Page 16 of Wild Heart
The last time we were on good terms, Ava had been vulnerable with me like never before, and when she had given every green light, I’d turned her down.
If I allowed myself to think about it, I could still remember how the exact curve of her breast felt in my hand.
I swallowed hard, regret choking me.
Wyatt broke the silence. “As much as what Liam said might be true, I get the feeling this conversation stopped being about Tate and Ava for him. Fuck, and I thought he was doing okay.”
“No kidding,” Cooper muttered. “I’m not sure he’s ever going to recover.”
“And here I am, slapping him in the face with this.”
“You have a justifiable reason to be concerned, Tate,” Wyatt started. “But Liam isn’t wrong about you being unfair to Ava. If you think the both of you want something more than what you’ve got, I think it’s worth talking to her about it. You have to give her the opportunity to address what’s bothering you about taking that step forward.”
Cooper stood. “I’m going to go check on Liam.”
When Cooper walked away, I sent an apologetic look Wyatt’s way. “I’m sorry about this. I’m sure it’s not what you had planned for this weekend.”
Wyatt laughed. “Don’t worry about it. If anything, it’s making me realize just how grateful I am to have Rhea. I don’t have to worry about things like this now.”
I huffed. “Yeah. Consider yourself lucky.”
The two of us returned our attention to the water, fishing rods in hand. After several beats of silence, Wyatt said, “So, Ava? Really?”
“Yep.”
“How long?”
“Longer than I’d care to admit.”
He chuckled. “I guess it makes sense why you haven’t been out searching for anyone else. At least you’ll see her at the rehearsal dinner next week and can take the time to talk to her.”
If only it would be that easy. “That’s not likely.”
“Why not?”
“Other than the two words she said to me at Christmas, those beingMerryandChristmas, Ava hasn’t spoken to me since we were here last year on the 4thof July,” I shared.
“What?”
“I don’t want to get into the details, but I screwed up, and she got hurt in the process,” I confessed.
“Ah, younger brother, let me tell you a story about fixing mistakes when you screw up and knowing how to apologize,” Wyatt declared, his tone amused.
At least one of us found this entertaining. If anyone deserved that much, especially the week before his wedding, it was Wyatt. So, I sat back and listened to his wisdom.
And eventually, Cooper and Liam returned.
When I met my youngest brother’s eyes, I lamented, “I’m sorry, man.”
He shook his head and waved his hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. I got a little caught up.”
Yeah, he did.
But that didn’t mean he was wrong about what he said.
“It’s going to get better. One of these days, it’ll happen.”
He tipped his chin down with understanding, but I wasn’t sure he believed me.