Page 24 of Shy Girls Can’t Date Celebrities (Shy Girls Sweet Romances #6)

It didn’t take much convincing to let Wyatt makeout with me on the sectional couch. Heck, we’re alone in a fancy penthouse suite, and he’s the most drop-dead-gorgeous seventeen-year-old on the planet. I’m his whenever he wants me.

Ah, it’s the whenever that’s the problem.

Erika’s probably talking about me to my parents like a sleazy salesperson.

I can just imagine the scenarios going through my dad’s head.

There’s no fathomable way that my parents let me stay here for a few more days.

Maybe they’ll fly over here? But they’re always so panicked about work.

I couldn’t ask them to do that. I try to lessen the stress in our household, not bring it in.

Oh my gosh, what about the twins? How is Mom handling them on her own? Dad gets home so late these days, and Mom was already a bucket of nerves.

As I lie in his arms, Wyatt pulls away and views my face. “You stopped kissing me back. Where’d you go?”

I sigh, rubbing my forehead. “Sorry. Thinking about home.”

He mumbles a laugh. “Killed the mood.”

I smile up at him. “I must be crazy to let thoughts come in when I get to kiss you.”

Wyatt lowers, connecting our lips with toe-curling pressure. I slide my hand along his jaw until it combs through his sandy hair. I kiss him back, begging myself to be with him. But with every caress, my siblings barge their way into my brain.

I rip my mouth away from his. “Ugh.”

He pulls back. “Ugh?”

I exhale hard. “Not you.” I rub my hands over my face. “I need a minute.”

Wyatt sits up and pats my thigh. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s cool it.”

I lower my hands and sit up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...”

“It’s okay. You’re not into it.”

“I’m into you,” I rush, clutching his shoulder. “Just... My family. They won’t leave my head.”

“Do you want to call them?”

An ache burrows into the back of my skull. “Not until I know Erika called them first.” I push a hand into my uneasy gut. “I don’t want to make things overly messy.”

“Why don’t we check out the rest of this pad?” Wyatt says, scooting to the edge of the couch. “It was too hard to look around without someone racing to my side with the wheelchair or walking cane.”

“Maybe you should take the cane.”

He side-eyes me.

“What? I don’t want anything to go wrong. If you stack it, I can’t exactly hold you up.”

He pushes himself off the couch with a grunt. “Fine, I’ll take the walking cane. Not that I need it.”

“No, of course not.”

“Sarcasm?”

I smirk. “Not at all.”

Wyatt gestures at the walking cane, which leans against an armchair. “Just hand it over, would ya?”

I smile and give it to him. He then steps forward, putting his weight on the walking aide.

“I wanna check out these bedrooms,” he says, making his way ahead of me. “I gotta pick the best one.”

“You could sleep in a different room each night.”

“Or my parents will move in. They should, shouldn’t they?”

“It’s up to you. Personally, I would move mine in, but it’s not the same situation.”

He halts, allowing me to step in line with him, and then nudges me. “You could move in here.”

My face reddens. “Ah, what?”

“Why not?” he says, edging his way closer to the bedrooms. “The floor below me is too far away. We could be roommates.”

Tingles dance under my skin. “Are you serious?”

He tilts his head, watching me with braced apprehension. “You don’t want to?”

“Of course, I want to. I always want to be close to you. It’s just...”

“Joze, I didn’t say move into my bedroom. You’d have your own room.”

I giggle nervously. “No, yeah, of course.”

“Besides, kissing wipes me out. If we did anything more, you might put me back in the hospital.”

At that, red blotches cover my chest and arms, eliminating any hope of hiding my flushed embarrassment. Has he been thinking about doing more than kissing me? Has he done more than kissing since moving away from Victoria Falls?

Has he and Portia...

“Hey, what’s the hold up?” Wyatt asks, standing in a bedroom doorway. “I thought you were following me.”

I shake out of my thoughts and hurry my pace. “Yeah, sorry, coming.”

Wyatt leans against the doorframe, keeping his back straight. “This room looks pretty frickin’ sweet. I might not have to check out the others.”

I grin, leaning into the doorway. “Wow, it’s huge.”

We move into the bedroom, which has oodles of space around the California king bed. Behind the bed is a massive walk-in closet, which leads into the studio-apartment-sized bathroom.

“You should definitely take this room,” I say, gesturing at the shower. “Everything is easy to walk through. Looks like they’ve already set you up with a shower seat and grab rails.”

“Kinda kills the vibe.”

“It’s just to keep you safe.” I smile and rub his arm. “No one wants you slipping and winding back in the clinic.”

He forces a smile. “Yeah, I know.”

“You’re good?”

He nods, moving back through the walk-in closet, and dragging himself over to the bed.

“Just think about how cool this place is, not the hospital grade stuff they put in here.”

He sits on the edge of the bed, rubbing his forehead. “Yeah, I know.”

