Page 25 of Almost Home
She shook her head. “Not at all. I have always wondered how she was doing. When she and Wyatt went out last year, after he explained what happened, I felt like a part of me that’d torn open was sewn shut again. When your brother told me how good she looked and that she’d moved back, it gave me relief. I haven’t wanted to pressure her, and there’s a mountain of history between us, so I didn’t even approach her. But now… now I have a playdate.”
Internally, I rolled my eyes at her language even though my gut lurched at the thought of Wyatt with Sarah. Of course, it didn’t mean anything, but some stupid, primal, completely misguided instinct had my bones screamingmiiiinein response to my brother getting to be near her when I hadn’t for so long. But there had to be an explanation, and I’d only get it if I asked. Jane Saint was not about to give away the goods for free when she had me in a corner I wouldn’t admit to standing in.
I wouldn’t be sharing any of that nonsense with my already-too-pleased mother, so externally, I simply took the bait. “Wyatt and Sarah went out?”
She waved a hand. “It was nothing. They accidentally matched up on RuralMatch. It’s a fairly small dating pool here, of course.”
I could feel her trying to look at me without turning her head, as though I couldn’t sense every molecule of her interest trying to gauge my reaction to the news that my oldest brother had gone out with Sarah. Or maybe that the dating pool was small? Either way, there wasn’t anything to reveal. As logic had shouted at that animal instinct to rage, Wyatt would never purposefully date Sarah, and though I didn’t know her all that well anymore, she wouldn’t date him either. Obviously, that was the case since my brother was now happily married to Calla.
That issue closed, I refocused on the more immediate issue. “That’s the app you use?”
She sighed. “Are you going to give me grief about it?”
“No. I want you to be happy.”
She stopped mid-stride and turned to me, placing one hand on my arm. “I want the same for you, Wilder. I might make light of it, but I’m not going to pretend like Sarah working for you doesn’t seem like some kind of cosmic sign. Doesn’t it?”
As a man who didn’t believe in signs or omens or any of that BS, I answered accordingly. “No. It seems like she needed a job, and we needed an administrative assistant.”
She gave me a look that sent me right back to junior high, when I’d been sullen and even more quiet than usual. “Well, what about Bruce?”
I urged her forward and we walked on. “Bruce? What about him?”
She raised her brows like it wasn’t obvious. “Maybe he’ll want to date Sarah.”
I gritted my teeth as we walked into town and made our way to the Elk Street Grill. But she couldn’t leave it alone, apparently.
“I can’t imagine Bruce is a bad guy, if you’ve chosen to partner with him.”
“He’s the best.”
She tipped her head to one side as if to say,See?“Exactly. So who would you rather have with Sarah than him?”
Magma-hot jealousy ripped through me at the thought of Bruce and Sarah together in almost any way, followed by the film of frustration and shame. Crap.Crap.
“Hmm?”
I held the door open for her. She nodded demurely as she passed, and I followed her inside.
“It wouldn’t be appropriate for him to date her.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“Becausewhy?”
“Just… because.”
“Is this how you communicate with your clients?”
I scowled at her. She smiled yet again.
And despite my irritation, I found myself smiling, just slightly, too. “No. I manage to use full sentences when I talk to someone who’s paying for my opinion.”
Her eyes widened. “Well then.”
The hostess welcomed us and guided us toward the back, the area known as the wintergarden, which was enclosed in glass and provided a lovely view of a garden hiding between buildings.
