Page 22 of Searching for Sunshine

“Fucking wonderful.”

CHAPTER 11

WYATT

“God, I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see the Hideaway in my life,” I murmur when we pull up in front of the hotel. It took us over an hour to make it back to the car after talking to everyone who showed up to our impromptu wedding ceremony and then we met up with my brothers and Avery at The Sand Bar for dinner.

“Same,” Stella agrees. “I ended up having a really good night once we got through all the awkward small talk after the wedding. But at the same time, I thought it was kinda sweet how excited they were for us. It kinda made me feel like an asshole for lying to them.”

“You know, I thought about that, and the way I see it, we’re not really lying. We really did get married today, and that’s all they need to know.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, are you ready for our first night in the cottage? I still cannot believe I’m actually planning to stay there after the lizard incident from hell,” Stella teases, shaking her head with a laugh as she gets out of the car.

All night, I’ve tried to ignore how beautiful she looks in the white dress she picked for the ceremony, and as she turns to lookback at me under the glow of the street lights, I remind myself for the hundredth time that we’re just friends.

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I say, grabbing the small overnight bag I packed for tonight and following her through the empty lobby as we make our way back to the cottage. “I talked to the exterminator after he came by today, and he said we should be good to go. He sealed all the holes he found where he thought they might be coming in, and I already called someone to work on the cracked and broken windows too. They should be here tomorrow.”

“God, I feel absolutely useless,” she groans before adding, “but seriously, I don’t know what I would’ve done without you, Wyatt. I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I know this might come as a shock given how well I handled our little friend yesterday, but I was not particularly stoked by the idea of waking up next to anything with scales,” I admit, and she freezes, halfway through unlocking the front door.

“Wyatt, stop! Don’t even joke about that,” she yells, and I try not to laugh at the look of disgust on her face. “Oh my gosh, I’m never gonna sleep in this place.”

“I’m kidding, Stels. It’ll all be fine,” I promise her, pushing open the door and bending down to pet Duke as he runs toward us.

“Wait, did you just call me Stels?” she asks, closing the front door and sitting crossed-legged to let her dog crawl in her lap. “It’s been years since you called me that. You, Memaw, and Avery are the only people who I’ve ever heard use that name.”

I pause, realizing how easily her old nickname fell from my lips. Shrugging, I fidget with the bag in my hand. “Well, I figured since we’re married, it would be fine. But would you rather I didn’t?”

“No, no. It’s totally fine. It just caught me off guard,” she says, shooting me a small smile as she turns to her dog and nuzzles her face into his fur. “Duke, did you have a good afternoon? Go get your ball and we’ll play.”

The dog darts off toward Stella’s bedroom we set up yesterday, almost knocking me over as he runs past me in excitement, before running back into the room with a bright blue ball and dropping it on her legs.

She giggles, and his tail knocks against the floor, waiting for her to throw it. “I know, buddy. Go get it.”

Duke races around the room, chasing the ball, and Stella looks back at me. “So, Avery and I spent a few hours today fixing up the guest room for you. I know you’ve still gotta move all your stuff over, but hopefully, it’ll be enough to get you by for tonight.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. But thanks. I talked to my landlord and I just need to have everything out by the end of the week. So I’ve got about a few days to get everything taken care of.”

“After everything you’ve already done, it was the least I could do,” she says, rising from where she was sitting on the floor.

“No problem, Stels. But I’ve got a tour early in the morning, so I’d better get to bed,” I tell her.

“Oh, of course. Sorry, this whole thing kept you out so late. But uh, good night, Wyatt.”

The two of us stand there for a moment, and for the first time I feel a bit of the awkwardness of the situation we’re in finally sinking in. As of today, I’m married to Stella, but this marriage looks so different than anything I ever expected. Am I supposed to hug her? Kiss her on the forehead? Ask her what her plans are for tomorrow? Or, are we supposed to pretend like the other person isn’t here unless there’s a problem with the hotel?

God, this is ridiculous,I think to myself, breaking the silence and reaching out to pull her into a hug. “Good night, Stella. Here’s to lizard-free dreams.”

She gasps, pulls herself out of my embrace, and knocks me in the arm. “God, you’re such an asshole. I’d almost forgotten about all of that. But good night, Wyatt. Do you want me to plan dinner for us tomorrow night?”

“Sure, but don’t feel like you need to cook. We can order out or whatever you want. We don’t have many tours so I’ll be back pretty early, so we can talk a little more about how we want to drum up some business around here.”

“That sounds good. I’ll see you then. Night,” she tells me before looking down and turning her attention to Duke. “Come on my sweet boy. Let’s go to bed.”

She leans in and hugs me again, and I take a moment, feeling the last bit of awkwardness I was feeling between us fade away as I soak in the scent of her coconut and vanilla perfume. “Thank you again, Wyatt. I’m really grateful for you,” she whispers, pulling back and turning to lead her dog into her bedroom. And I’m left in the hallway wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into.

Damn,it’s too early for this shit.

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