Page 45 of Shy Girls Can’t Date Celebrities (Shy Girls Sweet Romances #6)

After promptly telling Erika—through Randall—that he refuses to work if I don’t go home via Ferndale, Wyatt then walks me out of the restaurant, his security waiting idly by.

Before I can ask him how he felt about the confrontation, we’re interrupted by a voice.

“Wyatt?”

We both turn toward the voice and spot his mother hurrying our way with large shopping bags in each hand.

“Here we go.” Wyatt grunts and then rubs my upper arm. “Just wait here while I take care of this.”

My gut tells me not to leave him. “Are you sure?”

Wyatt steps forward, only leaving a few feet between us. He huffs and folds his arms. “Hi, Mom. Have you been hitting up the boutiques?”

She places the bags by her high heels and brushes her bangs to the side. “Just a little retail therapy to clear the mind.” She leans in towards Wyatt, motioning for a hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Wyatt grimaces, pulling away.

Mrs. Hayes flinches, pulling back. “Sweetie? Are you okay?”

He glares at her. “Am I okay?”

His mother sighs, her eyes turning glassy. “Look, I’ve been wanting to see you since the ugliness the other day. We’re just scared for you, Wyatt.” She holds her middle and her expression is tight. “Tensions got high and your dad and I lost our cools.”

I stare at her, too dumbfounded to blink.

“We don’t need to talk about this,” Wyatt says, taking a step back. “I hope you enjoyed your shopping trip. It’ll be your last one on my dime.”

Her mother chokes on air, confused by his words. “Huh? What was that?”

“Mom, you and I don’t have a re-relationship,” Wyatt says firmly. “Stop acting like you care. You just want to be cl-close to me for the cash.”

Her mother stomps her foot and bundles up her fists. “That’s not true!”

“There’s no point arguing about this,” Wyatt says, turning away. “I’ve already got everything in mm-motion.”

Mrs. Hayes grabs her son’s shoulder. “Wyatt, don’t do this. Don’t turn your back on your family. Ugh, this team. They controlled so much of your life before the accident. Now it’s worse. You’re in a much more vulnerable state.”

Wyatt shuts his eyes, wincing as keeps his face turned from her. “Just stop.”

Mrs. Hayes squeezes his shoulder tighter. “Your dad and I don’t want them taking advantage of you.”

An ache sizzles behind my forehead, and I grit my teeth as I rub the tender area.

Erika and her team have painted a bad picture of Mr. And Mrs. Hayes and how they’ve acted over the past few years.

If it’s giving me a headache, I can’t imagine how much worse it is for Wyatt.

Ugh. They’ve all got to stop fighting over him and just let him heal.

“Oh, they didn’t,” a despondent voice says behind me.

I turn around and find Portia standing there, staring at Wyatt and his mother with mournful eyes.

“It was the emancipation papers,” Portia says weakly. “I can’t believe they convinced him to sign them.”

“What are you...” I pause, taking a moment to really hear her. “What do you mean?”

“The team pushed for over a year to get him to sign.” Portia shakes her head. “He always said no. He didn’t want this.”

My hand rushes over the space on my chest, as my heart thunders with overwhelm.

Portia steps forward. “Wyatt, don’t you...”

“Portia!” Richmond calls, stepping out of the restaurant.

Portia’s shoulders fall and she turns with her head drooped.

I notice Mrs. Hayes’s eyes light up. “Portia!”

Richmond beckons Portia over as he strides into the lobby. “Portia, you’ve got a job to do.”

Portia nods and follows Richmond toward her security, who escort her to the elevator.

Before I can process Portia’s commentary, I turn back to Wyatt and his mother.

“We just want to be the ones to help you through this,” his mother says with desperation. “You’re our child, sweetie. We don’t want to be shut out of your life.”

Wyatt pushes her hand off him. “Can’t you see how hard you’ve made things for me?”

“We were trying to get our points across before the team shoved us out of the room. Wyatt, we remember all their tactics and manipulations. We can help you.”

Wyatt winces again, rubbing his temples. “Just stop. It’s not happening.”

I step in and take Wyatt by the hand. “Come on. You need to get upstairs.”

“Josie,” Mrs. Hayes says my name in a forceful way. “Would you want your parents around if you were going through something like this?”

My heart thumps inside my chest as she stares me down. “Yes, of course. But Wyatt...”

“Wyatt thinks we don’t have a relationship,” Mrs. Hayes blurts, picking up her shopping bags. “But this no good management company is filling his head with lies.”

It’s not that I completely trust Erika and the rest of the management team, but Wyatt feels a gut reaction to his parents. He feels like their fractured relationship is the only part of the last few years he can remember.

