Chapter 22 - Wyatt
WYATT
Wyatt spotted Edith from outside the café.
He could see her through the window, sitting at a table with Finn and Reggie.
Pearl was standing nearby, smiling. He paused and for a moment, he imagined how things would have been if he had stayed in the UK and with Edith.
Would they be married now with a child or one on the way?
Would they live in Porthpenny in a pretty cottage with a sea view?
He watched as Edith stood up and turned to the window, but her eyes stayed glued to her phone. Her brow was furrowed, and she was shaking her head as if she’d just received bad news.
The urge to run to her, sweep her into his arms and make everything better swept through him like a tidal wave, and he clenched his fists at the thought that someone or something had hurt her.
But then he remembered he had, in fact, hurt her and he had no right to be angry with anyone else for doing so.
That would be hypocritical of him. And yet…
This could be his chance for redemption, his opportunity to help her and to assuage some of the guilt he felt at causing her pain.
He stopped dawdling and hurried through the open doorway into the café.
‘Afternoon,’ he said, and she turned to him. When their eyes met, her pupils dilated, and her lips parted. ‘Edith, what’s wrong?’
‘I…’ She frowned. ‘I… need some air.’
Finn was standing too now, and he reached for Edith. ‘What is it? Has something happened?’
She shook her head. ‘I… um… need to speak to Wyatt for a moment. Won’t be long.’
Wyatt nodded and took her arm, worried that she would stumble because she looked so shaken, and led her outside. ‘What’s happened?’ he asked softly as they walked around the café to the gardens at the rear.
She was still gripping her phone tightly, but then she handed it to him, and he looked at the screen.
‘Oh…’ He grimaced. ‘That’s not good.’
‘Not at all.’ She peered up at him. ‘What am I going to do? This is a disaster.’
He handed her the phone and then rubbed his brow as if trying to summon a solution genie. ‘OK… It’s OK.’
‘How is it OK?’ she asked. One of her hands fluttered in the air then settled on his chest like a butterfly in need of a perch. The warmth of her skin seared through his shirt and his heart stuttered as other parts of him stirred at her proximity.
Not now, Wyatt! he told himself sternly. But it had been so long since she’d touched him in this way, so long since she’d stepped into his arms and kissed him.
‘We can sort this,’ he said, covering her hand with his.
‘How?’ Her beautiful eyes scanned his face, and he knew in that moment that he would do anything in his power to help her.
‘I have contacts. There will be somewhere else.’
‘But there’s only just over a week until the wedding,’ she said. ‘I can’t believe this has happened to the venue.’
‘It’s pretty grim, but things go wrong sometimes.
’ Even as he said the words, he couldn’t help thinking that it was pretty darned unfortunate.
The luxury hotel where Finn and Titus were due to get married had been flooded with sewage.
Work in the gardens had gone wrong, and a pipe had been damaged. ‘We can find somewhere, I promise.’
Edith sucked in a shaky breath, her lower lip trembling, her eyes glistening.
There was a tsunami of panic building inside her, and he knew that this was huge for her because she was a professional who valued her business and because two of her friends were getting married.
This situation intensified the pressure.
For a heartbeat, neither of them spoke, but he kept hold of her hand and she didn’t pull hers away.
In fact, she stepped closer to him, and when she sighed, he felt the warmth of her breath on the skin of his throat.
Her perfume, a subtle blend of lavender and vanilla mixed with wildflowers and the fresh sea air, was intoxicating.
To him, she smelt like home.
‘What are you thinking?’ she asked.
‘Oh… nothing… I…’
‘Tell me,’ she whispered.
He took a breath before responding. ‘I thought that you… you smell like home.’
‘Home?’
He nodded.
‘Like New York?’ She blinked.
‘No. Like… the way you always smelt. Beautiful as a meadow full of flowers. As uplifting as the beach on a sunny day. As fresh and fragrant as lavender and warm as vanilla.’
She opened her mouth as if to speak but then shook her head. ‘Please don’t. Not now. I can’t… I can’t even go there.’
‘Sorry.’ He squeezed her hand then let it go, and she lowered hers from his chest. ‘I spoke out of turn.’
‘When you say things like that, it gets me here.’ She patted her chest. ‘It’s like all the feelings I’ve buried away come to the surface.
I know if I let them out, I’ll never be able to lock them away again.
It’s so nice to hear you say things like that, and yet what good will it do either of us?
The wounds are still raw, and I don’t know if I’d have the strength to heal again. ’
He gave a resigned nod. ‘I know. I do understand and I’m sorry. It’s just very difficult when I’m around you to hold back how I feel… How I feel about you.’
He cleared his throat then gestured at the gardens. ‘Shall we walk?’
‘Sure.’
They strolled side by side and reached the chicken enclosure. It was a large steel pen with a coop inside. Lots of different chickens roamed around, watched over by a proud rooster that puffed up its chest when it spotted them as if to warn them to stay away.
‘I’ll grab a coffee when we go back inside and then I’ll phone around and see if we can find an alternative setting,’ he said as they watched the birds.
‘Do you have anywhere in mind?’ she asked. ‘The hotel they’d chosen was so perfect, though.’
They started walking again and soon found themselves up by the bench that overlooked the sea. As if in silent agreement, they sat down. Wyatt inhaled the sea air, relishing its freshness and the sun’s warmth on his skin.
Turning on the seat, so he was facing Edith, he said, ‘I have an idea. It may not work, but… what if they got married here?’
‘Here?’ Edith looked around them and her expression softened.
‘It’s beautiful. Perfect because there’s no need for transport. I’m sure if we have a word with Pearl and Ellie that they can sort the catering. Ellie’s already making the wedding cakes.’
Edith tilted her head, considering his idea, her cheeks pink as roses.
‘It is beautiful,’ she said. ‘To be fair, when Finn and Titus first came to me, they said they’d considered it.
But then got caught up in their excitement, and when they found the date free at the hotel, they decided to go for it.
But I can see what you mean about holding it here.
The scenery is breathtaking, and the location divine.
As long as the weather holds, it would be lovely. ’
‘We can find a marquee just in case and get in touch with some local companies to create a gorgeous wedding that will make them happy.’
‘I’ll have to check with them. And with Pearl and Ellie.’
‘Of course.’ He nodded. ‘But you like the idea?’
‘I do.’ She reached out and took his hand. ‘Thank you, Wyatt. I thought I would lose it completely earlier and then you swept in like a knight in shining armour and rescued me.’
‘Edith,’ he said, squeezing her hand. ‘I think we both know you are not the kind of woman who needs rescuing. You are the strongest person I know.’
‘Are you sure about helping with this?’ she asked.
He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss there, breathing in the fragrance of her skin and wishing he could kiss her lips, her neck, her shoulder…
‘I am absolutely sure that I want to help. As best man, I think it’s imperative. It’s the least I can do and perhaps… while I know it will never make up for how I hurt you… perhaps it will in some small way show you I am sorry. I still care for you, Edith… I always will.’
Edith blinked rapidly, then broke eye contact.
But she kept holding his hand, and for that he was grateful.
In the silence that sat between them while they both gazed at the horizon, he liked to think that a new trust was growing, as fine as gossamer, perhaps, but spun from affection, compassion, and friendship.
He promised himself that he would do everything in his power to make this the best wedding Edith had ever planned.
He would strive for as long as she would let him to prove that he only ever meant to make her happy.
His motivation had been to shield her from trauma.
The worst thing about it was that he was the thing that could harm her the most, and he had never been able to tell her why.
One day perhaps he would find a way.
One day…