“I’m sure she would. Mrs. Waterman mentioned to me at Autumn and Duncan’s wedding how impressed she was with the work you’d done. She made some noise about getting you signed up with the local business association.” Holly smiled. “She’s the chairperson.”
“In that case,” I said, excited at the idea, “I’m buying all the coffees for your office.”
***
The tip from Holly saved the day. I met with Sharon Waterman, and she loved the idea of renting out the carriage house for the upcoming reception. After a quick tour of the property, I also found myself with an application to join the local business association.
I thanked her, and Sharon had given me an air kiss. She told me to take all the photos I wanted to send to the bride and groom. Taking her up on her offer, I took several photos and immediately texted them to Caroline and Lee.
As expected, the bride was over the moon at having a venue in town. That way they could move from the chapel on campus and go only a few miles to the Waterman’s carriage house for their reception.
The next weeks passed quickly. Wyatt invited Willow and I over to his house for a casual dinner one evening, and I was very interested in seeing his home. I was also curious about his workspace. What did the office of a mystery writer look like anyway?
I chose my outfit that evening with care. Casual navy slacks paired with a pretty yellow blouse that featured fluttery cap sleeves. I left my hair down and added my fun turquoise necklace to jazz things up. Willow wore her favorite blue dress, and I told myself not to be nervous.
Applying my lipstick, I gave myself a good, firm talking to in the bedroom mirror. “All right, Maggie,” I said. “This is a casual dinner date. It’s your chance to get to know the man better, and you did ask for the time to do that. Besides, it’s not like anything is going to happen tonight…not with Willow there.”
It was my wisest course of action to slowly get to know Wyatt, I decided. Even if I was more than a little obsessed with that long, lean body of his. I’d lost several nights’ sleep wondering over it. “Stop that,” I told my reflection.
The last time I’d been this fascinated with a man I’d been in college. I’d jumped right in to the physical aspect of the relationship with Beau and it had been exciting and reckless…and of course, I’d been so dazzled by the sex that I’d been stupid enough to marry him.
I stopped in my mental chastisement of the younger me, and deliberately capped the lipstick. I was an adult now, and a mother. I had my daughter to think of, after all. It wouldn’t do my reputation any good, to be playing fast and loose with the first man I dated in William’s Ford. I needed to be cautious and smart, and take the time to get to know Wyatt Hastings, I reminded myself.
That whole, ‘Be smart. Take my time,’ line was damn near becoming a personal mantra… I made a face at myself in the mirror and reminded myself there was no rush. I would know when it was the right time to take the next step.
A few minutes before six, I parked at the curb in front of his house as he’d suggested. For a few moments, I indulged myself by simply enjoying the view. The historic house had been built in the Greek Italianate Revival style. The brick was painted a warm cream, and the columns on the porch were bright white. The shutters and trim had been done in a smoky blue-gray. The house was charming with neatly trimmed shrubs in the front. As we walked down his pathway and began climbing the porch steps, I saw a big dog in the backyard.
Willow noticed it too. “Mama, does Wyatt have a dog?”
“I guess so,” I glanced over for another look, but the dog had moved out of sight.
Wyatt answered the door and greeted us with a smile. “Welcome,” he said holding the door open.
I stepped over the threshold and looked around in delight. The old home had wide archways, old pine floors and had been tastefully decorated with historic colors, but modern comfortable furniture. “This is a lovely home,” I said.
“What’s your dog’s name?” Willow asked. “Can I play with him?”
Wyatt smiled down at Willow. “I don’t have a dog.”
“Oh.” I frowned. “I could’ve sworn I saw one in your backyard…” I shrugged it off and focused instead on Wyatt as he ushered us back to the kitchen.
Wyatt was a wonderful host and we had a great time at his house. His office, it ended up, was on the third floor. Duncan had done a marvelous job remodeling it, and now the space featured a long custom desk, lots of shelving and yet it still maintained the vintage quality of the home.
Willow exclaimed over all of Wyatt’s cover art from his novels. They actually filled up an entire wall. I noted there was a fire escape on the third floor too, and an ornate wrought iron, spiral staircase that led to the ground floor.
After supper, Willow raced around his back yard, and Wyatt and I sat on the back porch enjoying the pretty late May night. When the evening was over he walked us to my car, and while Willow was preoccupied climbing into her booster seat, he snuck a kiss.
“Goodnight, Magnolia.” His voice was low, and I struggled to maintain my composure even after the briefest of kisses.
“Goodnight, Wyatt.” I smiled and climbed in the car. I was so distracted from that sneaky kiss that I actually got lost on my way home. It took me a few minutes to figure out where I’d taken the wrong turn, and it made me laugh at myself.
***
The next week, we managed a date night, and ended the evening by taking a moonlit
