Page 41 of Taming Georgia

I pick her up and hold her to me. “Hey, Mila. You are so cute.” I kiss her head.

“I was just looking for her.” Wyatt’s beside me now. “I told the guys to let the dogs out, but I didn’t mean the puppies. I’m afraid they’ll get stepped on. Plus, this has to be overwhelming for them.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “You did all this?”

“I guess. I mean, I hired a party planner. She did most of it.”

“Who are all of these people?”

“Some of them are old friends of hers from her nursing days. Some are people who’ve adopted our dogs that we’ve stayed close with. Also, past employees and volunteers.”

I shake my head in awe. “This is really something special, Wyatt. So nice.”

“You’ve changed your tune since the restaurant, I see.” He smirks.

“Well, I didn’t know. You didn’t tell me.”

“Did you think that I’d let Ethel’s seventieth birthday pass without celebrating it?”

“Honestly, I don’t know with you. You’re so hard to figure out. I wish you had told me. I wouldn’t have been such a jerk at the restaurant.”

“Nah. You taking E out to dinner worked great. It gave us time to set up. And your reaction made it so that she didn’t suspect anything.”

Wyatt has a smile on his face as he watches Ethel. It’s so rare to see him smile, and I’d be lying if I said that he’s not absolutely gorgeous when he does.

“You should smile more. It’s a good look for you,” I tell him.

The grin drops from his face. “I’m not a smiling type of person.”

“Exactly what type of a person are you? I mean, you walk around here, all grumpy and mean. You act like you don’t like anyone. Yet you save helpless animals for a living. You hand out supplies to the homeless. And you throw the coolest surprise party I’ve ever seen for one of your employees. It doesn’t add up.”

“Ethel isn’t just an employee,” is his response.

“I know.” I think back to the way she spoke of him at dinner. “She really loves you.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a hard one to love. Just another reason she deserves a party.” His gaze darts to mine. “Just put the puppy away when you’re done holding her,” he tells me before walking off.

As he strolls away, I find myself wanting to follow him. Why do I want to chase after someone who’s made it clear he doesn’t like me? I hate that I feel this pull toward him, but more than that, I can’t stand the fact that he hates me, and I don’t even know why.

11

Seventeen Years Old

“Georgia’s beauty is more than skin deep, and I think that’s what I love about her the most.”—Wyatt Gates

Her lips are everything I dreamed they’d be—soft, full, and irresistible. She threads her fingers through my hair, pulling me closer to her, and it takes everything I have not to back her into that wall and explore every inch of her.

Georgia Wright is the epitome of perfection. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. I can’t believe that I found her here, in this horrible place. She doesn’t belong within these walls with the stuck-up assholes. She’s kind and sweet. Georgia’s beauty is more than skin deep, and I think that’s what I love about her the most.

She doesn’t see me as the poor kid from Ypsilanti. She sees me for me. She might be the only one here who does. I expect the stuck-up rich kids to treat me differently, but even the teachers look at me with an air of…pity or maybe shame? I’m the charity case with the drug-addicted mother.

Georgia moans softly into my mouth as her tongue dances with mine.

Holy shit.

It takes all the willpower I have, but I pull my lips from hers. As I lean my forehead against hers, we both catch our breath.

I hate that I have to leave Georgia to go to work. I’m walking away from her gorgeous lips to go flip greasy burgers. Sometimes, life’s really not fair.

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