Page 72 of Heatwaves

He slides in beside Oliver, offering each of us a nod. “Gentlemen.”

Oliver scoffs. “Not sure anyone who knows us would ever call us gentlemen.”

“Then I guess we should get to know one another,” Wyatt huffs. “Because I get the feeling we’re going to be around one another for a long time to come.”

“At least one of us thinks so,” I mutter, taking a long drink of my beer. “We didn’t know what you like to drink, so we didn’t order for you.”

Wyatt nods. “No problem. I’ll order something when the server comes back.”

As if hearing herself being talked about, the pretty blonde appears at the table, a flirty grin on her face when she sees Wyatt.

“Hello, handsome—“

“I’m not interested in anything more than a drink,” he says, cutting her off. “We’ll take another round for the table, and I’ll have whatever beer they’re having.”

The poor girl’s face turns bright red, and I wonder if she’s going to lose her shit.

“Of course,” she hisses, writing something down on her pad before stalking away.

“That was a little harsh,” Aidan comments, but Wyatt just shrugs.

“I’m used to men and women throwing themselves at me because of the incubus thing. I’ve found it’s better to set them straight from the beginning so there’s no confusion. Especially since I’m no longer single in any way, shape, or form.”

I clench my jaw, not happy to have him throwing that in our faces. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Wyatt holds up his hand. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to rub that in your faces. That was rude of me, but if I have my way, the four of you will join me in this relationship soon.”

“And how do you expect that to happen?” Oliver asks, voice gruff as he considers the other man.

“It’s going to require work on your part. She’s not going to just fall into your laps.” Wyatt pauses as a different server pauses in front of our table.

She’s taller than the last girl but still blonde. Her smile is friendly and not flirty, already making me more comfortable with her than the other server. “Hi, my name is Holly. Alice asked me to take over your table—I hope the five of you don’t mind. I have your beers, and since you’re all drinking the same thing, I don’t have to worry about handing someone the wrong one.”

“We have no problem with you taking over our table. In fact, thank you,” Wyatt tells her with a smile. “I don’t think it would’ve been a pleasant night for any of us if the other server continued to help us.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.” Holly’s smile grows apologetic as she hands each of us—except Ty, who we’re not allowing to drink—our beers. “She’s young and sometimes comes on a little strong. Hopefully, she didn’t make you too uncomfortable. If you need to speak with the manager about what happened, I can get her for you.”

I’m already waving her off. “No, that’s not necessary.”

She nods. “Good. I’ll stop by and check on y’all a little later, but if you need anything before I make it back, you can grab my attention or one of the other servers, and we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

Then she’s gone, and I turn my attention back to Wyatt. “You were saying?”

“Right. Where was I? She won’t fall into your laps. Intellectually, she understands you didn’t have a choice in leaving her, but she’s still hurt. Knowing the reasons something happened doesn’t erase the hurt and loneliness she felt. I don’t think it’ll take too much to get her to forgive you. She can’t move past the hurt she felt and still feels. She needs to see you’re truly sorry—that you wouldn’t have left if you had a choice in the matter.”

“That makes sense, but how do we show her that?” Aidan asks, leaning forward on his elbows, his eyes never leaving Wyatt.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking about the last few days,” he admits. “I don’t have a full plan yet, but I’m hoping after I tell you what I’m thinking, we can flesh it out together. After all, this is for the four of you and not me. Youshould have a hand in planning it. Otherwise, I’m just doing all the work for you.”

I sigh, already hating that he’s helping us. “You’re right. We do need to put in the effort. Tell us what you’re thinking.”

Wyatt quickly breaks down the ideas he’s come up with, and I have to admit, they’re good—they’re just incomplete, which is where we come in. We talk for the next hour, throwing ideas around until we have a plan we all agree on.

Thank goodness we all work for my family business because it means we currently have an income. But more than that, it means we can take time off here and there as needed to make sure we can pull this off.

Ty stayed zoned out the entire time we were talking, and once we finish planning, Wyatt’s eyes find him. “Is he going to be okay?”

“We’re doing everything we can,” Oliver tells him quietly. None of us like to talk about Ty like he’s not there, but he kind of isn’t.

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