by Ann, Natalie
“Share what?” he asked.
“That we like to stay busy and active, don’t like to be alone, but yet don’t let a lot of people in either.”
“I let people in,” he argued.
“Do you? Yet you aren’t in any relationships. Or you haven’t really been in any, you admitted.”
He looked at her as they walked around. “This is a pretty personal conversation for just friends, don’t you think?”
“You keep asking about me, why can’t I ask about you?”
“You can. You are. The truth is, when you’re out for fun not all women like that. Most want to settle down at this point. I wasn’t ready for it.”
“And now?” she asked.
“When I find the right woman I’ll know,” he said. “But I’m not changing who I am for anyone.”
“Meaning you still want to have fun with this person and not take anything seriously?”
She couldn’t imagine being with someone that goofed off all the time and suspected he’d be single for a long time.
Yet two hours later they’d completed the rope course and she couldn’t remember laughing nearly as much as she had in her life while she was with a man. There was something to be said about letting go and being carefree, she’d give him that.
And now he was all but begging her to do the escape room. She wasn’t so sure she’d want to though. It’d never appealed to her before to be locked in a room and have to figure a way out.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “I thought you wanted to do the obstacle course.”
“I do. But I’m getting hungry too. I figured we could kill thirty minutes in the escape room, fuel up, and then hit the course in the back.”
“I am getting hungry also. If you really want to try the room we can.”
When they got their tickets they just had to wait for one to open up and he asked, “So what’s your reluctance with this?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I just don’t picture you the type to like something like this.”
“Are you kidding me? It’s answering questions and solving problems while being timed. I’m fast on my feet. I love shit like this. You being a nurse, I figured this would be right up your alley. You always have to be fast on your feet.”
“In the medical field,” she pointed out.
“Are you worried or embarrassed over something?” he asked, tilting his head.
“I’m not as smart as you,” she said back, poking at his side with her finger. The minute she did it, she wished she hadn’t. Nerves were building now too. They’d be locked in a room together for thirty minutes and no one could or would interrupt them.
That was where the issue was for her.
So far they’d been in public together. Though she did get naked in his bathroom with him down the hall.
And when she was at his place she couldn’t cool off one bit and worried she’d be emitting the scent of arousal to him.
“Please,” he said. “I’m willing to bet you’ve got more street smarts than I’d ever have.”
“Now you are trying to just butter me up,” she said back.
“Is it working?”
“I think it might be.”
17
Probably Smart
Wyatt couldn’t have asked for a better day so far.
He got to see Adriana in motion and admire the way her body moved and glided through the course.
The flexing of her muscles, the curves of her body.
He’d felt her eyes on him too and not for safety and spotting measures either.
She’d been laughing the whole time. They’d been talking. Joking. Maybe even a touch of flirting in there too.
He was wearing her down whether she wanted to admit it or not.
Was she going to be stubborn and make him work more for it? Yeah, he figured she would.
What he hadn’t expected was for her to feel almost self-conscious over doing the escape room though.
Someone like her, he didn’t think she doubted much in life. He’d put her right up there with his sister Jade and cousin Ella when it came to confident strong women.
Yet she was hesitating over this.
“We’re up,” he said. “You’re not afraid of closed-in places, are you?”
“Nah.”
“Being locked in?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“But yes, really?” he said. “We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
“It’s fine. It’s not the room itself. I mean I know we can get out if we need to. And you’re a doctor, I’m a nurse. If one of us passes out, the other will take care of it.”
Now she was busting on him. “I might do that to get some mouth to mouth.”
She reached her hand out to start to punch him and then stopped herself. She was getting touchy feely and trying not to.
He flexed his arm and said, “Give it your best.” He’d do anything to get her hands on him.
“I don’t want to break a finger on that rock.”
“Now I know you are flattering me. You just want to get my guard down so you can kick my ass at something again.”
She laughed at him. “Maybe.” But she didn’t touch him again. Bummer.
Once they were in the room, the door clicked shut and the lock sounded as it went into place. A clock on the wall started to count down.
“Here we go,” he said, moving to the piece of paper on the table and reading the instructions.
One by one they figured out all the clues and were able to let themselves out with eight minutes to spare.
“I’ll be damned,” she said. “That was more fun than I thought it’d be. I almost jumped in your arms and gave you a hug when the lock released.” She said that when they were walking out of the door, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her in the other direction. “Where are we going?”
“I’m buying tickets for another room,” he said.
“I was kidding.”
“I don’t think you were though,” he said back. She held his stare and didn’t say anything else for about five seconds. “I’m hungry now. How about food?”
He dropped his shoulders in an exaggerated move. “If that is what you want.”
