13. Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Thirteen
WYATT
All of this would be so much easier if she would just call me an asshole and tell me she hated our kiss. In a way I believed, not with her snarky, sarcastic mouth. With plump, pink lips. So soft. So kissable. Lips that I couldn’t stop imagining being wrapped around my cock as I fucked her mouth.
Damn it. Why, for Christ’s sake, could I not stop thinking about her? In less than five days, she had me questioning everything I thought I’d never want.
Maybe my grandmother’s words would give me insight. She was always good at that.
Slamming my phone down, I stared at the envelopes sitting on the table in my living room in Boston. My name was written on the front of them in my grandmother’s sprawling handwriting. I’d officially put off reading these for longer than I should have. But I was so mad at her after she died that I couldn’t bring myself to open them. Now that I’d had some time to process, I needed to rip the Band-Aid off.
I tore open the most recent envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper. My hand shook at the sight of my grandmother’s words. It had me wondering if I really was ready. Too late for that thought, I supposed.
Wyatt,
If you’re reading this, it must mean I have left earth and gone to be with your pop. I know you’re probably mad at me for not telling you about my diagnosis. But at my age, the surgery would have been too risky, so I opted for a temporary fix that would buy me a couple more years. If I would have told you, you would have stressed and watched me like a hawk. I decided it was better if I just kept it to myself and enjoyed our time together. I trusted in the fact that when it was my time, I would get to join the love of my life in heaven.
I’ve been writing these letters every few months since my diagnosis. I want my words to mean something when I go.
Today I found the woman who will take my place running the hotel. Not the business side of things that you help me with. But the small things. The things that make this hotel so special. You have so many wonderful qualities, my sweet boy, but slowing down and seeing the little things isn’t one of them. You have always gone full speed ahead. As a child, you ran without looking back. You jumped headfirst. As a teenager, you tested every boundary there was. No one could keep up with you. But your heart is bigger than that of anyone I’ve ever known. And one day, I have faith you’ll see what all of us who have loved you see.
As an adult, you have lived freely and accomplished so much. But you’ve also closed yourself off to love. Don’t think I don’t know. You see the only serious relationship you’ve had as a failure, and you hate failure. So you have chosen to never try again. But you are older now, more mature. Not the twenty-two-year-old boy trying to impress the girl. My hope for you is that you find someone and have the type of love I had with your pop.
I am writing a stipulation in my will that you may or may not know about yet. I want you to give Angie a chance. If I know you as well as I think I do, I believe you will see just how perfect she is too. In ways that might surprise you.
With lots of love,
Nana
She wasn’t wrong about Angie. The woman surprised me more every day.Not only was she willing to call me out on my shit, but part of me expected her to make what happened on Saturday night a bigger deal. I saw the hurt on her face when I pulled back. She had the opportunity to milk the situation, yet she hadn’t. Instead, she’d called me a fucking martyr.
At the end of the day, it was my fault. I’d always been honest with the women I slept with, and the fact that I kissed her, then almost let it go farther knowing I wouldn’t be able to give her anything more, turned my stomach every time I thought about it. It wasn’t like me. Even more surprising? I’d never had an issue with control when it came to my attraction to women. But, somehow, Angie made me lose my mind.
I picked up my phone and texted Paul, letting him know I’d be down in a minute. My grandmother had employed him since I was a kid, and since her death, he’d become my personal driver, even when I insisted I could drive myself. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d known about Nana B’s abdominal aortic aneurysm.
After she died, I had a lot of questions. Her doctor told me she had a procedure done when they first found the triple A. But it wasn’t a permanent fix. She knew the graft would eventually break down and the aneurysm could rupture.
It took me a bit to come to terms with her hiding it from me. But I did understand. She and I were very similar in a lot of ways, and I would hate for people to worry and walk on eggshells around me, so I likely would have made the same decision.
I collected my stuff for the meeting and headed downstairs to find Paul waiting for me. His eyes widened when I opened the passenger side door to the black SUV and climbed in. If we were going to talk about my grandmother’s diagnosis—that ultimately led to her death—I didn’t want to be in the back. I wanted to be able to look at him.
