"What the hell am I going to wear tonight?" I asked myself.

Just like when I was packing for this goddamn trip, I was standing in the middle of my closet trying on outfit after outfit. I was trying to find the right thing to wear to my birthday dinner tonight. Logan promised that it was just the family. He came by early this morning and wished me a happy birthday. He explained that he was going to help his mom get things ready for tonight, so he would be out most of the day.

Alarm bells rang inside my head when he said that; but I trusted him not to throw a surprise party for me. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle something like that. With everything else I was dealing with...I didn't need to lose it on my birthday. I looked at the polka dot dress that Wyatt teased me about when we went to the mall. Maybe I should wear it tonight. It was something I liked and it was my birthday.

With my mind made up, I took the dress and laid it out on my bed. I pulled out my black heels that would match perfectly and laid them next to it. I walked into my bathroom to shower when I heard my cell phone alert me that I received a new email.

I let out a frustrated sigh when I opened it. Hopefully it wasn't work. I didn't feel like dealing with work, either. When I finally read the email, my mouth dropped. It was an appointment reminder for a doctor's appointment on Monday at three in the afternoon. The doctor's name was Dr. Maria Sanchez. She was a psych doctor that specializes in anxiety and panic attacks.

Wyatt must have made my appointment for me. But...when? I haven't seen him all day today. Is that where he's been? It seemed unlikely because it was Saturday. Doctors' offices are usually closed on the weekends.

Maybe the reason I didn't see him today was because he slept over the blonde's house. I mean-- I never saw him come home last night. After Logan and I came home from the bar, we watched a movie and then he went to bed. I spent a few hours on my patio since I couldn't sleep. I tried to go to bed multiple times and all I kept seeing was Wyatt and the blonde naked in bed together. He was touching her the way he touched me. He was whispering things into her ear. Like he did with me. Yep. No sleep for Lia. I opened a bottle of wine and sat on my patio looking at the stars. Eventually, sleep overcame me. I never heard Wyatt go into his room.

I pushed all that stuff aside in my mind as I hit CONFIRM APPOINTMENT on the email. I quickly undressed before I stepped into the shower. Even though I tried to get myself excited for my birthday dinner, there was a gnawing feeling in my gut. Wyatt had told me he was going to go with me to this appointment, but he didn't even bother to tell me about it. He just forwarded the email. Maybe after what happened between us, he didn't want to go with me.

This was the first time in a long time that I felt utterly alone.

I checked my reflection again in the mirror. Makeup was good. Hair was curly and good. Polka dot dress-- looked good. There was a knock at my door and I quickly slipped my heels on.

"One second!" I grabbed my cell phone before I sprayed a little perfume on and walked over to answer it. I was expecting Logan to be there. "Wyatt?"

His lips parted slightly as his eyes took in my appearance. He looked over my body from head to toe and back again. Once his eyes met mine, I saw a flicker of that same heated look. "Wow. You look amazing." He flashed me an arrogant smile. "Glad I made you get the dress?"

I laughed lightly and looked down at the new garment. "Yes. I like it a lot."

When I looked back up at him, his expression was affectionate. He reached his hand out and stroked the back of his knuckles against my cheek. "Happy birthday, Lia."

I felt my cheeks heat under his touch. "Thank you."

All too soon, his hand fell. I felt the absence of his touch deep inside me, and I hated it.

"Ready?" he asked as he held out his arm for me.

I smiled and linked my arm in his. "Yes. Let's go." As we started down the long hallway, I couldn't help but ask what's been on my mind since the night before. "Why didn't you come home last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I just...didn't hear you come home. I was curious why you didn't."

He was quiet for a moment. Too quiet. Oh, God. He slept with her. He had to have. What other reason was there for him to not answer me? When we finally got to the ground floor, we stopped just shy of the dining room. He turned towards me and seemed to have trouble meeting my gaze.

"Lia, I--"

"SURPRISE!"

Wyatt and I both jumped at the loud exclamation. People came pouring out from hiding. They were clapping and wishing me a happy birthday. Most of them I didn't even know. I reached for Wyatt's hand and squeezed it as I felt my anxiety rising.

"There's the birthday girl!" Logan said with a giant smile. He walked over to me and pulled me in for a hug; forcing me to let go of Wyatt's hand. "So, what do you think?"

My eyes darted from one stranger's face to another. "Logan, who the hell are these people?"

He looked away sheepishly. "Most of them are my family members. Since we got engaged, I thought it would be a good idea to have a surprise birthday/engagement party. Pretty clever, huh?" He frowned as he looked at my dress. "That's different. Is it new?"

Different? I have never felt so self-conscious in my life. I felt my heart starting to race. I felt the dizziness starting to creep up on me. Oh, God... "You're right," I managed to say with a calm voice. "I'm going to go change real quick. Tell my guests I'll be right down. Okay?"

I didn't wait for an answer. I turned and ran as fast as my high heels would let me. I faintly heard someone calling me as I walked down the long hallway to my room. I reached for the zipper at the back of my dress. I needed to get this damn thing off.

