“Hey Vicki. Is Peyton here?” he asked like he was there to get me for a date.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” my sister defended. I could imagine her with her arms crossed and the pissed off expression on her face.
“I need to talk to her,” Wyatt begged, his voice rising.
I had no interest in talking to him, but I really wanted to see him. I hated myself for it. He tore my heart out. And I didn’t owe him anything. But dammit I missed him.
“She has nothing to say to you. You need to leave.”
I peeked around the corner, desperate for a glimpse. He ran his hand through his hair, the dark strands sticking up like he’d been doing it all day. His eyes were sunken and his shirt was not pressed and perfect like Wyatt always was.
Good. He deserved a little pain for what he put me through.
Then his eyes landed on me, catching me staring at him. He pushed past Vicki, not letting her stop him when she realized he saw me.
“Peyton,” he growled.
“No,” I said, stepping out from behind the wall to face him. “I don’t want to hear it, Wyatt. You made it perfectly clear you didn’t want anything to do with me or my child. If you change your mind about the baby, I won’t keep you from him or her. But we’re done.”
“Not a chance. I want both of you.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but you’re not going to get what you want this time. I can’t trust you not to walk away again.”
“What if I told you I wanted to marry you?”
I laughed because it hurt to hear him say the words. “We both know you’re only asking me because of the baby. That’s who you are. You told me that.”
“I’m not.”
I nodded. “You are. I know you are. As much as I wish that weren’t the case, I know you don’t really love me. And I’m okay with that. I love you and this baby will always know he has an amazing man for a father.”
“How can you say you love me and not believe that I love you.”
I sighed and threw up my hands. “You’ve never said you loved me, Wyatt. You never once said it. And now I’m pregnant, with a child you don’t want, and I’m supposed to believe you’ve changed your mind about everything in just a week? You want me, and this baby, and to be a husband and father?”
“When you found out you were pregnant, did you instantly fall in love with the baby?”
I rested my hands on my stinky, stained t-shirt covered belly and nodded. “I did.”
“Then why can’t the same be true for me? Why is it so hard to believe that I didn’t fall in love with him in the moment I found out.”
Tears welled up as I thought back to the look of pure hatred Wyatt gave me when I told him I was pregnant. “You hated me. You were angry. You walked away from me.”
“I made a mistake.”
I shook my head. “You acted on instinct. You did what you thought was right. What you knew you wanted to do.”
The doorbell interrupted him from saying anything else, and I realized Vicki was watching us. She turned to let Hunter in.
“Hey,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”
Vicki flashed me a look of concern. I shook my head. “You guys go ahead. Wyatt is leaving.”
“No, I’m not. Not until we talk this out.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I told you, you can see the baby. I’d never keep you from your child.”
Wyatt looked at Vicki and Hunter, still taking in every word said between the two of us. Hunter’s eyes widened before they looked to Vicki for confirmation. She nodded.
“Would you guys give us a little privacy? If you don’t mind?” Wyatt asked. He was nice about it, but I heard an edge to his voice. I worried I wouldn’t be able to say no to him if he got me alone. But I couldn’t have Hunter and Vicki protect me forever.
Vicki’s eyes met mine and I nodded. She grabbed her coat and pushed Hunter back toward the door. She turned at the last minute and glared at Wyatt. “If you hurt her again, there isn’t an agency in town that can keep you safe from me.”
Wyatt nodded. “Understood.”
Vicki and Hunter left, the door snapping closed behind them with a click that set my nerves on edge. Wyatt turned back to me, his eyes softening.
“Will you sit with me? Let me talk to you a little?”
I shook my head. “I’m tired. And I would rather you just left.”
“You said you won’t keep me from the baby. Will you tell me what you know?”
“I don’t know anything. I’m six weeks pregnant. It’s too early to do an ultrasound. Aside from a pregnancy test, I don’t know anything.”
“Then tell me how you’re feeling.”
“Tired and frustrated,” I said. Then slipped and added, “And lonely.”
He wrapped his arms around me before I could resist. The tears came quickly, soaking his disheveled shirt. He smoothed his hand through my hair, letting me cry until I couldn’t cry anymore.
Wyatt guided us to the couch and pulled me onto his lap. “Let me be here for you, Peyton.”
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I won’t trap you,” I said, knowing it was what he was worried about.
“Is that what you think the problem is? That I’m going to feel trapped?”
“Aren’t you?” I asked, climbing off his lap. I couldn’t stand to touch him, and be touched by him, for another second. Not when I knew it was temporary.
He shook his head. “I was. I’ll admit. When you first said you were pregnant, my thoughts immediately went to Dee. And what she did. Once I was able to think about it, I knew you would never do anything like that to me. It’s not who you are. You’d never lie to me or try to get me to stay with you because of a lie.”
“I wouldn’t. I didn’t. I’ll go pee on another stick right now if you want me to.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “It’s not necessary. I trust you, and when I realized that, I knew it meant something bigger.”
