by Kaylee Ryan
“Like I said, it’s not my place, but I’m team Royce.”
I can’t help but laugh at her. “You’re right,” I agree with her. “I need to hear it from him.”
“Where is she?” I hear Royce ask in the background.
“I need some time, but I’ll be at his place later.”
“You okay?” she asks me.
“Yeah, I will be. Thanks, Had. Although, depending on how this turns out, I might be pounding on your door later tonight.”
“My door is always open to you, but I don’t think that will be an issue. Once he lays his eyes on you, he’s not going to let you out of his sight.” There’s rustling, and then I hear his voice in my ear.
“Sawyer.” His voice cracks. “Baby, where are you?”
“I’m at a hotel.”
“Which one? I’m on my way.”
“No. I’ll come to you. I need a little more time.”
“No.” I can hear the pain in his voice. “No more time away from you. I let that bitch control my life for years, and I won’t lose you over her. No way. It’s not happening, baby. Tell me where you are.”
“I’ll be at your place in a couple of hours.”
“Sawyer,” he croaks out. “I love you. You, Sawyer.”
“I’ll see you soon,” I say, my voice betraying me, my tears evident.
“Be safe, baby.”
“See you soon,” I say, ending the call. A new wave of tears rain down my cheeks from hearing his voice. I want to believe him. Hadley believes him. I trust her. I trust him, or at least I did. I let his ex, a vile woman who I know manipulated him, do the same to me. I’m ashamed. I let the tears fall unchecked. I just need some time before I go to him. I need to be prepared that this could be the end of us, and with that thought, the tears fall harder.
My phone vibrates with a text. Wiping at my face, I focus on the screen.
Royce: I love you, baby. Please come home to me.
Knowing that it’s time to face the situation, I make my way to the bathroom. Splashing
some water on my face, I stare at my reflection. My eyes are red and swollen, but there is nothing I can do about that. After patting my face dry, I grab my purse, phone, and room key and check out—no more hiding.
Chapter 24
Royce
I’m sitting on the steps of my front porch. My leg is bouncing up and down as I stare at the driveway, waiting, watching, willing her to appear before me. When I walked out of my meeting and saw that she wasn’t at her desk, I thought maybe she was in the restroom. Until I realized her computer was shut down, and the picture of her and Hadley was missing. The framed photo of the two of us still in its rightful place.
That’s when the panic started to set in.
The churning in my gut told me something wasn’t right. I called her over and over and over again, with no answer. My brothers rallied around me, calling Conrad, and Marshall, all hands on deck looking for her. When I arrived on Hadley and Derek’s doorstep, I was in freak-out mode. Derek ushered me inside while I fumbled through what I knew. Hadley called her, and on the first ring, my girl picked up.
Fast-forward to now, and the panic is still there. I know she’s safe, but will she really show? I swear, I could kill Jennifer with my bare hands. I don’t have the mental energy to deal with her and to be honest, I want Sawyer there when it happens. I want her to see that there is nothing between us. I want her to witness the pure evil that is my ex-wife.
I called Owen and told him to expect a phone call. I want him to tell her about Saturday. I told him not to leave anything out. I don’t care if it spoils the surprise of proposing to her. The alternative is that I might lose her, and I’ll never survive that. I thought Jennifer’s betrayal was the worst thing that could happen to me in my lifetime. I was wrong. Losing Sawyer, it would kill me.
Headlights shine as the car slows and pulls into my driveway. I recognize her car right away, and I’m on my feet. She barely has the car in park before I’m ripping open her door and dropping to my knees. “Fuck, Sawyer.” I place my head in her lap and fight back the emotion clogging my throat. “You’re here,” I say, pulling back to look up at her. Her eyes are red and swollen, and the fury I feel for my ex-wife intensifies.
“I’m here,” she replies, her voice soft.
“Come inside.” Reaching over her, I unbuckle her belt before climbing to my feet and holding my hand out for her. It remains suspended in the air between us. The knot in my stomach tightens, worried she’s going to change her mind and peel out of here. Finally, after what feels like hours, she places her hand in mine. I grip it tightly, helping her from her car. As soon as the door is shut, I wrap my arms around her, burying my face in her neck and breathing her in. The feel of her in my arms, mixed with the relief, is enough to bring me to tears. I push them back as I pull away and lead her inside.
The house is quiet, only the sounds of our footsteps as we enter the living room fill the space. I take a seat on the couch and give her hand a gentle tug, and she takes a seat next to me. Without a word, I pull out my phone and do a video call with Owen. “Hey, O,” I greet him.
“You find her?”
“Yeah, she’s here.” I turn the phone so that he can see Sawyer.
“Not cool, sis. You scared the hell out of us,” he says, the relief evident in his tone.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice small.
“I have a story for you,” he tells her.
She looks at me in question before glancing back at the screen of my phone. “A story?”
He nods. “You ready to settle in and listen?”
“Yes?” she says, the word sounding more like a question, making Owen laugh.
“It’s one you want to hear, trust me. Are you comfortable?”
