Page 10 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

“Not at all,” Maeve said. Her dark hair was tied up in a messy bun, and she wore a maxi dress with a jean jacket over it.

She seemed really friendly, which helped ease some of my nerves.

I wasn’t expecting a whole family affair when Reid asked me, or rather told me, to come to the town celebration.

“Did you see the cider booth when we came in?” she asked her boyfriend.

“Yeah, I’ll go grab you one, doll.”

The other brother, Luke, turned to his wife. “Jules, do you want me to grab you one too?”

“No.” She didn’t look up from her phone when he spoke.

One of the other guys, I think it was Seb, kicked Reid’s foot and shot him a glance, his eyes moving between Reid and me.

“What?” Reid asked. “Oh… Claire, you want some cider?”

I laughed at his complete lack of subtlety. “Well, yes, actually.” I turned to Wyatt. “Do you mind if I tag along with you?”

“Not at all. Follow me,” Wyatt said. He turned to look back at Reid with a mischievous grin on his face, to which Reid responded by rolling his eyes.

Wyatt brought me over to the booth selling homemade apple cider, along with apple turnovers, apple muffins, apple bread, and candied apples.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Wyatt said while we waited in the line.

“Me?”

A smirk tugged on his lips. “Yeah, you.”

“Oh, um, I come from a political family in Connecticut. I’m an only child. And I have a degree in history with a concentration in design and art.”

His brow quirked up, like my rattled-off facts weren’t what he was looking for. “So, you got a boyfriend waiting for you back home or what?”

My eyes widened, and I snapped my gaze to him. “Don’t you have a wife and child right over there?” I said, pointing back the way we came.

“Not my wife yet. But that’s not what I was getting at. Just making conversation,” he said.

Silence lingered for a beat before I answered him. “No. No boyfriend back home.”

Wyatt nodded his head but otherwise let the subject drop.

When it was our turn to order, he bought eight hot ciders, one for each of us, including Juliet.

“If she doesn’t want it, tough shit. I’m not getting one for everyone else and not her,” he said as he lifted the lid off one of the cups and blew on it, cooling it down.

We made our way back to the group, making small talk along the way.

I smiled to myself when Wyatt handed Maeve the slightly cooler cup of cider.

I handed out cups to mountain man Wes and Reid.

Wyatt had already passed his cups out to Maeve, Luke, and Seb.

I tried to give the last cup to Juliet, but she looked at it with disgust.

“No, thank you.” I think she was trying to smile, but it was coming across as a grimace. “I did say I didn’t want one.”

Luke sighed. “Jules, she’s just trying to be nice. Take the cup.” They were both looking at each other with a hard stare.

“No worries. I’ll just double-fist it,” I said with a laugh.

Reid took the cup and passed it to Wyatt, a full conversation happening between their eyes.

We walked around the center of town, exploring the booths and supporting local businesses. Reid and I had broken off from the group at some point and were wandering on our own.

A display of twinkling lights flashed in time with Christmas songs. “This town is so beautiful. And lit up like this, it feels magical,” I told him.

Reid looked around, seemingly taking it in. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“Seriously, I would have loved growing up here.” Just as I said that, a group of preteens walked by, girls and boys together, giggling at something they found amusing. I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie.

Reid pulled off at a booth selling glass crafts, immediately going to the snow globe display.

“I didn’t take you for a snow globe lover,” I teased.

“It’s for my mom. One of us gets her a snow globe every year, and this year is my turn,” he said.

“That’s so cute.”

Reid scratched at his jaw and shrugged.

“You and your family are really close, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Yeah, I guess. I have a sister in New York who likes to pretend she’s in LA based on how often she makes it home, but other than that, we’re all here in town.”

“It seems like it’s more than that. Just because you’re close in proximity doesn’t necessarily mean you’d have such close-knit relationships.”

“True. My brothers are a pain in my ass sometimes, but I love them.”

Reid picked up and put down at least four different snow globes while we chatted. He seemed intent on finding just the right one.

“What’s your mom like? Maybe I can help you decide,” I said.

Reid’s gaze met mine, his deep brown eyes searching my face with a level of intensity that I didn’t understand. He turned back to the display before speaking again.

