To See You Smile: A Heartwood Novella

by Brea Viragh

  When Lorelei flicked her gaze down to Allison, Sawyer saw the first hint of her grin return and found he’d do whatever it took to see it grow. Grow and stay.

  “After we go to the potty, let’s watch the juggler over by the maze. See if we can make him mess up and drop his pins,” Lorelei offered. “Think we can distract him?”

  Alison reluctantly took her mother’s hand. “Okay.”

  “You’re good with her,” Lorelei remarked as the three of them walked in the direction of the bathrooms.

  Sawyer disagreed. “No, I’m not. Children don’t like me.”

  “I think you sell yourself short.”

  They spent the next two hours wandering around the fair. Sawyer forgot all about Daisy and Maverick and the deal they had in the works. He forgot about his waiting list and the dozens of projects he had going on at home that needed his attention. He forgot about everything except the girl’s tiny hand in his, the way Lorelei relaxed her guard bit by bit until she was laughing at his jokes. She never laughed at his jokes.

  It felt good, the three of them visiting the vendor booths. Allison’s stomach returned to normal in time to scarf down cotton candy and half a corn dog. There was laughter, jokes, easy conversation. Through it all, Sawyer felt the weight of eyes on him. And whenever he looked up, there was Lorelei staring at him like it was the first time they’d met. Like she was assessing his worth. Sawyer wondered how he measured up in her eyes. Maybe, just maybe, it was a little better now than when they’d started.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  “Daddy!” With a giggle, Allison broke her hold on Sawyer’s index finger and ran across the park.

  Lorelei’s smile faded the moment she looked up and saw her ex. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  “What?”

  “My husband. Ex-husband.” She glanced down at the watch on her wrist. “Dammit, he wasn’t supposed to show up until tonight. How did he know we were here?”

  Sawyer watched as a dark-haired, whip-thin man scooped Allison into his arms, twirling her around in a circle before setting her on her feet. Sawyer felt the tension increase in Lorelei with each step forward.

  “Do you want me to leave?” He kept his voice low.

  She shook her head. “No, you stay right here. I might need back-up.”

  That didn’t bode well. Sawyer fought off a round of butterflies in his own lower intestines the closer they got to father and daughter.

  “Tommy,” Lorelei began, “you shouldn’t be here.”

  The man in question rose from his squat, brushing the grass off his blue jeans. Sawyer could see how Lorelei would find Tommy attractive. He was classically handsome, with an aquiline nose, widow’s peak, and strong chin. Sawyer hated the man on sight. It might have been the slight layer of goatee, that went out of fashion in the early nineties, sitting on his chin like a dead bug. Or the way his eyebrows drew together and he looked at Lorelei like she’d just crawled out from under a rock.

  “I shouldn’t be here?” Tommy repeated. “I shouldn’t be here to pick up my own daughter when it’s my night? You have a lot of nerve telling me I shouldn’t be here.” Although Tommy kept his tone light, his words held a wealth of antagonism. Sawyer’s hackles rose a bit more.

  Lorelei ground her teeth together before saying, “I told you five o’clock. You’re two hours early. Did Mom tell you where we were?”

  “We. That’s rich.”

  Sawyer took the initiative and thrust out his hand for an introduction. Preemptive strike, perhaps. Beside him, Lorelei kept her back straight. “Sawyer Parksdale.”

  “You’re the one moving in on my wife.”

  Lorelei crossed her arms. “Ex-wife. I shouldn’t have to remind you again.”

  Tommy Shinn’s voice was neither cool nor unfriendly. Sawyer tried to stand tall under the absolute certainty that he was being examined and weighed from top to bottom. The bottom being a pair of grass-stained white All Stars that had seen better days.

  “Point taken. I’ll treat you the same way I do every other ex,” Tommy answered, tightening his hold on Allison.

  “Oh, so you’ll bad-mouth me behind my back and pay your child support two weeks late. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to those joys. Not like I haven’t already experienced part of them.” Her crossed arms squeezed harder over her chest.

