Page 36 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Reid

The last two weeks flew by in a blur. Things at the library were coming along quickly.

We had a stretch of decent weather that allowed me and my guys to install most of the windowpanes before we were plunged back into the winter weather.

And just about every evening, I got lost in the feel of Claire wrapped around me.

We were alternating between spending nights at her place or at mine.

It didn’t matter to me whose house I was in, as long as she was there with me.

Although, if I was being completely honest, seeing her in my bed, her blonde hair fanned out on my pillow, was an addicting sight.

We hadn’t talked about what this meant or where it was going.

Nothing good was going to come from that conversation.

She’d made it clear early on that this was temporary; I hadn’t forgotten that. I just didn’t like to think about it.

“Reid,” she called from the vestibule. I put down the tools I was using to install the carpet on the main floor and told Shawn to give me a minute. He was my partner today, Dale and Richie working on installing the new railings on the second floor.

“What’s up, love?” I walked over to her and grabbed her roughly around her waist. She looked good enough to eat in those skintight leggings and my Wilder Construction hoodie, her blonde hair falling just below her shoulders.

She looked amazing in anything, whether it was fancy dresses, business pants and a blouse, leggings and my sweatshirt, or my personal favorite, nothing at all.

All the guys knew that we were… something. We weren’t really an item, but “hooking up” didn’t feel like the right term either. It was accurate, but it didn’t sit right with me. It was like sandpaper being dragged across my skin, irritating and uncomfortable.

She placed her hand on my chest and smiled up at me, giving me a light kiss. She pulled back when I tried to take it deeper, her eyes darting around to see if anyone was watching.

“Hey, Shawn.” She smiled and waved, a pretty pink blush making her cheeks rosy.

I growled low in my throat, making a mental note to tell him to stay out of sight in the future.

I wasn’t really going to say anything to him; he was just trying to get work done, and I was the one acting like a caveman.

I knew it. But fuck, I wanted her. I wanted the taste of her lips on mine.

I wanted to lick every square inch of her skin, just like I did this morning before we had to leave to get here.

My dick twitched, and Claire’s dark blue eyes danced with amusement at my discomfort.

“Hey. Sorry. I’ll just be…” Shawn trailed off and headed back to the corner we were working in, out of sight.

Claire smiled at me brightly. My chest expanded. I could just stare at her all day .

Christ, I had a problem. And it was getting harder and harder to do anything about it.

“Guess what,” she said.

I raised my brow, my lips tilting up in a smirk. “What?”

“I just got off the phone with Davis Ironworks. The lights are ready,” she squealed as she bounced on her toes. I laughed at how excited she was, but I loved every second of it.

“That’s great. When are they arriving?”

“So, we have two options. He can ship them out, but it costs a fortune to get them here, and they will take two weeks.”

“Two weeks? I thought they were in New York. We can drive there and pick them up in a day or two.”

“Funny you should say that because option two is that we drive there and pick them up.” Her phone rang from her pocket, and she grabbed it, quickly looking at the screen. Her face hardened as she silenced the ringer and put it back in her pocket.

I quirked my brow at her. “You up for a road trip?” I asked.

She was all smiles as she looked at me, a wide grin stretching her cheeks. “Yes. I cannot wait two more weeks to get these in. These damn things have been the bane of my existence, and I want them here ASAP.”

The work was coming along well here; I could take a day or two and drive to upstate New York. If we planned it right, we could make a weekend out of it.

“Sounds good. Tell him we will be there on Friday. We can leave tomorrow and get back on Sunday.”

Her smile turned feline, heat lighting up her gaze.

“A whole weekend, just you and me, alone. We’ll probably need to find a way to unwind after spending long hours on the road.

” She trailed her finger down my chest, blazing a path through my shirt.

My heart rate kicked up, and all my blood ran south.

“I’m sure we can figure something out. If you want, we can go inside your office, shut the door, and I’ll give you a preview of what I’m thinking.” My voice was gruff and low.

She laughed softly and patted me on the chest. Damn, I didn’t think she’d actually go for it, but a guy could hope.

“Get back to work. You’re taking two days off; you don’t want to get behind.” She spun around and walked back to her office. I had to adjust myself and hope that Shawn didn’t notice my boner as I got back to work.

Claire and I didn’t spend the night together, opting to each stay at our own places so we could pack and be ready to leave in the morning. I shot a text to my group chat with the guys, letting them know I would be out of town for a few days.

Me: I’m taking off for a few days with Claire. We need to pick up the lights in NY.

Wyatt: Weekend away with your girl. Sounds rough winky face emoji

Luke: It’s snowing, idiot.

Me: We’re only getting a couple of inches. It’ll be fine.

Wes: Some parts of NY are supposed to get hit hard.

Luke: Yeah. Where in NY are you going?

Me: Upstate. It’s like a seven-hour drive. Right outside of Buffalo.

Luke: It’s going to be blizzard conditions up there and your truck handles like shit in the ice. Go up there next weekend.

Me: We’ll be good. And we’re not taking my truck. I had to get a U-Haul to move the lights. They’re fucking massive.

Seb: You’re fucking nuts, dude.

Wyatt: Just drive safe. And get off the road if you need to.

I put my phone away. When did they all become some pansies?

It was a little snow. I knew how to drive in winter conditions.

Hell, I spent two winters plowing for the town.

We didn’t get much for snow, but I was out there during all of it.

I could handle myself. And I would never put Claire in jeopardy if I thought it was dangerous.

I picked Claire up the next morning, surprising her with two coffees.

I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I had been in Flour Power until I stepped foot in there this morning.

