“Wow! That sounds fantastic. Where do they live?”
“Actually, not too far from here. They’re in Durham.” He waited a moment to see if Regan would comment on it or ask if he was going to continue to stay at his hotel here in town. But she didn’t and he had to tramp down the disappointment. He’d like to just stay here with her and if she’d only ask, he’d pay his tab at the hotel and pack up immediately.
“And what about the second one?”
“It’s a master suite makeover for a couple of empty-nesters. They want to knock down the wall between their current bedroom and a guest room and make one master suite with a spa like bathroom and a sitting area. I haven’t had a whole lot of time to look at the specs but I believe that one can be done in a week if we don’t hit any surprises.”
“So another month and then you’re free,” she said with what sounded like forced cheerfulness.
“Looks that way,” he said, hoping that she’d ask for what’s next.
But still she didn’t.
So Sawyer decided to do his father proud and reach out for what made him happy. “I was hoping that maybe you wouldn’t mind having me around for a while,” he began and saw first the shock and then the smile spread across Regan’s face.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked, tilting her head as she studied him.
“For starters I’d like to stop going to my hotel to shower and change every day. Neither of the new jobs are far enough away that I can’t handle the commute. What do you say? You up for a roommate?”
Regan was speechless. He wanted to live with her. Her! For the first time ever a man was asking her about their future. It was a pretty heady experience and she didn’t want to seem overly anxious and at the moment, she was kind of enjoying the look of near-panic on Sawyer’s face while she was silently thinking.
“Hmm…I don’t know,” she began as if weighing her options. “What’s in this for me? I mean, do you clean up after yourself? Seems to me you’re pretty spoiled by having housekeeping picking up after you every day. I’m not even going to try to compete with that.”
“I’m a big boy, Regan. I promise to pick up after myself and do my own laundry. I certainly don’t think of you as housekeeping,” he teased.
“Well, that’s good. That’s very, very good. What about cooking? Do you know how to cook?”
“I whip up a mean macaroni and cheese.”
She stared at him in mock horror. “If you even try to feed me stuff out of a box I’ll hurt you.”
“Okay, now we’re getting someplace; note to self: no boxed mac and cheese for Regan. Anything else?”
“Sex.”
He arched a brow at her. “Sex?”
She nodded. “I mean if you’re going to be staying here for a little while I don’t want you to just take it for granted that I’m just going to put out whenever you want.” Rising from her spot on the sofa she walked over and took the paper plate he had been using from his hands and flung it on the coffee table before straddling his lap.
“So, no putting out just because I’m here,” he restated and situated her more comfortably in his lap. “Hmm…that could be a definite deal breaker but then I guess I could counter with the same thing. I’m not going to put out either on your every whim.”
She wiggled in his lap. “Seems to me we’re at a stalemate here.” Soon she felt his arousal growing and wiggled a little more. “Oh, well, at least we gave it a shot.”
Sawyer flipped her on to her back so fast that she didn’t know what was happening. “You drive a hard bargain but here’s my final offer; sex, anytime, anywhere that you want it. I’m all yours.”
“Ooo…I like that,” she purred. “How about right here, right now?”
Sawyer kissed her long and deep. “I think I’m going to like staying with you.”
****
The week flew by once Sawyer moved his meager belongings into Regan’s home and before they knew it, it was Friday. Regan was getting ready for work while simultaneously packing for their weekend. Sawyer had packed up his entire suitcase because they planned on stopping by his place in New Bern on the way to the coast for him to refresh his wardrobe.
“What time do I need to be there?” she asked, tossing a bathing suit into the open suitcase on the bed.
“If you get there by eleven, we should be ready for you. We’re moving furniture in this morning,” Sawyer looked at his watch, “actually, right now, and we told your mother to get there around ten-thirty. We want to shoot the reveal with her alone first and then we’ll do one with you. How does that sound?”
“Like a tight schedule,” she said as she continued to hurry around. “I want to be packed before I leave and I have to go and open the spa and my staff will get in around nine and so I shouldn’t have any problems getting to the house by eleven. Mom promised to go in this weekend and check on things.”
“You told her we were going away?”
“What? Um…no. I just told her that I was going to the beach for the weekend with some friends.”
“You’re going to have to tell her eventually, you know.”
“I know, I know. I just wanted to get through the whole renovation thing and let her have her time in the spotlight with the big house reveal and Max and…well, I didn’t want to take the focus off of her right now. She deserves to shine for now.”
Sawyer leaned in over the suitcase and kissed her. “You are an amazing woman.”
Regan blushed. “Thank you. Now go and play contractor and host so I can finish packing and get to work. I promise to see you at eleven.”
Sawyer grabbed his suitcase. “I’ll be the one that you’re supposed to shoot daggers at but then get all overwhelmed by my craftsmanship. Remember that.”
Regan chuckled. “I’ll try.”
Once she heard the front door close, Regan did a little excited dance. The week had been wonderful. It had seemed natural to come home to one another and on the nights when she had stayed to close the spa, she came home to Sawyer’s smiling face and dinner on the table.
