“And do you?” Elias prompted.
I sank into a chair. “Dammit, yes, I do. But she’s busy. She has a kid going off to college and is trying to make money with this nightstand project. I’m not sure she needs one more thing in her life.”
“She’s building sex toy storage, man, surely you can think of something you could add to her life,” Jace said as he started setting food out on the table.
“I’m more than just a sex object,” I deadpanned. Even though the idea of sex with Vera had me more than a little excited.
Layne stood up and crossed the room. “Look, Sloane and Jace didn’t get together until twenty years after they started crushing on each other because they assumed I would be upset if my brother dated my best friend. Elias held off asking me out because he thought I had too much going on trying to get rid of my ex.”
“What’s your point?”
She flicked me in the center of my forehead.
“Ow.”
“My point is don’t assume you know what’s good for her. She is a grown woman and has a teenage kid. She can decide what is and isn’t right for her. Just talk to her for crying out loud.”
“Communication? That’s your advice? Have you met me? All I do is talk.”
“No, you joke, and don’t get me wrong, we all love laughing at you — er, with you — but it has to be deeper than that if it’s the real deal.”
I thought about this. “Well, we talked about our jobs in construction, her ex, her kid, her worries for the future. We talked about how I was raised by a single mom, and she is a single mom.”
Layne clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Wyatt, did you have an adult conversation?”
I thought back over lunch with Vera. “I mean, we laughed a lot, but—”
“Oh my god, Wyatt’s in love,” Zane said.
“Am not.” I crossed my arms over my chest, deflecting what he’d said.
“Alright, you hooligans, grab a plate,” Jace said. “You can torture Wyatt while we eat.”
“Gee, thanks, Bossman,” I mumbled.
“Always happy to help,” he said with a wink before putting a baked potato on his plate.
The conversation mercifully moved off me eventually, not that I didn’t deserve the razzing; I gave way more than I took. But what they said stuck with me. They were right. I was the jokester, but Vera and I had touched on topics I usually kept to myself. There was something more to what I was feeling for this girl, and maybe I needed to man up and tell her that.
Chapter Eleven
Vera
Wyatt: How is the assembly coming?
I smiled at my phone like a weirdo and sent him a picture.
Wyatt: It looks fantastic. I’m working at the Wild Timber Homes booth at the trade show. I’ll come by your table and check it out.
Vera: See you then!
My stomach did a strange little flip when I set my phone down. It had been a long time since a man texting me made me smile like that. And me replying with an exclamation point? Ugh, I had it bad.
The week flew by. And every spare moment after work was spent sanding, planning, pricing, or second-guessing myself.
The morning of the show was a sunny Saturday. Two Rivers Tree Falling was doing a job in Wildrose Bend, so the owner, Brody, had picked up Benji before six for a shift. I had everything organized; all I had to do was load up the SUV and drive to the community center to set up.
The low murmur of voices met me as I stepped through the doors at the community center. Tables were set up everywhere, and people rushed from one to the next with boxes and banners.