“Yes,” she said. “It’s probably smart.”
She’d said it quietly, but he heard.
When they got to the restaurant on the grounds, there wasn’t much to choose from. It was more like a cafeteria line. He got a burger and fries and she got a chili dog and fries.
They grabbed their drinks and he paid. They’d had a little argument over the last tickets for the escape room and he told her the day was on him. Other than lunch, this was the first time they’d done something that cost any money and he wasn’t having her pay for the day.
If she wanted to buy them lunch, she could do that another day, but this was going to be a couple hundred today for sure, which was more than lunch would be.
Yes, friends split things, but it was still more than he wanted her to pay.
His mother would skin him alive on top of it if he allowed a woman to pay for a day like this. Date or not, he was still pulling out his credit card.
Once they had their food and were sitting at a table eating, he asked, “So, worth the wait?”
She started to cough on the dog she’d just taken a huge bite of. Yeah, he loved a woman with a big appetite. “What?”
“The adventure park. I know you said you’ve never done it before. Was it worth the wait?”
* * *
Adriana had no idea what Wyatt was asking her and of course like an idiot her mind went right toward sex when it never had before.
Not that they were anywhere near sex because this was a day with a friend.
Not a date.
Though she touched him once and had to stop herself from doing it again.
She wondered if he had some pheromone seeping out of his pores that had her acting like she’d never done before.
“Oh.
Yeah. This is great. I take it you’ve been here before?” He knew the course too well to not have done it in the past.
“My brothers and I did it once and then we went inside for laser tag and a few more things. I can’t wait to tell them I did the obstacle course. I bet Sebastian would love it here. I’ll have to see if I can get the guys here one day.”
There he was again showing her the sweet family side to him. She knew he wasn’t trying to impress her. He really looked like he wanted to come here with his nephew and brothers.
“You’ll have a leg up after doing it with me first.”
His eyes darkened when he looked at her. She’d have to weigh her words better.
This day was turning into something that she hadn’t anticipated.
Though if she was honest with herself, she should have.
Wasn’t she having multiple dreams a week about him? Looking for him at work? Jumping at the opportunity to spend time with him?
Just friends she almost said out loud, but thinking it was enough for her nose to start to itch before it grew.
They finished up their lunch fast and made their way to the course in the back. She didn’t see a rock wall, but she saw wooden walls to climb over, ramps to run up, ropes to crawl under, tires to step in. Yeah, this was like basic training.
And it was going to be great.
They were matched up in pairs first to compete against others. She tried not to snarl at the young twenty-somethings that were stretching and bending.
Wyatt rolled his eyes at her. She knew she was competitive but at least she was having fun. The two they were going against were quietly planning strategies.
She looked at Wyatt and said loudly, “If I get behind or can’t make it over a wall, push me, pull me, or toss me. I’ll catch up.”
“You’re going to let me put my hands on you?” he asked and winked.
“For the win. Yeah. I’m all in when it comes to the win.”
He held her stare for longer than normal and then said, “I won’t forget that.”
There was no time to comment though, all four of them getting to the starting line. When the gun went off, they took off in a sprint, legs through tires, then a rope to help climb over the wall after the second sprint.
They were neck and neck with the other team, but there was plenty left to go.
Balancing on wood, crawling under nets, then climbing up nets. She’d gotten a little hung up on that one and Wyatt passed her, then stopped and leaned his hand down for hers.
Their fingers wrapped around each other’s and in one fell swoop he yanked her up to the top and steadied her on her feet.
If she wanted to stay there and hang on even longer she reminded herself it was for the win, then raced down the ramp with him.
By the time the finish line was in sight, the other couple was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t sure where they passed them and didn’t care.
Wyatt grabbed her hand, and they held them together as they crossed the line, him picking her up and swinging her around. “Yeah, that will teach those young ones to mess with us.”
“Age over youth any day,” she said, savoring the feeling of being in his arms.
When he set her down he could see it in her eyes that she wanted to kiss him. His head came down, hers started to go up, and then the couple crossed the line arguing back and forth and it was enough to pull her away from the moment.
It was probably the right thing though.
There was no reason to give Wyatt any ideas.
No encouragement either.
Then why was she the one that was acting more bummed than him?
18
When You Know
Which was exactly why on Sunday she was waiting for Wyatt to pick her up to go to the movies.
It was raining out and she was sick of sitting around the house.
Adriana still owed him a meal out too. So she caved and sent him the link to an action movie playing today and asked if he’d seen it.
She figured that was a good way to get the conversation going. Of course he hadn’t seen it and asked if she had.
They’d played around the bush for a good ten minutes before she said she was thinking of going at three. She still hadn’t asked him. She was hoping not to.
