I give Lincoln a puzzled look.
揇on抰 say anything. They抮e for Meadow, the only person besides me who bothers to check in on Wyatt. She抯 young and kind of cute. I know he likes her, so what抯 the harm in dropping a few flowers on his behalf??He shrugs. 揝he likes plants. He calls her Miss Green Thumb.?
My lips turn up in a smile and I almost fall over.
揧ou...you big idiot. You抮e playing matchmaker??My lips quiver because I still can抰 believe it.
Every time I think I have this man figured out, he bowls me right over again.
換uiet. Don抰 let Wyatt hear,?he grumbles.
I nod and don抰 mention it again as we walk, still trying to bite back a smile.
揅ome on already. Damn, you guys are slower than snails and that抯 coming from the guy on one leg.?Wyatt sits on a few stacked wooden beams in front of his makeshift campfire.
揌e抯 impatient today,?I say.
揌e抯 in a good mood if he抯 brewing coffee. I haven抰 seen that in months. We抮e going to have to pick up the pace.?Lincoln抯 steps grow into a jog.
I struggle to keep pace.
He reaches the campfire before me and drops down on a box. I slow down and catch my breath as I approach them. Smoothing my skirt, I抦 about to take a seat on the big crate beside Lincoln when Wyatt looks up with narrowed eyes.
揥hat the hell, man? Are you gonna let her ruin that pretty dress??
But before he even finishes, Lincoln shrugs out of his blazer and lays it over the space next to him. Smooth.
揕incoln, that抯 okay, you don抰 have to桰抦 fine.?
I am so not fine. Seeing my grumphole in a suit acting chivalrous makes me feel things I should not be feeling in any universe that still makes sense.
揥yatt抯 right. Sit down, Nevermore.?
I can抰 even say no. I just drop down beside him, leaving a sliver of space between us.
揌ere. You have to try this.?Wyatt ladles out a dark liquid in a disposable cup he takes from a sack beside him. He passes it to Lincoln first.
My nostrils flare as I catch the scent. Fragrant coffee, and it smells like it抯 strong enough to peel wallpaper.
Lincoln sniffs the cup and smiles.
揝mells mighty good.?He takes a small sip. 揇amn, I like it. Tastes smoky.?
I swear I see Wyatt standing a little taller, less hunched over. He抯 proud of his brew and it抯 just...nice. Insanely nice to see this broken man care about something besides pastries and basic street survival.
揧ou want some, Dakota? I don抰 have cream and fancy stuff to go with it,?he warns with a shine in his eyes.
Honestly, black coffee and I don抰 get along, but I can抰 stand being rude.
揧es, please. I抣l give it a shot. Just pour me a little,?I tell him.
With a friendly nod, he ladles that jet-black rocket fuel into a second cup and passes it over. I抦 a little afraid it抣l melt my throat. It smells like Eliza抯 whole apartment after an entire day of cooking up batch after batch of rich espresso and pourover concentrate.
揥hat trouble are you two in tonight??Wyatt asks.
Linc takes another hearty pull off his cup, totally unruffled by the potent drink.
揥hat else? I came to see you. Dakota抯 just stalking me.?
揑 am not, Wyatt. I...I came to see you too.?I stumble over my words, realizing how weird that sounds. 揑 was hoping you might have a story or two. I抦 a fiction writer梐 poet, really梬hen I抦 off the clock. I抦 always looking for inspiration. How could I know we抎 both show up at the same time??
Lincoln doesn抰 even look at me but lets out a sigh that says, Nevermore, you suck.
揚ure coincidence. Always the best kind.?Wyatt ladles himself a drink and glugs down half the contents in one gulp.
揈xactly,?I say matter-of-factly.
Wyatt抯 eyes trail from Lincoln to me. 揃y the way, if you are stalking him, I don抰 think he minds. He likes it.?
揚ffft,?I hiss. 揌e wishes I cared enough to stalk him.?
Wyatt chuckles.
