Dottie looked amazing. Most of the times that they hung out, she was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt or in her elf costume. This was a completely different ball game. He had never seen her dressed so sexy. Of course, he preferred it when she was wearing nothing at all, but if she had to be dressed, he liked this look best of all.

She was wearing a tight black dress that looped around her neck. Her black heels were high and made her ass look amazing. Every curve on her body was calling his name, and he couldn’t wait until they got home and he could get his hands on her. His gorilla was more impatient. It wanted to take her in the car before they even made it to the club.

Wyatt thought that was an amazing idea, but he held himself back. It had probably taken her a long time to do her makeup and hair. He didn’t want to ruin it all before she got a chance to show off her handiwork.

“You look so amazing.” He squeezed her thigh, and she bristled under his touch. He frowned and took his hand off her thigh. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I’m fine.”

Her words said she was fine, but the tone behind them made him think she was lying. Wyatt didn’t want to push her, but something had to be bothering her. She never moved away from his touch. Maybe she was nervous about the dress. Maybe she was dressed to impress him and not in a way that she liked. He had told her the other night that he was excited to see her in a sexy dress. He hoped it wasn’t the case that she didn’t like dressing this way.

He was so excited to finally be introducing her to the whole gang. If she was uncomfortable and sad, it might ruin her night.

“Do you like your dress?” he asked.

She looked down. “Yes. I love this dress. I bought it especially for tonight. Why, do you not like it?”

“I like it a lot. I love it,” he told her quickly. “You just seem a little…strange. I don’t know. Like something is wrong.”

“I told you, I’m fine,” she told him again. “Jennifer is meeting us at the door. She saved us a spot at her table.”

“Great. We all usually hang out with her.”

Wyatt had to park down the block because it was so crowded. They were going to have to walk down to the bar.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you?” he asked her as they got out of the car. “Those shoes don’t look too comfortable for a long walk.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer at the end of the night. By then, my feet will probably be killing me.” She grabbed his hand as they walked. “But I can walk now. Thanks for asking.”

“If you wanted to, you could always wear sneakers,” Wyatt suggested. “Jack won’t care what you wear if you’re with me.”

“It’s really fine. I can endure it for one night. I don’t wear heels often, and it’s fun for a night,” Dottie said resolutely.

She sounded like her old self. Whatever was wrong, it seemed like it had passed quickly. It was perfect timing.

There was a bouncer outside who quickly waved them in. Wy was a regular and never had to wait in line. Over the last year, his quiet favorite bar had become much more popular. It was a good thing that his friends were already there. There wasn’t a table open or even any space left at the bar. The place was packed.

“I’m so glad you guys came!” Jennifer ran toward them and gave Dottie a hug. “You look so hot.”

“Thank you,” Dottie said. “I spotted this dress the other day, and I couldn’t resist buying it. Thanks for inviting us.”

“I can’t believe it took you this long to come to Jack’s,” Jennifer said. “This is the only cool place in the entire town. Come on, we’ve got a table.”

Jennifer led them both to a table in the middle of the room. All of Wyatt’s friends were there. Even Blair had managed to make an appearance. She gave Wy a thumbs-up after smiling at Dottie. He bit back a cocky smile and hung his head. He didn’t want to look like a smug douchebag, but he was with the hottest girl in the whole bar, and that was saying a lot. All of his friends had really hot wives and girlfriends, but Dottie was easily the most beautiful woman in the room.

“Do you know everyone?” Jennifer asked Dottie.

“This is her first time meeting everyone,” Wyatt explained. He introduced her to the entire table. He could tell his friends were impressed, as they should be. He’d been talking her up for the last few weeks.

“So many names to remember.” Dottie frowned. “Sorry if I mix some of you up.”

Wy took her hand and squeezed it under the table. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to learn them all now. Want me to get you a drink?”

“Sure, I’ll take a Sex on the Beach.”

“I’ll be back in a flash.” He kissed her before asking Jen if she wanted anything. Everyone else was set for drinks, so he went to the bar alone for their orders.

“Is that the special lady?” Jack asked at the bar.

“She sure is.” Wy turned to look at her across the room. It sent a shiver down his spine to look at her, even all the way across the bar. Blair had taken his spot and was leaned in close talking with her. She must have said something funny, because Dottie put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

“She’s gorgeous,” Jack said as he handed Wy the two mixed drinks and a beer. “I’ll come over to meet her the minute it dies down a little up here.”