Her shoulders visibly relax, and I make a mental note that I owe my brother another solid. He’s calming her, and although I wish it were me, at least she’s here where she belongs, and it’s my family who makes her feel safe.
“Yeah,” she says. It’s almost as if her body melts into the cushion of my couch. The exhaustion plaguing her is evident.
“Royce, give her the phone and give us a minute,” his deep voice demands.
I don’t argue with him. Instead, I hand her the phone and stand. Leaning over the couch, I place a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll go grab you a water,” I say, backing out of the room. Luckily for me, my house is an open concept, and even though I’m in the kitchen, I can hear every word he says to her. He knows that, but he wanted to be sure he had her full attention if I know Owen.
“Once upon a time,” he starts, and I hear a soft laugh come from my girl. “There was a man and his handsome younger brother.” Another small laugh, and I can imagine she’s rolling those beautiful green eyes of hers. “The man, he’d had a rough past in matters of the heart. He gave it to a woman who crushed his heart, his soul, and his spirit. Years passed as he walked around a shell of the man he used to be. Then one day, all that changed.” He pauses. “You still with me, Sawyer?”
“Yes,” she croaks. I want to rush to her, but I trust my brother. He’s got my back, and I have a feeling she needs to hear this from him before she hears it from me.
“One day, the man meets a beautiful woman. With long blonde hair and bright green eyes, he was immediately smitten. Fast-forward a few months and the man had fallen madly in love with the woman. Not just the man, but his family. His parents, his handsome brother, and the other three brothers too,” he says, and this time I’m the one laughing.
Needing to be closer to her, I head back to the living room and hand her a bottle of water before taking a seat next to her. I don’t say anything as I lace my fingers through hers, resting our joined hands on her thigh.
“One day, the man called his handsome brother and told him it was time. The handsome brother knew without question what he meant. It was time to take the next step with the woman who not only captured his heart, she healed him. So, the bro
thers made plans. They picked a day to make it happen.”
“I don’t understand,” she whispers. Her eyes are glued to Owen, hanging off his every word.
“The brothers made plans for a Saturday afternoon,” Owen starts, but I interrupt him.
“I can take it from here,” I tell him.
“Sawyer,” Owen says. “I don’t know if you knew this, but that story, it’s based on real-life events, the man is Royce, and the handsome brother is yours truly.” He grins, his white teeth prominent through his beard. “He loves you, sis.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll call you soon.” He nods, and the screen goes black. I toss my phone on the table and turn to face her. “I love you, Sawyer Gibson. Not just ‘oh, she’s a great girl.’ No, my heart belongs to you. Less than a week ago, I sat on my best friend's couch and told you that I loved you for the first time. I told you that you were my entire world, and I meant every word.” Standing from the couch, I drop to my knees in front of her and pull the ring box out of my pocket. “I asked Owen to go shopping with me that day. There was something that I needed, and I wanted his opinion.” Taking a deep breath, I lift the box, opening it. She gasps when she sees the four-carat diamond ring—two-carat square diamond in the center, with two carats of smaller diamonds surrounding it.
“That night, we talked about what our future might look like, and if this ring would have been on me then, I would have asked you sitting on Jase’s couch. I want our two rowdy boys and a little girl who looks just like her momma. I want to take them to the lake and make memories with them that they will carry for a lifetime. I want a swing set in the backyard, and I want the constant happy chaos our life is sure to be. I want all of that, baby, but what you don’t realize is that without you in my life, the dream no longer exists. It’s not just some random woman I see. It’s you by my side. It’s you who’s growing round with our babies. It’s you sitting next to me around the fire, while our kids roast marshmallows. Every single scenario of my future is revolved around you. I love you, with all that I am.”
“I don’t understand.”
Closing the box, I place it back in my pocket. This is not how I plan to propose to her. I don’t want that to be her memory of the moment I ask her to spend forever with me. “We ran into Jennifer that day. She told me that she and her wife- her best friend—had broken up and she made a mistake. She wanted to try again.” She flinches at my words. “I told her that was never happening, baby. She’s nothing to me. A blimp in my past, but you, Sawyer, you’re my future.”
“I’m so sorry,” she sobs. “I saw the message, and I thought the worst.”
“Shh.” I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. “I have one more call to make. One more call, Sawyer, and then I’m going to show you how much I love you.” Pulling away from her, I turn and grab my phone off the table. I open my messages and tap the “unknown” number placing the call on speaker.
“Royce, I missed you,” Jennifer’s fake as hell voice answers.
“Cut the shit, Jen,” I say. “I’ve informed my staff, which includes the security team, you’re not allowed on the premises of any of the Riggins Enterprises facilities. Furthermore, if you show up at my home or those of my family, you’ll be escorted off by the police, and I’ll file a harassment restraining order.”
“Ro—” she starts, but I cut her off.
“This is not up for negotiation. You threw me away, and that was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I fucking knew it,” she seethes. “I knew that jewelry bag was for another woman.”
“The love of my life,” I say, my eyes locking on Sawyer.
“You’re my husband!” she screams.
“I have signed and filed divorce papers that state otherwise.”
“Don’t do this,” she says, panic in her voice. “I need you.”