“What are you talking about?”
“A couple weeks ago, when I stayed over here, I told you I was falling for you. Do you remember that?”
Tears filled my eyes, but I shook my head. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. That was a dream. Wasn’t it?
“I whispered it when we were going to sleep because I was too chicken-shit to tell you when we were awake. But even then, I lied. I already loved you. I was already thinking about a future with you. Valentine’s Day was just the beginning. Asking you to that dinner was the easiest thing I’ve done in a long time because I knew I wanted you. And even though it’s a long way off, I knew I wanted to be with you. Because it’s you, Peyton. It’s always been you.”
“You walked away,” I whispered, holding on to that one thing. Because it hurt. It destroyed me. It was the single most painful moment in my life.
He stood before me, his hands resting on my arms. “I did. And I’ll regret it every day for the rest of my life. My shit got in the way of us. I want to make it up to you. I want us to be a family. You, me, and the baby.” He got down on one knee and opened a velvet box.
I shook my head before he could say anything else. “I can’t, Wyatt. I want to say yes, but it’s too soon. An hour ago I hadn’t heard from you in a week. I thought you hated me. I want to say yes and think it can be that easy, but I need to know you’re not going to disappear on me again.”
He nodded and stood, slipping the ring back into his pocket. “I understand. I kind of expected that, to be honest. I’m not going to let you down, and one of these times, when I ask you to marry me, you’re going to stay yes.”
I tried to fight my grin, but his broad smile lit one in me.
“Who says I’m going to say yes?”
“I do. See, I’m already practicing for our wedding.” He wrapped me in his arms again. “You, me, and the little bean are going to be a family. And after this one, we’ll start working on another one.”
“Excuse me? I don’t know about that.”
He nodded. “I do. Still practicing. We’re going to have a houseful of kids. As many as you want.”
“Where did this change come from?”
“From knowing you were going to be the mother of my child.”
I pushed out of his arms. “Where the hell have you been all week? Why did it take you a week to figure out that you needed to pull your head out of your ass?”
His hand went back through his hair, and his smile fell. I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever he said.
“I drank. A lot. Saturday night and Sunday. When my alarm went off Monday morning, I didn’t want to get up. I did, but I was pissed off about it. I went through Monday and Tuesday on autopilot, but Tuesday night, I got a visitor.”
He looked at me expectantly. “Who?”
“You don’t know?”
I shook my head. “How would I know?”
“Sawyer came to kick my ass. He said you didn’t go to girls’ night and knew it was my fault. He told me I needed to man up and grow a set. That you were a catch and I was even dumber than he thought I was if I didn’t get my shit together and beg you to take me back.”
“Sawyer?” I breathed.
Wyatt nodded. “He was right. Every word he said to me. I didn’t want to hear it, but he was right.”
“Okay, if that was Tuesday…”
Wyatt nodded. “Why did it take me four more days to show up?” I nodded. “Because I had some things to take care of.”
“Like what?”
“Like listing my condo for sale. Buying everything the woman at the baby store said we’d need. Learning how to install a car seat, and swearing the fireman who helped me to secrecy so the whole town didn’t find out. Buying you a diamond ring. Oh, and my job.”
By the time he was done, tears streaked down my face. “You did all that?”
He nodded. “I’d do anything for you. Haven’t you figured out by now that I love you?”
“It sounds like you do.”
“So will you marry me?”
I laughed. “Not yet.”
“You’re gonna make me work for this, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “I think you deserve a little pain for everything you put me through.”
He sobered and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I do. And I’ll take whatever you dish out. I’ll be here, waiting for you to decide you’re ready to marry me, forever. I’m not going anywhere, Peyton.”
“I hope not.”
“Well, there is one place I might go.”
Confused, I asked, “Where?”
“I”d really like to get you in the shower. Because as much as I love seeing you in my t-shirt, I think it, and you, could use a good wash.”
I scowled at him. “That’s not nice.”
“It doesn’t have to be nice. It’s the truth. You’re kind of smelly. I still love you though.”
“Are you going to say that constantly?”
“Say what?”
“That you love me.”
He shrugged. “Until you say you love me, too.”
“I do.”
“You do what? Want to marry me? I’m the mayor. I can pull some strings and we can get married tonight.” He pulled me toward the door like he was actually going to leave.
I laughed and tugged my hand from his. “Wyatt!”
“What? You said I do.”
“I meant I love you.”
He smiled and took my hand, pulling me into his arms. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Wyatt Ramsey.”
“I’ll never get tired of hearing you say that.”
“I’ll never get tired of saying it.”
“Good.”
He leaned in for a kiss. His tongue teased my lips, which I kept clamped tight to mess with him. He groaned and tried again. He pulled back and glared at me. I laughed, and he swooped in, his tongue darting into my mouth before I could stop him.
We laughed as we kissed. Until he backed me up to my room, threw his smelly shirt in my laundry, and dragged me off to the shower.
Then we really got dirty.
And clean.