My Not-So-Secret Santa by Sara Whitney

Author:Sara Whitney [Whitney, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LoveSpark Press

“Of course you’re late.”

That’s my brother’s so-very-loving greeting when I pull up outside his house. It’s the refrain I’ve heard my whole life, and my inevitable response comes out like a growl.

“I’m the one doing the favor.” For a second, it looks like he’s going to lash back, and I brace myself for it, but he just nods instead.

“Right. Thank you.”

“So what are we moving exactly?” I ask.

He turns and walks into his house, and I follow. “Reese wants the bedroom set, and I don’t want to fight her for it.”

I have a million questions about that starting with how long ago they broke up and why they broke up and if he’s handing over the furniture because he was a guilty party, but I lock it all away. He’ll talk when he’s ready to talk.

“Jesus, this is a beast.” I preemptively glare at the solid oak set that’s gonna be a real bitch to wrestle down the stairs and into my truck. We’ll have to manage it piece by piece. My first instinct is to double-check that Wyatt’s cleared to lift this much weight, but questions about how he’s healing tend to set him off, so I trust that he’s not doing anything that’s going to cause him any more harm.

Still, he’s sweaty and pale by the time I strap down the final nightstand and slam the truck tailgate shut.

“You good?” I ask as I fire up the engine.

“Yep,” he says tersely. He gives me Reese’s new address, and I point us in that direction. I’m prepared to fill the silence with the radio the whole way there, but Wyatt says, “So. Twice in one week.

“Mom’ll be thrilled,” I say. “Speaking of, would she like a new embroidery machine, do you think?”

She’s always enjoyed sewing and needlework, and in the downtime during her recovery, she’s gotten into making elaborate pop-culture designs that she’s started selling online.

Wyatt’s brows lift. “I think that’s a great idea. Do you want me to⁠—”

He bites off his next words, and it makes me feel like shit. He was about to offer to help but is scared I’ll be a dick about it. Which, admittedly, I was about to be. Then I think about Liv’s earnestness as she tries to convince me I’m something other than what I’ve been, and it makes me want to be that guy she thinks she sees.

“Would you maybe have time to research models so I know what to buy?” I ask. “You’re better at that kind of stuff than I am.”

He rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling as he does it. “You’re perfectly capable of researching shit like that,” he says. “But yes, I’d like to help out.”

“You already did.”

“With something other than my organs and my bank account.” He shifts uncomfortably in the passenger seat. “I want to feel normal again.”

“Did any of this have to do with your breakup?” I miss the Wyatt who used to tell me things like that.

He’s silent for so long that I assume he’s chosen to ignore me.

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