IRL: In Real Life (After Oscar, #1)(32)

I laughed. “I’m made of stern stuff, city boy.”

Wells turned to look out the window. “There’s a market in Columbus Circle. We’ll pick up a scarf and gloves for you there before getting the carriage.”

The warm feelings in my chest needed to get the hell out. I had no space inside for positive thoughts toward Wells Grange. I tried reminding myself of what an asshole he’d been keeping us all waiting that morning, but then the traitorous side of my brain reminded me that he’d only done that because he’d been working out a better offer for my mom.

And he’d brought me a mocha latte.

Dammit.

I closed my eyes, letting out a breath. The man appeared to be making a legitimate effort here; the least I could do was give him a chance.

“Are you from here?” I asked.

He continued looking out the window as he spoke. “Greenwich.”

I stared at the back of his head waiting for him to say more. When it appeared no other information was forthcoming, I rolled my eyes. “Sorry,” I finally snapped. “Didn’t mean to pry.”

His head whipped around in surprise, but before he could say anything, the driver announced we’d arrived. I bolted out of the car onto the sidewalk and made my way to the market stalls set up by the entrance to the park. Vendors were selling baby items with funny sayings on them in one stall, apple donuts and cider in another, and various artistic items in many of the rest. Wells moved past me to a stall displaying a colorful collection of hand-knit goods.

“These will do,” he muttered.

The woman behind the table looked up at him from her knitting with a relaxed smile. “Good afternoon. Are you looking for something in particular?”

Before Wells could say something offensive, I reached for a soft-looking scarf made of fat stripes in rainbow colors. As soon as she saw me choose it, the woman’s face lit up. “That’s my favorite yarn. It’s a blend of merino, cashmere, and silk. Feel it.”

I ran the back of my fingers across the scarf. She was right. It felt like a dream. “My friend Bill would go nuts for this yarn. Does it come in a sock weight? He likes the fiddly stuff with tiny needles.”

She hopped up from her stool and reached up to a display shelf behind her before pulling down a matching pair of socks to the scarf I held. “I even have a beanie and gloves to match. If you buy the whole set, I’ll write down where he can get the yarn,” she said with a wink. “My name’s Kathy, by the way.”

“Conor, nice to meet you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Wells watching me patiently as I chatted with the woman and picked out a separate scarf and gloves for myself. I let her wrap up the rainbow set for my friend while I wound my new scarf around my neck. Wells had been right. It made a big difference and warmed me up immediately.

“Is Bill someone special?” Kathy asked with a grin. Wells stiffened beside me. Knowing him, he wouldn’t appreciate some random stranger asking him such a personal question.

“Oh, no. He’s my mom’s neighbor who’s been helping us with…” I remembered Wells was there and didn’t know about my mom being sick and needing help with meals and doctors appointments. “Shoveling snow… um, when I’m not around and it… snows. And stuff.”

“Well, give him my card and tell him I’d love to hook up with him on Ravelry.”

When it came time to pay for everything, Wells shoved his credit card at the woman before I even had a chance to grab my wallet. “I got this,” he said.

“Absolutely not,” I replied. “Are you crazy?”

He glanced at me. I was expecting his face to carry an expression of annoyance or pity, but instead there was something else in his gaze. Something that made my chest tighten.

Possessiveness, I finally realized.

Like I was somehow his to take care of.

I found myself drawn to his eyes, unable to look away. He smiled, the movement slow and languid, the corners of his lips tilting up, one side higher than the other. As though he’d won some game I hadn’t even realized we’d been playing.

Fuck that.

“Wells, you may be richer than god, but I can afford my own damned gifts, thank you very much. Especially after this morning.”

I turned back to Kathy, with the sugariest smile I could manage. “Don’t mind him,” I said, reaching into my pocket for my wallet. “Here.” I thrust several bills toward her. “Keep the change.”

She looked from me to Wells and back again before shrugging and plucking the money from my hand. “I appreciate it,” she said, returning Wells’s card to him unused and handing me the package. “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”

We said little to each other as we left the market and strolled along Central Park South. Wells kept his hands in his pockets, a frown pinching the skin between his eyebrows and his attention lost to the sidewalk as if trying to puzzle through a complicated problem. I didn’t interrupt. I didn’t particularly have much to say to him anyway.

If anything, I was considering suggesting we forget the whole “bonding” thing and go our separate ways when Wells steered us toward an empty carriage. An attractive young man stood next to the horse while the animal drank from a bucket of water. “Carriage ride?” he asked with a big smile.