“You got a headache? I can get your painkillers.”

He drops his hand, patting the space beside him. “Can I get a hug instead?”

I bounce my way over to him, sitting and wrapping my arms around him. “I’ll never deny you a hug.”

A laugh whispers out of him as his mouth grazes my earlobe. “Thanks, Joze.”

“I know it sucks, but you’re so close to not needing this stuff. But your headaches,” I falter as my voice cracks. “They come on so strong. What if you had to grab your head, and you didn’t have anything holding you up? You could collapse.”

“Why are you being such a downer?”

“I’m being a realist.”

“I thought you Bartlett’s only dell-dealt with con, con...”

“Conspiracies?” I say it for him. “Well, I don’t mind being skeptical about your health if it keeps you protected.”

He kisses my cheek and pulls out of the hug. “I told you, I’m the one protecting you.”

“But I remember the last few years. You need me more.”

“But I need to help you feel safe enough to stay with me.”

I clasp his hands and brush my nose against his. “For now, I’m willing to soak in our time together. The logistics of us staying together are gonna be so messy. I can just imagine my parents flipping out on Erika.”

Wyatt squeezes my hands. “Okay, then we won’t think about it. We’ll just live for now.”

I brighten, sitting taller. “I love that.”

“Wow,” he breathes.

Intrigue has me smiling. “What is it?”

“In this light, you look even more beautiful than normal.” His eyes wander my face. “I couldn’t have guessed that was possible.”

My shoulders bunch high. “Aww, Wyatt.”

He brushes the side of my face and plays with my curls. “You really are amazing, Josie. No matter what the suits tell me to do, I’m not letting them push us apart again.”

I nod along with the beats of my heart. I bite my tongue, not letting myself say he’ll get busy again.

That I won’t be able to keep up with his fast-paced lifestyle.

We agreed to be in the moment. And, at this moment, he’s not a jet-setting celebrity.

He’s not leaving for a movie set, or heading into a recording studio.

Right now, he’s the same Wyatt Hayes I remember.

The guy I had to practically push into auditioning for Talent Quest. The guy who would call me all hours of the night, anxiety-riddled from the television camera.

The guy who would write me the most adorable emails on his off-hours.

I swipe my thumb across his bottom lip, letting a giggle slip out. “You’re perfect, Wyatt Hayes. I’m keeping you locked in my heart forever.”

He pulls his arms around me, making sure there’s no air between us. “Move in here. You can have the second-best bedroom.”

I giggle, doing my best not to lean my weight on him. “Okay. Should we go find it?”

He shrugs. “I dunno. I’m pretty comfy here. Do you really wanna move out of this position?”

“Is your back okay?”

His eyebrows wiggle. “You wanna lie down instead?”

Nervousness writhes inside me. “Ah, I...”

He pecks my cheek. “If it’s all the same, maybe I will lie down. I’m kinda beat and that headache is getting a little worse.”

“Okay. I’ll ask Hubert for your painkillers.”

“Will you come back?”

“You want me to lie down with you?”

He sneaks another kiss on my cheek. “That’d be amazing.”

I giggle, pulling my arms from him. “Okay. How about you lie down and relax? ”

I leave the bedroom, searching for Hubert. Where the heck do you even find...

“Yes, Miss Bartlett?” Hubert asks, meeting me in the living area.

Uh-oh. Is the bedroom bugged?

Hubert smiles kindly. “You look startled.”

“Umm, yeah. Were you listening to...”

“Your pace sounded serious. I felt you needed some assistance.”

Okay, time to switch off the skeptical part of my brain. “Umm. Yeah. You’ve got Wyatt’s pain meds, right?”

He nods. “I shall fetch them for him. Where would you like them?”

I gesture toward the bedroom. “He’s going to bed.”

Hubert nods. “I’ll be there in just a moment.”

“Thank you.”

I make my way back to the bedroom to let Wyatt know relief is on the way. When I get inside, I find the bed empty. “Wyatt?”

I search the walk-in closet and spy the bathroom door closed. I knock on it. “Wyatt?”

“Yeah?”

“Oh. Just checking.”

“I’m good. Be out in a minute.”

I edge away. “Okay. Hubert’s coming in with the painkillers.”

“Thanks, Joze.”

Backtracking through the closet, I find Hubert placing a glass of water and a small dish, with two half-blue, half-white pills, on the nightstand. He then turns down the bed, turns the lamps on a low setting, and draws the curtains closed.

“Anything else, Miss Bartlett?”

I shake my head, clutching my elbows. “No, that’s amazing. Thanks.”

Hubert nods, making his way to the doorway.

“Oh, if Wyatt needs anything else... ”

Hubert cuts me off, gesturing to an intercom on the wall. “Just call for me, and I’ll be at your service.”

Still jittery, I push for a smile. “Thank you.”