How Much I Love by Marie Force

Chapter 3

DEE

I cannot believe he said that!He’s laughing so hard, he can’t breathe, and he’s taken me down with him. The sheer outrageousness of the comment broke the tension that has filled me since I heard about Marcus being in the hospital.

“Um, what’d we miss?” Carmen asks, her shrewd gaze darting from me to him and then back to me again.

“Do not repeat that,” I say to Wyatt.

He wipes tears off his face as he sends me a dirty grin. How can one man be so incredibly gorgeous? He reminds me of Patrick Dempsey at the height of his Doctor McDreamy-ness, with wavy dark hair, blue eyes and a smile that lights up his face. And, apparently, a filthy mind. Although I sort of already knew that…

I can’t believe I slept with this man, had dirty sex with this man—three times—and no one knows that but the two of us. It’s not like me to keep something like that from Maria and Carmen, but for some reason, I just never got around to telling them. Now, he’s back and asking me to go for a ride with him later tonight and see him tomorrow night, and there’s no way I’m going to be able to keep whatever this is with him hidden from them for much longer.

We were raised by mothers and grandmothers who are experts at extracting information from unwilling parties. Any of us can sniff out a scoop with the tenacity of a bloodhound, and judging by the way the two of them are watching us as we enjoy our inside joke, they’re on the scent. Maria has already asked me if he’s the Wyatt who was texting me earlier.

It’s not that I’d care if they know, but for some reason, I want to keep him to myself for a bit longer. I try not to pay too much attention to him as we eat the delicious enchiladas that Austin insisted on treating us to and sip margaritas. I only have one, because apparently, I have to drive later.

Wyatt sticks to seltzer like he did at the wedding. I’m not sure why he doesn’t drink. We never talked about it, but now I wonder.

My phone chimes with a text from Bianca. He’s conscious. Not that you care.

I’m relieved to hear Marcus is awake and hopefully going to be all right. I respond to her. I do care that he’s all right, but I’m not coming there, and I’m not going to see him. If you can make him understand that, you’d be helping him move on.

“Everything all right?” Maria asks.

“Marcus is awake.”

“That’s good news.”

“I told Bianca to let him know I’m not coming there, and she needs to tell him that.”

“Good for you. That’s the right thing to do.”

I can feel Wyatt watching me, probably wondering what we’re talking about. “A friend of mine is in the hospital.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“We, um, we might’ve talked about it on the way over here,” Carmen says. “Wyatt knows what’s going on.”

“Ah, okay, then you know he’s my ex, and he might’ve staged a suicide attempt to get my attention.”

“I do know that, and I’m sorry he put you in that position.”

“Did they also tell you how he married someone else when he was supposedly still with me?”

“They might’ve mentioned that.”

So he knows my entire deal. That’s just great.

“He’s a fool.”

The way he says that, not to mention how he looks at me as he says it, means so much to me. “Thank you.”

“He’s the biggest fool,” Maria says. “He had Dee. What the hell was he thinking marrying that skank?”

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Dee,” Austin says. “It was his loss.”

I already love my future brother-in-law, but now I love him even more. “Thanks. It’s in the past now. I’m sorry he’s in a bad place, but I keep telling myself it’s not my fault. He made his choices.”

“He made the wrong choice,” Carmen says. “He was lucky you ever gave him the time of day.”

“You guys are good for my dented ego.”

“Your ego shouldn’t be dented,” Wyatt says.

He may as well have just told them we’ve already slept together.

Maria and Carmen are intrigued by the vibes he’s putting out.

“How long are you here, Wyatt?” Maria asks.

“Just until Monday night this time. I’m interviewing at Miami-Dade on Monday.”

“What kind of doctor are you?” Austin asks.

“I’m a cardiothoracic surgeon.”

“I don’t even know what that means,” Austin says, laughing.

“Don’t worry,” Wyatt says. “I don’t have much of a fastball.”

I love the way he downplays his skills by complimenting Austin. That earns him big points with me, not that he needs them. He’s already batting a thousand. Haha, good baseball analogy.

“I specialize in heart and lung surgery as well as other thoracic, or chest, organs,” Wyatt says.

“And my head just exploded,” Austin says.

“Jason can fix that,” Wyatt says, grinning.

He’s adorable, funny, smart as hell and sexier than any man has a right to be. The more time I spend with him, the more I like him. And I already liked him a lot before tonight.

“So you’ve been thinking about relocating to Miami?” Maria asks.

“I hadn’t been, but after I was here for the wedding, I started thinking about a change of scenery.” He glances at me, but I pretend not to notice.

Maria and Carmen most definitely notice.

“Then Jay mentioned the opening at Miami-Dade, and here I am. Miami is looking better to me all the time.”

“I love it here.” Jason smiles at Carmen. “It’s the best place I’ve ever lived.”

