Her mother had Max.
Some new family had her house.
And she had a week’s worth of TV dinners to look forward to.
Something had to give.
****
The week had flown by and Regan had made the schedule so that she could have the weekend off. It wasn’t that she had anything in particular to do but it was time for her to sit down and really think about what she was going to do with her life. Knowing that once her mother got back from the cruise, she was most likely going to move to Wilmington to be with Max. As much as Regan could see it and say that she was okay with it, it was going to leave a huge gap in her life. She and Caroline were more than mother and daughter, they were friends and business partners. Regan knew she’d be okay with running the business alone; she had a great staff and already had someone in mind to promote to assistant manager. No, the problem was going to be with going about her everyday life without seeing Caroline. Wilmington was only three hours away but it was still far enough that it wasn’t a trip she could just make on a whim.
So this weekend Regan decided that she was going to truly be done with the pity party and erase that one last episode of Sawyer’s show where he walked around without a shirt for most of it that she accidentally forgot to erase, and then make some calls and make some plans with friends. It felt good to have some direction and a plan.
If only she could work up some genuine enthusiasm for any of it.
Sitting at her desk in the office, Regan finished entering in all of their banking information for the week when her cell phone rang. The screen showed that it was Caroline’s realtor Jackie calling.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Regan, it’s Jackie from GFN Realty. How are you?”
“Fine, Jackie. What can I do for you?”
“Well, I know your mom is out cruising the Caribbean — and I am so completely jealous of her — but I got a call from the new owners of the house and they found some boxes up in the attic that belong to you guys and some mail that came in I guess before the post office did the change of address.”
“Oh, okay. Do you have the stuff at the office? I can stop by on my way home tonight and pick it up.”
“No, no, actually it’s all at the house. They don’t mind holding it until Caroline gets back but I just thought that maybe you would want to go and get it. It seems like it’s a box of photographs and a couple of boxes of Christmas decorations. Do you want me to tell them you’ll swing by or do you want to let your mom do it?”
Caroline had hired movers to pack up the house to spare her and Regan the emotional task but in her current state of mind, Regan welcomed going to the house and getting their belongings. “Tell them that I’ll be by tonight after six if that’s okay. They can leave the boxes on the front porch if they’re not going to be home. There’s no rain in the forecast so they should be fine.”
“Sounds good, Regan. Thank you for taking care of this. I know that this whole thing was more than you or your mom had wanted to deal with but I was so glad that it went so quickly and you were spared having to repeatedly show the house.”
“Thanks. I have to admit that I was shocked that it happened the way that it did. It seemed like the sign hadn’t been up in the yard for more than an hour and the house was sold.”
“The buyer said that they had friends in the neighborhood and so when the house went on the market, they called them and let them know. It worked out perfectly for everyone.”
“I’ll say,” Regan said and truly meant it. “I’m sure they’ll love it; especially with all of the renovations.”
“Actually, they plan on doing a lot of work to it. I was kind of surprised.”
That made Regan mad. “Seriously? That house was like a show home after the Bennetts were through. What more could these people possibly do to it?”
“Honestly, I didn’t ask. When we closed on the house, they mentioned that they had a lot of ideas on how they wanted to add to it so who knows what they’ll do.”
“Some people don’t recognize a great home when they see it,” she muttered. “Okay, either way, not my problem and I promise to keep my opinions to myself when I stop by later.”
“Good girl,” Jackie said with a smile. “I really appreciate you going by there, Regan. I’m sure you’re anxious to get your family’s stuff back as well.”
“Absolutely. I can’t believe Mom missed this stuff.”
“They said it was tucked away in the back of the attic so I’m sure it was just an oversight.”
They hung up and Regan rethought her plan for the night. There was a great Chinese takeout place near her mother’s place and the thought of some of Lin’s famous dumplings made her tummy smile. “I’ll get the boxes, pick up the food and then go home and eat and go through some pictures. Not a completely pathetic Friday night. Close, but not completely.”
At six o’clock, Regan said goodnight to her staff and wished them all a good weekend. “I’ll be around if you need me,” she assured them, “so don’t hesitate to call.”
“Go and relax,” Todd said. “And for god’s sake do something that makes you smile. We miss seeing you smile around here.”
Unable to help herself, Regan walked over and hugged him. “People like you make me smile. I’m sorry I’ve been such a mess lately. I promise to do better.”
Todd took both of her hands in his. “You don’t have to promise anything. We all love you, Rae, and we just want to see you be happy again.”
Emotion threatened to overwhelm her. “I want that too.” She gave him another quick hug and headed for the door. “I’ll see you all on Monday!”
The drive to the house didn’t take long and she debated on whether or not to call in her takeout order before or after she picked up the boxes. Ultimately she decided on after because who knew if she’d get into conversation with the new owners about the house. When she pulled into the driveway, she had to calm herself. The house already looked different. The landscaping in the front had been manicured and the front door and garage door had been painted.