Kayleigh wasn’t working, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if she was.

She had obviously been the reason I stopped going in there months ago, and then Claire started picking up coffees, so there hadn’t been a reason for me to go there.

I felt lighter somehow. Even though I hadn’t run into Kayleigh, just knowing that I could have made me realize that I didn’t care anymore.

Kayleigh didn’t hold a place in my mind or in my heart.

That spot was taken up by someone else. It seemed crazy.

I never expected to fall for her, but she blew into my life and blew apart all of my defenses.

I knew without a doubt that I was in love with her.

Whatever the future held for us, I didn’t know, but if right now was all we had, I would gladly take it.

“Oh, boy,” Claire said when she saw the box truck. “This should be a comfortable ride.”

I just chuckled and helped her into the truck. She wasn’t wrong. It was going to be a rough seven hours on the road.

The truck bounced along the highway as Claire sang along to the music. She’d plugged her phone into the auxiliary port so she could put on her playlist, which meant she knew every word to every. single. song. She was absolutely adorable, but my head was starting to pound behind my eyes.

Snow was coming down in small flakes. My dad always said small flakes meant big snow, big flakes meant small snow.

I wasn’t sure how true that was, but it looked like it held weight today.

The wind started picking up about four hours into the drive, causing the less-than-aerodynamic truck to jerk and sway with the gusts.

The snow continued to fall harder and faster. Almost no one else was on the road except for the plows and sanders. Visibility was turning to shit.

“Hey, do you think we can turn that down for a bit? Not that I don’t love your voice,” I smirked.

It was hot as hell in here, but I couldn’t turn the heat off, otherwise the windshield would fog up instantly.

I put the window down a bit to try to get some air, pulling the sleeves of my sweatshirt up to my elbows.

“Are you alright?” she asked, turning off the music entirely.

“Yeah, you don’t need to turn it off. I just have a headache.” It was probably from trying to stare out this windshield through the accumulating snow and keep this sailboat of a truck on the road.

“You don’t look very good. Why don’t we pull over and switch spots?”

I laughed with mock outrage in my tone.

“I’m serious. Pull over and let me drive for a bit.”

“No chance. This thing handles like shit on a good day, and we’re in the middle of a fucking blizzard.”

A chill swept through me, causing me to shiver. I pulled my sleeve down again and rolled up the window.

Claire tapped around on her phone for a minute. The robotic voice of the GPS lady spoke out, telling me to take the next exit in four miles.

“We should still be hours away,” I said .

“We’re getting off now and checking into a hotel.”

“I have a cabin for us a few hours away. Let’s just get there.

” Even as the words came out of my mouth, I knew I wouldn’t make it.

I was suddenly extremely tired. My head felt heavy yet drained.

My body was heating up again, and I had to roll down the window a bit.

Shit. I was in no condition to drive, especially through a blizzard like this.

If I lost focus and something happened to Claire, I would never forgive myself. I put on my blinker and took the exit.

Claire rubbed my shoulder as I maneuvered down the town streets to the hotel she had plugged into her GPS. The roads looked like they hadn’t been touched by a plow or a sander. The box truck trudged through inches of piled-up snow, leaving the only trail of tire tracks visible.

The hotel came into view, and I pulled into the parking lot a moment later. I took a deep breath, my tired body dreading having to get out of the truck.

“Stay there,” I told Claire. I grabbed both of our bags and tramped through a foot and a half of snow to get to her door. She wore winter boots, but they weren’t going to be tall enough to protect her jeans from getting soaked. “Are you going to be okay to walk in this?”

“Yeah. Let’s just get you inside before you collapse,” she said.

I wanted to laugh at her exaggeration, but it felt pretty damn accurate right about now.

Claire took her bag from my grip and slung it across her back.

Holding it with one hand, she gripped my hand with the other.

I wasn’t sure if I was supporting her or if she was supporting me.

The front desk was empty, but only a minute later, a woman came out from a back room to check us in.

“What’s the name on the reservation?” she asked .

“We don’t have a reservation. We were passing through when the snow got to be too much. Do you have anything available?” Claire asked.

The woman looked to me and then back to Claire. “I’m sure I can find you a room,” she said kindly. “Hold on one second.”

She clicked away on her keyboard. “I have a room with one king bed. Will that be okay?”

“Absolutely,” Claire said, just as I said, “Do you have one with two beds?”

I wanted nothing more than to have Claire wrapped around me, but she didn’t need to get whatever I clearly had. My head was swimming, and my body ached. Just staying on my feet seemed to take all of my energy. Hell, I should probably get her a room of her own so she wouldn’t get sick.

The woman clicked around some more and met my eyes with sympathy.

“I’m sorry. I just have a few rooms available, but they are all one king bed.”

“That’s fine,” Claire said. I pulled out my wallet at the same time Claire did. I shot her a look. She huffed a laugh and put her credit card away. She wrapped her arms around me, and I pulled her in close while the woman finished checking us in. She gave us our keys and sent us on our way.

The moment the door closed to our hotel room, I collapsed on the bed.

Claire gently pulled my boots off. She helped me out of my sweatshirt and moved to the waistband of my jeans.

“Hey, now,” I teased quietly. “I’m not going to be a very active participant, but I’m not saying no either.”

She laughed at me, shaking her head. She discarded my pants and helped me get settled in the bed .

“Do you need anything?”

“No. I’m just going to rest.”

I closed my eyes. I could feel Claire get into bed with me, her warm hand stroking my back.

She placed a soft kiss to my shoulder blade just before I drifted off. “Go to sleep, babe. You’ll feel better in the morning.”