Page 14 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Claire

POP.

The gunshot sounded loudly next to my ear. Was I hit? Was anyone else?

I couldn’t breathe.

I was underwater, and my lungs were filling up with water.

Darkness.

I awoke with a start, sitting upright in bed, gasping for air. This wasn’t my hotel room. It took me a few seconds to figure out where I was.

Reid’s room.

He came and got me yesterday. He took me out of there without a second thought.

I remembered being at his place, but I didn’t know how I got here. I remembered sitting on his couch, talking to him about what happened.

Oh, God. I remembered sobbing into him while he held me tightly, whispering in my ear that I was safe.

He made me believe him. He saw me let down my guard, baring my soul to him, but even then, I had never felt safer than I did in his embrace.

Now, in the light of day, I felt a little foolish for breaking down the way I had.

It wasn’t like I was in any real danger, for the most part.

Sure, there were times when Rusty was swinging the gun around wildly, but it wasn’t specifically directed at me.

Not really. I could only imagine what Reid was thinking about my behavior yesterday.

Rubbing my hand over my heart, I tried to calm my breathing.

Last night, after the most relaxing bath, Reid lent me a pair of his boxers and an oversized shirt to sleep in.

I expected to be up all night, replaying and reliving the moment that he pulled the gun out and started threatening the bartender.

I had been sitting right next to him. Anything could have happened… but it didn’t. I was safe.

As it was, I passed out as soon as I lay down, the drama and chaos of the night’s events catching up with me.

I scrubbed my hands up and down my face.

Although the bath managed to ease some of it, my body still felt tight from all the tension it held.

Stretching out my stiff limbs and getting blood flowing through my body was my first priority.

I spent some time working through a yoga routine, centering myself and clearing my head of all the negativity from yesterday.

My emotions were valid. The fear and anxiety I felt didn’t just go away with a bath and a good night’s sleep, but I wouldn’t allow myself to dwell on it.

What happened yesterday was in the past. I was safe now, thanks to Reid.

The house was mostly dark as I left Reid’s bedroom. Sunrise was still twenty minutes away. The hardwood floors were stained a dark mahogany, and the walls were painted a deep green. It was masculine but warm. It was perfect for Reid .

I found him on the couch, a worn blanket covering him while he slept, his large body folded up on the too-small space.

As quietly as I could, I made my way into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

It was chilly now that it was nearly December, but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to savor a hot cup of coffee while watching the sunrise, the fresh, crisp air filling my lungs.

“What are you doing up so early? You should be resting.” I jumped at the sound of Reid’s voice. Spinning around to face him, I pulled my lips into a fake smile.

“Good morning,” I sang. “All rested up. I just made coffee. I hope you don’t mind. Can I pour you a cup?”

His brows knitted together. “I got it,” he said as he leaned into me, reaching over my shoulder to open the cabinet where I found his mugs. “How are you feeling?”

His eyes searched mine before roaming my face, then doing a quick sweep up and down my body. For a moment, I thought I saw something flash across his face, but it was gone in an instant.

“I’m fine, but thank you. And thank you for yesterday. And last night. And giving me your bed. Just thank you, Reid.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” He was looking at me differently. I could see it on his face. Pity, or maybe concern. Never let them see your weakness , my father had drilled into my head for as long as I could remember.

“Well, I’m going to sit out front and watch the sunrise with my coffee,” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could.

I felt off-balance, and I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was causing it.

Was it just the stress of last night? Sleeping in an unfamiliar bed?

Being around a nice, thoughtful, and compassionate Reid, with his bed-head hair and sleepy eyes ?

Reid followed me to the door to unlock it for me before turning around to head back to the living room.

As soon as I stepped outside, I realized my mistake.

Reid kept his house so cozy I completely misjudged just how chilly autumn mornings were.

Reid didn’t have a front porch or anything, just a few steps onto a landing.

I sat on the top step, placing my mug on the side of me so I could wrap my arms around myself for warmth.

A heavy weight landed on my shoulders.

“Watch your cup.”

I quickly picked it up and moved it to the step below, next to my feet, as Reid sat down next to me. He had grabbed himself a Wilder Construction sweatshirt and a blanket for me. It was still warm with his body heat from sleeping with it on the couch.

“This blanket is heaven,” I said, curling into it.

“My mom gave it to me when I was a kid.”

“That explains the teddy bear motif.” I smiled. It was a super cute blanket… for a child. It wasn’t something that I would have expected to see out on display in his very neat, very masculine home.

“After she died, I slept with that blanket every night. I would wrap it around myself and shuffle over to my sister Lydia’s room to sneak into bed with her.

Lydia would help me make my cocoon even tighter, so tight I could barely move a muscle, and let me sleep in her bed.

” He scratched at his light scruff that had grown in since yesterday.

His eyes held a faraway look, lost in memories, and a small smile played at his lips.

“I think at first, she was doing it because she was sad too, but I may have let it go on a little too long because at some point, I’m pretty sure she went from trying to comfort me to trying to smother me in this thing,” he laughed, tugging on the blanket that was draped around me.

“I’m sorry about your sister potentially trying to murder you, but this is still a great blanket,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little.

I placed my hand on his leg. It was only supposed to be a quick pat, but my brain must have short-circuited within the last twelve hours because I squeezed his thigh instead.

His thick muscle flexed under my fingers, and a rush of heat filled me. I wanted to rub my hand up and down his leg, feel his muscles tense and relax from my touch.

What a wildly inappropriate thought!

I pulled my hand away instead.

“The tree lighting was a lot of fun. This town is so pretty.” If Reid thought the change of topic was odd, he didn’t show it.

I beamed a genuine smile at him, and he gave me a small smile back.

“Your family is great. Jane is just the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen.