“Wyatt?” His voice held a bit of uncertainty.
“Did you know?” I preferred the direct approach to hard conversations, and Paul was used to it.
He sighed and pulled out into traffic. “About Blanche’s diagnosis?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded. “She stopped driving entirely after she found out. She rarely got behind the wheel anymore anyway, but the fact that she stopped completely made me curious. I finally asked why, and she told me.”
I gritted my teeth, trying hard not to be mad. But, Jesus, how many other people knew?
“Did you start reading the letters?” He glanced over at me.
“Yeah. Just the most recent one that she wrote after hiring Angie.”
“That young woman is a firecracker.”Paul smiled. “I can see why Blanche thought she was so perfect for you.”
“You mean for the hotel.” I looked over at him, correcting his choice of words.
He shook his head. “Nope. I meant exactly what I said. Your grandmother was convinced she’s the perfect woman for you.” A chuckle passed through his lips. “I didn’t understand it until I picked her up from the airport last week.”
I opened my mouth and then shut it again. My grandmother had hired Angie because she thought she was, what, my future wife? I shook my head. Jesus.
“She spent the first ten minutes of the drive ripping you a new one to her sister on the phone. And when she told her she planned to make it clear she wasn’t going to jump every time you snapped your fingers, I was sold. You need a swift kick in the ass most days.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled. “But Nana B was wrong. I’m not starting a relationship with Angie. I get it. My grandparents had one of those perfect marriages?—”
“Whoa, hold up.” His brows furrowed. “Their marriage was anything but perfect. I think they made it look easy some days because they loved each other and worked at it. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t have their own problems.”
“I don’t remember them ever fighting, so I’m not sure I believe that.”
“You were always too busy causing a ruckus to notice anything but your next adventure.” He side-eyed me. “Not to mention, your grandparents were always good about having their disagreements in private. Or, rather, not in front of you or in the hotel. Many happened in the back seat of my car.”
That wasn’t entirely accurate, though, now that I thought about it. The memory of them arguing about Paul threatening to quit, and my grandmother’s breakdown, was locked forever in my memory. I still didn’t know whether it was her crying or my grandfather taking me out on the boat and reading me the riot act the next day that truly changed my behavior. But I definitely made an extra effort not to be such a dick to Paul after that. Funny enough, he became someone I truly valued.
“Sometimes the way we see things is not always the truth.”
I sighed. I recognized his I’m about to give you some unwarranted advice voice. I’d heard it plenty of times over the last twenty years. But he remained silent until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Out with it. It’s not like you to hold your tongue.”
He chuckled. “That is true. But there’s no point in telling you something you might not be ready to hear.”
“I’ll try my best to listen.” Now that my grandparents were both gone, Paul was the only parental figure I had left, and his advice had never steered me wrong in the past.
“Don’t let the failure of a relationship with the wrong woman mess up your opportunity with the right one.”
“Now you sound like Nana B.”I scoffed and turned to look out the window. “I’m good at giving women orgasms and buying them shit. I can’t do all that other stuff they want.”
“Says the guy who gave his girl a day off and sent her to the spa.”
“She’s not my girl.” I gritted my teeth and left off the yet I wanted to add. Because, fuck, did I like the sound of that. “I did that for Employee Appreciation Day.”
He laughed and I whipped around to look at him.
“Bullshit.” He raised an eyebrow. “So, where’s my spa gift card?”
Fuck. I hadn’t done anything for Paul. I suck. “I think the whole thing is dumb. A day to show the employees you pay your appreciation by giving them stupid crap like a luncheon.”
He snorted. “Yet you went above and beyond to give Angie a gift.”
“It’s different.” At least I thought it was. “She’s the one organizing everything. It didn’t feel right not to do something special for her. Especially after I demanded she end her vacation and start early. Then I left her to handle the wedding pretty much by herself. Then threw myself at her later that night before changing my mind.”
His eyes widened comically. See? Even he thought I was an utter asshole.
