Page 5 of Searching for Love

ChapterTwo

How could someone so small be so good at football? Not only could she easily outthrow him, but she was also easily twice as fast as anyone else playing.

Avery was quite literally running circles around him and her brother. Whenever she scored, she did this sexy little booty dance that had his heart rate spiking and his mind going foggy.

The higher the score went, the more Wyatt laughed at him.

“You play dirty,” Lucas told the man after he’d tossed the ball to Avery, who scored the winning points.

“It pays to know who you’re up against.” Wyatt slapped him on the shoulder.

“Next time we play, I get your sister,” he joked, and Wyatt laughed. “Blood is thicker than…”—Wyatt’s eyes narrowed slightly—“hormones.”

Lucas laughed. “Avery mentioned you got engaged a few months ago.”

Wyatt nodded as his eyes moved over to Hannah, his fiancée. Everything about the man changed. His smile grew when Hannah glanced in their direction across the sand.

“I never thought I’d get so lucky,” Wyatt said under his breath. “Which reminds me.” He turned to Lucas. “Here’s the standard brother talk. Hurt my sister and I’ll pound you into the ground.”

The fact that Wyatt said this with a smile had him laughing. “I have a younger sister too. I get it.”

Wyatt’s eyebrows shot up. “How much younger?”

“Ten years.” Lucas smiled. “Sophia just turned sixteen.” He shifted as Avery and Hannah started walking towards them.

“They’re best friends,” Wyatt warned. “If Hannah doesn’t like you, that door shuts for good.”

Avery and Hannah were like night and day. Avery’s pale perfect skin and bright red hair reminded him of a painting of a mermaid he’d once seen. Hannah was more, well, standard-looking, he supposed. She had sandy blonde hair and tanned skin. About the only thing that the friends had in common was their blue eyes and the fact that they both wore blue bikinis.

“So, you went MIA for months and suddenly showed up just in time for summer fun?” Hannah said to him as she stopped beside Wyatt and wrapped her arms around the man’s waist.

“MIA?” he asked. “Not sure about that.” He smiled. “I worked double shifts almost every day for the past few months so I could buy the building down the street from your fiancé’s store.” He motioned towards Wyatt.

Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “Which building?”

“Lucas just bought the old sandwich shop building,” Avery said cheerfully.

“I thought they were going to tear that building down?” Wyatt asked.

“Nope, she’s solid enough. According to the inspection I paid for, anyway,” Lucas said.

“What are you going to do with it?” Wyatt asked.

“Open my own restaurant,” he answered quickly.

“What kind?” Hannah asked.

“Authentic Mexican,” Avery answered for him.

“Oh my god. That sounds incredible. I could go for some empanadas right about now,” Hannah said, holding her stomach.

“Well, as a fellow business owner, let me know if you need anything.” Wyatt wrapped his arm around Hannah.

“Will you cater?” Hannah asked.

“I… can,” he answered after quickly thinking about it. He’d quit his job in Edgeview and had moved into the small one-room apartment above where the restaurant would go to save money while he renovated. “What’s the occasion?”

“Our wedding.” Hannah motioned between her and Wyatt. “Next month. We were going to have the Golden Oar handle it but haven’t agreed on anything yet. I’d love to do something different.” Hannah nudged Wyatt. “Wouldn’t it be great to do something unique?”