And as my cock grew thicker, I second-guessed my decision for dinner tonight.
Can I even make it through a damn meal?
“Of course, I can. I’m Wyatt fucking Remington,” I murmured.
After drawing in a few deep breaths, I felt my cock dwindling to its original size. And after I was sure my erection was gone, I thrust myself back into work. I incessantly checked my email, wondering if any of my brothers had replied to it, and grew frustrated at the lack of responses.
Still, for men with families, it was a choice they surely needed to talk over with their counterparts. But then, why the hell hadn’t Boone responded?
Someone’s got a secret.
Either that, or he was being a lazy ass.
Nevertheless, the deeper I dug into work, the quicker time flew by. And when my alarm went off at five minutes to five, I quickly packed away my things. I slid folders into my briefcase that I’d take home and work on tonight with mindless television in the background; then, I headed straight for the stairs.
I bounded down them, trying to work off some of my needless energy before I burst through the doors and eyed Bella’s desk.
Time for dinner, beautiful.
7
Bella
“Ready?”
I peeked over my shoulder and saw Wyatt standing there with a grin on his face. He clutched his briefcase in his left hand and had his right hand slid into the pocket of his suit pants.
“Ma’am?” the woman on the line asked.
Her voice snapped me from my trance, and I pressed the “send” button on the email I was typing up. “Yes! My apologies. I just sent your confirmation email. I can hold until you receive it.”
Wyatt chuckled, and the sound prickled the hairs on the nape of my neck.
“Got it! Thank you so much, Bella.”
I smiled. “My pleasure. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your evening.”
“You, too!”
Wyatt’s voice appeared again. “Cordial and peppy. I like it.”
I snickered. “Let me just log out, and I’ll be ready to go.”
I quickly gathered my things and shut down my station after my first dizzying day of work. Then, Wyatt escorted me through the front doors. I noticed he didn’t lock them as we left, and I wondered if that meant he’d be coming back to get more work done after we finished with food.
I won’t keep him too long, then.
I started veering over toward my car before I felt his hand against the small of my back, and it held me in its warm trance so much that I didn’t even notice where we headed until Wyatt opened a truck door for me. I blinked and looked around, watching my car from the other side of the parking lot.
“You sure you don’t want me to drive? I can just follow you,” I said.
Wyatt offered me his hand. “Nonsense. It doesn’t make sense to take two vehicles to the same place. I’ll simply bring you back to your car once we’re finished. I have work I need to tend to this evening anyway.”
I took his hand. “Then, I won’t keep you long.”
He chuckled. “You take however long you wish. This is your celebratory dinner.”
The feeling of my hand against his alleviated all too soon. Then, he climbed into his truck, and away we went. However, as we started passing all of Conroe's restaurants, I furrowed my brow when I saw the “leaving city limits” sign off in the distance.
“Where are we headed?” I asked.
Wyatt leaned back in his seat. “A little place off the beaten path that doesn’t get as much recognition as it should. Plus, the view of the town from the balcony is outstanding.”
The farther we pulled away from the city limits, the more I saw Wyatt relax. And by the time we pulled into the hillside restaurant with a porch that boasted of extraordinary scenic views, my boss practically had his back slouched and his legs spread while driving. It was the most relaxed I’d seen him, and I had to admit my eyes were drawn to him.
That was until he cut the engine to his truck. “Ready?”
I blinked rapidly and tossed my focus down to my purse. “Ready when you are.”
“Great. I’ll come around and get you.”
He was a gentleman the entire way in. He helped me out of his truck and offered me his arm. He escorted me inside and even pulled out my chair once we got out to the balcony. Wyatt then poured my glass of wine, doting on me like I was a fucking queen.
And I loved it.
“To your employment,” Wyatt said. He held up his glass, so I did the same.
“To my employment, and my keeping this job despite my father’s bullshit.”
He chuckled. “Here, here to that.”
We clinked our glasses together, and I watched him peer at me from beyond the rim of the crystal. I started feeling nervous, so I panned my gaze out toward the horizon. Conroe twinkled in this little valley it was nestled in, and the heavy night sky that hung over us was unimpeded by lights.
It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“Orion’s out tonight,” Wyatt said.
I whipped my gaze to him. “Huh?”
He pointed. “That cluster of stars? Connected by those? That’s Orion’s Belt. You can really see it tonight without the clouds in the sky.”
I furrowed my brow. “You know about constellations?”
He shrugged. “Call it a hobby.”
What else don’t I know about you? “How long have you enjoyed them?”
“What? Constellations?”
I nodded. “Mhm. When did you get interested in astronomy?”
He shrugged. “When I was a teenager.”
“What spurred it on?”
“Boredom.”
So, we’re back to the clipped sentences. “Sometimes, I like to believe that astrology and things like that are real.”
He chuckled. “I don’t put much stock into it.”
I nodded slowly. “Ah.”
He was the most confusing person on the planet. One second, he was relaxed and opening up. And the next, it was as if someone had slammed a prison door in his face and locked him away from the rest of the world. He was an enigma that I couldn’t figure out. But, after the waiter came and took our order, he seemed to open up a bit more.
Then again, it could have been the second glass of wine we had downed together.
“You’re going to love the surf and turf. It’s incredible here,” Wyatt said.
I smiled. “When I don’t know what to choose, why not have both?”
He snickered. “Don’t say that to Boone. You’ll give him ideas.”
I quirked an eyebrow. “Boone?”
He set down his wine glass. “My younger brother. He’s pretty much a man-whore. Will was, too. My half-brother. But, he has since reformed his ways and become a family man.”
I almost spat out my wine. “Oh, my God. Warn me next time, would ya?”
He barked with laughter. “Now, where’s the fun in that?”
I leaned back in my seat. “Do you want to be a family man someday?”
I watched his eyes gaze out toward the outline of Conroe, and I saw something flicker behind his stare. I wasn’t sure what it was, mostly because I didn’t know if the wine was playing tricks on me or not. But, I could have sworn I saw regret wash over his features for a moment.