Page 22 of Something New

The girls had a star struck look again as they looked up at Wyatt with his rugged good looks, tight jeans and t-shirt, and cowboy boots—the quintessential cowboy. Anna wondered if she’d be picking up any girls from a swoon, but they thanked her quickly and walked away, chattering among themselves.

Wyatt shook his head. “Ready?”

She studied the entrance and took a deep breath, now knowing what Caroline had in mind for her. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Wyatt shot her a puzzled look. “You act like we’re going into battle or something.”

“Or something.”

Anna stepped inside and was immediately confronted by a series of mirrors, all distorting her image in various ways. One mirror gave Anna an exaggerated hourglass figure. Another widened her hips as if she had eaten all the funnel cake in the carnival. A third twisted her facial features almost beyond recognition. Other people were at different places in the hall of mirrors, laughing and joking, poking fun at each other, enjoying themselves, but Anna was silent, staring at her image in mirror after mirror. Wyatt, apparently sensing her mood, was also quiet, hovering just out of reach.

Anna turned back to the mirrors. “Just take a picture, Wyatt. Doesn’t matter which one. They’re all awful.”

“None of them are you.”

“Yeah, I think Caroline is getting a little preachy here this week. Message received.” She turned back to Wyatt. “She’s reminding me that image is surface, and it can be distorted based on your perspective, but who you are remains the same no matter what the image is.”

Wyatt let out a low whistle. “Damn. What else is on that list? A visit to the confessional?”

She grinned. “Just take the picture, and let’s get the hell out of here, okay?”

He held up his phone and snapped a shot. Anna frowned. “You’re supposed to take a picture of the mirror.”

“I’m supposed to take a picture of you in the funhouse mirrors. It doesn’t technically say of the you in the mirrors. Loophole.” He shrugged.

She cocked her head. “I like this new Wyatt, playing fast and loose with the rules.”

He held out his arm. “What’s next?”

Her stomach let out a loud rumble. “Food. Definitely.”

* * *

After eating a calorie-laden meal that Anna knew would require an extra amount of running the next morning, they began working on the next item on the list, along with assessing their budget. They were tight but, with a little management, they’d be okay. Of course, as Wyatt argued, he should manage their money, as Anna was never good at that. She pointed out how she lived on next to nothing in LA before she had her break, but he only had to ask how much her workout clothes cost and she shut up, with several under her breath grumbles.

Wyatt shrugged and guided her to the next ride. She tugged him to a stop, digging in her heels. He tilted his head and looked down at her. “What’s the problem?”

“The merry-go-round? That’s for children.” She gestured to the line of little kids and their parents, waiting for their turn on the musical animals.

He grinned. “I love the merry-go-round. And this one is the best. It’s not only horses but all kinds of animals. There are lions, tigers, hippos. Who couldn’t love a ride like that? Look! There’s even a dragon! Cool!”

“You loved Lord of the Rings, didn’t you?”

He turned back, a puzzled look on his face. “Who didn’t? Why couldn’t you have gotten a role as an elf or something? That would have been awesome!”

She gestured to herself. “Too short, too curvy, too young.”

He considered her for a moment, hand on his jaw. “Yeah, but you could have been a dwarf woman.”

“There were no dwarf women in the movies.” She scowled. “At least make me a shield maiden or something.”

“I knew you loved those movies!” He crowed.

“You made me watch them constantly. I still have nightmares. Besides, you only made me watch them, hoping you’d get lucky when I got scared.”

“But you never did.” He sounded awfully proud.

“Nope, it’ll take more than fake orcs to scare me. God, Caroline must hate me to put me through this torture.”

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