“She was great. She loved to make people laugh and was always willing to get in the dirt and play with us. She would sing while she made dinner. And I don’t mean softly to herself. I mean full-on concert-level productions as she spun around the kitchen.”

Reid’s smile grew wider and wider as he spoke, his eyes alight with what I could only imagine were memories based on the past tense.

I reached out and placed my hand on his arm. “Reid, I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, the light in his eyes dimming before he went back to looking at the snow globes in front of him.

“It was a long time ago. But every year, we get her a snow globe for Christmas. I have no idea what my father does with them all,” he laughed, “but he never stops us from getting more of them. ”

“What about this one?” I asked. The medium-sized globe had a beautiful wooden base with just a touch of gold accents.

Inside was a copse of three fir trees with a dusting of snow, and on one of the trees, a dove was perched.

I gently tipped the globe upside down and then right side up.

Mini snowflakes drifted down slowly, like they were floating in air, suspended in time for just a moment.

“It’s perfect, Claire. Thank you,” he said.

“Are you sure? It’s just an option. There are so many to choose from.” I was suddenly concerned that I was overstepping. This was a sentimental moment for him. One that his brothers could participate in, but who was I to insert myself in this decision?

“I love it. Seriously.” He looked at me so earnestly. I nodded and passed him the snow globe to purchase it.

We walked further, circling the Christmas market.

“Ooh, can we stop at this one?” I asked, approaching a cute little ornament booth.

It wasn’t the first ornament booth we’d passed—not by a long shot—but rather than glass or wooden or ceramic ornaments, these were all made from colored sea glass.

The blue and turquoise colors didn’t lend themselves to a Christmassy feel, but I was immediately drawn to them.

Each ornament was so unique and original. I let my fingers glide against each one, amazed at the power of water. Something that seemed so weak and malleable was actually the strongest force of nature on the planet.

One particular ornament caught my eye. It was a collection of smoothed greenish-blue stones set atop one another, smallest to largest, creating a Christmas-tree-esque image. A small star made from stone sat at the top.

“You like that one?” Reid asked, his breath tickling the back of my neck. I didn’t realize how close he was standing. If I leaned back just a little, I would press against his chest.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah.” My voice came out breathy.

Reid leaned over and plucked it from my hands.

“Hey,” I chided playfully.

“I’m just looking at it,” he said, turning the ornament around in his hands. I turned back to the display, admiring all the creativity that went into making these. I felt the moment he walked away, the air at my back suddenly making me chilly.

All of the ornaments were beautifully created, but the Christmas tree one was definitely my favorite.

It was a little pricy when I had looked at the tag, but I had a little extra since I wasn’t paying for rent.

A lot of my money went to eating out since I didn’t have a kitchen at the motel, and my food stipend didn’t go too far, but still, I could afford a little treat.

I turned around to look for Reid so I could get the ornament back and pay for it.

He was standing by the table, leaning back with a bag in his hand.

The woman behind the table bounced her gaze between me and Reid, but Reid was only looking at me.

I found that I didn’t really mind his gaze on me, not when he was looking like that.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the bag.

“It’s an ornament.”

“No. You didn’t have to get that for me. I was going to buy it myself.”

“Who said it was for you?” Reid smirked.

“Reid,” I chided, my arms crossed over my chest.

“What?” He feigned ignorance before he sent me a disarming smile. “It’s just an ornament, Claire. I’m trying to be nice. Just let me.”

He passed me the small white paper bag, a tissue-paper- wrapped bundle tucked inside, as we made our way back into the throng of people meandering through the town center.

“Thank you, but you didn’t have to. You’ve been weirdly nice all evening.”

“Weirdly nice?” he laughed. “Yeah, I guess that tracks. I told you before, I’m not always a grumpy asshole.”

“Of course not. Just usually when I’m around.”

I bumped my shoulder into him, making absolutely zero impact on him. He chuckled softly and threw his arm over my shoulder. “My favorite unwanted partner in crime.”

My head tipped back as I laughed. “Hey, I’ll take it. That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

At 7:00 p.m., a church bell sounded, and everyone started to make their way over to the large Christmas tree that was displayed on the town green.

“Don’t go that way. You’ll get swallowed up by the crowd,” Reid said. He took my hand and led me around the back. As we were coming around the corner, Wyatt, Maeve—with baby Jane—and Wes were also making their way over.