The Wrong Mr. Right (The Queen's Cove Series #2)(73)

Marriage was a legal tether, and an emotional one. Wyatt and I getting married would mean something.

Alarm spiked in my head and my gaze flared while I stared at my pie. What the absolute hell was I doing, thinking about marrying Wyatt? Maybe I had hit my head harder than I thought.

Elizabeth was just excited because she wanted good things for her sons. She was getting ahead of herself and dragging me with her. This is what moms did. Mine would have. A little smile grew on my face. My mom would love watching Wyatt wrap his arm around me and press kisses to my temple and bark at people that I couldn’t drink.

“Speaking of town news,” Emmett said, and the look he gave Wyatt was full of mischief before he glanced around the table with an innocent, concerned expression. “Did they ever find that missing hiker?”

I froze.

“What missing hiker?” Holden took a pull of his beer.

Emmett glanced between Wyatt and I, gaze snagging on Wyatt’s arm around my shoulder, before he shot us a wicked smile. “That missing woman shrieking in the woods.”

Avery’s chest shook with laughter but she stared at her plate, Holden put a fist against his mouth but his eyes were bright, and Emmett beamed openly at Wyatt and I. Sam chuckled and Elizabeth glared.

My face was red like a stop sign. “Does everybody know?” I asked the table, mortified all over again.

Everyone started laughing, even Elizabeth. She shot me a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey. Yes. Everybody knows.”

I buried my hands in my face and Wyatt rubbed my arm. His chest shook with laughter.

“It’s okay, bookworm.” His teasing grin was back and his teeth flashed. “I don’t mind everyone knowing what I can do.”

“Ew.” Avery threw her napkin at him.

“We’re just giving you a hard time, Hannah.” Sam grinned at me. “This is what we do.”

I rolled my eyes, despite my burning face. “I know.”

Wyatt cleared his throat and addressed the table. “You know when I was in Europe last year?”

Holden raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“I filmed a music video while I was there where they smeared me in silver body paint.” His expression was unreadable. “I had to wear a merman tail.”

“What?” Holden asked, blinking.

The entire table stared at him with open mouths, including me.

“What are you doing?” I whispered. “Why are you telling everyone?”

Wyatt nodded to Holden. “Yep. You can see me dancing in the background.”

Emmett’s eyes glowed like this was too good to be true. “Name. Artist. Now.” He unlocked his phone, fingers hovering.

“Depths of Love by Tula.” Wyatt took a bite of pie and ignored me gaping at him.

The opening notes played through Emmett’s phone.

“Oh my god.” Emmett stared at the screen with wide eyes. Avery peered over before she snorted. “First the chopping wood video and now this? Oh my god. This is amazing.”

Emmett made everyone watch twice before Elizabeth and Sam returned to their seats.

“I’ve already sent it to everyone I know,” Emmett informed Wyatt. “I’m dressing up as you for Halloween.”

Wyatt shrugged with a small smile. “Okay.”

I pinched his side and he shot another wink down at me. It dawned on me.

Wyatt told everyone about the video so they’d forget about the search party thing.

“You might as well post it on social media,” he told me, reaching over and stealing a bite of my pie.

Elizabeth straightened up and gestured to me. “Honey, I forgot to tell you. I love the photo of you in the window.”

A smile pulled at my mouth. “Wyatt took that one.” One of my shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I’m trying something new.”

Wyatt squeezed my shoulder. “It’s working.”

Did he mean with the store, or with my hot girl plans, or the finding true love thing? I wasn’t sure.

Sam took a sip of his beer. “You’re breathing new life into that place.”

“I walked past today and someone was painting the wall,” Elizabeth added.

I nodded. “That’s Naya and her team. She’s going to paint a new mural.”

The light shifted in Elizabeth’s eyes and she watched me with a small smile. “It’s time. I can’t wait to see it.”

“I’ll post progress pics on social media. I’m thinking about doing a time-lapse.” This morning, while Naya and her team rolled primer over my mom’s mural, I took videos.

Before Naya had arrived, I had taken about a hundred pictures of the wall, included a selfie in front. My heart still twisted at the idea of painting over it, but Elizabeth was right. And my instincts were right. It was time.

“I bought wallpaper,” I blurted out. “I pick it up tomorrow morning at the post office.”

Avery’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t know that. You need help applying it?”

“If you have time, sure. I don’t know what I’m doing.” I frowned. “I don’t know if it’ll look good but I’m sick of the store looking straight out of the nineties.” I rolled my eyes. “I’d still like to rip the carpet up but one step at a time.”