Page 40 of I Found You (Wilder #1)

He didn’t respond back immediately like he had been doing. That sounded so dumb, didn’t it? I shouldn’t have sent that. Could you recall a text message?

My phone chimed.

Wyatt: Fuck. Me. Now I’m going to have to work with a raging hard-on all day while I’m dreaming up ways to torture you later.

I felt giddy when I left the house a little while later. Wyatt’s saucy playfulness was rubbing off on me, and I loved it.

After work, I drove to the town center to meet up with Josie as promised.

There were no spots next to the coffee shop, but I lucked out finding a spot just a little ways down the block.

Flour Power served the best coffee, but the main reason to stop by was their famous lemon blueberry crumble cake.

The outside of the shop was quaint, if slightly unimpressive.

The white-painted exterior was paired with a blue-and-white striped awning.

Painted on the windows were small blue flowers in the form of a wreath, with the name written inside.

When I opened the door, I was assaulted by the scents of coffee, sugar, and spices.

It was heavenly. Contrary to the outside, the interior was bursting with color.

The blue walls matched the blue of the flowers on the windows.

Green vines circled the room, originating from plants that sat high on a shelf near the ceiling.

Pink trays lined the display cases that held the food options.

All of the colors together shouldn’t have worked, but it did.

I found Josie sitting at a table, but she wasn’t alone. Jackson sat across from her, neither of them looking at the other, but it didn’t seem like they were angry either. Just uncomfortable.

When I walked over to their table, I saw Jackson instantly relax, letting out a long breath. Josie smiled at me, fussing for me to take a seat and asking if I wanted anything.

I ordered an iced coffee—and two pieces of lemon blueberry crumble cake to go—and tried to get a conversation started on neutral ground.

“I didn’t realize you were going to be here today. How did you get here? Is your truck working?” I asked Jackson.

“Yeah. I mean, Mom asked me if I could come grab a coffee with you two. But no, the truck’s still not running. Mom picked me up.”

“I met your boyfriend too. He’s handsome as can be. Good for you,” Josie said.

“She picked me up from the garage,” Jackson added unnecessarily.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a… friend.”

Jackson gave me a side-eye look, and Josie let out a laugh.

“Well, I’m not sure what the kids are calling it nowadays, but he introduced himself as your boyfriend, so if he’s not, you might want to let him know that.”

I could feel the blush creeping up my face.

Wyatt and I hadn’t talked about titles or labels.

It was a known fact that he’d never had a girlfriend.

We talked all the time. And we’d both been honest about how we felt about each other.

Well, maybe I downplayed it a bit so as to not scare him off. But were we official now?

Josie moved on to a new topic, saving me from examining her words for now.

We talked for nearly two hours, and once the original awkwardness had passed, it was actually really nice.

I wasn’t counting any chickens just yet, but I was pleasantly surprised every time I saw her and she continued to be sober and clean.

Jackson was another story. I could see him falling into her orbit.

I wanted to believe in her, I did. But she had let me down too many times.

I just hoped that she wouldn’t show Jackson what that type of pain felt like.

I had to get Jane from daycare by five o’clock, so we said goodbye to Josie, and Jackson hitched a ride with me.

“So,” I started, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

“So.”

“Do you want to talk about Josie or Trey?”

“Neither.” He sounded like I asked if he wanted to stick a fork in a socket or rip his fingernail off.

“Josie it is, then,” I said, feigning positivity. “What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. She looks good, I guess.”

“She does.”

“She’s looking for an apartment in town, so that’s kinda cool.”

“Sure,” I hedged.

“You have to give her a chance, Mae. She’s really trying.”

“I know. I am giving her a chance.”

We drove in silence for a minute.

“She’s pretty funny. I can’t believe she remembered some stupid story I made up when I was like four.”

“Well, the diaper king was a very memorable hero,” I smiled at him.

After picking Jane up from her first successful day and dropping Jackson back off at the garage, I went inside to say hello to Wyatt, but I couldn’t find him. I sent him a quick text to let him know I’d stopped by and headed home.

His truck was parked outside my house when I turned onto my street. I pulled into the driveway, and before I had a chance to unbuckle my seat belt, he was already at my door.

“Did you tell Josie that you were my boyfriend?” I asked as he helped me out of the car.

He closed the door behind me, answering in a single word. “Yes.”

“Why?”

He crowded my space until I was pressed against the car. “Because it’s true.”

I searched his eyes, his face, for some other explanation.

Like he was trying to help me seem cooler than I was or something.

Finding nothing but sincerity and a searing heat in his gaze, I flung my arms around his neck and brought his mouth to mine.

It reminded me of the first time we kissed, except this time, I didn’t have to worry about whether it was the right move or the wrong move.

He was my boyfriend, and I could kiss him whenever I wanted. And I really wanted to.

His hips pressed against me, and I could feel his hard length against my belly. Pushing him back from me, I was breathless and panting as I told him, “I have to get Jane inside. Do you have some time to come in?”

He brought his hand to my face and pulled me to him by sheer magnetism. Placing a soft kiss to my lips, he answered, “There’s nowhere else I would rather be.”