| |
“Just get out of the truck, Shelby.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I think I need to go around the block,” I called to Missy. My phone was laid on my dash, and I had Missy on speakerphone.
I had been gun-ho and ready to tell Wilder I loved him, but now that I was sitting in his driveway, I couldn’t find that courage I had before.
“You are not going around the damn block again, Shelby. You did that three times already. It’s like a band-aid. Rip it off.”
I had already driven around the block three times, but maybe one more time would do the trick. “One more time,” I bargained.
“Shelby Lyn, get your butt out of that truck and tell Wilder Presley you love him.”
I took a deep breath and turned off my truck. “Okay, I’m doing it.” I clenched my hands in my lap and cringed at the bright red dress I was wearing. “I should have worn jeans, Missy,” I worried. “What if it’s windy, and my dress blows up, and I go full-blown, Marilyn Monroe?”
“Isn’t that Marilyn Manson?”
A snort echoed in my truck, and I had visions of Marilyn Manson standing over a grate with his dress blowing in the wind.
“What’s so funny?” Missy demanded.
I grabbed the phone and smiled. “Nothing, Missy. You just made me smile.”
“Oh, well, I am good at doing that.” She cleared her throat. “Why did the chicken cross the road?” she asked.
“Stop,” I laughed. “You broke my panic, Missy. Now I’m going to march up to Wilder Presley and tell him I like him.”
“Love him,” Missy corrected. “We’re not going through all this just to tell him you like him. Let’s skip over that step and get right to the good stuff, yeah?”
The good stuff
I had waited nine years for the good stuff.
Hopefully, Wilder was ready for that.
“I love you, Missy. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Missy squawked. “You better call me immediately and tell me what that hunk says.”
A smile spread across my lips. “You got it.” I ended the call and shoved my phone into my pocket. The one good thing about this dress was that it had pockets. Most of my leggings didn’t have that neat feature.
I took a deep breath and opened my door. I was halfway to his porch when someone walked out of his barn in the back.
“Wilder?” I called. I stepped to the side of the house and was surprised that the man walking toward me wasn’t Wilder.
“Uh, hi,” the man called.
I halted in my tracks and looked around to make sure I was at the right house. The large blue house was next to me, and that sure was Wilder’s red barn. “Am I lost?” I asked.
The tall, handsome man chuckled. “Uh, I’m not sure. I’m not from around here. I just moved in today.”
Blake.
Duh, Shelby Lyn.
Wilder had mentioned that his friend would be moving into the barn. Today must have been the day. “Blake?”
A smile spread across the man's face. “That would be me. The only people Wilder has mentioned from around here are his parents and Shelby Lyn. I’m going to assume you are Shelby Lyn.”
Wilder had mentioned me to his friend. That was... nice. Maybe I did mean more to him than I had thought.
“I am Shelby Lyn. I was just actually going to talk to Wilder, but I saw you. I did think you were Wilder, but you’re not since you’re Blake.” Why did I always just blubber when I should just shut my mouth? All I needed to say was I am Shelby Lyn, but no. “Is Wilder home?” I asked.
Blake’s eyes moved past me, and he motioned to the side. “Uh, he is right behind you.”
I whirled around on my heel, but my feet got tangled under me, and the green grass rushed to my face.
Strong arms wrapped around me, and Wilder’s manly scent greeted my nose. “Whoa there, Shelby Lyn,” he cooed into my ear.
I was never going to get sick of him saying my name. It was like a warm caress each time. “Wilder,” I breathed out.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I lifted my head, and my eyes connected with his warm, brown eyes. “I will be.” I gripped his upper arms, and he held me until my feet were firmly on the ground.
“Uh, I was just coming to tell you I’m all moved in,” Blake called.
Wilder kept his eyes on me. “Good, man.”
“And I was going to see if you wanted to do something for dinner, but I can figure something out on my own. I should head into town and look around, anyway.”
“Wilder,” I called. “Blake is talking to you.”
“I heard him.”
A smile curved my lips. “Do you think you should say something to him?”
“Bye,” Wilder called.
Blake chuckled, and he moved around us. “I’ll see you around, Shelby Lyn. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name after all these years.”
“Did he just say years?” I asked Wilder.
Wilder shrugged and brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. “Yeah.”
“How long have you and Blake worked together?” I asked.
Wilder quirked his lips and squinted. “Uh, I think it’s been about seven years.”
“So he has known about me for seven years?”
Wilder nodded. “Yeah.”
“You’ve been talking about me for seven years while you lived in the city?”
“Talking for seven years but thinking about you for over nine.”
My jaw dropped, and my heart jumped. “You left nine years ago, Wilder,” I whispered.
“I know, Shelby Lyn,” he laughed. “Nine years ago, I walked away from you, so for nine years, all I did was think about you.”
“But, why would you....” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what he was trying to say. “I always...”
He reached up and brushed his thumb down my cheek. “Shh, Shelby Lyn. I’ve had nine years to think about this moment, and I don’t want to mess it up.”
“Wilder,” I whispered.
“My senior year of high school, I knew exactly what I wanted before I met you. I wanted out of Adams, and nothing was going to stop me. Then you happened. It took everything in me to still leave even though I was leaving the best thing I would ever have.”
“Me?” I squeaked.
He leaned in and brushed a kiss to my lips. “You, Shelby Lyn. I knew it was you back then, and it’s still you today. I left to prove to myself that I could make it, and now I’m back because I was missing one thing the whole time.”
“Me,” I stated.
“You.”
I threw my arms around his neck, and he lifted me in his arms. We were face to face, and I couldn’t stop smiling. “You know how I said I loved you when you left but said like a friend, or whatever?”
“Yeah?”
I cupped his face in my hands. “I lied. I loved you, and it was way more than just friends.”
“Really?” he laughed.
“Are you really surprised?” I mumbled. “You are Wilder Presley, after all. Everyone loves you.”
He shrugged and pressed a slow, sweet kiss to my lips. “That may be true, Shelby Lyn, but there's only one person I love back.”
“Oh yeah?” I whispered.
He nodded. “It was always you.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and Wilder groaned.
“That’s probably Missy,” I laughed. “She helped in getting me here today, and I promised her I would tell her what happened.”
Wilder pressed a quick kiss to my lips and set me on the ground. “Make it quick, Shelby Lyn. You and I have nine years to make up for.”
A shiver ran through my body, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “Ten seconds is all I need.”
I connected the call and put the phone to my ear.
“Well,” Missy called. “What did the big hunk have to say?”
I couldn’t wipe the huge smile off my face, and my words rushed out of my mouth. “Wilder Presley says he loves me.”
*
