Page 27 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Claire

Reid handed me a blanket to cover my lap because he saw that I was fidgeting in my dress. He must have thought my reaction to his simple gesture was insane, but it brought back memories of a party with Will.

It was a Halloween party with a bunch of people that I didn’t know.

I had wanted to wear a cute giraffe onesie, but Will wanted me to wear a sexy nurse getup to match his doctor costume.

Strange men kept putting their hands on me, touching my waist or grabbing my ass.

I told Will that I wanted to change, that they were making me uncomfortable, but he begged me not to.

It would ruin the couple’s costume. He wanted to show me off, like I was a prize that he had won.

Reid wasn’t covering me up or showing me off. He was simply giving me an option in case it made me more comfortable. Fluttering broke out low in my belly as I took the blanket and laid it across my lap.

The Wilder house was filled with people from all over town. People were milling about with plates of food, laughing and talking with neighbors and friends. It was loud and warm and perfect.

Over the last few hours, I couldn’t count the number of people who greeted and chatted with me. After my third—or maybe fourth—glass of wine, I was starting to overheat. I needed a little air to cool down and clear my head a bit.

“Hey, I’m going to step outside for a minute,” I told Reid.

“Yeah, sure.” Reid started to get up too, but I stopped him. He was part of the reason I needed the fresh air. I didn’t even think he realized he was doing it, but he’d had his arm draped across the back of my chair all night. The feel of his fingers playing with my hair was messing with my head.

“Stay here. Guard our seats,” I told him with a smile.

The bite of cold air made my throat sting.

This was exactly what I needed. Music and laughter filled the air, but the muffled noise reminded me that I was an outsider here.

These people had been nothing but lovely to me, but I wasn’t one of them.

A townie. I started to conjure images in my mind of what it would be like to live here, to make this place my home, to walk along Main Street and grab a coffee from the Flour Power Cafe or pop into the Pine Street Market for groceries and stop to talk to my neighbors while I was there.

It was a pretty picture, but this wasn’t my life.

Rubbing my hands together to keep the cold at bay, I racked my memory for the last time I’d felt really at home somewhere.

Maybe before my parents and I moved into the house they had now?

What was I, thirteen years old then? Their current house had certainly never felt like a home to me.

It was far too cold for any sentimentality.

My college dorm was always supposed to be temporary, no permanence there.

With Will, I had moved into his place, always feeling like a guest in his space.

If it weren’t for my career, I would consider just never leaving Calla Bay. But there was no way Andrew would let me work remote permanently.

The sound of the screen door closing pulled me back to the present. I looked over my shoulder to see who was willing to risk the cold like me.

“Hey,” the newcomer said. I had seen him inside earlier.

He was an attractive guy in his mid-thirties.

His sandy-blond hair was styled perfectly, and paired with his wool coat over a sweater and a pair of jeans, he looked like he’d just stepped out of a magazine.

He smiled at me, showcasing his straight, white teeth.

“I’m Matt. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. ”

“Claire,” I introduced myself, extending my hand to his. “I’m not from here. Just passing through.” A shiver racked my body. I bundled my arms around myself, rubbing the sleeves of my sweater dress to try to create a bit of warmth.

Matt took off his coat, handing it to me.

“Here. You look freezing. Take this.”

I put his coat over my shoulders like a cape. “Thank you.”

“So, what brought you to our sleepy little coastal town?” he asked. He came to stand next to me at the railing, his eyes making a slow sweep up and down my body. He was an attractive guy, no doubt about it. But I didn’t get butterflies in my belly when I looked at him.

“I’m working on a project. The Delano Library.”

“Ah. That explains how you know the Wilders. That’s Reid’s project, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. He’s the craftsman and contractor.” I smiled at him, as I did when I was making conversation. He took a step forward and leaned his arm on the railing, only inches from me .

“And what do you do for the project?” he asked quietly, his low voice making him hard to hear. I had to lean in to catch his words, which was probably his plan.

“I’m the historical preservation designer. I work closely with Reid to ensure the historical integrity of the building remains throughout the renovation. What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m a police officer here in Calla Bay. I actually work with a Wilder as well. Luke and I are partners.”

“Oh, wow. I bet you have a lot of crazy stories. You weren’t on-site at the Cove’s End Motel a month ago, were you?”

“I’m at that dump on the regular, but do you mean the night that fucking Rusty Burgess pulled a gun on the joint?”

“Yeah, that night. That kind of thing happen often?”

“I was on the scene that night. And no, it definitely doesn’t. Like I said, we’re a pretty sleepy town most of the time.”

“So, no crazy stories, then?” I teased.

“Oh, I’ve got a few good ones. Why don’t I take you out to dinner next week and I’ll tell you all my wildest callouts.”

Before I had a chance to answer, Matt was pulling a card out of his wallet and handing it to me. His personal phone number was printed on the back of his business card, prepped and ready for the opportunity to hand it out.

“Oh, um. Thanks,” I told him, taking the paper from him. My dress didn’t have any pockets, and I wasn’t carrying a purse, so I slipped the paper into my boot. I didn’t have any intention of calling him, but I didn’t want to be rude either.

The door opened again, and my skin tingled. I hadn’t even turned my head, and I knew it was Reid.

“Monroe.” Reid acknowledged him with a tip of his chin, his voice low and restrained. His eyes narrowed, the scowl from our early days back in place as he turned to me. “Are you alright out here?”

“Everything’s good. Claire and I were just getting to know each other,” Matt offered.

