“No. It’s not silly.” Everything in Wyatt wanted to reach for her and pull her into a hug. He fought to maintain the distance between them. “Emma is lucky to have a sister who cares so much about her.” He searched for the right words. “I’ll bet she’d want you to move forward and live your life. I don’t know Emma all that well, but she doesn’t seem like the type of person who would want to hold anyone back.”
Chrissy nodded silently. This time, a tear escaped to slide down her cheek. It stopped at her jaw, suspended, until another tear joined it, and both fell onto the fabric of her sundress below.
Wyatt couldn’t just sit there. He slid over a little and then put an arm around her shoulders. When she let her head tilt to rest against his, he tightened his hold on her. The sigh she released tugged at his heart.
A breeze came through and shook the umbrella canopy just a little. He listened to the sound of the waves, and it was easy to imagine that they were the only two on a deserted island somewhere. A place where money didn’t matter, Chrissy’s sister didn’t struggle with her health, Wyatt’s parents weren’t always on his back. A place where he would seriously consider dating the gorgeous woman who just placed her hand on his forearm. The warmth of her soft skin rivaled the summer sun.
Out of nowhere, a young child squealed and then began to laugh. The sound made both Chrissy and Wyatt jump. She chuckled and swiped at her cheeks before she moved away from him.
“It’d be nice to be a kid again, wouldn’t it?” Wyatt swept some of her hair away from her wet cheek and tucked it behind her ear.
“Yeah, it would. Being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
“No, it’s not.” He smiled at her. “What do you say we go for a walk along the beach and forget all of this stuff for now.”
“I think that sounds like a really good idea.”
Wyatt stood and offered her a hand to help her up. This wasn’t a deserted island, and there were a lot of reasons why he and Chrissy would probably never work. But for now, he chose to ignore them. For now, he’d enjoy pretending to be her boyfriend.