  Sawyer took a step closer until their elbows touched.

  “Look,” Tommy said and reached down to take his daughter by the hand, “if we’re done with this little meeting, I’d like to take my kid now. I’ll drop her off at your place tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Fine. At least give me a second to say goodbye.” Lorelei bent to kiss Allison on the cheek. “You be good for Daddy. You hear me?”

  “I’m always good. Are you and Sawyer going to stay at the fair?”

  “No, I think we’re all done. It won’t be any fun without you, anyway.”

  There was a clear struggle going on behind Ali’s eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? We can all have ice cream.”

  “Honey, it’s your daddy’s turn to have you tonight.”

  “Well…”

  Tommy didn’t appreciate the hesitance. “C’mon, kiddo. I’ve got a fun night planned for us. Much better than whatever Mommy and her little friend might do later.”

  Lorelei looked like she would rather eat glass than continue the conversation a moment longer. “Here, sweet pea, give me a kiss and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  It took a little cajoling to get Allison to go with Tommy, although she was clearly happy to see him. Sawyer watched them walk off and was unsurprised when Lorelei swirled in the opposite direction. Hands in her hair and a growl in her throat.

  He strode after her, fists pumping at his sides, struggling to keep up. “I’m not sure if you know this, but he’s a real prick.”

  “Tommy? Yeah, you don’t need to tell me twice. I had to live with him for the better part of three years when Allison was a baby. The best day of my life was the one when the divorce was finalized.”

  “How did a perceptive woman like you get mixed up with a guy like that? You don’t strike me as the type to fall for a bad boy.”

  “Can, and did,” she answered. “He might be a horrible husband, but he’s a good father. He loves his child. I wouldn’t trade her for the world. Even with the circumstances under which she was conceived. And the man I tied myself to for the rest of my life.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t trade her. You got a good one. Why would you want to trade? And trade her for what? A new car? Superbowl tickets? A pony?” Sawyer kept his words light and teasing. Fair sounds faded behind them as they made it to the parking lot.

  Lorelei’s grin was small, an unhurried curving of her lips that replaced the anxiety on her face with a natural appeal. Her steps slowed and she turned to face Sawyer. “You always know what to say to make me feel better. It’s disgusting.”

  He flicked a finger over her nose. “You’re saying you find my sick sense of humor attractive. I get it. Great ego boost.”

  “Misplaced confidence is not attractive in a man,” she reasoned.

  “You can tell me all about it over some sweets. I still haven’t gotten my sugar fix and now I’m getting an itch.”

  “An itch…?” she asked.

  “For ice cream. Absolutely.”

  They changed their course and headed back toward the fair. “For a hermit, you should be afraid someone is going to see you out here having fun.”

  “I’m only having fun because I’m with you.” Sawyer went with honesty rather than a line. Lorelei didn’t appreciate lines. In this case, the way her shoulders relaxed became his reward. “You better not tell anyone any different, or I’ll call you a liar.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel better?”

  “Try implies that I may fail. I don’t intend to fail today. Come on. Take my hand, woman, and let me buy you something nice. Something to make you feel better.”

 
“No strings attached?”

  “No strings. I promise.”

  Lorelei agreed, slipping her fingers through his and lacing them together. Sawyer glanced down at their entwined hands, and not for one second did he think of bolting.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  It took Lorelei all night and the better part of the next day to come to a conclusive decision. About her mixed-up and misplaced feelings. About Sawyer.

  Somehow, everything boiled down to Sawyer. He’d filled her thoughts for the better part of the last two weeks, including the time preceding Maverick’s visit. At first she thought it was the huge inconvenience Sawyer represented. She was forced to divide her time between her child, her classes, and the home she shared with her parents. Not to mention the visits her brother and sister were begging for in her spare time.