I let out a harsh breath. “Do you see what I mean? I constantly screw things up.”
“You’re impulsive. Most of the time you realize it, but sometimes not until after the fact. I won’t lie. You will probably spend a lot of time groveling and making it right.” His lips lifted into a smirk. “But with the right woman, she’ll be willing to forgive and won’t hold it over your head.”
“I know where you’re going.” We pulled up in front of the building where my meeting was, and Paul brought the car to a stop. “I don’t blame Amanda.”
“Yes, I know. But Wyatt, from the outside looking in, we all saw that girl as a gold-digging witch who you could never please unless you were dropping a shit ton of money on her. And even then, you couldn’t make her happy.”
If any of that were true, it made sense that she ended up marrying a rich old guy. But he obviously made her happy, so what did that say?
I pushed the car door open and stepped out, over this conversation. “I’ll text when I’m done.”
He nodded, and I shut the door before turning and making my way inside.
Being a board member of this charity was one of the things I took pride in. The founder was a genius, and his prototype blew my mind. He was getting reliable, easy-to-use devices in the hands of nonverbal kids who struggled to communicate. Most were still using large books that were clunky and not easy or quick to manage. These devices were next level and were already making a huge difference now that we had the charity off the ground. I wanted to invest my parents’ money in things I knew they’d be proud of.
I barely remembered my mom, but according to stories my grandmother told me, she volunteered a lot in the special ed program at the local school. She also led a program at church and donated to organizations that helped fund materials and assistance in schools. So when I came across this opportunity, I knew she would approve. And so would Nana B.
But as excited as I was to be there, my mind ran in circles through the meeting. Between the texts with Angie, the letter from my grandmother, and then the conversation with Paul, I was pretty sure I heard nothing of what was said during the entire hour I was in the boardroom. Luckily, I was a pro at faking my inattention. Except with Angie, apparently.
A smirk lifted my lips as I thought about her tits that day, ready to pop free from that sweater. Then my mind drifted to her flushed skin, hair high on her head, standing in my bathroom in only a towel. One that clung tightly to her gorgeous curves.
Fuck. I blinked and shifted uncomfortably, trying unsuccessfully to focus on the meeting. Once I was downstairs and pulling open the door, I was frustrated to say the least. What the hell was it about Angie that I couldn’t shake?
“What if I fail again?” I asked after climbing back into the front seat. “Because I see how Angie could be a good fit for all the shit I hate doing at the hotel. So, what if I fuck it up?” I huffed. “Then she’ll be gone, and I’ll be left picking up the pieces again. Dealing with bridezillas and flowers, fucking throw pillows. I’m not good at that shit. You know that.”
“You realize I’m not in your head?” He pulled out into traffic and stole a glance my way. “But I don’t think her quitting is what’s holding you back from trying something serious with her either. If that’s what you’re asking.”
“Of course that’s what I’m fucking asking.” I gritted my teeth. “Wasn’t that the whole point of your lecture earlier?”
“Yes. But since when do you actually listen to me?”
I rolled my eyes. “Since I can’t get her outta my head. I thought distance would help, but it’s making me crazy.”
When the smirk appeared on his lips, part of me wanted to punch him.
“You have it bad.”
I let my head fall back against the headrest and closed my eyes. Was I really considering this? Eight years since my relationship with Amanda imploded, and I’d had zero issues with casual hookups. In only five days, Angie had gotten under my skin and made me want things I never thought I would.
“I need to grab a few things from my condo, but then I want to head back to Starlight Bay.”
“Atta boy.” He bumped my knee with his fist, and I glared over at him. That damn smirk of his was still there. “Another word of advice?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really.” He shrugged. “She might take a little convincing about your sudden change of heart.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “Any ideas, old man?”
Now it was his turn to glare at me. “Start with a date, Casanova.”
A date. Excitement ran through me as I imagined walking into a restaurant with her on my arm, walking around the art gallery, seeing her face light up like it did at the painting hanging in the owner’s suite.
Fuck yeah. This was brilliant.Now to come up with a plan that she couldn’t say no to.