“I love it, too,” Austin says with a goofy grin for Maria. “My favorite place in the whole world.”

“The scenery is rather spectacular,” Wyatt says.

And we’re fooling no one. My face is so hot that I wonder how my skin doesn’t blister.

“Dee, how would you feel about showing me around while I’m here?” Wyatt says. “I’ve only ever been to Miami for the wedding. I didn’t get to see much on that trip.”

“That’s a fantastic idea,” Carmen says. “Dee knows Miami inside and out. She’d be the best tour guide you could ever have.”

“And it would give Dee something to do besides stew over what’s happening with what’s-his-name,” Maria adds. “I love this idea.”

“We can take you to see the ballpark sometime if you’re interested,” Austin says.

“I’d love that,” Wyatt says. “Thanks.”

“Sure. Let me know when you’d like to do it.”

“I’ll leave that up to my tour guide,” he says, giving me a side-eye, probably to determine whether I’m angry with him for recruiting me to show him around.

I’m not angry. I’m thrilled that he asked and gave me cover with my sister and cousin. I can’t stand having everyone up in my business, which is the number one reason why I stayed in New York for so long. Long before I left for college, I’d gotten tired of my family knowing my every move before I even made it.

I can’t wait to show him my city. Maria is right that I know this town, and I love every wonderful, diverse corner of it. That I get to spend extra time with him is a bonus. I like him a lot, which is an interesting development, seeing as I thought I’d never see him again after the one night we spent together.

But now he’s back, and he came because of me, which is a rather lovely lift for a girl with a dented ego. I need to be careful, though. He’s only here for the weekend, and who knows if he’ll get the job or even actually move if he does? It would be too easy to get caught up in a sweet guy who looks like a dream and is a god in bed, too.

“You want to go now? We could check out some of the clubs in Little Havana you told me about last time I was here.”

I snap out of my memories of what it was like to be in bed with him to realize he’s just asked me out right in front of the others and is waiting for me to reply.

“Sure, that sounds fun.” It sounds like more fun than I’ve had since the night I spent with him five months ago. I glance at Maria, who’s watching me intently, looking for the rest of the story. If only she knew… “As long as I’m going back to Little Havana, I may as well stay at my place tonight.”

“Whatever works,” Maria says, her eyes glittering the way they do when something excites her.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think my sister is giving me a firm push into bed with the dreamy doctor.

“Will Everly be upset if I’m not here when she wakes up?” I’ve developed a fun aunt-niece bond with Maria’s future stepdaughter, and I’d hate to disappoint her.

“I didn’t tell her you were sleeping over. I figured we could surprise her in the morning.”

“We’ll do it again soon.” To Wyatt, I say, “I’ll just grab my stuff.”

“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

Ignoring the inquiring gazes of the others, I go into the guest room to gather my belongings. I’m not at all surprised when Maria and Carmen follow me.

“Holy shit, he’s totally into you,” Carmen says. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you all night.”

“Don’t make it into something. It’s just fun.” I toss the few things I unpacked into the turquoise Vera Bradley bag Carmen gave me last Christmas and zip it closed.

“I told Jason that something was up with you two at the wedding,” Carmen says.

“There wasn’t. That was also fun. We had a good time together.”

Maria takes me by the face. “Tell me the truth. Is that all it was? Fun?”

“Yes,” I tell her as I roll my eyes. It was fun. That’s the truth.

“Jason was surprised that Wyatt’s interested in the Miami-Dade job,” Carmen says. “Now it’s starting to make sense to me.”

“You’re jumping to conclusions,” I tell her.

Carmen lets out a happy squeal. “How exciting would it be if you met someone because of my wedding?”

“You guys, please. Don’t do this. I’m still dealing with everything with Marcus.”

“No, you’re not,” Maria says emphatically. “You have nothing to do with what’s going on with him.”

“He tried to kill himself because I wouldn’t take his call.”

“That’s not why he did it,” Maria says. “He did it because he’s messed up his life all on his own, and now that it’s blown up in his face, he’s sorry for what he did to you. Where’s the big apology been for all this time? He never once said a word to you until the skank left him. He doesn’t get to come back after the fact with regrets. What happened today had nothing to do with you.”

“She’s right, Dee,” Carmen says. “You can’t take that on. He fucked up, and he knows it. This is about him, not you.”

“Still… It was shocking, and I’m reeling over it. I’m not in a place for this to be anything more than a fun weekend with a new friend. Please don’t go crazy over it or tell the family.”

“We won’t say anything,” Carmen says, “but you should bring him to Sunday brunch. He loved the food at the restaurant.”

“I’ll see what happens.”

Carmen hugs me. “Have fun. Go crazy. Let your hair down.”

“My hair is already down,” I say, laughing.

“You know what she means,” Maria says. “You were in a long relationship that ended badly. If anyone needs a fun rebound, it’s you. Go for it.”

