Page 7 of Marrying Chrissy

Chapter Three

Chrissy looked up from the cash register Wednesday morning and saw her friend, Raven Shaw, come into the coffee shop. “Hey! It’s so good to see you. It feels like it’s been forever.”

Raven grinned. “You, too! I know, I’m sorry I haven’t been in as much lately.” She gave her coffee order and then, since there was a brief lull in customers, leaned against the counter to chat. “Heath’s been helping his dad renovate the store.”

That had Chrissy looking up with surprise. “You’re joking.”

Heath’s father owned the camping and outdoor store in Clearwater. The building had been in need of some updating for a while, but he had been too stubborn to let Heath—or anyone else—help him make the changes. “How are they getting along?”

“It depends on which day you ask me.” Raven laughed. “Anyway, I’ve been driving out that way several mornings a week, which means I haven’t had enough time to stop by here before getting to work.” Raven was a physical therapist at Clearwater Rehabilitation Center. That’s where she and Heath reconnected when he came in for therapy after a football injury. The couple got married this past New Year’s Eve.

“I totally understand, it’s okay. I just miss seeing you.” Chrissy put the lid on her cup of coffee. “We should meet for lunch or something next week.” The bell chimed over the door, and she held up a finger when she saw it was Wyatt. “Hold on just one sec.”

She hadn’t known what to expect the next time she saw him and worried it might be awkward. But Wyatt greeted her with a smile and a wave.

“Good morning, Chrissy.”

“Good morning.” She’d always thought he was attractive, but now that she knew she was going to a party with him, she found herself studying his appearance even more. His smile immediately brought out one of her own. Oh, and the way his hair fell just past his ears made her want to reach up and push it back a little. Ridiculous, right? “Your usual?” Chrissy tried to ignore the way Raven was watching them curiously. While Raven was one of her best friends, Chrissy wasn’t quite ready to explain everything between her and Wyatt. Especially when not even her own mom and sister knew about this weird arrangement yet.

“That would be great. Thank you.” Wyatt handed her a bill for his order and instructed her to keep the change.

She accepted the tip with a smile. He went to sit at one of the small tables while Chrissy got to work making his coffee.

Raven walked over to the counter next to her and whispered, “So, who’s that?”

Chrissy shrugged. “He’s a regular customer.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Raven took a sip of her coffee. “And the way your cheeks are turning pink tells me there’s a lot more to it than that.”

Chrissy cast a furtive glance in Wyatt’s direction, hoping he couldn’t hear any of their conversation. “It’s a long story.”

“One you’ll have to tell me over lunch. I have to run, but I’ll call so we can set something up.”

“That sounds good. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“You, too.” Raven said goodbye and left the shop.

Chrissy smiled as she thought about her friend. Raven was one of the most outspoken people she knew. If Chrissy wanted an honest opinion about anything, she could count on Raven to give her one. But the coffee shop was not the place for such a conversation, especially with Wyatt sitting right over there. In fact, she’d planned on stopping him and asking him about the public displays of affection at the birthday party. Now that he was here, though, and looking at her with those striking green eyes, the last thing she wanted to bring up was the topic of displaying affection of any kind.

Maybe she could text him later. That would work, right?

She finished preparing his coffee and handed it to him. Was it just her, or did he let his fingers linger over hers a little longer than necessary when he accepted the cup? Lovely, now she was becoming neurotic.

He smiled again and waved on his way out.

Chrissy wouldn’t have admitted it to anybody, but she thought about that smile frequently throughout the eternally long day. It was a relief when she finally got off work and headed for her car. Once inside, she started the engine and cranked up the air conditioner. She pulled her phone out and started her text to Wyatt before she lost her nerve.

“Okay, so about Sunday. Is your family expecting any PDA?”

The response was almost immediate. “PDA?”

Chrissy sighed and responded, “Public displays of affection.”

Seconds later, her phone rang, and Wyatt’s name and number appeared. Chrissy swiped the screen with a finger. “Hello?”

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. My family is large and crazy. No one’s going to really notice whether we’re demonstrating public displays of affection or not.” There was a bit of humor in his voice. “Tell you what, if worse comes to worst and someone in my family starts to wonder, we’ll limit the contact to holding hands. Does that sound agreeable?”

Not particularly.It wasn’t that big of a deal, though, right? She shook people’s hands all the time. Chrissy would think of it as a prolonged handshake. And at least they’d have their boundaries set before the party so there weren’t any surprises. “Yes. But only if necessary.”

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