Reid’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t take his eyes off me.

“You look cold. Why don’t we go back inside and warm you up.

” He plucked Matt’s coat from my shoulders and shoved it at him.

My stupid heart was galloping now. That couldn’t have happened five minutes ago when I was talking to the good-looking cop who wasn’t almost a decade younger than me?

“It was nice to meet you, Matt.”

“Pleasure was all mine. Call me if you ever want to grab dinner together or something.”

He smiled a friendly smile at me, but the look he gave Reid was decidedly less friendly. “Wilder.”

Reid led me to the door, reaching around me to open it for me. As soon as we crossed the threshold, cheers broke out around us.

I scanned the room quickly, everyone shouting and cheering. I caught Maeve’s eye, and she pointed up. My head tipped back, and I recognized what the crowd was saying at the same time I registered the mistletoe we were under.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

This was so silly. I looked over at Reid, ready to tell him that he didn’t have to listen to them. It was just mistletoe.

He cupped my face in his hands and didn’t hesitate, his mouth crashing into mine.

I gasped, the feel of his lips smooth and insistent.

Reid took advantage of my parted lips to swipe his tongue across mine.

I pulled myself closer to him, gathering his shirt in my fist. It was just as electric as the first kiss but somehow even better.

A moan escaped my lips as Reid brushed his fingers through my hair.

He lightly tugged my head back, deepening the kiss further.

A groan rumbled in his chest. My hand slid over his pecs and around his muscular shoulder.

Applause erupted around us. I pulled back quickly, dropping my hand from his chest. From the corner of my eye, I saw Matt stalk past us into the house.

Most everyone went back to what they were doing before, picking up their conversations or making a new plate of food.

Luke and Juliet were there, their wide eyes staring at us.

We really needed to stop doing that in front of an audience.

“You good?” Reid asked quietly. We were still standing in the doorway, right where we were when time stood still.

“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Nice work.” I smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

I patted him on the shoulder.

I laughed and smiled at people, shaking my head and rolling my eyes good-naturedly as I got in line for food.

My face was flushed, but that was because I had been outside in the cold and then came into a nice, warm house.

It was bound to happen. And my heart pumping out of my chest, that was just because…

Damn it. That was because it was a really good kiss.

Reid was following behind me, but Maeve waylaid him, giving me a chance to put a little distance between us.

I wasn’t here to start something with the contractor, and I needed to remind myself of that.

I was here on business. It was unprofessional.

It was unnecessarily risky if things went south.

It would only cause me heartache. Because I could see myself getting attached to Reid.

I wasn’t here for the long haul. A few more months in town, and then I was off to the next project.

A fling with the ridiculously hot contractor was not wise. No, it was decidedly unwise.

The food they had out earlier was delicious, and since then, even more dishes were brought in and laid out.

I selected a variety of items, barely paying attention to what I was putting on my plate.

Honestly, it all looked so good it didn’t really matter.

I finished my selections and turned to move away from the table, running directly into Reid.

“Come with me,” Reid said, his eyes searching my face. He took my plate and offered me his hand. I slid my palm into his despite the pep talk I had just given myself. Unwise or not, the pleasantly warm touch of his skin had sent my nerve endings into overdrive.

There were so many people here now it was impossible to find a place to sit and eat. But Reid kept walking anyway. He passed the living room and headed for the stairs.

I followed him up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. High school memorabilia was hung on light gray walls, along with a picture of a young Reid and an older man dressed in a karate gi, Reid holding up a medal.

A mirror was leaning against the wall, another picture of Reid tucked in the top left corner.

He was with a girl, his arms hugging her from behind.

They were both looking at the camera with big smiles on their faces.

Reid closed the door and set the food on the bed.

“I’m sorry… about before. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine, Reid. I’m fine. It was just a mistletoe kiss. Plus, it wasn’t even our first kiss,” I laughed, trying to ease some of the tension that I could feel building.

“My head feels like it’s spinning. You look so goddamn good in that dress. And those boots are fucking killing me. And then Monroe was trying to chat you up, and I saw red.”

“Why would that make you upset?” I asked. My heart was beating wildly. He’d kissed me like I was the air to his lungs, and then he brought me up to his room. Or his childhood bedroom, at least.

Oh, shoot. Realization was sinking in. We were at his father’s house. On Christmas Eve. With a massive number of people downstairs right now.

“I don’t know. I just know I didn’t like it. You can do better than Monroe. He’s an ass.”

“You said the same thing about Seb. Is there anyone you think is good enough for me?”

He took a moment to answer, his eyes boring into me. His tongue swiped across his bottom lip. Was he thinking about our kiss? Could he still feel me on his lips like I could feel him?

Reid shook his head and sighed. “No, Claire. Not even a little.” He walked past me to the mirror, taking the small photo of him and the girl from the frame and pocketing it. “We should get back downstairs.”

The air in the room shifted. He said his head was spinning? What did he think he was doing to mine? Sometimes it was like Reid left every emotion on his sleeve. But other times, it was like talking to a wall.

“Then let’s go back downstairs,” I said, a practiced smile on my face.

Reid placed his hand on my wrist, stopping me as I reached for the plate sitting on the bed .

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t tell him it was fine this time. I wasn’t even sure what this apology was for, specifically. For the heart-melting kiss? For the games that he was playing with my emotions? For leading me up to his bedroom and then effectively dismissing me?

Besides, that picture in his pocket spoke volumes… and it was telling me to back away.