Page 27 of Irresistible

I want to argue with her. If this is her at her worst, my heart stands no chance of surviving her best.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask instead.

“I honestly don’t even know where to start. I feel so stupid.”

“Marlow, the last thing I’d think about you is that you’re stupid. No one is faster with comebacks than you.”

Her lips press together when I say that, like she’s about to laugh, which feels like a win.

“You’re taking care of your little girl, who is one of the smartest little humans I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot.”

Her eyes get shiny.

“The little I’ve heard about Cash—he sounds like the stupid one. And the girlfriend doesn’t sound much better.”

She lets out a shaky breath. “I just—I shouldn’t have ever married him…I knew it then.”

“You’re making it right now. That’s all you can do. Take the next step toward your better life, and from where I’m standing, that’s exactly what you’re doing.”

She presses her hand to her mouth, her eyes shinier than before, and nods. “Thank you, Wyatt. Really. Thank you.”

“What can I do to help? Name it,” I say.

My early infuriation with her turned on its head when I heard what she’d been through, when we had our moment of apologies. Seeing the way she is with Dakota, the way she is around here—I don’t know exactly why I feel such a need to help her, protect her, but something about her just tugs at me.

“I could use a friend,” she says, lifting her shoulder, as her eyes meet mine. “And to know that there really are decent guys out there.”

I nod slightly, my hand itching to touch her, just on her shoulder to console, but I keep my distance. “Done. At least I hope you’ll consider me a friend. You’ve seen that I’m not perfect, but I think I can handle decent pretty well.”

She smiles and reaches out, her hand squeezing my arm for only a second, but I feel it long after she lets go. She takes a step back, another deep breath, and her shoulders straighten as she turns and walks away from me. I watch her until she’s out of sight, her sweet scent lingering in the air.

When I snap out of my Marlow-stupor, I go inside and stop by the break room to see if any sales reps have dropped off treats. I avoid them like the plague most of the time, but I wouldn’t say no to a bear claw from Happy Cow right about now. Sadly, no bear claws, but Linda is digging into a bowl of candy like she’s on a mission.

“What are you looking for?” I ask.

“Bit-O-Honey. Thought I saw one, but nope.” She digs around a little more and holds one up, waving it in front of me.

I smile and start to back out of the room then stop. “Hey, thanks again for getting Marlow set up. Thanks to you, she’s already a pro.”

She laughs and waves me off, but her cheeks are lifting with pride. “It’s all her. She picked everything up so fast and it’s already like she’s been here forever—she fits right in!”

I nod. “Yes, she does. I’m glad we hired her.”

I grab a Reese’s peanut butter cup out of the candy dish and get back to work.

Brooke messages me and I’m polite back but don’t engage. I thought I made it clear that I’m not interested in our sporadic arrangement any longer, but it seems like I might have to reiterate it.

Earlier, Theo texted asking if I’ll be bringing a date to the wedding and I said no. He insisted that I should, but I insisted I didn’t want to be distracted with a date at his wedding.

And yet, the truth is, I’ll already be distracted by Marlow…affected…whatever this is.

It’d be better for everyone involved if this fascination with Marlow fazes out and I can get back to normal. She’s not single yet, and she needs a friend. That’s what I’ll be.

The ER fills up when I’m done with my break and I’m grateful for the reprieve. It’s twisted to like a full ER, but that’s where I am these days…and I’m not very proud of it.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

DEFROSTING

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