32. Lark
LARK
Something was definitely up. Wyatt had been acting strange for the past few days, and I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
When the Fourth of July came, he invited me to a party where we would watch fireworks on a private lake.
It was swoony and magical and exactly what I imagined a small-town Fourth of July to be.
When the fireworks were exploding overhead, I sneaked a glance at Wyatt and caught him staring.
I still blushed at his attention. “Everything okay?”
He nodded and rested his chin on top of Penny’s head. She oohed and aahed over the fireworks as she sat in his lap.
On Thursday I got his note.
Dinner. Friday night, 8 p.m.
Excitement danced through me, and I pushed away any uneasy feelings that had popped up, regarding them as me just being paranoid.
Most nights were spent together after Wyatt arrived home from work.
Oftentimes I would excuse myself to the apartment to give Wyatt and Penny some time together, but more and more I would get an invitation for dinner or a walk or to go out for ice cream.
I never said no.
The love between Penny and her dad was so strong, and somehow I’d gotten lucky enough to be a part of it. Things felt easy and natural. The only thing missing was the ability to wake up next to the man I was falling for.
But for now it had to be enough.
I glanced at my phone, and the date staring up at me made me pause.
My deadline for the Grinstead Casting Agency was only a few days away.
More than once I’d almost deleted the video audition, but then I’d watch it and laugh at how seriously Penny and the boys had taken it, how much fun we’d had, and how they’d defended me when I was teased.
After that I always tucked my phone away and tried to put that particular ticking clock out of my mind.
Staying in Outtatowner had never been the plan, but if I was finally casted for a day player part, staying would no longer be an option. I would have to pack everything back into my tiny car and drive the two thousand miles to LA.
My phone buzzed, and a picture of Mom’s face lit up the screen. In it she had purple hair, and her bare face was smiling, eyes closed. Affection warmed me as I answered.
“Hi!”
“It’s Aubergine, dear.”
I chuckled at the way my mother always felt the need to announce herself despite my constant reminders that my phone told me it was her calling. “Yep. Hey, Mom.”
I heard muffled talking in the background as she added, “Eagle sends his blessings.”
I could hear the low drone of rhythmic, chanting music as she continued. “Lark, I experienced a cosmic shift and needed to call right away.”
Oh boy.
“Wow. That sounds important.”
Mom’s voice was serious. “It is, darling. My spirit guides came to me, and I am supposed to tell you that the winds of change are coming for you.”
“Are you into mushrooms again?”
“That is entirely beside the point, Lark.”
I stifled a small laugh. It was comforting to know that my mother would never change.
“Well,” I offered, “ winds of change sounds exciting.”
“It came with a warning. The guides said, ‘Keep the wind at your back and the sun on your face.’”
I scrunched my face as I swapped my phone to the other ear to put in an earring. “Isn’t that an Irish prayer?”
“Lark! This is serious. The guides are here to help you.”
I shook my head and sighed. “Winds of change. Back. Sun. Got it. Thanks, Mom. Did your guides have anything else to share? Because I’m getting ready for a date.”
“No, dear. That was the message. I love you. Enjoy your date.” Just like that, the line went dead, and she was back to her tantric meditations with Eagle.
I shuddered at the unwelcomed memory of the one and only time I had interrupted them and had gotten an eyeful of naked old-man ass.
* * *
As I made my way down the stairs of the apartment, Wyatt was already waiting for me on the steps of his porch.
He was ungodly handsome in a white button-down shirt, blue trousers, and a brown belt.
His sleeves were rolled up, showing off the veiny forearms I loved so much.
I had no idea veins were a turn-on, but holy crap, they were hot.
Wyatt hit me with the full force of his smile, and my chest tightened.
His deep voice rolled over me. “You look amazing.”
A giddy zip raced through me, and when I got to the bottom of the stairs, I did a little twirl to show off the coral boho sundress with the lace bodice I had purchased at the women’s boutique downtown.
His arms wound around my middle as he pulled me closer. “Better than amazing. You look perfect.”
