Page 1 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Two Months Earlier

Blanket, check.

Basket with beer, seltzers, and snacks, check.

I grabbed us both a sweatshirt for when it got cooler after the sun went down.

The only thing that wasn’t on-site waiting for us was the ring. That, I was keeping on me.

I felt like I was supposed to be more nervous.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t nervous, or maybe anxious was more accurate, but Kayleigh and I had been together for seven years already since our senior year at Calla Bay High.

It was time for us to take the next step at this point. We both knew that we were endgame .

Both of my brothers thought we were still too young, but we were twenty-four years old, for Christ’s sake. I think they forgot that I’d grown up while they’d been living their own lives.

Kayleigh looked beautiful, as usual, when she answered the door of her parents’ house, where she still lived.

She had left her chestnut hair down, landing just above the small of her back in soft waves.

Her cutoff jean shorts showed off her tan legs, her black bathing suit top molded to her chest. A kimono covered her arms but left her midriff on full display.

I had been trying to get her to move in with me for a while now, but her parents wanted her to be married before living together, and Kayleigh didn’t want to fight them on it. Maybe after we were engaged, they would loosen the reins on that.

“Hey.” I leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I wanted to take you to Benson’s steak house for dinner tonight, but I’m not sure this qualifies as a shirt.” I tugged on her bathing suit cover-up, referencing their “no shoes, no shirt, no service” policy.

“Ugh, that’s too fancy. I don’t feel like putting on real clothes today. Let’s just get tacos before we take the canoe out.”

This. This was why we belonged together.

I wrapped my arms around her and dragged her to me.

“Anything you want, baby,” I said before I kissed her again.

She placed her hand on my chest, but instead of wrapping my shirt in her fist, she pushed me back a step, looking behind her through the still-open doorway.

Seven years. I think her parents knew that we made out sometimes. Hell, we had been having sex together since before we were officially an item, not that her parents needed to know that detail. But I didn’t know why she was acting so coy about it now.

We got in my truck and hit up the Mexican food truck for dinner. They had the best Mexican street corn in the area, plus they were pretty stationary in their location, so they had put out some picnic tables for people to sit at so they wouldn’t have to eat on the go.

I kept rubbing my hands up and down my shorts during dinner. When we were done, I grabbed our balled-up foil wraps to take them to the trash and subtly check to make sure I had the ring for the millionth time today.

“What’s up with you today?” Kayleigh asked as we were walking back to the truck.

“Nothing.”

“You’re acting weird.” Her side-eye was making me nervous.

“Not weird,” I said, keeping my tone casual and nonchalant. I opened the passenger door for her, and she hopped into the truck.

“Whatever.” She shrugged, dropping it.

The ride to the boat ramp was quiet, in that kind of comfortable quiet you have when you don’t feel the need to fill the silence. The windows were down in my truck, the sun shining bright, not a cloud in the sky.

Kayleigh helped me get the canoe into the water, and I held it steady so she could get in first. We had this routine down after spending so much time out on the water over our summers together.

She was quieter than usual on the ride over to the cove.

Did she know what my plans were? Did she at least have a suspicion?

The blanket and basket that I’d left here earlier were still sitting exactly where I left them, and I hurried to get everything set up before the sunset.

We sat on the blanket and soaked up the sun while it was still in the sky.

As soon as it started hitting the horizon, I pulled Kayleigh to her feet and led her to the edge of the water, letting the water lap over our toes.

After a few moments, I held her hand and tugged her back to the sand with me. Now was the time.

“Kayleigh,” I started, looking deeply into her eyes. I held her hand to my heart and bent to one knee.

Kayleigh’s eyes rounded, filling with tears.

“I love you so much. You have been my lifeline through good times and bad.” I pulled out the ring and opened the box.

Kayleigh’s head was shaking, and her free hand covered her mouth.

She seemed genuinely surprised. I had thought maybe she had figured out my plan, but her reaction told me otherwise.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my wife?”

Tears streamed down her face.

Good tears, right? Happy tears?

She didn’t seem overly happy.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she said, releasing my hand that was still in hers.

“What do you mean? You don’t want to get married?” My heart beat wildly. We had talked about marriage. Not seriously, but those conversations that threw those expectations out there. She had never mentioned that she didn’t want to get married before.

“No, Reid. I don’t want to get married. I don’t want to do this anymore,” she said, gesturing between us. “Us.”

“Are you… are you breaking up with me?” I couldn’t move. I couldn’t feel anything. Not the sand beneath me. Not the wi nd as it blew around us. Not my heartbeat.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I’ve felt this way for a while now. But I guess it didn’t seem like there was any real reason to break up. Like my feelings changing just weren’t enough of a reason. But they have changed. They’ve been changing for a while.”

“Kayleigh, wait.” I scrambled to my feet. “What happened? Talk to me. Did I do something wrong? We can work this out. We don’t need to get married if that’s what’s freaking you out.”

“It’s over, Reid. I’m sorry.” Turning her back to me, she walked back to the sunset picnic setup, clearing the cans and packing away the blanket. All the while, I stood motionless in the sand.