Page 58 of A Brambleberry Summer

“Me? Would I do that? Don’t be silly.” She gave him a shocked sort of look but he knew his sister well enough to see past it easily. She would do that kind of thing in a heartbeat, if she thought he might have the slightest interest in Rosa.

“Are you sure? This is the second time you’ve invited us both to dinner. Come to think of it, you seemed pretty determined that I move into her empty apartment at Brambleberry House.”

“Only because it was the perfect solution when you yourself talked about moving out! I was only trying to help. As for dinner, it just so happens she is my dear friend and you are my brother. I like spending time visiting with each of you. I can’t help it if sometimes those visits overlap.”

“Can’t you?”

“I didn’t realize it would be a problem,” she said rather stiffly. “I thought you and Rosa were friends. Logan is always talking about how she’s teaching him Spanish and how much he loves her dog and how you go out for tacos together.”

He frowned. “That was one time, when we bumped into each other at the taco stand. Rosa and I are friends. That’s all. Neither one of us is in the market for a relationship right now. I told you that.”

“But you two are perfect for each other!”

Wyatt felt that little tug on his heart again, remembering how Rosa had held him during his moment of despair over the ugly crime scene he had just left, generously offering him a comfort and peace he had desperately needed.

He was beginning to think Carrie was right, at least on one side of the equation. Rosa was perfect for him. Smart, sweet, kind. He loved how warm she was with Logan and how compassionate and protective she was for her friend.

None of that mattered. Not when she had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him except friendship.

“It’s not going to happen. Get it out of your head, please. I would hate for you to make things awkward between us.”

Carrie looked deeply disappointed. “It’s just that I love her, you know? I want her to be happy. I wantyouto be happy. Why shouldn’t you be happy together? I guess I just thought...after everything she’s been through, she deserved a wonderful guy like you.”

He frowned. “That’s the second time you’ve made reference to something in her past. What do you know? What has she been through?”

Carrie immediately looked away, but not before he saw guilt flash in her eyes. “Life can be hard for people trying to make it in a new country. She came here with nothing. She didn’t even speak the language well. How fortunate she was to find her adoptive family, Anna Galvez’s brother and his wife.”

There was something else here. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. A suspicion had begun to take root but it was one he didn’t even dare ask his sister.

What if he was wrong?

Meantime, he had to do what he could to divert Carrie’s attention and prevent her from meddling further between the two of them.

“Rosa is an extraordinary woman. I agree. But I’m not looking for anybody, no matter how extraordinary. Got that?”

She looked as if she wanted to argue, but to his relief, she finally sighed. “Fine. I won’t invite you both to dinner, unless it’s a party that includes a bunch of other people.”

Would he be able to handle even that much? Right now, he wasn’t sure. At least he would be moving away from Brambleberry House within the next few weeks. When he wasn’t living downstairs from her, perhaps he could stop dreaming about her and wishing he could hold her again.

Chapter Thirteen

It was fully dark when Rosa returned to Brambleberry House after stopping at By-The-Wind and running the bills to the post-office drop box.

She hadn’t been lying about the invoices. She really had forgotten them, though mailing them certainly could have waited until the next day. That had been sheer fiction, an excuse to escape the tension between her and Wyatt.

She always loved spending time with the Abbotts. Carrie was invariably warm and kind and Joe treated her like a beloved younger sister.

And then there was Bella, full of energy and fun and enthusiasm for life. Her mood always seemed to rub off on Rosa, leaving her happier than when she had arrived.

This time, though, Rosa couldn’t shake a deep sense of melancholy.

She knew the reason. Because Wyatt and Logan had been there. Spending time with them was beginning to make her ache deep inside.

She knew she was setting herself up for heartbreak. She could sense it hovering, just out of sight.

She was falling for them. Both of them.

Logan was impossible to resist. His sweet personality and eagerness to learn touched something deep inside of her. She would be so sad when he was no longer a regular part of her life.

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