Page 18 of Marrying Chrissy

“And you go every year.”

“Of course.” He grinned, suddenly wishing that he could ask Chrissy to go with him. If he did, it would only make things worse with his family when it came to their relationship. Or lack thereof. He loved his family, but there was a certain sister that could make Chrissy’s life miserable, and he didn’t want to subject Chrissy to that. Besides, what was it going to accomplish? He’d promised himself he wouldn’t be put in a position like he was with Ashley.

Chrissy seemed to take everything in as he shared about some of the family antics. He couldn’t help but drink in the sound of her laughter and bask in her smiles. He may not want to let himself care about Chrissy, but he already felt more for her than he should. If he were an intelligent man, he’d put some space between them.

“Are your sisters looking forward to the reunion?”

Her voice reminded Wyatt to simply focus on the conversation. He shrugged. “It depends on who you’re talking about. Lucy loves everything about it. She’s super sentimental and is the one who’s taking pictures of everyone and everything. I think it’s her favorite event of the year.”

“And she’s the second oldest, right?”

“Good memory. Now Violet likes it for an entirely different reason.” He never knew where the line was between gossiping about his sister and giving people fair warning. “Violet likes to play people against each other. I know that’s horrible to say of my own sister, but it’s true. Thankfully, nearly everyone knows that. But she still manages to stir some pots year after year.” A small, welcome breeze came through and swept some of his hair into his eyes. He brushed it away. “I think Bonnie is more like I am. We go because we should. We enjoy seeing family that we don’t see otherwise, but we’re really not the big group types.”

Wyatt drank the last of his melted snow cone, the straw making a slurping sound at the end. “That was good, though I think it melted in record time.”

Chrissy tipped her paper cup to show him the pink liquid at the bottom. “No kidding.” She plopped her spoon into it. Only then did she turn her focus to her hot dog. Wyatt had devoured his minutes ago. “This place was a great idea. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Here was the part where he could easily dismiss their agreement to eat dinner tonight. He was sure she was worried about Emma, and he probably did need to put some space between them. Then again, he never was great about listening to his own advice. “I do want to take you out somewhere that has more than two tables.” They laughed. “Are we still on for pizza tonight?” He would certainly understand if she felt like she needed to stay home with Emma. The selfish part of him, however, hoped that she’d say yes.

She looked uncertain as she glanced at her phone, probably checking for texts. “I’m not sure.” When she realized he was watching her, she sat up straighter. “I should probably see how Emma’s doing when I get back from work first, and I don’t want you to have to wait until the last minute. Maybe it would be better if we cancel tonight?”

Chrissy was probably right, but just the thought disappointed Wyatt. “I completely understand, but I promise last minute doesn’t bother me. Why don’t you check on Emma and then text me either way?”

“Are you sure?”

Even as she asked the question, she seemed to relax a little. Was it possible she was looking forward to dinner tonight as much as he was? That thought bolstered Wyatt’s confidence. “I’m sure. And if you feel like you need to stay with Emma, maybe we can reschedule for the next evening or two.”

“That sounds great. Thank you.”

The way her happy smile made Wyatt’s heart turn over both amazed and scared him. How could this beautiful woman have gotten under his skin so quickly? The panic he felt at the realization still didn’t overpower how much he was looking forward to their date. Seriously, it was one date. It wasn’t like he was going to ask her to marry him or something. He’d learned his lesson last time.

So he’d take Chrissy out for pizza, enjoy the conversation, and not worry about the future. Surely there was nothing wrong with that.

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