And she didn’t have to. He ended up saying he wouldn’t mind seeing it either. That was as close as they got to it.
So when her doorbell rang, she didn’t run to the door like she wanted to. Rather she walked slowly as if she’d been busy and now he was interrupting her.
“Hey,” he said. “Ready to go? Sorry I’m late. Drake called me and I got held up. He always has the uncanny ability to call when I’m walking out of the door.”
“Did you tell him you were going somewhere?” she asked.
“Unfortunately I did. Which is why I couldn’t get off the phone with him.”
She grabbed her purse, locked up and they went to his car. “Did he keep you on the phone on purpose after that?”
“Of course. I told you I’m the prankster of the family. Anytime my siblings can annoy me they jump at the opportunity to do it. I finally just hung up on him.”
“Seriously? You just hung up without letting him finish?”
“Yep. He likes to get the last word and he was probably still talking for a good minute. He won’t care. Drake is the laid back one. Nothing ruffles his feathers. At least we didn’t think anything did until he met Kara.”
“Kara?”
“His fiancée. They work together. I’m sure you know my father and uncle own an engineering firm?”
“Yes. I’d heard that.” Maggie didn’t talk bad about anyone, but she had said plenty of nice things about the Fierce family.
“Drake is an engineer. Kara works in finance. My brother likes to spend money and he doesn’t like to be called out on it.”
“A battle of wills. Sounds interesting.”
“Instant chemistry,” he said. She felt her face flame up. “I think no one thought anything of it at first when they went at it and then they realized they just annoyed each other so much because they were attracted. Or that is what Drake says. Anyway, now they are engaged.”
“Tell me about Drake’s twin. Noah, right? He’s engaged too?”
“Yes. That was at Easter. Noah is a high school principal. Sebastian had gotten in trouble and was in his office. Noah called Paige, his aunt who has custody of him.”
“Can I ask why that is? Or is it too personal?”
He looked at her, and she could tell he was weighing his options. “It’s not really a big secret. Paige’s sister is in a mental institution. High security. She murdered one of her boyfriends. She has schizophrenia.”
“That had to be so hard on her son.” She couldn’t imagine and the things she thought of her own mother were small in comparison.
“It was. It is. But Paige is trying to adopt him. Cora, her sister, is signing the papers to allow it to happen. It’s for the best for everyone. Anyway. That is how Noah and Paige met. It wasn’t long. They only dated about six months before he proposed.”
“I guess when you know, you just know,” she said. She’d always thought that, but it seemed her radar was broken lately. It’d flashed and pointed right at Spencer and look at how well that turned out.
* * *
Yes, when it was right you knew. That was what Wyatt kept telling himself with Adriana. He just had to get her to see that.
Was he thinking of love and marriage and kids? No. Absolutely not.
He wasn’t stupid. They hadn’t even kissed.
But he liked her as a person. He enjoyed the time they spent together.
And he was drawn to her like he was to pranking his siblings. It was a need. A want.
A desire to do it.
To get attention?
To feel needed?
To make people laugh?
All of those things.
He did it because it made him feel good more than anything. Som
etimes in life he felt he had to do that for himself.
His parents never neglected him or his siblings.
They were all loved and taken care of.
But Drake was the oldest. Noah was close enough and they were twins. They had each other and they were referred to as one most times.
Jade was the baby and the only girl.
Wyatt was just...the one that made people laugh.
He needed to be known for something and that was what he ended up gravitating toward.
“Well, so far everyone is happy and that is all that matters,” he said of his brothers. “Speaking of happy. I’m glad it’s a movie today. I’m not sure my body could take much more after yesterday. Not that I didn’t have a great time, but damn, I noticed some bruises on my body today.”
She laughed. The soft one that sent heat to his body more than he could control lately.
“I’ve got a few myself. One on my butt. I’m not sure if it’s a handprint or not. Maybe it’s from hitting the wall climbing over it, or your palm pushing me up.”
He remembered putting his hand on her nice lush ass and just wanted to squeeze and knead, not give her a boost to get her over the wall.
“Could be a combination of both,” he said. “Sorry about that.”
“Nah. Don’t be sorry. It was so worth seeing the other couple arguing over being beaten by us. Did you hear them complaining that we were old? Really? I’m not old. I take offense to that.”
“They were probably still in college or just out of it. Probably barely legal to drink. To them we are old.”
“They could only dream to be in as good shape as us!”
“You’re right.” He pulled into the mall parking lot and they both got out and made their way to the movie theater.
Before they got to the window, she said, “I’m paying. You paid for everything yesterday. You’re not doing it today. Got it?”
