Page 51 of The Reading

“You really suck at this, Kal,” I drawled out.

“No, I don’t,” he argued. “You just don’t like hearing the truth. You’re just too used to living that charmed life, never imagining not getting what you want.”

“The plan was always to come back home, Kaleb. You know that.”

“In all honesty, just be glad that you didn’t come home to a married with children Chanel Ainsley,” he said, making a very good point. “Or worse, a divorced Chanel Ainsley with a miserable prick of an ex-husband that she has to co-parent with for the rest of her life.”

“Okay,” I muttered reluctantly. “You’ve got a point.”

“Get your head out of your ass, count your blessings, and don’t ruin the only shot you’ve got with this girl, Wy.”

“No, you’re right,” I grumbled. “I need to think of this as a championship game; all or nothing.”

“Well, isn’t it?”

“Touché.”

“Glad I could help,” he said, proud of his big brother advice.

“I’ll let you know how it goes,” I said, hoping that I had something good to report back tomorrow.

Chapter 4

Wyatt~

Just like the start of a game, my heart felt like it was going to beat clean out of my chest. However, this time, I was trying to win the most important game of my life. I wasn’t sure if I could call it love just yet, but I’d been thinking about Chanel Ainsley for years. I had fantasized about this woman so many times that I lost count. This night meant everything, and I had to make sure it went perfectly.

I rang the doorbell, then prayed that casual had been a good call. A lot of women expected fancy out of me, considering my finances, but I’d always been a small-town guy with a small-town mentality. In my opinion, suits were for weddings and funerals.

A minute later, the door swung open, and a very beautiful Chanel Ainsley was standing before me. Though I’d made sure to let her know that tonight was casual, she still looked radiant in her white summer dress, matching sandals, and her chocolate tresses thrown up in a bun on the top of her head.

“Hey,” she greeted, smiling up at me.

“Hey,” I greeted back, nervous as fuck. “You look beautiful.”

She glanced down at her dress. “Well, you said casual, but your version of casual might be a little fancier than mine.”

“Not at all,” I assured her. “You look perfect.”

Chanel smiled back up at me. “Do you want to come in for a second? I need to get my purse.”

NO.

I didn’t want to be inside her house. I didn’t want to be so close to her personal space, or her fucking bedroom. I was barely holding on as it was.

“Yeah, no problem,” I lied, following her into her house, feeling like a lamb being led to the slaughter.

Chanel had a cozy cottage-style house, and it couldn’t have more than two bedrooms. It had a lot of personality, and I wondered what our housetogether would look like. My house wasn’t exactly cold, but it definitely lacked a woman’s touch.

“You look really nice,” she said, and I wasn’t dressed fancy at all. I had on a pair of jeans and a blue button-up that matched my eyes. The sleeves were rolled up and I wasn’t even wearing a belt.

“Thanks,” I replied, ready to get the fuck out of her house.

I was standing next to her couch, watching her grab her purse off the kitchen table. Her house had an open-floor plan, so there wasn’t much privacy happening in here.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked as soon as she was back to standing in front of me.

“Sure.”

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