There’s no way I’m letting his mother continue to attack him in the foyer. I tug on his hand, and he gladly steps away with me.

“Wyatt, your father and I want to see you again,” she says, making one last ditch effort. “We want to make things right. Any way we can.”

Before Wyatt can contemplate answering her, his security approaches and escorts us to the elevator.

I can’t help myself, and take one last look over my shoulder before we leave the lobby. Mrs. Hayes stands alone, shopping bags in her hands. She blames the management team for her fractured relationship with her son. But they’re not the ones who have been yelling and hurling accusations around .

Ugh. This is such a mess.

Inside the elevator, Wyatt wraps his arms around me. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m the one who’s sorry. You shouldn’t have to go through that. Especially with your parents.”

“I just need to move on from them. Maybe, with a little distance, we can work things out in the future. But I can’t be around them when they’re so fixated on me working and providing for them.”

I suck in a breath as an ugly thought strikes me.

Wyatt jolts. “What is it?”

I glance at the two security guards. They’re standing tall and facing the closed elevator doors as we ascend the floors.

“Joze?”

“What if...” I whisper. “Umm. Your parents... Umm. The accident. What if...”

“They’re somehow involved?”

I gulp. “Yeah.”

“I don’t know,” he whispers. “There’s something deep in my gut, te-telling me to keep a barrier between me and them.”

“So, you feel good about signing the papers?”

He nods, holding me closer. “Yeah. It was the right thing to do.”

When we get to our floor, and move into the living room, I tell him, “Portia said something back there when you were talking with your mother.”

“Yeah?” He flops on the couch. “What’s that?”

“She said you never wanted to sign the papers.”

Wyatt grabs a throw pillow, hugging it against him. “Huh?”

I curl up beside him. “She said she saw the team ask you to sign the papers over the past year, but you didn’t want to.”

Wyatt shrugs. “Yeah, and I didn’t want to now.”

“What do you mean? ”

“I don’t want to divide my family. I want ev-everything back to normal. But it’s never going to happen. Th-this was my only option.”

I sit back, mulling over his words.

Wyatt grunts, rubbing the side of his head. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.” He looks over the backrest of the couch. “Hubert?”

Hubert enters the living area. “Yes, Mr. Hayes?”

“Can you get my pills for me?”

“Right away, sir.”

I massage the side of his head for him. “I wish these headaches would go away.”

“Once I get my life back on track, I’m sure they will.” He takes my hand and kisses my palm. “Getting you back in my life is the best thing I’ve done.”

“Do you still feel that way after meeting the fabulous Portia?”

His eyebrow crooks. “Are you trying to compare her to you? No competition, babe. You’ve got her beat on every level.”

I giggle, taking his throw pillow and bonking him on the head. “You goof.”

“Hey.” He ducks away. “Guy with a brain injury here.”

I smirk. “And I’m sure a pillow is gonna make it worse.”

He grins. “If only this were a cartoon and I could hit my head again, and all my memories would come flooding back.”

“Too bad this is real life, and all you’d achieve is even worse headaches.”

He frowns. “Yeah, not a good trade.”

I slink down on the couch as Hubert brings his pills. “So, Ferndale tomorrow. Are you excited?”

Wyatt washes back the pills and Hubert leaves discreetly.

“I d-don’t know if ex-excited is the right word. But I’m hoping it feels like home.”

I sigh at the possibility. “I really hope it feels like you get a missing piece back. It felt that way when meeting Portia, right?”

He gives me a startled look. “Yeah, but not like she was my...”

I cut him off with a laugh. “Wyatt, you’ve made it clear you’re not interested in her.”

He smiles. “It was like my work life, I guess. All the dark spots in my memory.”

“And your parents never did that for you?”

“They just brought negativity around the blank spaces.” He hugs the pillow again. “Portia brings brightness. Like, maybe this work thing won’t be so bad after all. She makes it sound fun, doesn’t she?”

“Well, sure. It’s all very glamorous, being a celebrity.”

Wyatt sighs, combing his finger through his hair. “I guess so.”

I tap his arm. “You’re slouching. Savanna wouldn’t be happy.”

Wyatt grunts, pulling himself up on the couch. “I forgot. Hunching is your thing.”

I giggle. “Shut up.”

He grasps my hand. “Are you really okay with going to Ferndale with me?”

“Yeah, but my parents won’t be. My mom is already panic-stricken and wanting me on the next flight home.”

“It’s just a little detour.”

“Yeah. I’ll just tell them this is the quickest option to get me home. One more night away, and then I’ll be home.”

“Ugh. How am I going to survive without you?”

“There’s always video chats. We won’t really be apart.”

He shakes his head. “It’s not the same.”

I lean in and kiss him softly. “That’s why we need to get all our kissing in before I leave.”