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“What am I assuming?” I ask.

“That raising alpacas would be fun.”

“Ha.”

“You don’t deserve to be alone. No one does.” Wyatt’s eyes meet mine over the rim of the cup as he sips the cider. “You’re too smart to let this shit knock you around. Trust yourself, Sal. Sounds to me like you know what you want. You know you deserve better. You just gotta have the balls to ask for better.”

“As luck would have it,” I say with a scoff, “I don’t have any balls.”

“You did just ask me out.”

“And you turned me down!”

His eyes go wide as he swallows. “I said yes. Twice. Three times. More than that.”

“But that was before you knew what I was asking for.”

Wyatt lets out a breath through his nose, those blue eyes raking over my face. “Do I love the idea of fake dating you, or whatever you’re calling it? No. But I get where you’re coming from, and I want you to get what you need so you can feel better. And once you feel better, I know you’ll absolutely crush it at your new job.”

I blink, heart skipping a beat.

Could this actually happen?

What if it worked?

“You really don’t have to.”

“I know. But I will. For you.”

The sincerity in his words—in his eyes—has me feeling short of breath.

Wyatt pretends to be happy-go-lucky all the time. And while I do think he genuinely likes to have fun and make people laugh, I know Wyatt swims in deeper waters than he lets on. He’s been through some shit. I saw firsthand how losing his parents at eighteen affected him.

Deep down, he’s still the hurt kid who sobbed in my arms not far from this very spot.

Deep down, hecares. A lot. But he rarely shows that side of himself.

He’s showing it to me now, and it’s all I can do not to reach across the ATV and kiss the shit out of him.

“So it’s a fake date.” I tuck my hair behind my ear.

Wyatt looks out the windshield. The breeze blows a stray lock of dark blond hair off his creased forehead. “It’s a fake date.”

“The potluck starts at seven, I think. I can pick you up at six?—”

“Nah, Sunshine. That ain’t how this is gonna work.” The playful, cocky gleam in his eye is back. “You date me, you don’t drive. You definitely don’t make the plans. I’ll buy some tickets. Then I’ll come grab you, and we’ll have some of that fun you been missin’. Sounds like we have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

If only he meant that literally.

I’m just buzzed enough to smile and say, “I like the sound of that.”

“I’mma show you how fun is done. How it should be done.” He reaches over to put the cap back on the thermos and flashes me a handsome smile. “Hell, you’d better hope I don’t ruin you for everybody else, Sal, because I’m real good at this shit.”

That’s exactly what I’m worried about.

CHAPTER 7

Wyatt