Page 82 of Billionaire Unreachable: Wyatt

Wyatt

“I’m glad that shitty op is over,” Cooper said as he wolfed down his breakfast.

It was mid-morning, and Tori, Cooper, Chase, and I were having a late breakfast at a family diner before we went home to hit our beds for a while.

Cooper was right. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong on this particular mission, but my former teammates had pulled it off anyway.

It had been fraught with issues from the start, which is why I’d been more concerned than usual from the moment Marshall had notified us that the mission was going down soon.

As usual, none of the Michigan team had hesitated because of the difficulty of the op, butI’dbeen sweating the outcome.

“Did Shelby leave for Montana?” Tori asked as she reached for a glass of water.

I nodded, my heart heavy as hell. “I assume so. Her planned departure time was early. She said she’d get to the airport on her own. She woke up as I was leaving the house.”

“Is she cool with your involvement in Last Hope?” Chase asked.

“She doesn’t know about it yet,” I confessed. “I have to tell her. I can’t keep leaving at weird hours without her knowing where I’m going or what I’m doing. We went for weeks without a mission. And then this one suddenly popped up.”

“That’s usually the way it happens,” Cooper said drily. “How in the hell did you explain where you were going in the middle of the night if you haven’t told her yet.”

I shrugged. “I didn’t. I told her to trust me and that I’d explain when I saw her again. She was worried that something was wrong with my family or our friends, so I did tell her that it was nothing like that. I told her it wasn’t work-related, either. I didn’t want her to worry.”

Tori’s jaw dropped as she looked at me. “And she had no problem with that?”

“She asked me to tell her that I wasn’t going to see another woman?” I said in a graveled voice.

“And?” Chase prompted.

“And I told her if she needed me to tell her that, then she didn’t trust me,” I grumbled. “Shelby and I have been tight. She’s the only woman in my life. Why in the hell would she need me to tell her that?”

Tori dropped her utensils onto her empty plate with more force than necessary. “Oh, for God’s sake, Wyatt. You really are a knucklehead sometimes. Of course that was her logical conclusion. Where in the hell else would you be going at three in the morning if it’s not work, family, or friend related? You should have told her before this even came up. She probably does trust you, but that’s way too big of a stretch, and trust is built over time. Shelby has been cheated on in both of her prior relationships. Obviously, her mind is going to go there when you pull an idiot stunt like that. If Cooper did something like that, I’d be pissed and wonder what he was doing that he couldn’t tell me about. Put yourself in her place. How would you feel if she did that to you?”

My little sister was furious, and if looks could kill, I’d probably be dead on the floor of this diner right now.

I looked at Cooper and Chase for support, but they both shrugged.

“I gotta agree, man,” Cooper commented. “I’d never do that to Tori.”

“Vanna would never stand for it,” Chase seconded.

“Do you have any idea how much you probably hurt her,” Tori said tersely. “At the very least, you could have assured her that there wasn’t another woman in your life. This relationship is fairly new, and Shelby was completely destroyed by an idiot she trusted enough to marry.”

“It was a knee-jerk reaction to her not trusting me,” I admitted. “Fuck! I’m crazy about her. I’ve never felt this way about a woman before. Give me a damn break.”

“Unless you’re willing to give this relationship up, I suggest you tell her the truth as soon as possible,” Tori advised with a sigh. “Shelby has grown a lot since I’ve known her, and I think you’re responsible for some of those changes, Wyatt. She talks more openly. She trusts easier. She’s a lot more open with her emotions. You gave her a guy she can trust. Don’t mess that up because your pride is wounded. You’ve changed, too, because she’s a woman you can trust. Shelby is someone who doesn’t give a crap about your money or the Durand name. She cares about you.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” I rasped. “I made a mistake. I’ll fix it.”

Truthfully, I’d known my crappy comment wasn’t the way to handle the situation almost as soon as I’d left the house in the middle of the night.

I’d been torturing myself about the fact that I might have hurt Shelby since I’d arrived at Last Hope headquarters for the op.

Everything Tori had said made sense.

It probably was the logical place for Shelby to go when she had no idea what was happening.

But fucking hell, it made me crazy that she’d ever think I’d do anything to hurt her.

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