“What would keep me from going to the Raccoon's game?” Wyatt said. As he spoke, Lily and Maggie glanced over at him. “Something came up. Sorry.”
“What came up?” Derek was obviously annoyed, but Wyatt realized that he'd get over it. He had to. There wasn't much of a choice.
“Something more important than a basketball game came up,” Wyatt said, smiling at his daughter and then scanning his eyes toward Lily. “I ended up landing a date with two very beautiful girls. I just don't feel like I can cancel on them.”
Lily smiled at his words. Her cheeks turn a little red and she immediately looked forward, going back to slicing the eggplant.
“Alright, man,” Derek said. “You're missing out, though. This is a big game. If they win this one, they're going to the playoffs.”
“I know,” Wyatt said. “I'm wearing my jersey, though. I'll keep my fingers crossed.”
“Cool, well I guess I'll catch up with you sometime next week,” Derek said. “I'll swing by your office and give you more crap for missing out on this.”
Wyatt laughed. “Sounds good. See you then.”
“See you later,” Derek said, before hanging up.
Wyatt slipped his phone back into his pocket. He felt relieved and extremely happy about his decision to stay home. He meant what he had told Derek, too, about something important coming up. Time with his daughter was a priority. Of course, getting to spend a little time with Lily was just an added bonus.
“Alright, back to cooking,” he said, approaching the two of them. “I'll whip up these eggs and we'll get cooking.”
Lily smiled. “I'm not sure how you feel about watching TV during dinner, but we could always turn on the Raccoon game.”
Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “You know what, I think that's a great idea. I'd love to see what those boys can do tonight. They're up against a pretty hard team.”
“I wouldn't mind watching it anyway,” Lily said. “My dad has always been trying to get me to take an interest in watching basketball, so he'd be tickled pink if I actually knew the score of one of the games the next time I spoke with him.”
“Alright then,” Wyatt said. “It's settled. We're eating dinner in the living room tonight.”
He then went to work, whipping up some eggs into a bowl. When he was done, he stepped up to where Lily had been cutting vegetables. He reached toward the cutting board where she'd already made slices of eggplant. The timing was impeccable, because as he brought his hand forward, so did Lily. They were both going for the same piece of eggplant. Their hands touched. Her fingers gently overlapped his. She kept it there for just a fleeting second, then quickly pulled away.
“Shoot, sorry,” she said.
“No big deal,” he replied, with a smile.
He took the piece of eggplant and dipped it into the eggs. The top of his hand still seemed to tingle from where she had touched it. They were silent for a moment. Nobody spoke and the only sound was Lily's knife as it sliced through the vegetable and into the wooden cutting board.
“So, um, what would you like to drink with dinner?” Wyatt asked, breaking the silence. “I've got many different kinds of wine. Do you like wine? I have beer, too.”
Lily glanced over and Wyatt noticed that she was blushing again. He assumed it was from accidentally touching his hand.
“I would take some red wine,” she said.
“Perfect,” he replied. “I'll run down to the wine cellar and grab some. I have some Cabernet that will blow your mind.”
“Sounds great,” she said, then turned back to give Maggie another task.
Wyatt made his way downstairs to where the cellar was. It was the size of a small bedroom, located in the far back of the house. Caroline had insisted they have one built right after they bought the house, since collecting wine from all over the world had been one of her hobbies. Wyatt didn't mind it, though, because it also gave him a good place to store his expensive cigars.
He pulled on the glass door of the cellar and stepped inside. As he scanned the wine, looking for the bottle that he had in mind, he couldn't stop thinking that Lily. Something had stirred inside of him when their hands had touched. He had felt it in his gut, like a spark of electricity. It had been a long time since he had noticed a sensation like that, but he was pretty sure that he knew what it was.
I'm attracted to her, he thought. I know that I shouldn't be, given the situation and all, but I am. It's undeniable. I felt something upstairs. It was like some weird magnetic pull that made me want to wrap my arms around her and kiss her. I wonder if she noticed the same feeling.
Wyatt found the bottle of wine that he was looking for near the back o
f the cellar. It was stored where he kept his favorites. Most of them were white wines, but a few were red. He grabbed the 1946 Cabernet and tucked it under his arm, then headed back upstairs to continue making dinner with the girls.
“Shall I pour you a glass?” Wyatt asked, stepping around the corner with the bottle in hand.