揑抦 right here, you know??Lincoln stiffens and takes another swig of coffee. He glances at me sharply. 揅an you check my office email while you抮e here? I抦 expecting a proposal.?
揝ure.?I pull out my phone and open the EA inbox.
I抦 pretending to focus on the screen, but I notice he leans closer to Wyatt. 揥hat the hell are you doing? I抦 her boss. Are you crazy??
I couldn抰 say what Wyatt is, but Lincoln is definitely off his rocker if he thinks I can抰 hear. If I suck at lying, he抯 a terrible whisperer. His voice has that deep, resonating boom that could carry through a thunderstorm梠r even the Fourth of July.
揑抦 trying to help you, man. Lighten the fuck up,?Wyatt growls back.
揙h, yeah? And how would you feel if I hinted to Miss Green Thumb that you抳e got a beating heart??Lincoln says, flashing me a conspiratorial look.
揃urns, you leave her alone. I swear to fuck...?Wyatt finishes that thought with a vicious glare.
I try not to giggle.
It抯 like watching two standoffish bears in a library trying to keep it down and failing comically.
Will they notice if I slide to the edge of the crate? This conversation isn抰 for me, as funny as it is, and I don抰 want to eavesdrop when I shouldn抰. I抦 also well aware of how important it is to Lincoln when his friend has a good day.
It takes me all of one minute to see Lincoln doesn抰 have any new important emails.
I slide the phone back into my purse, taking tiny sips of the coffee. It抯 definitely too much for my taste. I try not to gag.
It抯 bitter without cream, but the smoky undertone is interesting. I抣l have to tell Eliza.
I drink half of it one baby sip at a time and feel like that抯 an accomplishment, considering it抯 black and strong enough to wake up an elephant.
?..you抮e just too chickenshit to admit the obvious. Ask her on a real date and stop worrying about your little rules and that great big redwood jammed up your ass,?Wyatt says as I look up.
I bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing at that one.
Yeah, right.
Lincoln Burns might grind every gear I have, but he抯 one of the richest, hottest, and most eligible men in the entire city. Heck, probably the whole country when you consider the billionaire dating pool.
He抯 not going to date a girl like me who fights him at every turn and hails from flyover country. He抯 also not the dating type, even if that抯 something I seem to attract in men.
Even Jay Foyt needed a year to figure out he wanted me enough to ask me out. There抯 no way I抦 the kind of girl Burns dates. Never mind the whole he抯-my-flipping-boss factor and therefore off-limits.
揑抦 her boss,?he snarls at Wyatt like he抯 just read my mind. 揃esides the ethics breach, there抯 a thick fucking HR policy put in place by my mother, no less, against棓
揇ude, whatever,?Wyatt says slowly, flipping him the finger.
Yikes. That抯 one way to put it.
He抎 probably do a better job getting Wyatt off his back if he just admitted I抦 so far out of his league I couldn抰 buy tickets.
Wyatt looks at him again, an expression of brotherly annoyance on his weathered face.
揗an, an alligator-filled moat wrapped in barbed wire and guarded by pissed off HR hawks couldn抰 keep me from a chance at the good life. This is a golden opportunity梐 chance, at least梩o have a life outside the office with a beautiful woman. I don抰 get you, Linc.?
My pulse quickens as I wait for a response, but Lincoln just shrugs.
Torture.
Maybe if I remind them I抦 here, I can shut down the awkwardness and avoid a brawl over my non-dating life with my boss.
揟his is interesting coffee, Wyatt. My friend Eliza could learn from you.?
Lincoln looks up quickly and jerks away from Wyatt like they weren抰 just discussing me. He won抰 meet my eyes for a long second, but when he finally does, my heart stops.
Lincoln抯 eyes are as pitch-black as the smoked coffee swirling in my cup and infinitely stronger.
His look is fraught. Questioning. Conflicted.
A stare that splits me in two and strips me naked.
I may bury myself in words until I抦 crushed, but after Jay梑ecause of Jay桰 never believed in hot-eyed looks that could stop time.