And it was never macaroni and cheese.
She knew he was spending a fortune on takeout and she hoped they’d come to a compromise on that one eventually. For now she was giddy to go into work and then head over to her mother’s and be done with the whole renovation thing and then head off to the coast for what promised to be an amazing weekend.
Sawyer was still being vague on what they were doing and Regan was more than happy to let him be. It was nice to not have to be the one making plans and it really seemed to make him happy to be doing it this way.
With one last glance around the bedroom, Regan was certain that she had everything and closed the suitcase and headed down the stairs. Everything was locked up and she knew that Caroline would look in on the place over the weekend and so with a little skip in her step, she walked out the door and locked it behind her and set off for a fabulous day. The sun was shining, there was a great song on the radio and Regan thanked her lucky stars that she was so blessed.
****
If one more thing went wrong, Sawyer was going to scream. Jobwise, things were running like clockwork but it was the little things and Devin’s attitude that were really starting to grate on his nerves.
Someone had nicked the wall in the hallway which required a last minute coat of mud and paint that they were waiting to dry. The sofa that he had chosen for the living room came in in the wrong color. It still worked but he was pissed that there was an error at all. As he walked from room to room making sure that everything was in place, Devin dogged his every step.
“You’re a natural with this, Sawyer. You can’t just walk away.”
“Devin, please. We’ve had this discussion and my decision is final.”
“The network is prepared to up your salary by 10 percent.”
“Not interested.”
“Sawyer, be reasonable. They’re also willing to give you a larger cut of the merchandising and more of a say
in the jobs that we take.”
That stopped Sawyer in his tracks briefly. “And the drama shit?”
Devin threw up his hands. “It’s freakin nothing in the grand scheme of things! So we make some people fight on camera. What the hell difference does it make to you? Stop being such a damn martyr and take the position, Sawyer!”
Sawyer glanced around to make sure that no one on the crew was too close by. “You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t about being a damn martyr, Dev, this is about me wanting to have a little control over my life and doing something for myself. I don’t want to instigate drama and I certainly don’t want to perpetuate and benefit from the drama! There are enough freaks on the television now, I don’t want to contribute to there being any more!”
“They’ll be there whether you put them there or not, Sawyer. That’s just a fact of life.”
Sawyer shook his head sadly. “I just don’t want any part of it, Dev. Believe me, this isn’t a rash decision and I’m not trying to negotiate for more money from the network. I’m just ready to be done with it all. End of story.”
“You’re a fool, Sawyer. You know that? You’re a damn fool. You could be a very wealthy man and money will buy you whatever it is that you think will make you happy. Give us another couple of years and you can retire! Then you’ll be free to do whatever the hell it is that you want and I won’t try to stop you.”
“Dev, listen to me and listen good; I’m done.” Sawyer took a step back and watched the rage play all over the producer’s face. “You should be happy that I’m leaving.”
“What?” Devin snapped. “How do you figure that?”
“With a new guy, you’ll have all of the control. You’ll say jump and he’ll ask how high. You know that I’m never going to do that.” In an attempt to ease some of the tension, Sawyer placed a hand on Devin’s shoulder. “You’re a great producer and you have a great vision for where you want to go. Take this chance to build it to what you want without someone like me holding you back and believe me, I’m holding you back.”
Devin considered his words. “Dammit, Sawyer, we work well together. Why can’t you just suck it up for now? What’s changed?”
“I have. I need a break.”
“So if we gave you like…six months off? Would you come back?”
Sawyer laughed. “No, Dev; I won’t come back. I want to do my own thing. Go back to doing jobs that aren’t being done for the camera. Working in the private sector always was more appealing to me.”
“What happened to you, man? We used to want the same things.” No longer angry, Devin’s voice was now just filled with disappointment.
“I want a life. I want to sleep in a bed of my own and make my own choices. You can’t tell me that on some level that doesn’t sound good to even you?”
Devin eventually shrugged. “I know the traveling is a bitch but the money is great. You’re going to miss it.”
“No,” Sawyer said confidently because what he was going to gain was worth so much more. “I’m really not.”
****
An hour later Caroline pulled up in the driveway and the camera crew followed her every step as Sawyer met her at the door and then gave her a tour of her newly designed home. Even though she had been there through most of the renovation, it was still a big surprise to see everything put back together.
“Oh, Sawyer,” she gushed, “it’s more beautiful than I even imagined it. Thank you so much!” And then she wrapped her arms around him before wiping the tears from her face. They were a combination of joy and sadness. This was the home that Caroline had envisioned at one time before she lost her husband and since that time, it had never been a priority. “You don’t know what you’ve given me,” she said as the tears continued to stream down her face. “This was the first home my late husband and I bought and we raised our family here; talked about all of our hopes and dreams here and…” she stopped as the emotions clogged her throat.
Sawyer pulled her close and hugged her until she was able to speak again.
“I think that Sam would have loved what you did here,” she finally said. “It’s beautiful; it’s just so beautiful. Thank you.”