“Certainly didn’t waste any time, did they?” she muttered as she exited the car. Regan had to remind herself to be polite no matter what they were doing to her beautiful and perfect family home. It wasn’t her place to point out if they were ruining everything. There were no cars in the driveway but when she reached the front door the boxes weren’t there and the door was ajar. She knocked on the screen door and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
“Hello?” she called out and heard the sound of a power saw off in the distance. “Great; now I have to witness the work.” Lord knew she had had enough of renovations and power tools to last a lifetime after all of the work that had been done here so hopefully they’d be too busy to chit-chat and Regan would be able to just simply grab the boxes, wish them well and go.”
She called out one more time and then cautiously opened the screen door and let herself in. “Hello? Um, it’s Regan Amerson. Jackie from GFN called and told me you had some boxes for me.” As she walked farther into the house Regan saw the boxes on the dining room table along with a small pile of mail. She contemplated simply grabbing the stuff and going but that didn’t seem right.
For the most part the interior looked exactly the same. There wasn’t a lot of furniture to be found but she supposed that they were still in the process of moving in and getting settled. With a huff of frustration, she headed to the French doors leading out to the yard. The saw was still buzzing but the person working it was well out of sight. “For real?” she muttered.
Pushing open the door with more force than she intended, Regan stepped out onto the deck and went in search of the home owner. “Like I have nothing else better to do than chase these people around. There are dumplings waiting to be ordered.”
Looking around, Regan immediately noticed the new stainless steel grill and the nice table and chairs set with the big adjustable umbrella set up. “At least they did
n’t ruin the deck area,” she said under her breath as she walked toward the steps that led down to the yard. “Hello?” she called out again.
“Around the side,” a male voice called out and as Regan made her way over she noticed some new plants and flowers lining one side of the tall wooden fence. She shrugged, refusing to be impressed with their selection of colors and how neat and perfect it all looked.
The man had his back to her; he was shirtless.
She knew that back.
She’d run her hands over it dozens of times.
She’d even bitten it a time or two.
What the hell was Sawyer doing here?
Chapter Eleven
Regan didn’t know what to do? Did she stay? Did she run? Did she smack him in the face or kiss him senseless? His name escaped her lips before she could help herself and when he finally turned around she saw relief and tenderness wash over his features.
“I don’t understand,” Regan began, doing her best to keep her distance. “What are you doing here? Did the new owners ask you to do more work here on the house?”
Sawyer drank in the sight of her. She looked better than anything had in a long time. There was a sadness to her and he knew that he was the cause of that. Hated himself for it. “Jackie said that you’d be stopping by. I have everything on the dining room table for you.” He gestured toward the house but Regan didn’t budge.
“You didn’t answer my question. Were you hired to do more renovations on the house?”
Reaching for the towel he had nearby, Sawyer wiped the sweat from his brow and then reached for his jug of ice water and took a long drink. “You could say that,” he finally answered.
Regan huffed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. Whatever.” Why did she even expect to get a firm answer out of him? She should have known better. “Look, I’ve got plans so I’ll just get the boxes and go.” She turned to walk away but Sawyer stepped in front of her, effectively blocking her path.
“How have you been?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Regan looked at him with disbelief. “Seriously? You think I want to stand here and do the small talk thing with you?”
“What do you want?” he asked softly, his gaze lingering over her face, his eyes telling her how much he missed her.
Regan wasn’t ready to give in; she wasn’t going to give him the opportunity to break her heart again. She wouldn’t survive it. “I want to get my things and go,” she said and almost pulled off sounding confident but her breath hitched a bit and she watched as Sawyer’s features softened even more.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and touched her face. Regan closed her eyes as his fingers skimmed down her cheek, her jaw. “I’ve missed you, Regan. It’s been hell without you.”
She was amazed that she was able to convince her legs to move but she managed to take a step back. “I’m sorry that you’ve had a hard time, Sawyer,” she said carefully and then looked around the yard longingly. “I really need to go.”
He nodded. The last thing he wanted to do was let her leave but he could tell that she wasn’t ready for this; for him. Wordlessly, he led her back into the house and into the dining room. “I’ll help you load the boxes in your car. The mail’s right there. It wasn’t much but I wasn’t sure what was important and what wasn’t and I didn’t want Caroline to miss anything.”
Regan reached for the pile which was right next to another one. She noticed the envelope at the top of the other pile was addressed to Sawyer Bennett. While Sawyer carried the first box out to her car, she quickly went through the rest of the pile and noticed that they were all addressed to him. When he came back in for the next box, Regan held up an envelope and waved it at him. “What the hell, Sawyer? What’s going on? I thought you were just doing more renovations for the new owner.”
“I never said that,” he said blandly. “You did.”
“Well you didn’t disagree with me. What gives?”
“I bought the house. So I guess, technically, I am doing work for the new homeowner but that just happens to be me.”