“I’ll take that under advisement. Can I go now, ladies?”

“Do you need condoms?” Maria asks with dead seriousness.

“I’m going now. Bye!”

I walk out of the bedroom toward the foyer, where the three men are engaged in animated conversation while they wait for us. Jason and Austin have become great friends. They golf and fish together and hang out every chance they get. Naturally, Carmen and Maria are thrilled about that, and I’ll confess to having felt, more than once, like a fifth wheel around the four of them. They get together often and always include me, which I appreciate. But this is the first time I haven’t felt like an extra among their happy foursome.

Wyatt evens things out, and when he directs a warm smile my way, the flutters in my belly are a sign that the excitement of the others is having an impact on me.

Slow your roll, girl.

“Ready?” Wyatt asks.

“Yep.” I hug Austin and Maria. “Thank you for dinner.”

Wyatt shakes hands with Austin and hugs Maria. “Thank you. The enchiladas were awesome.”

“Did you give him a curfew, Jason?” Carmen asks, delighted with her joke.

“No later than midnight, young man,” Jason says sternly.

“Don’t wait up, Dad,” Wyatt says as he follows me out of the house. “Phew, tough crowd. Are they watching us?”

“Probably, but I’m not looking.”

“I see what you mean about not being able to do much without your whole family involved.”

“There was that one night…”

“Ah, yes, that one night.” His hand finds my lower back in an innocent gesture that makes my entire system go haywire. “Want me to drive?”

“You’re the guest. You don’t have to.”

“I don’t mind.”

I hand him the keys and stash my overnight bag in the back seat.

He gets in and adjusts the driver’s seat to fit his much longer legs.

I direct him on how to get out of the neighborhood and onto the highway that will take us back to Little Havana. “What do you feel like doing?”

“Whatever you want.”

“We could take a walk, get a drink or hit a club.”

“All that sounds good to me.” When we’re on the highway, he looks over at me. “Was it okay for me to ask you out in front of everyone?”

“It was fine.”

“Did your sister and cousin pump you for info when they went after you?”

“What do you think?”

Smiling, he says, “What’d you tell them?”

“Not to overreact. Nothing to see here.”

“Nothing at all?” he asks, crooking an eyebrow.

“Nothing they need to know about.”

He moves his hand from the shifter to my thigh. “Do you know how hard it was to pretend like I barely know you in front of your family?”

The heat of his hand may as well be a branding iron as it sets off a systemwide reaction that has my most essential parts tingling in awareness of him. “How hard was it?”

“So hard.”

Suddenly, we’re no longer talking about pretending in front of my family.

“I’ve thought about you and that night so much since the wedding,” he says. “Have you?”

“Here and there.”

“Are you lying?”

“Maybe a little.” I don’t want to talk about Marcus, especially not with Wyatt, but I want him to know how messed up I’ve been lately. “It’s been a rough couple of months.”

“Because of your ex?”

“That and my mom has been receiving treatment for breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy in January, and now she’s having chemo.”

“I wondered why you ended up staying in Miami after the wedding.”

“How did you know I did that?”

“Instagram.”

“Ah… so you’ve been stalking me?”

“Following. That’s different from stalking.”

I like knowing he thought of me so much after the night we spent together that he cared enough to find me online and wondered why I didn’t go back to New York after the wedding.

“So are you staying here, then?”

“That’s the plan. At some point, I have to go to New York and get the rest of my stuff. My cousin, who I lived with there, is going to sublet my room. I can’t go back there as long as my mom is sick.”

“How’s your mom doing?”

“The chemo is kicking her ass. It’s been rough. It’s hard to watch her suffer.”

“I’m sorry she’s going through that and that you are, too.”

“She’s a trouper.”

“She’s lucky to have her family supporting her. Are you bummed about New York?”

“Not really. I was planning to move home this year anyway. I just moved up the timeline a little. What about you? What’s up with applying for a job here?”

“I liked Miami when I was here for the wedding. I’ve lived in Phoenix most of my life, and I’m ready for a change. When Jay mentioned the opening at Miami-Dade, I figured why not?”

“Can I ask you something, and will you tell me the truth?”

“Sure.”

“You’re not applying because of me, are you?”

Smiling, he says, “Not specifically because of you, but knowing you live here definitely makes me more interested in the job than I would be if you weren’t part of the equation.”

“I’m not really in a good place for, well, anything.”

“Neither am I.” He sounds sad for some reason.

“Oh, well. Okay, then. I know why I’m in a bad place, but why are you?”

“Things are just weird right now with the possibility of changing jobs, moving cross-country. I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

“You’ll get the job.”

“How do you know that?”

“They’d be crazy not to hire you. Aren’t you board certified in your specialty?”

“I am, but how do you know that?”

“You’re not the only one who did some stalking.”