Page 8 of Wilde Hearts

Stop this, Ensley Wilde. Just. Stop.

I squeezed my eyes shut and erased those memories. When I opened them, I forced a smile. “Doug.”

My voice sounded strained.

“Where are you rushing off to?” he asked with a wide grin.

“Um…Anna’s for breakfast.”

He glanced behind me. “Where were you coming from?”

Panic set in as I tried to think of an excuse as to why I was coming from the direction of the fire station.

“Why all the questions?” I asked with a laugh.

He smiled. “Sorry. I’m really glad to run into you. Literally.”

I cleared my throat and said, “It’s been a while.”

“I thought you might have been avoiding me.”

My brows drew together. “Why would I do that?”

Doug shrugged and changed the subject. “Would you like to join me for breakfast?”

“From the direction you were heading, I’d have thought you’d already finished breakfast.”

He shook his head. “I forgot my wallet.”

“You’re not with the other guys?”

“Nope. I got off shift this morning.”

“This morning,” I echoed. I couldn’t wait to tell my mother her intelligence was wrong. Of course, then she would know I’d made use of the information she’d given me, so I most certainly couldn’t do that.

He nodded. “So…breakfast?” he asked, as he motioned with his hand. “It’ll just take me a minute to run back and grab my wallet from my locker.”

“How about I pay for breakfast, and you can buy next time?”

His brow rose and a small smirk played across his face. “Will there be a next time?”

My heart started to pound in my chest, but not in the way a girl would hope. It was more of a panicked reaction than a sexual one. “I don’t know. I guess that depends on whether you’re still dating the woman from Estes Park.”

His smirk grew into a full-blown grin. He was even more handsome when he smiled. “I’m not dating her any longer. I love River Falls too much to leave, and she loved Estes Park too much to leave there, so we decided friendship was the way to go.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Doug.”

Winking, he replied, “Don’t be sorry.”

I tilted my head and regarded him. It would be so easy to suggest we go to his place, instead. To lose myself in him and forget all the shit going on in my head. But that wasn’t how I wanted to start things over again with Doug. And I did want to start something with him again.

Didn’t I?

“Shall we head to Anna’s, then?” I asked, with a smile I hoped didn’t look forced.

“After you.”

Breakfast was nice. Doug and I got caught up on what had been happening in each other’s worlds. I told him about Emeline and Levi getting married, and how they’d gone to Lake Tahoe with Levi’s son, Rhett, to make it official. Plus, more recently, adopting Katie and Jimmy.