Page 24 of Marrying Chrissy

“In other words, you want me to tell Dad you’re going to need a week or two off from work.”

“Haha, cute.” Wyatt reached his leg beneath the small table until his foot connected with her chair. He easily pushed it back until Bonnie could no longer comfortably reach the table.

Laughing, they both stood, and Wyatt tossed his empty bottle into a recycling bin. “I really should get back to work, though. This was fun, Bon. Let’s do it again sooner than later.”

“You’ve got it.” Bonnie gave him a hug. “I won’t say a word, but if you need to talk anything out, you know where I live.” With another smile and a wave, she headed out.

Wyatt changed t-shirts back at his office and tried to focus on the pile of paperwork that taunted him—one of his least favorite parts of his job. Getting through it, however, proved nearly impossible because he couldn’t think about anything but Chrissy.

He was still waffling between whether he should run before he developed true feelings for her or call her up and invite her to the reunion. With only a few days left, it’s not like he had a lot of time left to decide.

~*~

The next day, Wyatt strongly considered skipping coffee and going to work early. No matter how many times he thought about Chrissy—or tried to convince himself that he needed to walk away from her before he got in too deep—he pictured her smile. The second he did that, their moments together flooded his memory and all he wanted to do was see her again.

What if she wasn’t interested in him at all? What if she laughed when he invited her to go with him? Or worse yet, what if she was interested, and it was only because of his financial position? The fact she’d had no idea where he worked in the beginning made him feel a little better. After all, he was pretty sure they had a connection before he’d told her.

If he didn’t ask her, would he regret it? He immediately knew that he would. It was that realization that led him straight to the coffee shop. But upon entering, Chrissy was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully Emma wasn’t sick again. He got in line, ordered his coffee, and was about to text her to see if she was okay when she hurried in.

Instead of her normal jeans and t-shirt, she wore black slacks and a pretty blue long-sleeved blouse. He realized that she wasn’t wearing most of her rings and the sleeves came down to her wrists, effectively covering the tattoo.

Her attire looked perfect on her small frame, but strands of her hair had worked themselves loose from the clip at the back of her head. She looked frazzled, and the fact she was in such a hurry to reach the back room that she nearly ran into him only confirmed it. He reached out and caught her before she tripped over his shoe.

Chrissy looked up and gasped. “I’m so sorry!” She gripped his upper arms to regain her balance, and the feel of her palms against his skin completely distracted him. She let go way sooner than he wanted her to.

“Are you okay? I hope Emma’s feeling all right.”

“What?” She looked confused for a minute before her eyes widened a little. “Oh! No, it’s not that. Emma’s fine.” She lowered her voice as much as she could and still be heard over the din of the coffee shop. “I had an interview first thing this morning. I was supposed to be back twenty minutes ago.” She glanced at an employee who was handling the morning crowd by herself. “I need to get back there. I’m sorry I missed you earlier.”

Was she looking for a new job or a second one? He wished he could ask her more about it now, but this wasn’t the time or the place. “Are you available for lunch?”

“I can’t. I need to work through lunch to make up for this morning.” She placed a hand on his arm again and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure.” Wyatt watched as she disappeared into the back and returned with an apron. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work. He hated the idea that Chrissy might be getting a second job.

She handed him his coffee with a tired smile. He gave her a wave and left, unable to get her off his mind. Everything about her spoke of a woman who was exhausted and stressed. Wyatt probably ought to let it go, but that was never one of his strengths. As the day wore on, he formulated a plan, even if he had a feeling Chrissy was going to dislike his idea.

That evening, without calling first, he headed over to Chrissy’s house. He rang the doorbell, and a few moments later, Sarah answered the door, a look of surprise on her face. “Good evening.”

“Hello. I’m so sorry to bother you. Is Chrissy available? I just wanted to speak to her for a few minutes.”

Sarah studied him, curiosity shining in her eyes. “Let me get her. Would you like to come inside?”

Wyatt slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans and gave a subtle nod. “Thank you.” He took two steps through the front door and waited, uncertain how Chrissy would view his unexpected visit. When she came in, he took in her baggy knit shorts and the t-shirt that was at least two sizes too big. Part of her hair was pulled back with stray strands dangling near her ears. It was all he could do to keep his hands in his pockets and not reach out to see if it was as soft as it looked.

She appeared uncertain as she approached. “Hey, Wyatt. Is everything okay?”

He tipped his head toward the front door. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

Chrissy looked toward the living room where her mom and sister were sitting. Was she looking for a reason to say no? She finally shrugged. “Sure.”

Wyatt held the door open for her and then closed it securely behind them. He waited for her to take a seat on one of the three steps that led from the porch to the cracked sidewalk below before joining her. The steps weren’t quite wide enough for them to sit next to each other, so he sat on a step one lower than her. They both naturally turned to face each other, their knees nearly touching.

He’d been trying to decide all day where he should begin the conversation. Not knowing how much time they had, he dove right in. “How’d the interview go?”

Chrissy cringed. “Not well. The hours are flexible, so I was hoping for weekends. They want nights. I don’t think I can handle six to midnight and still work at the coffee shop. Not if I want to stay awake, anyway.” She gave a short laugh. “But we’ll see. Maybe if I work that shift for a while, I can move to weekends later.”

“And what? Work every waking hour?” That wasn’t healthy for anyone. “Has Emma not had any luck job hunting?”

---