How had I already forgotten how still the world went when our eyes met? How right everything felt. How perfect each moment was as long as our gazes were locked.
I had to look away before I did something stupid.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper-yelled.
He held up a greasy bag and tray of drinks, a wide smile on his face. “I brought you lunch.”
I checked the hall behind me to make sure no one was around before opening my bedroom door and shoving him inside. “Get in before someone sees you!”
He stumbled into my room and turned to me with a frown. “What’s the matter?”
I glanced down the hall one more time before closing my door and turning to him. “Did anyone see you come up here?”
His face fell the smallest bit as his lips thinned into a straight line. “I don’t think so.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.” Pushing off the door, I took a few steps toward him. “What’s this about lunch? We don’t have plans.”
He pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. “If you were answering my texts, I would have asked you. But since you were ignoring me, I decided to just come and see you.”
My heart was still pounding in my chest and there was no way I could blame it all on the speed walk I’d taken down the hall.
I was alone with Wyatt Carter in my bedroom and I’d never been more nervous.
My eyes darted to the bed before meeting his again for only a second before I looked away. I did not need to get lost in his gaze. Not when there was this fire between us that never seemed to die.
Even with time.
Even with distance.
Even though I was still mad at him.
None of it mattered because I still wanted him. As stupid as that made me, it was the truth.
“Callie?”
I shook my head and looked at him again. “Yeah?”
“Will you have lunch with me?”
Denial was on the tip of my tongue, but the look on his face prevented me from saying no. It was so hopeful. So sweet. So unsure in that moment that I couldn’t say anything but yes. Even though I knew it was a bad idea.
“Okay, sure. Let me just text my sisters that I’m not coming down.”
His brilliant smile lit up the room and sent my heart into palpitations I knew couldn’t be healthy. I pulled out my phone and motioned toward the desk–the piece of furniture farthest from my bed.
“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll be right over.”
He nodded once, the ridiculously attractive smile still on his face while I tapped out a quick message to Evey. I turned off my phone after that, not willing to deal with any questions from them.
I stared at Wyatt’s back for a moment as he worked on unloading the lunch he’d brought. In that moment, I realized I’d missed him. The warnings were still there. The trepidation was still there. But the absolute truth was I liked being around him. It felt good to be around him. And right then, I didn’t feel like fighting it.
“What did you bring?” I asked as I crossed the room to sit on the spare chair.
He looked back up with the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen, and I swore my heart wouldn’t make it through this. “Bacon sandwiches.”
“You mean like a B.L.T?”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “This is a bacon sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mayo.”
A laugh escaped before I could stop it. “What’s the difference?”
“In this sandwich, the bacon is the star. It’s not sharing the stage with the rabbit food or condiments. You get this because you’re in the mood to eat a butt-load of bacon.”
I laughed again as I accepted a foil-wrapped sandwich from him. “A butt-load of bacon, huh? That sounds interesting.”
He nodded as he unwrapped his and took a huge bite. “It’s not only interesting, it’s delicious,” he said around a mouthful of food.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” I said with another chuckle.
He shrugged and shot me a closed-mouth smile that still made my heart trip. With a nod at my sandwich, he said, “Go on. Try it.”
I did as he asked and took a large bite of my own. A groan spilled out of my mouth before I could stop it. “Mmm, I love bacon.”
“I know.”
I grabbed a napkin and wiped the mayo from my lips. “How do you know that?”
He shrugged and swallowed before answering. “You told me you couldn’t make it as a vegetarian when you were a kid because you liked bacon too much.”
My mouth fell open for a moment as I tried to work through the shock. “You remembered that?”
He frowned at me and took another big bite. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
He was still talking with food in his mouth, but I was too surprised to reprimand him again. I’d said that bacon comment in passing and had even forgotten I’d mentioned it myself. It amazed me that, not only had he remembered, but he’d bought me the most amount of bacon I’d ever had in one meal.
Remaining friends was getting more difficult by the minute.
“So, where did you get this bacon monstrosity anyway?” I said as I finished my first sandwich and dug into the next.
“There’s a bacon restaurant I found online.”
“Where’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”
He shot me a sheepish look before grabbing a handful of fries. “Um. Just a couple towns over.”
“Where?” I asked again. Honestly, these things were so good, I knew I’d be stopping by in the near future for
