Velvet Kisses(73)

Cat Alice steps in and tries to pick up my hands, but I pull them back like retracting from a fire.

“I’m sorry, Mars. I’m really sorry,” she hiccups. “It was stupid and immature, and I think I owe your boss an apology, too. Please tell him I’m so very sorry.”

“Ex boss, thank you very much. Thanks to you, I’m standing in the unemployment line once again. Not to mention the fact I’ve been permanently removed from the paper.”

She covers her face a moment and sobs silently. “I’m sorry.” She looks up from between her fingers, sniffing with her bloodshot eyes.

“You might be sorry, but that doesn’t change the fact my life has been reduced to shrapnel.”

“Please forgive me.” Her hands fold together as if she’s tossing up a prayer.

“I forgive you. But right now I don’t want anything to do with you. I need some serious space.”

I say goodbye to my mother and head out of the dining room.

“Marley.” Jemma speeds over with her hair whipping in the wind like a flaxen tumbleweed. “You did good in there.” Her thumb pulls across my cheek as if wiping away tears. “As sorry as she seems, I think you did the right thing to cut her scraggly ass loose. And don’t you dare let me catch you back with that boy. Him I’ll kick straight to the Atlantic.”

“No chance in that happening.” A mean shiver runs through me as the hard granite of the mountain falls over the city with its shadow. “There’s another boy I have my sights set on. I’m just hoping we can still be friends.” I couldn’t push Wyatt’s name through that boulder of pain lodged in my throat. Cat may have done this, but indirectly I feel responsible for all the shame I’ve caused him.

“Friends?” Jemma clicks her tongue. “I don’t believe in friends like that.” She plucks out a cigarette and lights it as if the mere thought of Wyatt mandated some carcinogenic relief. “Hon, I’m begging you to give love a shot.”

“I was willing to give it a shot before Cat blew it out of my hands. I was going to tell him that I loved him that very day.” I sag when I say it, and a dull laugh bubbles from me in disbelief. “Do you ever feel like the universe is against you when it comes to that four letter word? Did we tell Cupid to fuck off when we were kids?”

She waves away the idea. “Hon, I believe you make your own luck when it comes to who you drag between the sheets. That man loves you. I’ve seen the way he swoons over you like there’s no other woman in the room.” She touches my hand with her pinky, dusting me with ashes in the process. “Now that’s something I’ve never had before. I think when I grow up I wanna be you.”

My phone buzzes. It’s Wyatt.

Ready for that hike?

I smile at the screen, happy to have this little part of him—now to get the rest.

Ready and willing. Meet me at Prescott Hall? My body tingles and warms as if it’s coming back to life after a long hibernation.

He texts right back. Be there in ten.

“I’d better go.” I pull Jemma into a long, strong hug.

“Don’t be afraid to share your feelings, hon. Sometimes a little honesty can take you right where you want to be. Trust me. Your big sister knows best.”

In this instance, I truly believe it with all my heart.

Time to share a few feelings.

Hopefully Wyatt and I can mend both our hearts—together.



* * *



Wyatt drives us up the winding switchbacks that lead to the crest trail lined by a heavy stream. We drive just past the Witch’s Cauldron and hop out, the cool mountain air filling our lungs with springtime. The sun kisses my shoulders with a deep warmth I haven’t felt in months, so I opt to leave my jacket in the car. There isn’t a drop of snow on the ground as wildflowers push through the earth, peppering the landscape with color. The evergreens sway in the breeze as their needles sizzle against the clear blue sky.

Wyatt and I didn’t say much on the drive up. It didn’t feel like us, the old us. But I’ll gladly take the new us if that’s what we’ve morphed into. I’ll take any part of Wyatt that he’s willing to give me. I’ll be his friend, his hiking buddy, the girl who carries his groceries. I’ll be anything Wyatt will allow me to be so long as I get to be in his life again.

“You ready to do this?” He offers that killer grin as he glances at the trail, and my heart warms. Wyatt can light me up on the inside with his smile alone.

“I’m ready to do anything with you.” I bat my lashes before blinking into my right mind. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” I don’t think we’re at that level in our relationship anymore. I don’t know if we ever will be.