For a moment, my worries of Wyatt and unvoiced fears faded away. He kissed my lips and ran his nose down the length of mine. “Ready?”
My hands played with the short hairs on the back of his head and pulled him down for another long kiss. After we broke apart, Wyatt gazed into my eyes. He took a step toward the yard, and my eyebrows dropped down.
“Come on.” His mischievous smile was irresistible. I had speculated we might try the new wine bar downtown or maybe even dinner on the beach, but with my hand in his, Wyatt headed straight for the walking trail.
I clung to his arm and rested my head against his thick biceps as we walked. With Wyatt, the darkness of the trail wasn’t nearly as frightening. He clearly knew the way, and in no time we came to the clearing by Wabash Lake.
Arranged in the middle of the shoreline was a thick blanket surrounded by tiki lanterns on long sticks. There was a small cooler and a pile of additional wool blankets. Everything had been arranged perfectly for a romantic, moonlit picnic.
“Oh, Wyatt...” My hand went to my throat, where my pulse beat wildly.
“You like it?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter to ignite the lanterns. They cast a semicircle of warm, glowing light that danced off the water of the lake.
“This is amazing. No one has ever done anything like this for me.”
He smiled, satisfied that he’d gotten this right. “I thought a lakeside picnic might be a little more intimate than a dinner on the beach. This late, there will be no one on the trail to bother us. The lake is all ours.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “But, Mr. Sullivan... I didn’t bring my swimsuit.”
He grinned and pulled me closer. “Guess then you’ll have to go in nude .” His playful teasing reminded me of the day we’d seen each other naked. Best. Day. Ever.
I tipped my head back to laugh into the starry night sky. His mouth found the column of my neck, and I melted into him.
He caressed my hair, and his mouth slanted over mine. I poured every emotion into that kiss. I never wanted it to end.
Wyatt separated from me and pulled me to the blanket. “Let’s eat something. I have plans for you later.”
The dark promise in his words had me slipping off my sandals and dropping to my knees before settling into the soft blanket.
From the nearby cooler, Wyatt unpacked a roll of sliced salami wrapped in butcher paper, a loaf of crusty bread, and a few different cheeses.
He took care to arrange everything on the blanket between us.
After he caught me staring, he pulled me in for a quick kiss and continued to arrange our picnic.
How did I get here?
If anyone would have told me that I would have Wyatt Sullivan, former NFL quarterback and head football coach, doting on me and impressing me with a romantic picnic, I would have called them a damn liar.
Yet there we were.
Finally, he stacked two sandwiches, also wrapped delicately in paper, on top of one another and lifted a chilled bottle of white wine from the cooler.
“Did you do all this?”
Wyatt looked offended, his hand spreading wide across his chest. “You doubt me?”
I pinned him with a stare and tried not to laugh.
“Fine.” He pulled the cork from the wine and filled two stemless glasses. “I had a little help. But it was my idea.”
I took the glass he offered and looked out onto the lake. The night was so clear you could see the hundreds of stars reflected on the water’s surface. I sipped the wine, and the dry-but-buttery flavors of fruit and tanginess rolled over my tongue.
“Mmm. This is really good!”
Wyatt took his own sip and hummed in agreement. “I caved and paid a visit to Charles Attwater’s shop. Just don’t tell Lee. He’ll be pissed and paint me as a traitor.”
“Because Lee’s clearly in love with Annie, right?”
Wyatt shrugged. “I think Lee’s too stupid to see what’s right in front of him, but I’m not going to be the one to tell him that.”
We laughed and drank and listened to the sounds of cicadas filling the night air. Wyatt fed me small bites of salami and cheese, peppered with kisses in between our easy conversation. I recognized a glow in his eyes, and it wasn’t from the lanterns.
Gently I teased the top edge of my dress with my fingers. “Let’s go for a swim.”
Wyatt growled as his body covered mine, kissing me as he made quick work of removing my dress.
Stripped down, I stood at the edge of the water with one hand over my naked breasts. Wyatt stood, gloriously naked and unashamed.
