“Wyatt and Spencer used to come down here in the summers and on holidays,” Trudy explained. “We’ve known each other since we were kids.”
“Oh my gosh!” Paige looked excited now.
Crap.
“That’s amazing!” Paige gushed. “This will be perfect! You can hang out and catch up and you won’t have to do that awkward getting-to-know-you stuff. You can just jump right in.”
Trudy wasn’t sure what Paige thought they were going to jump right in to, but…well, they definitely didn’t need to get to know each other. Wyatt knew some stuff about her that no one else did.
And she’d love to know more about him.
Because she was stupid and had never fully gotten over her crush on him, apparently.
Great.
She hadn’t thought of Wyatt Landry in a long time.
Much.
Okay, since moving back to Autre in January, she’d thought of him more because…well, how could she not? He’d been her first love—even unrequited love counted—and everywhere she went in Autre had memories that involved him.
And he wasn’t the only one who had broken bones and scars from some of the times they’d spent together.
But during the years she’d lived in Colorado, she really hadn’t thought of him much. Honestly.
She did know that he didn’t come to Autre for holidays anymore and that had worked out nicely for her. She hadn’t accidentally run into him downtown at Christmas time, or around town while trick-or-treating with her niece and nephew, or in the park on the Fourth of July…until now.
She met his gaze directly. “Um, actually,” she said in response to Paige’s comment. “That’s probably not a good idea.”
She should have said no to the whole couples’ camping thing from the beginning. Taking Travis to that would have been awkward too. She’d already felt like things weren’t going to go anywhere with the guy and her relief when he’d cancelled had been a pretty good validation of that. But God she hated being the only person not in a couple when she hung out with her sister and friends.
“Why not?” Paige asked, her expression full of disappointment. “You’ll both be hanging out with us all anyway, right?”
“I just think Wyatt would be more comfortable if he wasn’t forced to hang out with me,” Trudy said, not looking at Wyatt.
“Oh,” Paige said, understanding dawning. “Do you guys not get along?” She looked from Trudy to Wyatt and back with a wince. She looked up at Mitch. “Why didn’t you tell me that.”
“I didn’t—” Mitch started.
“It’s not Mitch’s fault,” Trudy jumped in quickly. She still wasn’t looking at Wyatt but she could feel his eyes on her. “It’s just been a long time and…it’s complicated.”
It wasn’t. Wyatt hated her. It was pretty simple. But she didn’t want to go into what had happened that last night they’d been together.
Paige’s eyes rounded and, dammit, now she looked curious and Trudy knew she was going to have to fill Paige in. Dammit.
“Did you guys date in high school?” Paige asked, looking very interested. It was clear she wanted that answer to be yes.
Trudy shook her head quickly. “No. God, no. Absolutely not. It’s not that. It’s definitely not that. No. Nope. Definitely not.”
Paige’s eyes were now wide, but for a different reason.
Trudy was pretty sure the Shakespeare quote about the lady protesting too much was running through Paige’s head right now.
Paige’s mouth opened to reply, but Trudy felt a big, hot hand wrap around her upper arm—her bare upper arm—and a deep voice say, “Can I talk to you?”
Wyatt did not wait for her to answer his obviously-not-really-a-question. He started across the grass, dragging her with him.
Upper arms were not erogenous zones. But Trudy’s body decided to rebel and make it into one. Tingles were spreading through her body from where he held her in a firm grasp, that didn’t hurt, but that she absolutely was not getting out of.
“Hey!” She tugged on her arm.
He didn’t let go until they were behind the big wooden stand that was selling frozen lemonade and kettle corn.
He pushed her up against the surprisingly solid structure, braced his hands on either side of her head, and leaned in, his gaze direct.
“What. The. Fuck. Trudy?”
