by T. L. Haddix
“Time,” she murmured as she straightened her hair. “Just take things slowly and carefully. You have all the time in the world, and even if you don’t, you need to take it.”
She wouldn’t start believing this was real until she woke up tomorrow morning in Sawyer’s arms and heard him say the words again. And even then, she might still doubt her sanity. But if she was going crazy, she had to admit, insanity seemed a lot nicer than what she’d been led to believe.
Chapter Fifty-nine
Sawyer was certain he’d screwed up things between him and Sydney forever by opening his big mouth and joking about adoption. And he hadn’t intended to lock himself in a room with her at his parents’ house and pour out his feelings. But that’s what he’d ended up doing.
By the sheer grace of God, he figured, he hadn’t ended up with egg all over his face.
She’d been so stunned, he could tell she was having a hard time getting her head around the concept that he was in love with her. And he didn’t expect that now that the cat was out of the bag, things would go smoothly.
In addition to calling his brother earlier when they’d stopped for gas, he’d received a call from Danny.
“I’m sorry about your father,” the younger man had started out by saying. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No. But I appreciate the words.”
“Sydney’s with you?” Danny asked.
Sawyer glanced over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t within earshot. “She is. We’ve stopped for gas. Why?”
“She’s scared, that’s why. And I’m afraid she’ll buck up and run before you two work things out.”
“We’ve made a good start at that, I think,” he said, not wanting to tell the other man about his and Sydney’s intimacy the night before.
“Have you told her you love her yet?”
Sawyer winced. “No.”
“Well, when you do, don’t be surprised if she doesn’t believe you. I don’t think you have any idea of just how shattered she was after Adam. She doesn’t trust in happily ever after anymore.”
“Okay.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “What do you suggest?”
“Be patient with her. Once you tell her you love her, it’s going to hit her hard. You’ll have to be persistent and patient.”
Sydney’d stepped up to the counter inside, he saw. “I’d better go. She’s getting ready to come out. I appreciate the call. Seriously.”
“Just let me know if I can do anything. I think you can make her happy, and I think she can do the same for you. I’ll help facilitate that however I can.”
Now, as they grabbed a bite to eat with his family, he kept an eye on her. She seemed to be fitting in nicely, not that he’d expected her not to. But he’d particularly worried about how she’d stand up against Christie. His ex-wife could be vicious, and he’d figured her feathers would be ruffled by the fact that he’d brought a woman home.
As far as Christie went, he knew better than to think she’d be satisfied with the barbs she’d gotten in. She’d find a way to hit out at him sometime during the next few days, of that he was certain. He just didn’t know when exactly she’d strike. All he could do was hope she went after him and not Sydney. Because if she attacked Sydney? As much stress and pressure as they’d been under the last few weeks, he’d snap.
Christie always brought the worst out in him and he had a hard time holding back under ideal circumstances. They’d only seen each other a handful of times in the last twenty-four years, and that was the only thing that had kept the peace. The last thing the family needed now was to have to mediate a fight between Sawyer and Christie, but if she tried to sharpen her claws on Sydney, a fight’s exactly what they’d get.
By the day of the funeral, Sawyer’s nerves were stretched tight. Even with Sydney at his side, his stress level had shot through the roof. Christie had sniped at them a few more times, but nothing major. He worried about leaving Sydney alone while he performed his duties as one of his father’s pallbearers, but Nan was with her. Besides, Sydney could stand up for herself.
He just didn’t want her to have to.
So when, after the funeral, he was upstairs changing out of his suit, he overheard Christie’s voice in the next room, talking to Sydney, his hackles rose. He edged closer to the bathroom door so he could hear better.
“You’ve settled in here nicely with the family,” Christie said. “Made yourself right at home. I’m surprised you haven’t moved in.”
“Are you? Well, maybe I will move in. Elise did ask us to stay for a while.”
“How’d you hook him?”
“With my feminine wiles, of course. Low-cut blouses, skin-tight skirts, blow jobs under the desk. The usual. Why? Looking for pointers?” Sydney asked dryly.
He should have expected Sydney to turn the tables on his ex. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud. He wished he could see Sydney’s face. None of it was true, of course. Her work wardrobe was perfectly respectable, if attractive, and as to the other… He’d remind her of that later.