We held hands as we toed closer to the edge of the lake.
“It might still be a little cold,” he warned.
I gripped his hand in mind. “Let’s do it.”
I ran forward, pulling Wyatt with me and splashing the cool water as we ran into the lake. I screamed and laughed. Wyatt lifted me as we got deeper into the water. His mouth found mine, and we tumbled forward, soaking us both. My legs wound around his waist as he supported my weight.
When we broke from our kiss, Wyatt rested his forehead on mine. “Lark.”
“Yes?” Our breaths were heavy pants as I clung to him.
He didn’t answer but instead moved me lower until he slipped inside me.
I let my desperate cries ring out into the night. Held by him, I had never felt safer or more cherished.
When we came down from the high of our lovemaking, we settled by the outcropping of rocks that I had once used as a hiding place.
Wyatt was next to me, chest deep in water, and I rested the side of my face on the arm I had flung across the rock.
I openly stared at him. I loved that I could do that now our feelings were out on the table.
Well, mostly.
Wyatt and I hadn’t exactly openly discussed our scary, deep-down feelings or what this relationship/arrangement really was, but I didn’t care. Things were too good to screw it up with messy talk about labels or the end of summer.
“I think we should talk about the end of summer.”
Well, fuck.
Wyatt wasn’t looking at me but rather out into the dark woods beyond the far edge of the lake.
His hand was warm on my hip, but a shiver still ran through me.
When I didn’t speak up, he continued. “Come August, kids will be returning to school. Practices will start up, and I’ll be in full-season football mode—practices, meetings, managing the staff and players. Addressing problems.”
I smiled to myself. I had caught only glimpses of Wyatt in coach mode, but I knew that on the field, he was in his element.
“Sounds busy.” I mentally started ticking off the tasks I knew I could help him with to make life easier. He’d need to keep his calendar tidy, and I would love the extra time I might have with Penny if her dad had an away game or late night.
“I think you should take the job.”
My tongue felt thick, and my heart dropped to my butt like a stone. All I could manage was a confused, “What?”
“The job. In LA. You should take it. There’s really no other choice.”
I straightened, bracing myself against the rocks and the chill that had settled over me.
This is it. The moment you hand your heart over and he laughs in your face and crushes it in his fist.
“I haven’t even submitted my callback. And there’s no guarantee that I’d even get the job.”
An all-too-familiar line formed on Wyatt’s forehead. “Then you should submit it. And of course you’ll get the job. I watched you convince an entire town that Bowlegs was having a torrid affair with a knockout like you. Jolly and Ant are still confident that you secretly married him for money.”
I laughed at the absurdity of the town rumor mill, but my stomach was tight.
Wyatt wanted me to leave, and this was his out.
“Oh, I... um. I guess I hadn’t really thought about LA in a while.”
Lie.
I had thought about it every single day and almost deleted the video more than once. I should have done it.
“Hey.” Wyatt edged closer and moved a wet piece of hair from my forehead before tipping my chin to look at him. “I don’t want you to go. But you need to see this thing through. Set a goal and go get it. It’s what I did with football, and I got to live my dream because of it. Now it’s your turn.”
Tears swam in my eyes as I fought back a sob. Instead, I buried myself into the warmth of his shoulder so he wouldn’t see me fall to pieces.
Could I believe his words? That he didn’t really want me to go but thought it was best in the long run? Or were those just nice words so I wouldn’t feel the sting of him leaving me once summer was over?
He’d salvaged the rest of the evening by showering me with attention and sweet, reassuring words.
The conversation with my mother and her winds of change , along with the sinking feeling that, deep down, I might actually wonder how things would have turned out if I did submit my callback tape, nagged me.
I loved Wyatt. If that were real and true and meant to be, I had to believe it would all work out in the end.
So, despite every fiber of my being screaming that it was wrong, that night, while I lay alone in my bed, I pulled up the Grinstead Casting Agency email and finally hit send before I cried myself to sleep.