"What about red?" the saleswoman asked.

I looked at the dress she held up. It was a little to formal for my date with Wyatt. At least, I thought it was. It's been two days since the big talk with Logan and Wyatt agreed to go on a date with me. Even though I have known him forever, I was nervous. 

"I'm not sure," I answered the woman. She had been helping me pick out a decent dress. The only problem was, Wyatt wouldn't tell me where he was taking me. I had no idea how I should dress. For all I know, Wyatt might take me hiking or mountain climbing. If that were the case, then a dress wasn't going to cut it. 

"One sec," I said as I pulled out my phone. I opened my text messages and started typing one to Wyatt. 

Me: Hey. You busy? I had a question for you.

I actually had a thousand questions for him, but I would just stick to clothing right now. 

Wyatt: Never too busy for you. What's up?

I blushed at his words. Me: I'm at the mall trying to find an outfit for our date. Where are we going? I want to dress for the occasion. 

Thirty seconds later, my phone rang. 

"Hey, you."

His voice made me shiver. "Hey yourself. So...you're at the mall? Really?" 

I walked down the isles of clothes and ran my fingers over the many plastic hangers. "Is that hard to believe?" 

A deep chuckle from Wyatt. I swear this man's laugh was going to be the death of me. Hell, everything was. His smile, his eyes, the way he touched me. 

"It is hard to believe, actually. Lia, you hate the mall." 

"Yes, but I want to look good for our date. That means I need a new outfit." I put my phone between my shoulder and ear. "Now, can you please tell me where we're going?" 

"I told you already, Lia. It's a surprise." 

I groaned into the phone. "But I need a hint! What if I wear a dress and we go horse back riding or something?"

He burst into laughter on the phone. "Why would I take you horse back riding? That is so...random. Even for you, Lia."

Well, he wasn't wrong. "Come one, Wyatt," I begged as I bit my lip shyly. "If you give me a hint, there might be a something in it for you...underneath."

"Oh, really? Well, in that case, I guess I can give you a little hint."

I waited very impatiently. "Well..."

When he spoke again, his voice was low and deep with emotion. "I want you to wear a dress. Color can be your choice. If you know me as well as you think you do, I think you can pick one out that I would like." There was a brief pause. "And Lia?" 

"Yes?" 

"I'm looking forward to seeing my...surprise after our date." 

My body heated at his words. I could just imagine if he was standing here in front of me when he said that. He would be cupping my face with his hands. Whispering those words in my ear. Giving me a very, very, deep kiss. 

"Lia?" he teased from the other line. "Did you hear me, baby?"

"Hm? Yes!" I ran my head over my face. "Sorry, I was a little--"

"Distracted?" 

I giggled. "Yes, I guess you can say that." I noticed there were a few more people in this area of the store and I cleared my throat. "So, what are you up to, anyway?"

I heard the sound of his car starting. "I was headed to meet my mom. She wanted to take me to dinner tonight."

"Aww, isn't that sweet. You and your mom are going on a date." 

 A horn honked on his end of the line. "Very funny. You know how she is. Since Logan is away, she's trying to spend her free time with me. It won't be long before she calls you next." 

I didn't doubt it. Wyatt's mom no longer worked and spent most of her time at home. She wasn't the type of woman to enjoy boredom and like to spend that time with her boys. It was even worse when only one of her sons were in town. With Logan...away, she was overcompensating. I still had no idea how he was doing. I've tried to call and text him multiple times. 

"How's your new doctor?" Wyatt asked, bringing my thoughts back to my other issue. 

After we got back to the city, he and I found me a new psych doctor who specialized in anxiety. She started me on some low dose medication and it seemed to help a little. I haven't had a panic attack since my surprise birthday, and I've felt less anxious. 

"Good. She seems to know what she's talking about."

"And your meds?" he asked with concern in his voice. "Any side effects?" 

I cursed at myself. "No, no side effects or anything. I'm good." 

After another brief, suspicious pause, "That's good, Lia. I just pulled up at the restaurant. Talk to you later?" 

"Yeah, of course. Tell your mom I said hey and I miss her." 

"I will, baby." 

I hung up the phone and slipped it back in my purse. I hated lying to Wyatt. Well, I never lied to him. The truth was, I was having some side effects from the meds. Nothing serious, but I didn't want to bother him. He had enough on his plate right now. 

"Ma'am?" 

I turned around and saw the saleswoman who was helping me before. "Yes, I'm sorry." 