"Lia?"

I barely heard Wyatt's voice through my door. But I needed him. "Wyatt! Help me!"

He came in immediately and frowned when he saw me struggling with the zipper. "What are you--"

"Get it off of me, Wyatt. Take the dress off. Now!"

He tried to work the zipper and didn't have any luck. I had my hands covering my face the whole time as I tried to control my breathing.

"Fucking zipper," I heard him mumble before I heard the sound of fabric tearing. "Okay, lower your hands."

I did as he said and the dress fell to the floor. I stepped out of it and started pacing around the room. I didn't care that I was in my panties and bra. I felt like I was going to hyperventilate.

Suddenly, I felt a cool breeze hit me. Wyatt must have opened my patio door. The next thing I felt was Wyatt wrapping his suit jacket over my shoulders to cover my half-naked body.

"Come here, Lia. Sit here," he coaxed me as he led me to the bed.

I had my eyes closed tight. If I opened them, I knew I was going to probably get sick from the dizziness. Besides that, I was trying to keep my anxiety in check. Well, as best I could. I almost jumped when I felt Wyatt's hand on either side of my neck. He wasn't hurting me. He was stroking my skin as he whispered soothing words to me.

"Lia, look at me. Look in my eyes."

I shook my head at him. That seemed impossible. I felt Wyatt's hand cup my cheek.

"Lia, trust me. Look at me."

I opened my eyes and stared directly into his.

"There you are," he said with a smile. "Now, take a deep breath for me. In and out. Again. Good."

I did as he said and I could feel my heart rate slow down. The room stopped spinning. Now that I felt like I could speak, I had one question for him. "Did you know about this?"

"No, I didn't," he said with truth in his eyes. It was a surprise to him as well then. "Lia, what I was going to tell you downstairs...about last night--"

"Don't," I whispered. "If you tell me you went home and slept with that woman...just don't tell me, Wyatt, I can't handle that."

"I didn't sleep with her, Lia. I swear."

"You kissed her. You seemed to enjoy it."

Regret seemed to weigh heavily on him. "I shouldn't have done that, Lia. You told me to move on. I was trying to. But I didn't even enjoy talking to that woman. After you guys left, I came home late and passed out downstairs."

"Downstairs?" Why the hell would he sleep downstairs?

"Yeah, I knew that if I came up here, I would--"

Come to my room, I finished for him. I scoffed at his confession. Relief flooded me. "I barely got any sleep last night. I kept picturing you with her. You were touching her the way you touched me."

He arched a brow and I saw the corner's of his mouth twitch. "Jealous, Lia?"

"No," I lied even though I knew he would see right through me.

"You could never lie worth a damn," he quipped and we both laughed. "Are you feeling better?"

There was so much concern in his eyes that it made my heart squeeze in my chest. I might still be pissed at what happened before, but one thing I knew for sure was that he always cared about me. Whether I was sick with a cold, or needed a shard of glass pulled from my foot, he was there. Always.

I didn't answer his question right away. Instead, I leaned forward and cupped his face. Surprise flickered across his face just as I pressed my lips against his. He stood up on his knees, never breaking the kiss. I could feel him still holding back a little and I took control. I deepened the kiss and slid my tongue against his. I felt his hands on my thighs and I suddenly remembered I was only wearing my panties, bra, and his jacket. He seemed to remember too.

We pulled away from each other at the same time. His hands, however, didn't move an inch. He stroked the skin of my thigh slowly. So slowly, I didn't even think he was aware of it.

"We can't keep doing this," I said quietly to him. I hated saying the words and instinct told me to take them back. But I knew deep down that I needed to say it and he needed to hear it.

"I know we can't."

I ran my hand over my face and let out a weary sigh. "God, I have to get dressed and go back down there, don't I?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not if you don't want to. I can always make up some excuse."

"An excuse?"

"Yeah. I can say you got cold feet and bailed. Or that you threw up because you have food poisoning."

I shook my head and giggled a little. "Those are horrible! We can't do that."

Wyatt got to his feet and held his hand out to me. When I stood in front of him, I took his jacket off and handed it back to him. I should have felt embarrassed since I was half naked; but I didn't.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked before putting his jacket back on.

"I'm fine, Wyatt. Thank you."

He smiled and I melted inside. "Good, I'm glad. I'll see you downstairs?"

I nodded. "Yes. I'm going to try to find something to wear then I'll be right down."

He turned and walked towards the door. He paused just before he left and turned towards me. "You should wear the blue dress. It's my favorite."

My heart was racing while I watched my bedroom door close. Well, guess that settles that. I walked into my walk-in closet and grabbed the blue dress he was talking about.

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you are enjoying Lia and Wyatt's story 💚 I just wanted to give an announcement that I just published the prologue for my novella titled Spin the Bottle! This is a special feature for PRIDE 😎

Be sure to check it out!