Page 17 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Reid

I put my truck in park and looked around. This was a bad idea.

The sun was bright overhead, my sunglasses shielding my eyes.

Not that I could see much of anything. The large iron gate stopped me from going any further.

Past that gate, the winding driveway curved away, leaving only a privacy fence of manicured arborvitaes.

I had the strongest desire to turn around and drive the four-plus hours right back home.

But I just couldn’t make myself do it. Something was telling me that I needed to be here. For her.

The intercom crackled when I called to the attendant, introducing myself as a guest of Claire’s. A buzz sounded, and the gate opened. They must have had cameras positioned at the gate. I wondered what they thought of Claire’s friend in the dirty work truck showing up out of the blue.

I followed the stone paver path up to the house like it was the yellow-brick road.

Holy shit.

House was a severe understatement. This place was a mansion.

We had some fancy houses in Calla Bay. Being a coastal town, it tended to bring in some wealthy folks who wanted the water view, but there was nothing in Calla Bay that looked like this.

Sprawling lawns surrounded a stately white-and-gray estate.

A fountain was positioned in the middle of the driveway, creating a circle around it for the cars. A fucking fountain.

No other cars were parked in the front of the house, but that didn’t feel like it was my problem.

Before I made it to the front door, it was opened by a man in a suit jacket.

My first thought was that this was Senator DeLuca.

I probably should have found a picture of him when I was googling to get this address.

“Mr. Wilder, welcome. Ms. DeLuca is finishing up in the dining room presently. I’ll let her know you’ve arrived.”

The fuck was this? Was he, like, a butler?

“Thanks, man.” I stepped past him into the spacious foyer. A set of curved stairs wound their way to the second floor. To the right was an office or maybe a small library. To the left was a large parlor with what looked like a dining room on the other side of it.

As it turned out, the butler didn’t need to let Claire know I was here.

She walked out of the dining room, looking over her shoulder as she talked to whoever was in the room with her.

When she faced forward, her steps faltered, her jaw hanging open.

She looked me over, taking me in from head to toe.

When I got dressed this morning, I hadn’t realized that my drive would take me here. It was more impulsive than something I had planned. Hence the work jeans and hoodie. I wasn’t sure if this house had seen someone of the likes of me since it was being built .

“Reid.” She said my name like she was in awe. My blood started pumping, specifically to a certain region of my body. She needed to stop looking at me like that. “What are you doing here?”

I stood stock-still as she came toward me.

That was a good question. What was I doing here?

Sure, last night, she’d made it sound like being without a date was causing some issues with her ex, and that text she sent was basically an invite.

Right? I’d had four hours on the way over here to change my mind.

Hell, I could have turned my truck around at the gate.

There were so many opportunities for me to not be standing here, in her parents’ glamorous mansion, staring at a woman I’d barely tolerated just a few short weeks ago.

I pushed my hand through my hair and sucked in a lungful of air.

“You said you needed a date. So here I am.” I was conscious of the fact that we weren’t alone.

The butler guy was still in the foyer, watching us.

I could see someone in the doorway to the dining room in my peripheral vision, but I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from Claire to look up.

Ever since last Friday, when shit went down at the Cove’s End, I had spent a lot of time with Claire.

After I got her set up at Wyatt’s, I picked up some groceries and brought them back to the house for her.

During the week, we worked together on some designs, and even if we weren’t working together, we were working in tandem, always revolving around each other.

After work, I would check in on her, which turned out to be a smart move.

She didn’t sleep well that first night in the house, too quiet and unfamiliar, so on Sunday night, I slept on Wyatt’s couch so she wouldn’t be alone.

Yesterday was the first day I hadn’t seen her in a week. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like not being able to make sure she was okay. And I really didn’t like that her ex was still circling her despite her being very clear that it was over between them.

Claire’s smile lit up her face. “Seriously? You came. You’re here.

” Her hands wrapped around each of my forearms as she stared at me in disbelief.