  What spare time? Lorelei thought during the mile drive up to Sawyer’s house. She couldn’t find a minute to breathe with everything on her plate. Yet, somehow, she was finding the time for seduction.

  Sex was important. A natural desire, a physical and very human need. It had been a long time since Lorelei found a man she wanted to take to bed. There had only been one since her divorce went through two years ago. Two years! It was a travesty.

  Or maybe a record.

  There was a good chance Sawyer would send her home once he heard her proposal. A night of passion. No strings attached. The way he liked it. It sounded like a pretty good deal to her, but men could be tricky. He might decide she’d overstayed her welcome.

  The two-story log cabin came into view. With its large band of eastern-facing windows and a curved deck winding around the left side, it spoke of a man content with his privacy. Content to live in a huge empty house with nothing but his craft.

  She put the car into park, and long strides took her over the lawn and onto the porch. Lorelei stood where she was for a minute, considering the consequences. She’d never been afraid of the unknown. Things like those crazy decisions made on the spur of the moment. She supposed if she had been, then she might not be about to knock on Sawyer’s door in the middle of the night. For hours she’d tried to convince herself it was wrong to follow through and try to seduce the man. But there were some things one could only question so many times. Then it was go time.

  Lorelei had never quite managed to work out the reason for her inclination to leap before looking. Truthfully, she was afraid that if she stopped to think about it, her entire way of life would change. When she and Tommy had stared down at the little pink line on the pregnancy test, there was no question about what they should do. And when Tommy decided years later that he couldn’t handle the consequences on a full-time basis? Couldn’t handle her? She moved on and jumped into life as a single mother. Only a week ago did she realize, most certainly too late, that she had never stopped, not once in her life, to consider and plan her next move.

  This time, when she raised her hand to knock, there was no hesitation. Her knuckles rapped against the wood and she waited for the span of a heartbeat. Two. Although it was late, Lorelei knew Sawyer wasn’t sleeping. He’d be too keyed up to rest. Probably sitting in his studio alternating between pieces, fingers practiced and sure.

  She thought about those fingers now. Wanted them on her skin. And shivered.

  A few seconds passed and she knocked again, louder this time. “Come on, Sawyer. I know you’re in there.”

  The loud clomping of feet along the hallway had a grin tugging at the edges of her mouth. He’d be pissed she was showing up without calling first. It was kind of a sticking point with him. He wanted proper notice before she came over. Which was fine. She understood. Then it became a game, one where she showed up unannounced whenever she could, for sheer spite.

  Lorelei had a feeling this time he would appreciate the interruption.

  She was adjusting her bra beneath her sweater when the door flung open, a wild-eyed Sawyer on the other side.

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the ends standing on end. “Lorelei, we talked about this.”

  “I know we did.”

  “Didn’t I just see you a couple of hours ago?”

  “Yes, yesterday.” The man had no sense of time. “I’ve been doing some thinking. Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

  She watched him grit his teeth, an entire debate-team’s worth of deliberation going on inside his head. It probably hurt him, she thought to herself with a chuckle.

  “Fine, come inside before you freeze to death. The damn temperature dropped and it’s messing with my wood.”

  “I sure hope not,” Lorelei muttered under her breath as she pushed past him.

  His eyes narrowed. “What was that?”

  “Nothing!”

  “Is there any particular reason you’re showing up on my doorstep at about twelve seconds to midnight on a Saturday night?” His question ended on another sigh. Instead of turning her stomach into a raging inferno, she felt a tickle. The slightest hitch in the region below her heart. Her irritation with him, the way they sparred, had become a turn-on.

  “It would technically be Sunday. I know how you hate being interrupted on a Sunday,” she answered, playing coy. “Let me assure you, I had a good reason.”

  It was wrong to be nervous. After all the time they’d spent together the last few weeks, after all the conversations about his past, about her past, trying to know each other inside and out to prepare for the charade, how could she not want him? And especially after seeing how good Sawyer had been with Allison…

  Lorelei bit her lip and walked down the hall, flinging her scarf aside. “Are you thirsty? I think I’ll get some water.”

