Page 79 of Wild About You
I grab all my stuff and head out, giving myself a pep talk as I push out into the parking lot. I tell myself all kinds of things like we’re going to take this slow and that I’m going to do a better job of guarding my heart, and that I’m going to keep him at arm’s length until I’m certain I can survive him again.
But in the middle of my mental pep talk, I glance up and there he is. Leaning against the hood of his car, arms crossed over his chest. He pushes off when he sees me, but he lets me come to him.
“Hey,” I say tentatively when I’m within arm’s distance. “You’re here.”
“I wanted to make sure you didn’t run off.”
My face heats, but I don’t try to deny it wasn’t on my mind.
“Is your car okay here overnight?” he asks.
“Yeah, but I can just follow you to the restaurant.”
He shakes his head, then rounds the front and opens the passenger side of his car for me.
My nerves bounce along with my leg as he drives away from the school.
“Did you have a good day?” he asks, one hand on top of the steering wheel and the other rests on my thigh.
“Yeah. You?”
He glances over and his smile says more than his words. “Getting better by the minute.”
He pulls into the parking lot of an upscale mall.
“What are we doing here?” I ask.
“I made reservations for seven at the place across the street, but I thought we could wander around here first.”
“Okay.” I’ve been wanting to come to this mall, but I knew I couldn’t afford anything except for maybe a pretzel in the food court.
The architecture is beautiful with lots of glass and open space. A Tiffany’s is at the front of the mall, and I stare at the blue accent boxes inside with longing.
“Do you want to go inside?” Tyler asks when he notices me staring at the jewelry store.
“Oh, no. The sales associates will want to help us or think we’re engaged or something.” I bark a laugh, then anxious giggles follow.
Tyler takes my hand. His thumb strokes mine in a reassuring way that makes me blow out a nervous breath.
He stops a few steps later and steps into my space. “Are we okay? Because yesterday before I left I thought we were on the same page, but now I’m thinking we should have spent a little more time talking and less time kissing.” He bobs his head side to side. “More talking, but same amount of kissing.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just freaking out a little. I like you. I like you a lot, and I am terrified that I will end up heartbroken again.”
“You think this isn’t scary for me too?” He brushes my hair away from my face with a hand. “I spent the last four years wishing to have you back in my life and now that it’s happening, I feel like I’m gonna screw it all up. Or blink and realize I was hallucinating.”
A true smile finally tugs at the corner of my lips and my body relaxes. “So, it isn’t just me?”
“No, of course not.” He glides his thumb along my lower lip and then drops his mouth to mine. When he pulls back my heart is racing, but not because I’m nervous—because I know it’s already too late to be trying to guard my heart. He’s had it since I was eighteen.
“Be terrified with me, Pipes? Give me a real shot to get it right this time. That’s all I’m asking.”
I nod. “Yes. A thousand terrified yeses.”
He grins down at me, steps back to my side, and laces his fingers through mine again. “Now that we have that out of the way, I need to get a few things. Do you mind?”
“No. I’d love to watch you shop. I thought you hated it?”
We walk into a department store. The racks of clothing and shelves of shoes look so pretty.
