“I will definitely be feeling you up,” he promises.
Our food arrives, and I take a sobering breath. Wilder and I have a complicated history. One twined with Cash and the scandalous Allreds.
But even when it's messy, I'm grateful we can still find moments like these.
“If there's ever anything bothering you,” I say to Wilder, “you know you can tell me, right?”
He scratches the back of his neck, his eyes shifting to his lap. “I know.”
“Good.” I smile. “I don't want you to feel like you have to hide things from me. Even if it's me who's putting pressure on you.”
Wilder swallows hard. “It's not you.”
My mouth parts and I want to ask more. I want to ask what he means it's not me. Is there someone else?
“These ribs are good,” he says as he licks the sauce off his thumb.
I take a sip of my water, my appetite suddenly gone.
It's not you.
Then who? Cash? Elowyn? Another girl?
Just when I thought I could relax, he drops three little words into my lap that make me want to crawl out of my skin.
“I love you.” I force a smile.
“I love you, too.” Wilder winks at me.
But Cash loved me. And look how that turned out.
Chapter Eleven
The Cash Exposure
Wilder
“Wait,” I say to Ingrid as she reaches for the motel room door.
Her lips are still swollen and red from our make-out session down the street, and her brown eyes are sparkling beneath the overhead light.
She smiles up at me. “What?”
I slide my fingers through her blond hair, gently tilting her face. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she immediately replies. And the fact that she doesn't even have to think about her response makes my heart beat faster.
My lips find hers and I kiss her slowly, tasting the cherry lip balm she applied a few minutes ago.
She presses her body against mine and I exhale. I've never been more afraid to lose someone.
When Ingrid let Cash pay for the car repair instead of me, I nearly lost it. I guess in a way, I did lose it. I immediately put up walls, preparing myself for the worst. Cash spent four long years with her. They have history, and though Ingrid would never admit it, there's an ease with Cash she doesn't have with me. I'm sure we'll get there with time, but our relationship feels different. I can't save the day with my dad's credit card.
“I wish we could be alone,” she murmurs.
My dick strains against my jeans. “You and me both.”
“What if we...” She chews on the inside of her cheek. “Take a shower?”