  She heard Sawyer sigh a third time before following her. “Sure, make yourself at home. It’s not like I was working or anything.”

  “Heaven forbid you have anything better to do than work,” she called over her shoulder. “There’s a little thing called sleep. Everyone needs it, and most even enjoy it.”

  “Better? What did you have in mind?”

  “Nothing, really.”

  Sawyer followed close behind her, stopping to lean his hip against the counter. Lorelei felt him watching her when she reached above her head to grab a glass from the middle shelf of the cabinet. She knew exactly where they were, after an extensive cleaning and reorganizing evening, one where he stood in the same place watching her. Complaining every step of the way.

  “If it were nothing, then you wouldn’t be standing in my kitchen with your slimy tongue slobbering around the rim of a glass.”

  Lorelei paused mid-sip and nearly choked on her water. “Slimy? Slobbering? You sure know the way to a girl’s heart.”

  “Didn’t realize I was going there.”

  She set the glass down on the counter and whirled to face him. Surprised to feel her heart racing. “Do you know what your problem is, Sawyer?”

  “I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” he replied.

  “You don’t know how to let loose and have fun. The stick is lodged so far up your rear you can’t physically think of anything better to do than work and insult people. Oh, and beg your brother for money.”

  “Those first ones are the two things I’m actually good at. We’ll have to wait and see on the third.”

  “How about you sit down and let me show you a better alternative.” She slowly began stepping closer.

  “Whoa.” Sawyer lost his balance and stumbled. “What’s going on here?”

  “I’m seducing you, moron.”

  “You didn’t even want to agree to be my wife. I never figured you for the type to hop on the Sawyer bus.”

  “The Sawyer bus isn’t going to know what hit it when I’m done.” How odd, she mused, the way his throat hitched when she took another step closer. It filled her with a heady sense of power. “Why don’t you consider this me stepping into my wifely duties? It will make you feel more comfortable.”

  “I’d feel more comfortable if you left,” he said with a healthy dose of discomfort.
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  “I can’t believe you want me to leave.”

  “It would be easier.”

  “But not better. Not better for anyone involved.” She looped her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers tight.

  His shoulders went stiff. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t start what you can’t finish. If you start touching me, then it’s done. I won’t be able to stop and let you leave if you change your mind.”

  “Then this is a guarantee.” Lorelei punctuated the statement with a small kiss. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Promises, promises.”

  She saw the moment he lost any will to fight. His eyes dropped to her mouth and without another protest, he bent to place his lips on hers.

  She wanted to spend the rest of the night kissing him. Funny, huh? How a person’s feelings can change? Her body was on fire when he traced her lips, tongue darting out to stroke hers. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d made out with a man without an ulterior motive. On his end, not hers. She was upfront with her affection, just like anything else. It didn’t do any good to beat around the bush when one was a single mother.

  “Upstairs,” he growled. “Now.”

  It was a race to the second floor, with Lorelei taking a slim lead and Sawyer hot on her heels. She caught a strain of breathless laughter before he tackled her, drawing her against his front. It took little effort to break the hold and finish the last leg into the bedroom.

  His lips were soft to the touch and demanding as hell. When his tongue swept into her open mouth, Lorelei lost herself on a moan. The backs of her ankles hit the bed frame.

  His fingers tightened on her shirt. “Get on the bed.”

  She jutted her chin. “You’re awfully demanding.”

  “That’s how you like me.” Sawyer stroked her spine, settling his hands at her waist and tilting his head to deepen the kiss. Lorelei pulled him down to her, struggling for breath. The things this man did to her. Her heart beat hard against her chest even as her body reached for his.

  Yes, she could definitely spend all night kissing him. That’s what she thought when he smiled, leaning closer to lower those lips. His touch distracted her. Drove every rational thought from her mind. She needed to feel his skin against hers.