Page 20 of One Sultry Summer

“Yay!” Shouts Emily.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you cleaned up before you have to leave.” Mrs. Woods takes Emily by the hand and escorts her away. Her son stands before me brooding. He lifts an eyebrow. “Do you have something on your mind?”

I give him a sugary sweet smile. “I was thinking about home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah. You know a place where a person lives permanently?”

“I know the definition of home. I mean where do you call home?”

“I live in San Francisco, California.”

“So, you’re a city girl.”

“Born and raised.”

His eyes raked over me from head to toe. “It figures.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt the heat radiating from my earlobes as my blood pressure rose.

“Just look at what you’re wearing.”

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“It’s all wrong with walking around this town.”

“I’m dressed professionally, and there’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Again. Not in this town. If you want to fit in, stop trying to overdress for the part. This isn’t a miss congeniality contest, sweetheart.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Listen, I can run circles around you in these heels.”

He took a step closer and looked deep into my eyes. “Sweetheart. I’d like to see you try.”

My heart raced at his proximity. I mumbled loud enough for him to hear. “You overgrown man child.” I took a deep breath and smiled. Before I could challenge him further, a voice nearby broke our stare down.

“Daddy, daddy. Can we go? Can we go?” Her eyes darted between her father and me. We both took a step back, and it was as if we called a mutual truce for the time being.

“Pretty lady?”

“Yes, Emily?”

“Are you going to spend all day with us?”

“Why yes, I am if that’s okay?”

She nodded her head and looked down at my shoes. “Those shoes are pretty, but you might want to wear some tennis shoes. You don’t want them to get dirty or your feet to hurt. Daddy and I walk a lot at the festival.” I heard a snicker from Wyatt and shot him with a glare.Calm your face, Valerie. You don’t want people to get the wrong impression. I took a deep breath and exhaled. “You’re right, sweetie. Let me go change. I’ll be right back.” I smiled sweetly to get a rise out of Wyatt.

My decision to change was based on his daughter’s suggestion, not his own. I wantedso badly to stick my tongue out at him. That pompous ass, he’s so infuriating! Why am I allowing this guy to get a rise out of me? I need to calm down.Take a deep breath, Valerie.I pressed the button to call the elevator. Devin texted me earlier to say he wasn’t feeling well, so I ate breakfast without him.

I’m debating whether to call or text Devin to let him know he can relax today, so he can recover and feel better. As the majority of the stores and all government offices are closed today, we can’t do much research anyway.

I’ll take one for the team and deal with Wyatt and his attitude. On a positive note, at least his daughter is a pleasure to be with. As my mother would say, you have to outweigh the bad with the good. I guess it’s true what they say, no pain, no gain. I’ll have to put up with Wyatt’s attitude for a while and hope it pays off eventually.

I unlock my door, pull my suitcase to the bed, search through it, and find a pair of sneakers Ipurchased for the cruise I went on with my best friends. I sigh at the thought of my friend finding love again. How rare is it that you find your true love on a cruise ship?

A smile forms on my face as I think about Layla and Cameron. They were destined to reconnect after years apart, despite her family’s disapproval. Unlike my friends Layla and Rae, I come from a small family. We didn’t have the kind of money they did. But they never made me feel like an outcast.

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