She smiled and held up the red dress. "It's no problem. what did you think of this one?"

I took a few steps towards her and eyed the dress. It was beautiful. But now that Wyatt gave me that little hint, this dress wasn't going to work. 

"Actually, I'm looking for something a little shorter. Maybe with a V neck and fits me very nicely." I felt my cheeks heat when I added, "Preferably blue."

"Wine, wine, wine. Where is my wine?" 

I pushed things around in the fridge, freezer, and even the cupboard. I've been looking for wine for the past thirty minutes. After I finally found the right dress for my date with Wyatt, I got some new lingerie also. Then I came home and took a hot shower. Which led to now. I had dinner cooking in the oven and I was in desperate need of wine. I thought I had some-- clearly, I was wrong. 

"Dammit. I can't leave to go to the store with the food in the oven."

Chime-Chime

I walked over to my phone. I expected the text to be from Wyatt. He said he would text me after he was done spending time with his mom. But it wasn't Wyatt. 

Logan: Hey, Amelia. I'm sorry I haven't answered you. I've just been trying to figure things out. 

I quickly typed a reply to him. Me: I was worried about you. Are you alright? Wyatt has been asking questions...

Truth was, Wyatt was very concerned about his brother. Taking off like this wasn't something Logan did. Ever. 

Logan: I'm okay. I just need time. Tell Wyatt I'll explain everything. Please don't tell him, Amelia. He needs to hear it from me. 

I closed my eyes tight for a moment. Me: I promise. Stay safe. 

I wanted more information. Like where he was, for starters. What was he doing? Was he with Grant? Were they going to get together? 

Knock-knock-knock

Who the hell was at my door? I walked over and looked through the peephole. What the... I opened the door with a smile. "What are you doing here?" 

Wyatt was leaning against the door frame and held up a bottle of wine. "I come barring gifts. May I come in?" 

"Of course," I held the door open for him. "I thought you were going home after you saw your mom."

He walked into the kitchen and uncorked the wine. He poured two glasses before and brought them over to where I was standing in the dining room. "That was the plan. I wanted to see you." 

"That's sweet." I took the glass from him and sipped it. "Mmm. My favorite. Thank you, I was out."

"Anytime." 

We held eye contact as he took a drink of the wine. He was looking really good today. He had on his dark jeans, black shirt, and leather jacket. My mouth watered to taste the skin underneath. We haven't been together since the lake house and I missed him. When he agreed to take me on a date, I told him I wanted to wait to have sex again. He thought the idea was ridiculous. I told him that the anticipation would make it so much better; and since this was out first date, we should do it right. 

"So, what's up with the surprise visit?" I asked curiously.

"It's funny how much you can get to know someone." He started walking towards the living room and took a seat on my couch. He looked right at me when he said, "You begin to know when they are telling a lie. Even over the phone." 

Fuck. Shit. Dammit. "Wyatt, I'm sorry. I didn't really lie, per se."

"No? So you aren't having side effects of the new meds your taking." 

I stayed where I was inside the dining room. "Okay, maybe I did lie." I took a gulp of my wine, swishing the sweet liquid around in my mouth for a few seconds. "It's nothing, Wyatt. Nothing bad." 

"Tell me then," he insisted. "I'm all ears." 

"I've been having some insomnia. Not-- not like before."

"And?" he prodded, knowing good and well I was holding back. 

"Headaches and fatigue."

He cursed under his breath. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

I walked into the living room. I saw down my glass of wine before I climbed on the couch and straddled his thighs. I wrapped my arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. "I didn't mean to keep it from you," I whispered. "You have a lot going on and I didn't want to add to your stress. I didn't want you worrying about me." 

His brows drew together. "Fuck whatever I have going on, Lia." His tone was angry, but his touch was gentle when he stroked my cheek. "You are the most important thing to me. You. Fuck everything else. It's not good to have these side effects."

"I know," I said regretfully. "The meds were really helping and I was finally not having attacks. I'm sorry, Wyatt."

He gave me a soft kiss on the lips. "It's okay, Lia. I know how much you wanted them to work. But we can find another medication to help. Okay?" I nodded. "Promise me you won't hide something like that from me." 

"I promise," I vowed. 

He held up his index finger and I laughed. Our other type of pinky promise. I touched the end of his finger with mine. 

It was times like this that I really believed Wyatt loved me. That he was in love with me. But he still hasn't said it to me. I couldn't help but wonder if he ever would.