The Wrong Mr. Right (The Queen's Cove Series #2)(85)

My breath caught in my chest.

Head over fucking heels indeed.





25





Hannah





I vibrated with anticipation as Wyatt drove through the streets of Queen’s Cove. Beside me in the driver’s seat, Wyatt stretched out, one hand on the wheel and one arm propped on the door. He was wearing a dark green button-up shirt, a step up from the t-shirts and wetsuits I’d seen him in before, and sunglasses perched on his nose. He had swiped some product in his hair.

He was gorgeous. There was something about the way he held himself in his body, like he was so comfortable. Like he knew how hot he was. And maybe he knew how hot I thought he was.

I paused and peered at my reflection in the car’s side mirror. I looked pretty tonight. My hair seemed brighter from the sun. I wore mascara and a brush of highlighter, and had rubbed a tinted gloss onto my lips, and I felt pretty. This sparkling dress put a spotlight on me, and a corner of my conscious wanted to panic, crouch down behind something, and hide, but I needed to do the dress justice. Twice, I had tried it on before taking it off twice, talking myself in and out of wearing it. People would think I was too dressed up. People would wonder where we were going. People would make comments.

I remembered Thérèse’s words to me when she gave me the dress.

What if people look at me? I had asked.

So let them look, she had told me with a shrug.

Tonight, I would let them look.

Besides, Wyatt’s heated gaze when I opened the door made any self-consciousness worth it. The skin on the back of my neck prickled and I smiled at the shops we drove past.

“Where are we going tonight?” I asked.

One side of that cruel mouth hitched with his grin and he wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s a surprise, but first, we have to make a stop.”

He turned down the Main Street toward the bookstore. The green storefront drew my eye immediately.

“Did you forget something there?”

He shook his head and parked in front of the store. “Come on.” He jogged around the car before opening the door and pulling me out. His hands came to my shoulders, he made me face the alley, and my breath caught when I saw it.

“Oh, wow.”

Naya had finished the mural. It was even better than the sketches. I pressed my hand to my mouth, blinking hard.

A story for every soul.

I nodded to myself, swallowing past the lump in my throat, blinking away the tears in my eyes. “Sorry,” I laughed, wiping my eyes. “Don’t know why I get so emotional when I see this thing.”

Wyatt’s arm wrapped around me. “Because it’s a big deal.”

I nodded and we stood there, staring up at it. “Yeah. It is.”

He pressed a kiss to my temple and I closed my eyes, drinking this moment in when everything was right and happy. The mural wouldn’t bring my mom back, but it was as close as I’d ever get.

Wyatt’s warm hand came to my lower back and he gave me a gentle push forward. “Go ahead.” He pulled his phone out. “I want to get a picture of you.”

I skipped over to the mural and craned my neck up at it. My smile reached ear to ear. I glanced over at Wyatt as he snapped a picture. The phone came to his side and he tilted his head at me.

“Get enough pictures?” I asked with a grin.

“One moment.” His gaze rested on me, memorizing me. “Okay. Yeah.”

I was the luckiest woman in the world, and I’d love Wyatt Rhodes until the day I died.





“I think I’m too full to have a drink,” I told Wyatt as he ushered me through the door of the bar.

“Too full, even for champagne?” He shot me a cocky grin and I laughed, turned to find an empty table, and froze.

Every person in the bar stared at me. Jaws were on the floor and beers hovered inches from mouths.

I took a deep breath and pulled myself up to my full height. Thérèse wouldn’t shrink. My mom wouldn’t. Neither would I. Wyatt’s hand came to my lower back and the tension in me eased a notch.

Right. This was fine. It wouldn’t kill me for people to stare.

“Grab a seat and I’ll get us some drinks.” His breath tickled my ear as he murmured the words, and then he dropped a quick kiss to my cheek before giving my butt a playful tap.

Well, if they weren’t staring before, they sure were now.

My face heated but I zeroed in on an empty table off to the side as I walked to it and took a seat. My hands itched to pull out my phone and mindlessly scroll but I resisted, clasping them together in my lap and tentatively taking in my surroundings.

A group of young women sat at the table beside me, sipping drinks and whispering, sending me side glances. My stomach clenched up. Were they whispering about me? I took another deep breath. I wouldn’t wilt. Not tonight. Tonight, I was going to have fun. For me, but also for Wyatt. I didn’t want him to play the role of my mentor or teacher tonight. Tonight, he was my…

Boyfriend?

My stomach fluttered at the thought.

In the bar, I caught the eye of one of the women at the next table before I quickly looked away. They were in their early twenties.

“Your dress is really pretty.” She had long black hair that cascaded down her back in curls.