Wy pulled out his wallet, but Jack waved him away. “Drinks are on me tonight. It’s a special occasion. The first time meeting your mate is a reason to celebrate.”

“Thanks,” Wy said.

He carefully made his way back to the table with his drinks. When he got there, he saw that Jack’s wife Macy had joined the two women. He let the girls talk and took Blair’s spot next to Nate and their friend Cade.

“She is so pretty,” Nate told him. “I’m glad you finally decided to listen to Blair. I was starting to get sick of her going on about you every night.”

“It couldn’t have been every night.”

Nate raised his eyebrows. “Really? Have you forgotten who I’m married to? Once she has a project, she goes after it full force.”

“Maybe you should be thanking me, then,” Wy said. “Now that I’ve got a mate, she’s going to need a new project.”

Cade laughed and patted Nate on the shoulder. “He’s got you there, man.”

Nate shook his head. “It’s almost time for the Presidents’ Day sale at the store. She’s going to be busy with that for the rest of the month, and then we have to start getting ready for the baby.”

At the mention of babies, Wy glanced over at Dottie, something Cade didn’t miss.

“You’ll get there soon enough,” Cade told him. “We’re really happy for you. Even though we’ve missed you at the bar for after-work drinks, we’ll forgive you once you’ve left Couples Land. It’s great you finally decided to try LK Brides.”

“They really are great,” Wyatt told everyone. “I just can’t believe that I found my mate so easily.”

“It really isn’t fair how quickly you guys all got your mates,” Cade sighed. “But you two have to come over sometime. Kira’s been nagging me to pin you down for dinner plans for two weeks.”

“I would love to see the baby again,” Wy admitted.

Cade and Kira had the cutest little cub. He was just starting to shift, and Wy seemed to be the only one who could put up with his biting. Plus, the little guy wasn’t afraid to wrestle around when they were both shifted. There was nothing a little cub could do that would hurt Wy’s gorilla, so it was fun for both of them. It really had been too long since he’d last visited. He knew Dottie would love the baby, too.

There was a tap on his shoulder. Dottie had made her way around the table to his side when he wasn’t looking. “I think I’m going to leave.”

Wyatt looked at Blair and Macy. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

He was sure he had heard her wrong. She’d been happily involved in the conversation just a moment earlier. She looked okay and didn’t feel hot to his touch, but she might have gotten ill suddenly.

“I don’t really feel like being out tonight. I’m sorry. I think I’d much rather be at home right now.”

“You can’t leave already,” Jen said from Wy’s other side. “I really must have heard wrong.”

“I think I need to,” Dottie said apologetically. “I just want to go home.”

Reluctantly, Wyatt left the bar and walked her back to the car. He didn’t know what was going on, but it couldn’t be good. He hoped she wasn’t getting the flu or something. But she didn’t exactly look sick. Something wasn’t adding up here.

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked her quietly.

“No,” she snapped. “Stop asking me if you did something wrong all the time. I’m just having a bad night. I don’t feel so good, that’s all.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

She sighed, exasperated. “I’m sorry. This isn’t about you, Wyatt. Sometimes things are about me too.”

He bit back the need to apologize and nodded. He had obviously done something to annoy her. Things had taken such a violent turn that he wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t want to make her angrier.

“I’ll have you home in no time,” he promised as he unlocked the car door.

“My parents will be here any moment,” she said, looking down the block.

Wy’s stomach dropped. “Your parents?”

“They’re just two minutes away. There’s no point in ruining your night when they can come and get me.”

“It won’t ruin my night to take care of my girlfriend. I’m not going to have a good time without you. The only reason I came out tonight was to introduce you to everyone.”

“I already called them,” she said, looking at the ground.

“Dottie.” He took her hands. “If something is wrong, please just tell me. You’re acting really strange. You were having a good time just a minute ago.”

A car pulled up next to them, and Dottie’s dad rolled down the window. “Hey, Wy. You coming home with me too?”

Wyatt looked at Dottie, and she shook her head. “No, just me, Dad.”

She kissed Wyatt and got into the car. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” He wanted to talk more, but he didn’t want to push her. She obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk to him.

Mr. Hart gave him a look and shrugged before driving off.

Wyatt wasn’t sure exactly what had transpired, but he must’ve done something terrible. Even though she had said she was fine, Dottie didn’t seem fine to him. He would have to get to the bottom of this tomorrow.

His night was ruined. He shot a text to Jen to tell everyone he was sorry for leaving and headed home himself.