I understood the feeling—I couldn’t really believe I had woken up this morning and decided to drive four hours out of town to be her date to this wedding extravaganza either.

“Did you happen to bring anything else to wear?”

“Nope,” I smirked. “Are you saying this isn’t what everyone wears to these things?”

“We’ll find something for you.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the stairs. I let her go first since I didn’t know where I was going. Her ass swayed in my face, and I had to resist the urge to reach out and grab her hips. What was up with me?

Her bedroom was large but bare of any personality. I walked around the room, taking stock of what was there—and what was missing. There were no photos of any kind, no books, no girly accessories. Just a bed with a beige bedcover, a dresser, and a mirror.

“You’re not going to find anything juicy on me in here. This isn’t my room, just a guest room.”

“Did they buy this place after you moved out?”

“No, I had a room here at one time. But that was a long time ago. Made more sense to make it into a guest room when I went away to college.”

“Where are you living now? Besides Wyatt’s house.”

Her eyes flicked to mine in the mirror, a panicked look on her face. But it passed quickly, her bright smile back in place in the blink of an eye .

“I’m not actually sure. Will and I broke up while he was on a business trip, so I had a little extra time in the house. After that, I crashed at my friend’s place for a few days until I packed up and went to Calla Bay.”

This woman… I was starting to think I may have pegged her wrong.

She clearly came from money, I was right about that, but that didn’t seem to translate into some idyllic life.

The ex, the boss, the parents, the lack of housing.

She’d toughed it out at the fucking decrepit motel for weeks.

She didn’t have it easy, at least not from what I could tell. I hoped she knew how strong she was.

She handed me a suit jacket out of the closet. My brow rose skeptically. Did she think that was supposed to fit me? Her laughter started small, gradually getting more and more unhinged until she was in a full giggle fit.

“Just try it on. Please?” Her sweet-as-pie smile was clearly designed to manipulate me. It worked. I grabbed the suit jacket from her, laying it on the bed while I took off my hoodie. Claire took it off the hanger and held it out for me to put my arms into it, dressing me.

The shoulders were too tight, and buttoning it, that was a joke. But I was able to get it on, stretching it across my back.

“Who’s is this?” I tried to roll my shoulders, but I felt like I was going to tear the thing open.

“My father’s. He’s tall like you, so I figured it would at least be the right length.” She shrugged, a smile still playing across her lips. She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, biting on it. Fuck. I was staring. I blinked hard, trying to clear my head.

She told me to stay where I was while she went in search of a pair of dress pants and a button-down shirt. I sat on her bed while I waited for her. It was comfortable, that was for sure. When Claire came back a few minutes later, she found me lying face down, directly down the center of the bed.

“Are you sure you don’t mind coming with me? You look exhausted.”

“Claire,” I mumbled into the pillow, then rolled my head to the side so I could speak more clearly. “I just drove four hours to get here. Yes, I’m sure.” Reluctantly, I got up from the bed, taking the clothes that she offered me.

“You can stay in here to change. I’m going to use the bathroom. Better lighting for my makeup.” She took a dress bag with her and closed the door to the adjoining room.

I changed into the borrowed suit quickly. Looking in the mirror, all I thought about was how ridiculous I looked. Everything was too small. Hell, you could basically see the outline of my junk it was so damn tight. Claire was going to take one look at me and tell me to just stay here.

My grouchy ass was just getting ready to bitch to her about it when the bathroom door opened. My mouth went dry.

Claire was stunning. Her dark blue dress was the perfect match for her midnight eyes.

The skirt was full but relaxed. A sheer fabric was layered on top of it, small sparkles scattered throughout that made her look like she was twinkling.

But it was the deep V-cut neckline that stole the show.

The curves of her breasts were on display, along with her entire sternum.

“You look breathtaking.” I was vaguely aware that I was staring, but she didn’t seem to mind. A light pink crept onto her cheeks, and when she smiled, her eyes shined.