Page 90 of I Can't Help It

“I care about Wy, but it’s different from the way I care about you.” She takes a few steps forward, until she’s right in front of me, and then she gives my shirt a little tug. “I care about you in an I-want-to-kiss-you-all-the-time-and-be-your-girlfriend kind of way.”

Again, her words should reassure me, but they still don’t.

Because she DID care about Wyatt in an I-want-to-kiss-you-all-the-time-and-be-your-girlfriend kind of way. Nothing is going to change that. They dated. They have history. And even if she doesn’t want to get back together with him, there’s still the dilemma of Wyatt wanting to get back together with her.

“Don’t worry about Wyatt,” she muses, trailing kisses along my jawline. “Once you tell him about us, everything will be fine.”

I want to believe her.

I want to let her soft lips distract me.

However, my mind refuses to stay quiet.

“What if everything won’t be fine?”

She pulls back, just enough to look at my face. “What do you mean?”

“What if—” I swallow as I play with the ends of her ponytail. “What if Wyatt isn’t okay with us being together?”

Her eyebrows crease. “I mean, he might think it’s weird at first. But knowing Wyatt, he’ll probably find the whole thing funny.”

Unless he wants you back.

There won’t be anything funny about that.

“Luke? Your phone is buzzing.”

Is it?

Oh yeah, I can hear it now.

I let my hand fall from her hair, so I can get my phone out of my pocket, and then I force myself not to groan when I see that Wyatt is calling me.

“Hey, Wy,” I answer the phone, taking a step back from Ava. “What’s up?”

“Where did you guys go?” he asks with a huff. “Trista went back to the room so she could shower, but the three of us are going for a hayride.”

“Ava wanted to take a cookie break,” I say, hoping I don’t sound breathless, “but I think a hayride could be nice.” Ava nods right away and her eyes light up, causing me to smile. “If they’ve got space for two more, we’ll be right over there.”

“Well, the next ride starts in like ten minutes, so Carter and I are going to bob for apples really quick since the booth is close by. See you guys in a few! Byeeeeee!”

He ends the call after that, and I pocket my phone before looking at Ava. “He and Carter are going to bob for apples first, but he said the booth is close to where the hayride starts.”

“Okay,” she says, wrapping her arm around mine. “And, Luke?”

Warmth settles in my chest from having her close to me again. “Yeah?”

“If it makes things easier, I can talk to Wyatt about us.” She rests her head against me. “I don’t mind.”

But I do.

I do mind.

He’s my best friend, so I need to be the one who talks to him. Even if I’m worried about how he’s going to react…

“It’s fine,” I assure her with a quick forehead kiss, “I’ll talk to him.”

BOY TROUBLE

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