Page 10 of Wild Heart
Ivy and I immediately shook our heads as Jules answered, “No. I think we’re all just feeling a bit of shock. That’s all. Trust me, this is wonderful.”
Skye seemed to relax a touch, her eyes shifting toward Rhea for her input. “I’m with you, Skye. I’ve never seen the grumpy side of Cooper. He’s always been nice to me. Then again, I’ve really only seen him in these types of situations.”
“I get the feeling if Cooper hadn’t met Skye, you would have eventually seen it,” Ivy said. “You just haven’t had enough time around him yet for it to come out.”
Before Rhea could respond, our attention was pulled toward the open field where the guys were playing. They were firing insults and riling each other up.
“Well, I have been around Cooper enough to notice the competitive side to him,” Skye declared. “That man doesn’t like to lose.”
“Ha! That’s a Westwood trait,” I informed her. “All the guys are like that.”
I’d learned that years ago. Whether in a situation like this, or if they were playing board games, there was such a competitive spirit amongst them.
“Speaking from experience, I can confirm that’s the truth,” Rhea added. “Wyatt refused to be denied.”
“Can I ask how you and Wyatt met?” Skye questioned her.
Before Rhea could respond, Jules declared, “Oh, boy. You better buckle up for this one.”
The boys had finally started their game, so when a Frisbee went flying through the air, we all glanced back out at them. I wasn’t too proud to admit my eyes lingered on Tate. I always used opportunities like this to allow my gaze to linger on him. Every time I did, though, I usually wound up feeling a mix of longing and disappointment.
I wanted to be able to call him mine, and as more and more time went on, I wondered if I was crazy to think it’d eventually happen.
Rhea laughed, pulling our attention back to her. “There’s never a dull moment around here, that’s for sure,” she said. “Funny you should ask about how Wyatt and I met, Skye. I have an ice cream shop on my family’s farm, and back in March, Wyatt walked in, looking to purchase part of our land for the amusement park expansion. I turned him down, and I thought he graciously accepted. But then he turned up at the spot I go running every morning, and I was convinced he was stalking me.”
Surprise littered Skye’s features. “Was he?”
Rhea shook her head, a bright smile on her face. “No. But I was stubborn and refused to believe him. We ran together without speaking to each other for quite a while before he wore me down.”
“And if anything, it was almost as though Wyatt had taken a page out of Cooper’s book for some time in the beginning there,” Jules noted. “He’s a determined guy, but Rhea wasn’t making things easy for him.”
God, if only that had been the case for me. Granted, I wouldn’t have been as tough as Rhea. I wouldn’t have kept Tate at a distance. If he showed even the slightest hint of wanting more from me, I’d grab hold of him and gobble it all up.
My eyes drifted back out toward the open field. Tate was shirtless and sweaty. Impeccable, just like his manners and his tidy home.
Something cold hit the center of my chest, but it wasn’t an emotional reaction to anything. I glanced down and noticed my shirt was discolored, wet, and stuck to me. “Oh, shoot!” I cried out. I’d spilled my drink down the front of my shirt. Tate was so refined and in control, he would never. As I stood, I mumbled, “This is lovely. I’m going to go get this cleaned up. I’ll be back.”
“Do you want help? I can find another shirt for you,” Ivy offered.
Shaking my head, I replied, “I think I have something in my car. I’ll let you know if I don’t.”
I took off in the opposite direction and made my way to my car. After grabbing a shirt, I went inside and made a beeline for the bathroom. With my new shirt in one hand and the remnants of my drink in the other, I used my elbow to close the door behind me.
My plan had been to set everything down and go back to lock the door, but as soon as I caught sight of myself in the mirror, I stopped and sighed. “You’ve got to get yourself together, Ava.”
Sometimes, I felt like a complete disaster. It matched the pattern of my life. My parents were the start of it for me, and the only thing I’d seemed to manage successfully was my career.
Tate had such a hold on me, my feelings for him constantly consuming me, and I wound up being unable to handle the sight of him shirtless while holding a drink in my hand.
I pulled the fabric of my shirt away from where it was stuck to me and slipped it over my head. Wanting to avoid having a permanent stain on the shirt, I began rinsing it out in the sink. After squeezing out the excess water, I moved toward the linen closet, found a washcloth, and returned to the sink. Enough of the drink had spilled and soaked through my shirt that my body was coated with the scent and stickiness of it.
Gathering my hands in my hair, I pulled it back from my face and up into a messy bun. No sooner had I doused the washcloth with warm water, squeezed it out, and lifted it to my chest, the bathroom door swung open.
My body twisted in that direction, my hand clutching the cloth at my chest.
“Oh, shit. Sorry. I didn’t know you were in here.”
Tate was there, and he immediately began to back out of the room, closing the door behind him.