Page 34 of Sutton's Shadow

“No, I’ve been sleeping on and off for days. I don’t want to go back there yet.”

“I should let you get your rest.” The words left his mouth, but he couldn’t make himself let go of her hand to leave. He should be searching for Bethany, but he couldn’t force his feet to walk toward that door. Sitting with Sutton, even for a short amount of time, comforted him as nothing else had. For these moments, his worry and anxiety eased, and he sorely needed that break.

He had gone back to the beach the day after her accident for the kiteboarding he didn’t get to do the day before, hoping the activity would lessen his stress. But it didn’t. It only ramped it up. But sitting here, holding on to Sutton’s chilly hand, listening to her sniffles, his stresses seemed far away. They were still there, of course, just muted for these brief flashes in time.

Inevitably, the guilt seeped into his moment of peace. Bethany was counting on him. He couldn’t lose sight of that. He forced himself to drop her hand, feeling its loss immediately, and stood. He grabbed their dishes and took them to the sink. After he rinsed them and placed them in the dishwasher, there was no longer any excuse for him to stay.

“You let me know if you need anything, okay?” She nodded, and he leaned down, kissing her on the forehead. It was an impulsive move, but one he couldn’t stop himself from making. “Feel better.” He turned to head for the door. Before he could take two steps, she called his name.

“Would you... would you like to stay and watch a movie with me?” She stood a few feet away, her bottom lip caught in her teeth, and her hands were twisting together in front of her, just like they had done in his truck. It made his heart trip over, observing her nervousness.

“If you’re sure you’re up for it, why not?” he answered with a smile.

She returned his smile, then tilted her head toward the living room, signaling for him to follow her. She sat at one end of the couch under a nest of blankets. He laughed at the pile of tissues on the coffee table in front of her, and she blushed.

He sat at the other end of the couch as she picked up a remote and began scrolling through Netflix. “Anything you want to watch?” she asked.

“You pick,” he said, pleasantly surprised when she stopped onThe Witcher.

She laughed at his expression, which he could only guess telegraphed his surprise. “What? You think a girl wouldn’t like a show like this?”

“I’m just surprised, that’s all. I was expecting a rom-com or something equally dreadful.” She rolled her eyes, causing him to laugh. “So, you likeThe Witcher, huh?”

“What’s not to like?” she argued. “Fantasy, a sexy hero, swordplay, Henry Cavill...”

“Swordplay, huh? You like that kind of thing?” He ignored the Henry Cavill comment, not quite understanding what women found so attractive about the British actor. “You should see Emma and Marcus fence sometime. It’s amazing.”

Her brows lifted as her eyes widened. “They fence? Like with actual swords?”

“Well, I believe they’re called foils, or something like that. Not swords like Geralt of Rivia uses. But there was this one time they dueled with lightsabers.”

“No way. Like from Star Wars?”

He nodded, amused by her wonder. “Marcus had these authentic-looking things. They lit up and everything. It was awesome watching them go at it with each other.”

She had a faraway stare as she pressed play on the remote. “I wish I could have seen that.”

“Maybe they’ll do it again sometime.”

They sat and watched the first episode together. Before the second one could start, Wyatt got them both a glass of water. He brought the bag of stuff he’d picked up for her and set it on the coffee table, pulling out boxes of cold medicine.

“You look like you could use some of this. Pick your poison,” he instructed. When she didn’t move, he looked up to find an expression he couldn’t identify on her face. “What? What’s the matter?”

She shook her head, a wisp of hair falling into her mouth. “Nothing,” she answered, swiping the strand away. “I don’t think anyone has taken care of me when I was sick since I was in middle school.”

“Not even Liam?” The words slipped out before he thought. He worried bringing him up would bother her, but she just gave a sad smile while staring at the assortment of cold remedies.

“No. Either one or both of us was always working. There was never any time to baby a cold. If I got sick, he found something else to do.”

“Huh.” It was all he could think to say. He had known Liam to be a caring man, so it surprised him to find out he wouldn’t drop everything to take care of his fiancée.

“It’s no big deal,” she reassured. “I think there was only one time I was really sick. It was awful, I was so sick. We were in Brazil, and I worried I’d have to be admitted to one of their hospitals. We were in a remote area, and it would have taken forever to drive there. But eventually, my fever broke, and I recovered.”

“Where was Liam during all this?”

“Um... he and the guys decided to do some surfing at a beach they’d heard about a few hours away.”

Wyatt stared at her in shock. “They just left you there?” He couldn’t believe his best friend would have been so callous. His brain was having trouble reconciling the man he’d once known to the one Sutton was now describing.

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