Page 36 of Say You Want Me
“Don’t be too hard on him, Pres,” Wyatt tries to interject. “He did win a hand or two. Plus, Trent did call us over to move some stuff for Mama. It wasn’t until after we were done that he sucked both of us into a game. You know us Henningtons can’t resist the urge to compete.”
“Yeah, Pres.” Zach agrees. “It was supposed to be in fun.”
She glares at Wyatt and then huffs. “You’ll pay in other ways, Cowboy. Many other ways.”
“I look forward to it.”
“I’m going to be sick,” I say while shaking my head.
Presley looks at me, realizes I’m only being metaphorical, and she laughs. “We better be gettin’ back to our booth before they send out a search party.”
“Have fun!” I say with mock enthusiasm.
Wyatt and I go back to setting up the booth the best we can. I have no idea how Mrs. Kannan typically runs things, so I’m winging it. Of course, Wyatt can’t remember either, so he does whatever I ask. It’s a flawed system, but it’s working for now.
About an hour later, the streets are packed. People come from all over. Everyone is courteous, everyone is nice, and it’s . . . surreal. Definitely nothing like back home.
We move around the tent, selling cupcakes as Wyatt flirts with the women, who then buy more cupcakes. It’s hilarious to watch them fawn over him, and I have to admit that he’s adorable.
“Angie! You’re a lifesaver!” Mrs. Kannan rushes over, clearly not under the weather.
“Mrs. Kannan, you look like you’re well.”
She laughs. “Must’ve been one of those twelve-hour bugs or something. Funny how quick it cleared up with a little bit of rest. You really saved the day, dear.”
I shake my head with a smile. “I’m happy to help.”
“Why don’t you let me take over? I’m sure you’re just exhausted. I remember all too well when I was pregnant. I could sleep for days!”
“I don’t mind.” I really don’t. It’s been really fun. I’ve met pretty much every member of Bell Buckle and the surrounding towns. They all talk about how excited they are to meet me and throw in a good word for Wyatt.
“I insist.” She pushes both mine and Wyatt’s backs. “Go on now. You know, Wyatt? Your mama was looking for some help at her booth. I think Trent has had enough.”
Wyatt’s eyes bug out. “I doubt she would want me there.”
“You know?” She taps her lip. “I remember now, she told me that you wererequireddown there.”
I laugh. Payback. “Wyatt.” I touch his arm. “You wouldn’t want to not help out your mother when she needs you. It wouldn’t be very Southern of you, would it?”
He runs his tongue across his teeth and makes atsksound. “You think so, huh?”
I shrug. “What would Martha Stewart do?”
“All right, Big City. Let’s go help Mama since you’re in a giving mood.”
We walk through the crowds, and I make him stop every few stands to check out some of the things for sale. There’s one booth off to the right that has horseshoes dangling from the front. They have different plaques with names painted on them, a few sewn projects, but I love the horseshoes more than anything. They’re all engraved with whatever you want on them. I touch the cool metal over the name engraved on the bottom of the display one. “Can we get one?” I ask Wyatt.
He looks perplexed. “Of course, but for what?”
“Well, I was thinking at the bottom it can say: ‘Hennington’. Then on the side here,” I point to the left, “we can put the date of conception, and on the other side, we can have it updated to the baby’s birthday?”
The smile he gives me lights up the sky. After spending the last twenty-four hours with him, I want to do something special. He baked cupcakes, gave me a stellar orgasm, made me coffee, and so many other things in a small bit of time. It may be insignificant to some, but to me, it means everything. No one ever thinks of me like that. I’ve never had a man give up his time or go out of his way just because.
Wyatt does that, though, and he does it without selfish intentions. He gives the parts of himself willingly because he has so much more to offer. He doesn’t have to tuck pieces of his heart away like I do. He just is.
“I think it’s a great idea. We can hang it over the door of the nursery once we get that together” His lips press against my cheek. “I love it.”
“I’m glad it makes you happy.”