“No, you need my money.” Silence greets me on the other end. “I don’t know what you’re scheming, but it’s not going to work.”
“You have to help us,” she says, her tone changing. “We want a baby, Royce, and adoption fees are outrageous.”
“Use your divorce settlement.”
“I have!” she screams. “We both tried in vitro with a donor, and it didn’t take. We want a family,” she cries.
“You should have started with that. Scheming and lying isn’t a way to get my help, and those lies ruined any chance of me helping you. Stay away from my family, Jennifer,” I say, my tone sharp. “You will regret it if not.”
“Fuck you, Royce! I hate you.”
“Feeling’s mutual,” I say, ending the call and tossing my phone on the floor.
“She’s horrible,” Sawyer says softly. “But I feel bad for her.”
“I would have helped her,” I say honestly. “If she were honest, I would have helped her, but I can’t do it, Sawyer. Not when she tried to take you away from me.”
“She didn’t know who I was.”
“She knew. There was no reason for her to say all of that to you otherwise.”
“How do you know what she said?”
“Security footage.”
She rolls her eyes. “I should have known.”
“Con is all over that shit, babe. That’s his forte.” I stand from the floor and hold my hand out for her. “Let’s go to bed. I need to hold you.” Without hesitation, she places her hand in mine as I lead her around the house, locking up for the night. Stopping at the door of my office, I lead her inside, and with one hand, type in the combination on my safe. Reaching into my pocket, I retrieve the ring box and place it inside, before locking the door. I turn to look at her. “That ring is yours, Sawyer. I want nothing more than to have it on your finger so that the world knows you’re spoken for. However, tonight is not how I want you to remember the moment you promise to be mine forever. I want it to be special. I have a plan,” I tell her.
She nods. “Okay.”
“I love you,” I say, pulling her into a kiss.
“I love you too.” With that, I turn off the light, and lead her down the hall to my room, soon to be our room. I need to hold her. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll let her out of bed all damn weekend. The hours when I didn’t know where she was took years off my life. I’m not ready to let her out of my sight. I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready.
Chapter 25
Sawyer
I’m in that moment in between being awake and being asleep. Royce’s arms are clasped around me. I don’t think we moved at all once we fell asleep. I let the events of last night replay in my mind. He took his time undressing us both before pulling back the covers. Together, we climbed into bed. He drew me close and simply held me. I expected him to make love to me, but the silence of the room surrounding us, and with the security of his arms locked around me, I fell fast asleep.
“Morning, baby,” he says, his voice thick.
I roll over to get a good look at him in the early morning light. “Morning.”
“How you feeling?”
“Better.”
He nods. “It was an emotional day.”
“Yeah. Royce, I’m sorry that I let her get to me. I just couldn’t stomach the thought of losing you, especially to her. After everything that she put you through.” Anger stirs inside me, thinking about how I acted, how I let her convince me of her lies.
“You’re here, where you belong. That’s all that matters.” He kisses me softly. His hands roam over my body, and just like that, the need I have for him ignites into a burning inferno.
“I need you,” I say against his lips.
“Tell me what you need.”
“You.”
“You can do better than that, baby. Tell me what you need.” Grabbing his hand, I guide it between my legs. His fingers trace through my folds. “Look at you, beautiful, wet and ready for me,” he murmurs against my lips. He deepens the kiss as he slides a finger inside me. “That feel good, baby?”
“More,” I say, nodding.
“More of this?” he asks, sliding in a second finger.
“Y-Yes,” I pant.
“I need something too, Sawyer. Will you give me what I need?” he asks.
“Anything,” I say, losing my mind from his magical hands.
“Anything?” he asks.
“I’ll give you anything. Just please don’t stop,” I say, gripping the sheets.
His fingers slow, and I groan. “I’ll keep going, but I need something from you first,” he says, kissing the corner of my mouth.
“Tell me,” I say, frustrated.
I open my eyes to find him staring down at me. “Move in with me. Make this our home.” My mouth opens, but no words come out. “If this isn’t where you see us living, we’ll look for something else, but I don’t want to wait any longer to start our future.”
I blink back the tears that threaten to fall. “I love this house.”
“Then help me make it our home.”
He’s watching me waiting for my reply. The look in his eyes tells me he’s worried about what my answer will be. There’s something else, though. Something that looks a lot like hope, and that’s what has me nodding my agreement.
“Okay.”
“Yeah?” he asks, his smile wide.
“I have one condition.”
“Name it.” Zero hesitation.
“Make love to me. Show me.”
“My pleasure,” he says, reaching for a condom. I watch as he rips the small packet with his teeth and rolls it over his hard length, before moving to settle between my thighs. Placing his lips next to my ear, he murmurs, “I love you,” as he pushes inside of me.
“I love you,” I echo as he slides in and out. Over and over, he sets a slow torturous pace as his hands and lips claim every inch of my skin that they can reach. My hands roam over his back as he fills me, in more ways than one.
My heart is full.
“Who has you smiling?” Royce asks from where he sits next to me on his couch.
“Grant.” I laugh.
