Page 51 of Wild Desire

"I don't have money for equipment right now."

"You should know that's not a problem."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't be fair."

"My sponsor would be happy to outfit you with everything you need."

Noelle sighed. "What if I don't want to go up there?"

"There's something holding you back."

"What if I'm no good at it anymore? What if I forgot how to do it?" Noelle broke off, her hands twisting.

I covered her hands with mine. "There's no way you forgot how to do it. You might be a little rusty at first. But I have faith that you'll get it."

We stayed like that for a while. Eventually, Noelle grabbed us sandwiches and hot chocolate. Then we went inside to watch TV. Except this time, I didn't fall asleep, and we sat together on the couch, enjoying a sappy romance movie. In this one, there were two royals, and they felt compelled to get engaged. It seemed like they had to, but I didn't pay close enough attention to know why.

Noelle seemed to enjoy it, which made me think she was into romance. She just didn't trust anyone to get close to her. That'swhy this approach was the best. We were working together, becoming friends again, and maybe if I played my cards right, I'd make the move this time, and she'd welcome it.

On the way to my parents, Noelle said, "Your parents have been home for a while."

"They came home when we found out about Dakota. They wanted to get to know her and support Walker."

"I always thought it was amazing that they took Walker in and made him a part of your family. He was just another Wilde brother to me."

"I'm not sure he felt that way. Mom said it was something he had to work through though. Because we never made him feel like an outsider. Or at least we didn't mean to."

"Your dad would always say what's one more Wilde," Noelle said with a grin.

"My parents are great."

Noelle glanced over at me. "Christopher talks about Dakota a lot. I think they're friends."

"Walker's worried there's something more there, but if there is, Christopher's a good kid. Besides, he's got six Wildes who'd get on his case if he didn't treat her right."

Noelle shrugged. "Maybe they'll just be friends."

"Or maybe they'll be friends for years, and one day, they'll admit that they always liked each other as more than that."

"Wouldn't that be something?"

I watched the smile that spread over her face. "You are a romantic."

"What? No." She glanced over at me in shock.

"You wanted to watch that sappy royal romance movie on TV, and now you think it's sweet if Christopher and Dakota have a friends-to-lovers story."

"First of all, they're only thirteen. There shouldn't be any talk of love, much less lovers." Her cheeks turned pink.

"Does it embarrass you to say the wordlover?"

"No," Noelle dragged out the word.

I chuckled. "I'm not sure I believe you. You're blushing."

"I can't believe we're even talking about this. They're kids. I just thought it would be sweet if it turned into something more. But not anytime soon."

"But it would be okay, in maybe ten, fifteen years?" I asked her, wondering if she'd see the parallels.

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