Page 25 of Breathing Wisteria
Flynn
Her eyes flare in surprise when she spots me and, for a second, I think she’s going to turn and run. Instead, her face scrunches up, the way it does when she’s pissed. So fucking cute.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice is demanding, immediately reminding me of other times she likes to demand things and just like that, I’m sporting a semi.
“I told you we were going to have dinner tonight.” I shrug and push off from the bar. She stalks to the side, away from me, so I change direction, heading toward our table. It’s in the middle of the room, the only one set up since I have claimed the entire restaurant for the night. Not a small feat and I owe Brax a bottle of Macallan 26 for arranging this.
There’s a pause before I hear her follow me, a beat where I question my judgment before my smirk locks itself firmly in place. I guess I do still know my girl.
“I told you we weren’t having dinner.” She slides into the chair opposite me.
“And yet, here we are.”
“Fine, you can feed me, but only because I’m exhausted from gett—” A groan escapes from her full, pink lips, forming a small O shape. And just like that my semi grows to a fully-fledged hard-on.
“It was you.” Her index finger points at me accusingly. “Oh my God, how did I not realize? You arranged this whole thing!”
I take a moment, because this is too good not to enjoy just a little bit, and pour us each a glass of water.
“No idea what you’re talking about. This was just lucky timing.” I raise my glass and gulp down some water, enjoying the way Wyatt’s eyes watch me, glued to my mouth.
Giving herself a small shake, she reaches for the menu and slowly peruses it, purposefully ignoring me.
“The salmon is supposed to be good here.”
Her nose scrunches up again, this time in disgust.
“I am not eating that. Christ, do you remember that time Charlie made those homemade salmon sushi rolls?”
“And the salmon was bad?” I laugh. “We spent the next twenty-four hours puking our guts up, that’s not something you forget.”
“I’ve never been able to look at salmon since then.” She shudders. “She still lives off it though.”
“Charlie always was a stickler for routine.” I shrug.
“How did she ever put up with us?” Wyatt’s shoulders bounce with a small chuckle.
“No idea,” I respond, giving myself a silent pat on the back for my wicked distraction skills. “What happened with that sculpture you were telling me about last time? Did you hear back from the guy who was interested in commissioning it?”
“I did, he’s wanting a little more time to decide, which suits me.”
We’re interrupted by a waiter and I give him my order, watching Wyatt out of the corner of my eye. She’s flustered, a hand fluttering about her long neck, her fingers tracing the spot right behind her ear where I know a small tattoo of a bird in flight is hidden. My tongue used to take such pleasure in that spot.
“Uh, I’m sorry, I’m not sure, it all looks so good.”
I smile, amused, as she anxiously tries to make a decision. One of her little quirks was that she always had to know what she was going to order before we ever went out for a meal. If she didn’t get a chance to check out the menu beforehand, she would um and ah for far too long, unable to make a decision on the spot.
“Their parmesan risotto is supposed to be amazing,” I nudge her, remembering how obsessed she was with anything cheesy.
“That does sound good.” She throws me an appreciative look and hands the menu to the waiter. “I’ll have that, please.”
“So why are you glad the guy wants more time?” I question once we are on our own again.
“I haven’t done any sculpting in a long time and it’s going to be a difficult piece.” She chews on her bottom lip. “If I’m honest, I’m probably not the right person for it, I’ve focused much more on painting the last few years. That’s really where my heart is.”
“Then why are you even considering taking the commission?”
“Money.” She reaches across the table for her glass. “The book illustrations are a nice steady income, they gave me the freedom to quit working at the diner, but I’m not exactly rolling in cash. The commission would just give me a bit of breathing room.”