Wes was a little… um… intimidating at first glance, and he seems a lot quieter than the rest of the group.

And Seb…” I trailed off. Seb was hilarious.

That man loved chasing women, that much was clear.

He was remarkably handsome, and his tattoos would definitely be a turn-on for many women.

He was single, obviously by choice, and he had made his interest known.

But he was interested in just about every woman, so I didn’t take it too seriously.

“Stay away from him,” Reid growled. His eyes were dark, his jaw tense and hard.

I had no intention of chasing after Sebastian Devereux or anyone else, for that matter.

And if I did, I wanted someone who would make my heart go pitter-pat, and Seb was not that person.

Although only one person I’d met here had that effect on me, and he was too young for me, grumpy ninety percent of the time, and apparently judgmental about who his friends dated.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to save your friend from my clutches.” My voice was playful and upbeat, disguising the pang in my chest.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Reid got up and walked down the remaining steps, then turned to face me.

He tugged the blanket from my hands, taking one side and wrapping it close to my front, tucking it into my side.

He took the other side of the blanket and wrapped it all the way around me, securing the corner of it under my collarbone.

“Seb’s only out for a good time. He leaves a string of broken hearts behind him without a second thought. He’s not good enough for you. Not by a long shot.”

I sat there, on Reid’s front stoop, cocooned in his childhood blanket, replaying his words on a loop, well after he went back inside.

Why? Why did it have to be the twenty-four-year-old, mostly grumpy but sometimes sweet guy who made my heart beat too fast, made my insides feel warm and tingly?

I finished my coffee and stood, folding the blanket before heading inside. Reid was seated at the dining table, poring over a set of plans or blueprints that were spread out in front of him.

“Hey, would you mind if I took a quick shower before I head back to the motel?” I asked, setting the blanket on a chair before heading to the sink to rinse out my mug. If I could get one more decent shower in before I had to head back to the motel, I wanted to .

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

I glanced back in surprise. Reid hadn’t even looked up from what he was working on, but his jaw was tense.

“Okay. No problem. I guess I’ll call an Uber, then.”

This time, Reid did look up. His gaze was hard, a simmering of anger barely hidden beneath the surface. “You’re not going back there.”

“Um, I kind of have to,” I chuckled. “All my things are there. I basically live there.”

“Don’t worry about your stuff. I’ll get them. Just give me the key to your room.” He was back to working on his drawings, making notes in pencil in the margins.

“And go where?” I was blatantly laughing now.

It wasn’t like I could move in here. Reid had slept on the couch last night in order to give me his bed.

It was very chivalrous, but there was no way that could be the arrangement for an extended period.

And as much as I really didn’t want to go back to the motel now, even more than ever, I wasn’t going to sign up for sleeping on his couch either.

Reid just ignored me and continued to make some notes on his paper. He picked up his phone and called someone, the phone ringing loudly on speaker.

“What’s up, brother? How’d things go yesterday? You never returned my messages.” I recognized the voice on the phone—pretty sure it was one of Reid’s brothers.

“It was a shitshow, and if you see Rusty Burgess in town, I hope you break his fucking face. But that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Noted. And what do you need?”

It was so odd how easy it was for them to ask something of someone.

Growing up, I had seen plenty of people asking for things, but it was always “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours,” never a simple “what can I do for you?” Seeing them interact yesterday was like a culture shock.

They were a family, but more than that, they were friends.

I started walking down the hall toward Reid’s bedroom, where the master bath was. Reid was having a private conversation with his brother, and I didn’t want to intrude.

“Are you officially living with Maeve now?” I heard Reid ask.

“Not officially, I guess, but unofficially, yes. Why?”

“I need your house.” My head swiveled to the side, and I backed up so I could hear them better.

“Yeah, man. Anytime you need a place to crash, you can stay there, but what’s up with your place?”

“It isn’t for me.” My heart was beating faster.

“Reid,” I whisper-hissed. My hand waved back and forth in a slashing motion across my neck. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where this conversation was going. Again, Reid ignored me.

“It’s for Claire. She needs a place to stay, and it isn’t going to be that abomination.”

“I’ll head over there and clean some stuff out now. I can drop the keys off in a few hours on my way into the garage.”

I called his name again, louder this time. He was an expert at pretending he couldn’t hear me.

They finished the rest of the conversation quickly and ended the call. Reid picked up his pencil and turned to a new drawing in his pack of blueprints.

“Take a shower, Claire. It’s all set.”

“I can’t live in Wyatt’s house, Reid. I can’t afford that. I couldn’t even afford to find a better place than the Cove’s End, and you think I can rent a fully furnished home?”

“Who said anything about rent?”

I sucked in a breath. Was he serious?

“Reid,” I said calmly and slowly. “Please call your brother back and ask him how much it is to rent it from him.”

“Claire,” he mocked my tone back at me, standing from the couch and making his way over to me.

We stood toe-to-toe in the hallway, his chest almost touching mine.

I lifted my chin higher so that I could look him in the eye.

My pulse was racing, and I wasn’t sure if it was because I was angry that he would be so presumptuous as to change my living arrangement without my input or because he was standing so close and smelled so good.

“I don’t care if it costs five hundred dollars a month, five thousand dollars, or nothing at all.

You are not stepping a foot on their soil again.

I will cover every cost.” His hand held my chin, his fingers wrapping around my skull.

Either the room was spinning, or I was because when his eyes darted to my lips, I was dizzy.

“I will sleep on this fucking couch every night if I have to in order to keep you away from there. But why should I have to break my back when you could have a perfectly good bed of your own, in your own place.” He stepped back, his hand falling away from me.

Air left my lungs in a rush. “Go take a shower. We have a few hours to rest.”

I padded down the hall, doing as he told me. I didn’t feel dizzy anymore, but I was feeling something else, a tingling in my center.