Page 49 of Wilderness Daddy

George turns on the sofa, tucking one leg beneath him, to face me. “How does he feel about you?” His soft tone makes me turn back, but before I can admit I don’t know, Noah interrupts.

“Have you seen this ad yet?” Noah seems oblivious to the depth of our conversation so he turns the laptop to show us the ad and my breath becomes lodged in my lungs and no amount of struggle can release it for several long seconds.

Beside the pizza order page is an image of a mountain man, dressed in outdoorsy gear with a full beard and wool hat with a Steed logo patch. The ad reads in bold, Wilderness Man and in a stamp-like red font the word approved beneath. And at the bottom of the image in quotes it says, ‘Steed Wilderness Outpost: gear that withstands the wild.’

The ad is brilliant, part of me is jealous that I hadn’t thought of it, but that’s not what makes my lungs burn and my heart pound. It’s Landon. The Wilderness Man is Landon Steed. My Landon Steed.

And I know for a fact now like is not the right word for how I feel about him. My heart pounds and my palms start to sweat.

“Now if this rugged wilderness man posed for me, you’d have reason to worry, Georgie,” Noah chuckles and turns the laptop back to face him. I’m trying to regulate my breathing, to slow my pounding heart, but no one notices.

“You guys want a meat lovers?” Noah asks. There’s a hint of humor in his question but neither of us laugh or answer. We’re both too stunned and I might be having a heart attack.

“That’s Landon,” George stammers.

Noah rises from the chair, holding his laptop, his head turning to face me. “Landon? The man you’re being forced to marry?”

I nod. “The man I’m in love with.”

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