Page 34 of The Best Friend's Billionaire Brother
It was just a split-second flash, but Wyatt pictured Gabby. Their kiss. It had caught him off guard. He’d never thought of her like that before this weekend. What kept him from even trying was the thought of their families.Ifshe and Bandit stopped dating andifsomething happened between them and it didn’t work out, their families could be affected. Wyatt didn’t want that.
Why was it even coming to mind? It was little Gabby. But she wasn’t so little anymore. She’d filled out in all the right ways, and just thinking about her made his pulse race.
He shut the thoughts down, setting an iron steak press on them. They needed to stay down this time.
“I hear ya, Dad. Maybe you’re right. I’ll stop thinking about the rodeo and just relax while I’m here. There’s a chance I could have an epiphany and go back with my head in the game and my heart all in.”
His dad dropped his hand. “That’s the right attitude.” He slapped him on the back. “Now, let’s get inside. My earlobes are about to freeze off.”
Wyatt laughed. “Yeah, now that you said it, I’m cold too.”
They quickly walked to the house and stopped in the foyer to shake off the cold. “Whew, I think it’s gonna snow,” Wyatt said, cupping his hands to his mouth and blowing on them.
“Yeah, that’s what the radar is showing too,” Hunter said, coming into view from the back of the house. “There’s coffee ready if you want to warm up.”
“Come have some with me and Wyatt. We’re going to talk about that old barn out there. Wyatt’s got some ideas.”
King nodded his head toward the kitchen. “Come on. We’ll hash it out, and then we’ll talk to Bear and see what he thinks.”
Wyatt and Hunter grinned and followed their dad. This was what Wyatt needed. Sitting at a table, talking plans with his dad. That’s what had made buying the lottery tickets so fun: talking about all the ideas they had. Not the money. The last year on the road had drained him. He needed his cup filled, and being home would do that. At least, he sure hoped so.
If it didn’t, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. But doing the same thing over and over again was getting old. In his mind, if he wasn’t winning, he needed to hang his hat up and find somewhere else to apply his energy. Something that would make him feel accomplished and useful. Something more than eight seconds of failure.
Chapter 13
“Gabby?” Carrie Anne’s voice came through the door. “Let me in, okay?”
What was there to talk about? Carrie Anne had been wrong. Her plan was a disaster, and Gabby’s heart was in shreds. Wyatt had called kissing her a mistake.A mistake. Hadn’t she made it clear that she’d only been talking to Bandit? That saying they were together was too strong a word? She’d sure tried.
Another knock, and Carrie Anne said, “Please? Can I come in?”
Gabby looked over her shoulder as she lay curled up on the bed with her back to the door. “Okay.”
It slowly opened, and Carrie Anne stuck her head in. “What happened?” She slipped inside and shut the door behind her. “Why are you crying?”
“He kissed me.”
Carrie Anne gasped. “That’s great.”
“And then said it was a mistake.” Tears pooled in Gabby’s eyes again. It was her biggest fear. That something would happen between them and then he’d call it a mistake. “That we’re just friends, and he was just caught up in the moment.”
The bed moved as Carrie Anne sat down and rested her hand on Gabby’s arm. “I don’t think he really believes that.”
Gabby sat up. “How can you say that? You should have seen him. He looked…distraught. Like it was the worst mistake he’d ever made. I was the worst mistake he’d ever made. I tried…” The sentence trailed off as the words caught in her throat.
Carrie Anne pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. “He thinks you’re dating Bandit. If I know him as well as I think I do, that’s why he said all that.”
Pulling back, Gabby said, “But I hinted as hard as I could that Bandit and I weren’t really dating. I told Wyatt that we’d only been kind of talking.”
“Yeah, but Bandit is family. If Wyatt thought for a moment he was stepping in on territory he shouldn’t, he’d run as fast as he could.” Carrie Anne brushed Gabby’s hair back. “And Lord knows I love him, but we’ve already established he’s thick as a brick. He couldn’t pick up a hint if it bit him in the butt.”
“He’s not stupid, and I dropped hints the size of dinosaurs.”
Carrie Anne sighed. “But this is Wyatt. He’s not stupid; he’s just…so clueless.”
Gabby grabbed a tissue from the box sitting on the nightstand and wiped her nose. “But it wasn’t just a mistake. He said we were friends and that’s where it should stay. He doesn’t see me that way.”
“Well, his lips were telling a different story.” Carrie Anne chewed her lip, letting the silence stretch a moment. “Listen, I know this is hard, but stick with the plan. Give Wyatt a moment to figure out his own feelings. I’m telling you, my brother cares for you just as much as you care for him.”
