Organic, of course. But here, with Wyatt, she thought bacon and eggs sounded like the perfect meal to start the day.

  What the hell. Enjoy it while you can.

  “Coming right up.”

  “Need help?”

  “No, I got this. You can wash the dishes.”

  She didn’t even bat an eye at doing a task she rarely ever did when at home. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Only one condition,” Wyatt said.

  “What?”

  “You have to do it naked.”

  After breakfast and conversation that managed to avoid any sensitive topics, they went their separate ways to shower and dress. When Paige got back to the living room, Wyatt was sitting at the dining room table, staring at his computer screen. He looked up and smiled, and her breath tripped and fell inside her chest. Took it a moment to regain its feet too.

  “You want to go into town today? Maybe have lunch at that fancy new restaurant Bailey Tucker opened?”

  “That sounds lovely. Can we invite Mary Beth?”

  He looked pleased at the suggestion. “Sure. But you have to promise to help me discourage her from ordering dessert.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  He shook his head. “Guess that’s the most any of us can hope for.”

  Paige worked on her ideas until it was time to go, writing out lists of things she’d need to do her videos, planning how to stage the outfits, how best to set everything up. It wasn’t that it hadn’t been done before. What Not to Wear and How Do I Look? were two of her favorites. But those shows took someone on a shopping spree rather than taking them into stores and showing them how to buy for themselves on a regular basis.

  Paige’s idea was to set up the shopping trips using what she could find in the store and then introducing her own clothing ideas as well. It wasn’t as grand as she’d imagined in the first place, but it was forward motion. And she was excited about it, which was fun.

  Around ten, they went out to the truck and started down the mountain. Wyatt had set his alarms as if he still expected trouble. It bothered her more than she liked. They knew who they were looking for now, but until they had Joshua, he could be anywhere.

  Even Eagle’s Ridge.

  For some reason, knowing who he was made it worse. Especially because he’d been near her for a solid month and she hadn’t known he was nuts. Or inclined to be nuts.

  Once they reached Eagle’s Ridge, Wyatt parked near the square again, and they got out to explore until it was time for their lunch reservation at Blue Moon. Wyatt had offered to pick Mary Beth up, but in her typically independent fashion, she’d said she would meet them there.

  The shops were cute, quaint, and Paige discovered that even if they weren’t filled with the latest designer fashions, she rather enjoyed browsing through them. There were local goods—jams, jellies, crafts, and even wine—in some of them. There was a small clothing boutique she hadn’t seen earlier, and she made a beeline for it.

  Wyatt managed to reach the door before she did and held it open so she could walk inside. The shop was long and narrow, but the floors were wide-plank walnut and the walls were aged brick. There were clothing racks, but most of them held T-shirts with pithy sayings. There were some leggings, a few lace tops, and a shelf of scarves on one wall.

  There was also some lingerie with naughty sayings and feathers. Almost like it was joke lingerie, though Paige suspected it wasn’t.

  The selection was disappointing. Paige frowned as she strolled through the store. A young woman emerged from the back stock room.

  “Hi. Can I help you find anything?”

  “Just browsing,” Paige said.

  “Hey, Wyatt,” the woman said, her gaze sliding past Paige to land on the man behind her.

  And just like that, Paige’s hackles rose. A prickling sensation flowed through her veins, leaving behind goose bumps on her skin. She grew hot.

  Jealousy? Really?

  “Hey, Claudia,” he said. “How’re you doing?”

  “Good. Haven’t seen you since that night at Baldie’s a couple of weeks back.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been busy.”

  The woman’s gaze flicked to Paige again. “You must be Nicole.” She cocked her head. “You look familiar though.”

  “I get that a lot,” Paige said, smiling.

  Claudia snapped her fingers. “Wait a minute—Paige Spencer! From American Princess, am I right?”

  Paige met Wyatt’s eyes. They were hard but resigned.

  “That’s right,” Wyatt said. “But Paige is here incognito. We’d appreciate it if you don’t mention it to anyone else in town.”

  Claudia shrugged. “Who would I tell? I know probably three other people who watch the show besides me.”

  Paige tried not to let that statement sting. Didn’t work.

  “I guess we aren’t that popular,” she said with a smile, walking over and shaking the woman’s hand. “Probably why they put us on hiatus.”

  “I think you were finding your groove—but the problem is there are already too many shows with catty women behaving badly. Yours is just another competing to be heard in all the noise.” Claudia’s eyes widened. “Oh, wait. I’m sorry I said that. Catty, I mean. I’m sure you really aren’t.”

  Paige wasn’t sure the woman was sincere at first, but her cheeks reddened and Paige knew she wasn’t faking it. She really was worried she’d offended.

  “It’s okay. I knew what I was getting into when I vamped it up on the show. You can say it. I’m a total bitch.”

  Claudia laughed. “Well, yeah. But it’s television, right?”

  “I hope so. Though Wyatt might have a different opinion.”

  Claudia’s gaze went to Wyatt again. If Paige wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of dreaminess to the look she
gave him. Jealousy reared its ugly head again.

  “How do you know Paige, Wyatt?”

  “Her dad owns a house here. I’m the hired protection.”

  “Ah, of course. Using the military training.”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s not what Hildie Fontana thinks.”

  “Never is.”

  Claudia laughed. “You are so right.”

  The bell on the door tinkled again, and a gorgeous redhead walked in. She was a little older but absolutely stunning. Paige caught sight of Wyatt and noted that his jaw had gone a little slack.

  “Miss Wood,” Claudia said, rushing over to the redhead. “What can I help you with today?”

  “I’m just looking for something for a friend.”

  Miss Wood’s gaze floated over to Paige and Wyatt standing there. She smiled as she walked over.

  “Hello, Wyatt. How are you?”

  “Miss Wood—” He cleared his throat as if he’d been about to say something else. “Uh, fine Miss Wood. How are you?”

  Even her voice was sexy. Sensual. Like a real-life Jessica Rabbit.

  “Wonderful.” Her gaze slid over to Paige.

  “This is Nicole, Miss Wood,” Wyatt said.

  Miss Wood arched an elegant eyebrow. “Don’t lie, Wyatt. This is Paige Spencer from American Princess. I’m pleased to meet you. And you can call me Diana.”

  Paige shook the woman’s hand.

  Claudia clapped and squealed. “Oh em gee, do you watch it too?” she exclaimed. “That’s so cool!”

  Diana smiled. Everything about the woman was elegant. “It’s a guilty pleasure. I also like The Real Housewives of Orange County. Well, all the housewife shows if I’m honest.”

  Wyatt looked like he’d been slapped over the skull with a two-by-four. He shook his head and backed away. “I’m going to stand outside. You ladies continue.” He gave Paige a significant look. She acknowledged it with a smile.

  He disappeared through the door, bell tinkling, and took up a fighting stance outside. So serious and sexy, that man. She wanted to jump him and kiss the daylights out of him.

  Diana and Claudia turned their gazes on Paige. She hoped what she’d been thinking hadn’t shown.