She wanted to smack him for being so smug. “And you didn’t think that was pertinent information? If Jackie had told me that you were the owner I would have asked her to pick these things up. I knew I couldn’t trust you, Sawyer, but I didn’t expect you to be cruel.”
“Cruel?” he repeated. “How am I being cruel?” He was completely confused. Did she not see where he was going with all of this? They had always been able to read each other so clearly and now it seemed like they were strangers.
“After all I went through emotionally with this house and then with you, you swoop in and buy the place? And then make me come here so you can rub my nose in it? You don’t think that’s being cruel?”
He’d had enough. With great purpose, Sawyer strode over to her and took her in his arms and kissed her like he’d been dreaming of doing ever since she’d walked out on him. Regan fought him for just a moment but then seemed to melt against him. When her arms went up and wrapped around his neck, Sawyer finally felt like there was hope.
Over and over he slanted his mouth over hers, reacquainting himself with the feel of her, the taste of her. “I missed you so damn much,” he said against her throat as he kissed his way down to her collar bone and then back again. There was so much more that he wanted to say but she pulled his mouth back to hers for another hungry kiss. It didn’t take long for her to align her body to his and she seemed to be doing her best to get as close to him as she possibly could without stripping.
With more strength than Sawyer actually felt, he broke the kiss and held Regan away from him. “I didn’t do this to be cruel to you, Regan. I did this for you. For us.”
She looked at him with confusion. “I…I don’t understand.”
“You once said to me that you couldn’t buy this house because you were old fashioned and that most men were intimidated by a woman who not only owned her own business but her own home. Well, I’m old fashioned, too. I believe that a man should provide for his wife by putting food on the table, taking care of the bills, making sure that she knows that she is loved and provided for and…a roof over her head.” He pointed upwards. “I wanted to provide you with this particular roof.”
It took a moment for his words to sink in. “You bought this house… for…me? For us?”
“Regan, from the moment I met you, you were everything that I ever wanted and yet never dreamed I’d have. You’ve made me laugh, you’ve made me happy, and you’ve made me mad as hell but most of all, you made me feel loved. I never thought I’d fall in love with anybody but one look at you? One touch of your hand and I was lost. I’ve loved you for a long time and I know I should have said it way before now but I didn’t want to scare you off. There never seemed to be the right time and I see now that there were actually hundreds of times that would have been the right time but I was too stupid to actually see them. I love you. I pray that you love me too because I don’t think I can keep going without you being back in my life.”
Her head was spinning. She was here with Sawyer, in her house or, rather, his house or their house, she couldn’t keep track! He loved her. Sawyer loved her! It was everything that she had ever dreamed of. “I’ve loved you for a long time, too,” she finally said. “That’s why what Devin said hurt so damn much. He made me doubt what we had. I kept thinking that you were a guy who hosted a TV show who had to act a lot as part of your job. I was afraid that seducing me was part of the act.”
Sawyer cupped her face in his hands. “Sweetheart, what I felt for you from the moment you walked in the room in that tiny black t-shirt and shook my hand was one hundred percent real. If I could have taken you back to my hotel that night, I would have. I was ready to walk away from this job but the thought of doing that and never seeing you again was something I was not prepared to do. I wanted to get to know you and for you to see me as who I am and not as the host of a TV show or the guy that was tearing up your family home. I just wa
nted you to see me as a man.”
“Oh, believe me, I did,” she admitted with a shy smile. “I didn’t want to like you but I couldn’t seem to stay away from you.” Regan stepped back into his embrace and held on tight. “I’ve missed you, too.”
“I know you said you had plans tonight, but maybe, if it’s possible, maybe you can cancel them and we can order some takeout and just talk. I want to talk about our future, Regan. I finally realized what I want to do with the rest of my life and I want it to start now. I don’t want to rush you but I want you to know that I’m serious and I’m not looking for a roommate or someone to sleep with. I want a wife, a lover, someone to have children with and I want that with you.”
“Well then this is your lucky day because I happen to be off all weekend because I’m trying to put into motion the plans for my future and on my wish list was a husband, a lover and someone to have babies with.”
Sawyer smiled down at her, his eyes shining bright with love for her. “We’ve always been on the same page.”
Regan nodded. “Then we must be meant to be.”
“You know it.” Taking her by the hand, Sawyer walked them back out to the yard to show her his plans for a pergola and a fire pit area before pulling out his cell phone to order them Chinese food.
####
Epilogue
Three months later…
“What was your favorite part of the day?”
“When everyone left.”
Sawyer laughed and pulled Regan in close. “No, seriously. I watched you fluttering around all over the place today and always with a smile on your face but I want to know what your best part of the day was.”
Regan snuggled in close. The day had been long and it was late and although she always loved their late-night chats, she was completely exhausted. “Well…if I had to choose, I would have to say that it was the location.”
A Touch of Heaven Page 16
