Page 41 of I Choose You
Ronnie was the best. Her dark skin almost blended into the dark wooden planks behind her, but her bright makeup, nails, and jewelry made sure no one could miss her. She decided to go all in on the Christmas theme tonight, from her bright red nails to her Christmas tree earrings to her red and green eye makeup.
“Thanks, Ronnie.” I shot her a quick smile when she placed my beer on the Harpoon’s coaster.
“You bet, kid. It’s just nice to see you smiling again.” I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. I smiled, sometimes.
I turned to Wes, about to strike up a conversation, when Luke came in and clapped me on the shoulder.
“Hey, Reid. Wes,” he greeted. He raised a brow at Wes and seemed to be waiting for a reaction.
Wes stared back at him for a beat. “Luke,” his deep voice rumbled.
My eyes bounced between them. Wes was a privateinvestigator—and a damn good one from what I understood—but he and authority often didn’t see eye to eye. A smirk lifted at the corner of Wes’s mouth. Luke chuckled and shook his head.
“You’re a goddamn menace, Winters,” Luke said with a smile.
Wes shrugged. “Just investigating some insurance fraud. You know damn well it wasn’t harassment.”
“Yeah, and when I told the lady that you were within your rights and hadn’t broken any laws, she nearly threw her purse at me,” Luke grumbled.
Wes rose his brows, the ghost of a smirk tugging at his cheek, just as Wyatt met us at the bar, bringing Jane with him in a front carrier.
“You brought a baby to a bar?” I asked.
“Maeve made plans, and Dad had a date night with Sheila planned. She doesn’t get many evenings off, so I wasn’t about to saddle them with a baby,” he said, stroking the top of Jane’s head. “Thank you, beautiful,” he said to Ronnie. She already had his drink poured before he made it to the bar.
Ronnie pointed her finger at him, “You spill a drop of this on that little girl’s head and I’ll only ever serve you in a sippy cup from now on.”
The guys and I made our way over to a table, a server bringing over a high chair for Jane. Seb joined us a few minutes later. After our food was ordered and delivered, we all started digging in. Wyatt pulled out his wallet and tossed a folded-up printout onto the table. He was already grinning before anyone even knew what it was. Wes furrowed his brow with suspicion, and Luke glanced at Wyatt while I reached for the white paper.
“The fuck is this?” I turned to him, my eyes wide, jaw on the ground. “Are you serious right now?”
He finished chewing and broke into a huge grin, nodding his head.
I passed the paper down, and a flash of pain crossed Luke’s face but was gone in an instant. He threw the black-and-white ultrasound photo back down on the table and turned to Wyatt with a smile. “Seriously?” We all knew that Luke wanted to be a father, wanted to start a family of his own. Juliet had been putting it off for years. Their marriage was under a lot of strain most of the time, and I wondered if maybe not having a baby would end up being a blessing.
Wes had picked up the paper and, eyes wide, passed it to Seb.
“Jesus, man. Congratulations. You and Maeve must be ecstatic,” I said. We both stood, and I wrapped him in a bear hug. My brother was having a baby. He and Maeve already had Jane. They were going through the adoption process with the state to make it official, but to all of us, Wyatt already had a daughter. But now, he’d have two kids about fifteen months apart.
“We just found out. I’m so fucking happy, man. I need that back, by the way.” He grabbed the ultrasound photo from Seb, staring at it for a moment before folding it up and putting it in his wallet.
“Is this good news?” Luke asked. “Your relationship is still relatively new.”
I kicked Luke under the table, and I was pretty sure I heard Wes growl. Wyatt met his eyes with a wide-ass smile, not bothered in the least by Luke’s question.
“Yup. This is the best fucking thing to ever happen, brother.We’re both really fucking happy about this.”
“Well then, congratulations, old man.” Luke grinned. Wyatt accepted hugs and back slaps from all around. The back slap that Wes gave Wyatt looked like it hurt, but that was their love language. We all cheered to Wyatt and Maeve, and Jane becoming a big sister.
I was genuinely thrilled for him. Never, in a million years, would anyone have thought that Wyatt would be the Wilder brother that was madly in love, starting and growing a family of his own. The man was walking on clouds. I was happy for him, but I didn’t envy him in the least. He could keep the lovey-dovey family life. There was a time that was what I thought I wanted too, but now the idea that I could put my heart in someone else’s hands like that was laughable.
He wanted me to fall for Claire, for us to be a thing, but to what end? Claire wasn’t sticking around. This wasn’t her real life. After getting a glimpse into the lifestyle she grew up in, I couldn’t believe she’d lasted as long as she did at the Cove’s End. She was tenacious, I had to give her that, but the idea that she would want to stay here, in my little coastal town with one stoplight and two general stores, was ridiculous. She was made for grand things. She might not want the same life as her parents, but she wasn’t cut from the same cloth as us townies either.
Maybe Wyatt was right though. Maybe, someday in the future, I could find that kind of love again.
Long, toned legs, wild blonde hair, and a stop-your-heart smile filled my mind, because of course they freaking did.
14
