Page 29 of Finding Their Place

“No. It’s fine.” He blew out a huge exhale, and even that sounded shaky. “I found out earlier today that I was adopted.”

The words he’d used to describe his parents flashed back through my mind—how awesome they were, how supportive of his coming out as bi. He’d been lucky in the parent department.

And his identity had been ripped from beneath his feet.

I could hear the agony in his words, the underlying anger, the inability to find emotional footing.

“We’re going to dinner,” I told him, my tone not allowing argument. “We’re going to enjoy a nice meal, a bottle of wine, and you’re going to unload all the emotions you’re feeling right now onto the table so I can shoulder them with you.”

“Goddamnit, Haley. You barely know me…” Wyatt choked on a laugh that still held evidence of tears. “Are you for real?”

I wondered the same about him and suddenly wished Garrett could go along with us because he was better equipped to comfort Wyatt than I was. But my roommate’s story wasn’t mine to tell.

“Meet me at Shadow’s Lounge like we agreed on, and you’ll find that out for yourself.”

Another heavy sigh filled my ear. “I’m not going to be the best of company tonight.”

“How about you let me decide on that, okay?”

“And if I’m nothing but a disappointment?”

Empathy swelled in my heart, creating a sad smile on my face. “Then I’ll cling to your hand and act as your leaning post.”

“You’re like five-foot nothing to my six-plus.”

“Then you’ll get onto your knees so I can hold the rest of you up.”

He snorted a laugh that sounded a hell of a lot lighter than when he’d first called.

I pushed aside the thought he might be lingering on that knees comment and what it might look like in his head.

“We’ve got reservations at six, but I’m ready now if you want to meet earlier,” I offered, thinking he might need that ear sooner than later.

“The stress of this day has made me sweat, the anxiety coming out of my pores. You’ll want me to take the time to shower. Trust me on that.”

“Go pretty yourself up for me then, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Thanks, Haley. Seriously. Less than five minutes of conversation with you and I’m more settled than I have been all day long.”

“Imagine how you’ll feel after sitting across from me for a few hours,” I teased.

“What if I’d rather be beside you, sharing body heat?” His tone suggested he didn’t mean snuggled on a table’s booth, thighs and shoulders pressed tight while we perused the menu.

“You had to go there, didn’t you?”

I could almost hear his shrug and the smirk I’d studied on his profile picture. “Sex is a great way to take your mind off shit.”

He had a point, but Wyatt carried a lot of heaviness in his heart that needed to be eased first.

“Wine and dine,” I told him. “Six—and don’t be late.”

“Oh my fucking God,” I groaned, wide-eyed and staring at the sexy as fuck man who walked into Shadow’s Lounge at the exact minute I’d told him to.

Wyatt knew how to wear a pair of jeans, and the button-down black shirt with its sleeves rolled to show off thick, tattooed forearms had me sitting straighter in the chair I’d been waiting on like a sugar-high toddler.

His dark hair was longer on the top, fading down to the length of the neatly trimmed scruff along his jaw. Those lips…

I licked mine—and his blue-eyed gaze landed on me.

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