They continued to walk around the house for the B-roll shots until Regan pulled in. Devin positioned Sawyer and Caroline where he wanted them to be and put the camera crew in place to catch Regan’s immediate reaction to what she saw.
Sawyer was more nervous for Regan’s response than he had ever been for anyone else’s. Beside him Caroline sensed his tension and squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry; she can’t possibly have anything bad to say about what you’ve done.”
While Sawyer knew that was true, they had talked about the house often enough that he was confident in the fact that Regan had come to terms with it all, it was just that he wanted her to be proud of him; of what he had created.
“Action!” Devin yelled and Regan was cued to walk in the door.
She stepped through the door and Sawyer held his breath. He watched all of the emotion play over her face. Regan was speechless. She stepped into the house, into the living room and looked around. Caroline ran up to her and hugged her. “Do you love it? Can you believe that this is our house?”
Regan had to remember her “role” in this whole silly scenario and went directly into character. “But it’s not our house anymore; not really.” It didn’t feel right to say the words and Regan knew that anyone who knew her would know that she was lying; that it was all just an act.
For the next ten minutes it was Caroline who took Regan on the tour with the cameras rolling behind them. When they finally finished, they met up with Sawyer in the kitchen. He was standing behind the granite covered island and did his best to keep his expression neutral when all he wanted to do was kiss her and whisk her away from all of this. He caught Devin watching him and signaling him to get on with the dialogue.
“So, Regan, you had a chance to tour the house with your mom and I’m sure that you can tell that she is thrilled with the end results. How about you? Did this meet your expectations?”
She wanted to tell him yes; that the house was beautiful and that his work was amazing. That he was amazing but that would have to wait until later. “I think that you do very nice work, Sawyer,” she said evenly.
“Well, I guess that’s a start,” he said. “Tell me, if you had to pick something and I mean had to pick something here that you are most pleased with, what would it be?”
Regan spun and looked around the place. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to him. “It still feels like home,” she said tearily and had to wipe her eyes. “I walked in here and it’s still home; you did exactly as you said. You didn’t destroy, you enhanced.” Turning to face him again, she knew that she couldn’t lie to him. “It’s amazing, Sawyer. So much more than I thought it would be.”
The urge to say to hell with everything and kiss her was nearly overwhelming but Sawyer reminded himself that it was just a few more minutes. If he could just wrap up the filming, everything would be all right. “I’m glad you’re pleased, Regan. I know that you didn’t want us here but I’m pleased that in the end, you’re happy with the results.”
Sawyer turned toward the camera and did his ending credits speech to the at-home audience and was relieved when Devin finally yelled “Cut! That’s a wrap, people!”
Everything went into motion at once. There were congratulations and people shaking hands and Regan and Caroline were smiling and laughing and joking with the crew and yet Sawyer felt a sense of dread coming over him. He couldn’t put his finger on it but he couldn’t fight the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.
Max walked over and put his arm around Caroline and Sawyer heard him telling everyone how he found the love of his life on this job. People were toasting them with the beverages that were always kept on hand in a cooler and although Sawyer lifted his own bottle of water, he kept scanning the room for trouble. Regan was talking to Devin and Sawyer dropped his water and we
nt across the room to make sure that Devin wasn’t saying anything to make her upset.
“We really are pleased that you like the house, Regan,” Devin was saying. “If you’re interested the network also has a great real estate show and we can showcase the home and really work at getting you top dollar for it.”
Regan smiled graciously. “Thank you for that offer but that decision will be solely up to my mother. Me, personally? I’m done with the whole reality show thing. I am definitely not comfortable in front of the camera and I’m glad that we’re done.”
“Well that’s a real shame, Regan, because you are a beautiful woman who is a natural in front of the camera.”
It sounded like a compliment but coming from this man it made Regan feel dirty. She smiled and thanked him and made her excuses to go and thank the rest of the crew. Sawyer watched her go and then looked at Devin with disbelief. “What is wrong with you?”
“What?” Devin asked, a smirk on his face.
“Why would you offer her another reality show when she hated this one?”
Devin shrugged. “Hey, I’m a network guy and the network really liked her.” Sawyer’s eyes narrowed. “As a matter of fact, they really wanted more of Regan in the episode and I told them how she kept her distance.”
“Good,” Sawyer said, relieved.
“However,” Devin said slyly, I do have an awful lot of B-roll on the two of you. Kissing in the yard, the date where you went strolling downtown. Personally, I liked it when you picked her up and carried her to the car. Classy. I think that maybe you romancing her was a nice touch. Sure it cut down on the drama that we could have had with her animosity toward you like she had in the beginning but if you sleeping with her kept her on a leash and made the reno go so smoothly, then I bow to the master.” He was smiling and then his eyes caught on something right beyond Sawyer’s shoulder. “Job well done,” he said and walked away.
Sawyer turned and felt like he had been punched in the gut.
Regan.
The look of utter devastation on her face nearly brought him to his knees. “Regan,” he said, reaching for her but she recoiled.
A Touch of Heaven Page 14