“He won’t marry you. Sawyer’s the ultimate confirmed bachelor. He never got over me. Why do you think he’s stayed single for so long?”
Sydney sighed. “Having met you, I figured it had something to do with the shit-ass skid marks you left on his heart and a healthy dose of common sense. Do you want him back? Because frankly, I’m getting really tired of all that sex. You were married to him—you know how it is. The huge cock—seriously, what is it, a summer sausage? I’d much prefer a hot dog sometimes. Makes walking the next day easier. Then there’s the flipping you over this couch here, bending you over that desk there, the constant orgasms… Sometimes I just want to curl up on the couch and watch TV. Eat ice cream. Fart.”
He had to bite his hand. That’s exactly what they’d done the last two nights at the hotel. It had been bliss. Well, maybe not the farting. But the rest had been a godsend, a bit of tranquility in the mess surrounding his father’s death.
“You don’t take much of anything seriously, do you?” Christie said, nastiness rising in her voice. “If you think he doesn’t see you for the gold-digging whore you are, think again. He may be letting you lead him around by his dick right now, but he’s not stupid.”
“Are you frowning or smiling? I can’t tell. You really might want to consider switching plastic surgeons,” Sydney said. Her voice moved closer to the door. “Nice job on the tits, though. Are you finished?” she said, swinging the door open, an annoyed frown on her face when she saw him standing there. “Get a good earful?”
“More than,” he told her with a grin. He leaned around the frame to look at Christie. “Weren’t you going to go fuck yourself or something? She’s got to perform her thrice-daily blow job now. Unless you’d like to stay and watch.”
“I might get performance anxiety,” Sydney protested as Christie stormed out the door, cursing. “Is that a no?” she hollered after her.
Sawyer couldn’t contain his laughter any longer. He was in tears, he was so tickled. Putting his hands under Sydney’s behind, he lifted her straight up, pleased when her legs came around his waist.
“The door’s open, you demented man. Why are you laughing so hard? It wasn’t funny. She’s a she-devil,” she said as he tumbled her on the bed.
He got up and closed the door, locking it, then came back to Sydney. She had risen onto her elbows, staring at him with a disgruntled scowl. Still chuckling, he reached out and undid her pants.
Serious alarm filled her eyes. “You can’t be… Sawyer! What are you doing?”
“Having a snack,” he said as he peeled her pants and underwear down her legs. “Or maybe seeking some solace.” He handed her a pillow. “Better bite down on this. You know how noisy you get.”
“I’m so going to kill you later,” s
he told him on a sigh as he kissed the place where her leg met her torso. “Much, much later, though.”
He was going to have a word with Christie when he saw her again, tell her plainly to leave Sydney alone forever. But right now he was going to enjoy the woman he loved just because he could. Life was too short to waste worrying about anything else at the moment.
Chapter Sixty
“I can’t believe you did that,” Sydney told him as they came downstairs sometime later. Her cheeks were still pink. He’d not been satisfied until she’d begged him for mercy, and even then, he’d taken his sweet time with his own orgasm.
When his brother Matt winked at them as he passed them on the stairs, she groaned, her cheeks flaming. “I told you everyone would know what we were doing.”
Sawyer stopped her with a hand, concern on his face. “Does it bother you? That we were intimate here? I never would have done that if I’d known it bothered you.”
“It doesn’t, not really. I don’t regret doing it,” she told him in a low voice, moving closer as guests came in the front door. “It’s just been a while since I was in a relationship and it’s a little awkward, having people know. But I’m not sorry we did that. Please don’t take my reaction to mean that I am.”
He touched her cheek. “You’re sure? Because I don’t want you to ever feel like you can’t say no to me, Sydney. Ever. Even after we’re married.”
She cupped her hands around his palm, leaning into his touch. “I like the way that sounds, ‘after we’re married,’ I mean. And I do know I can say no. Do you really think I’d have a problem turning you down if I wasn’t interested or up to the challenge? If I say yes, it’s because I want to.”
“Well, I am legendary. Women do follow me from other states,” he said with a grin, wincing when she pinched him. “Your body might not let you say no.”
She sighed with exasperation. “I love you.”
“I love you. But we definitely are attracting attention now. Hi.” He nodded at the three people standing at the foot of the stairs.
Sydney turned, a polite if embarrassed smile on her face. But when she saw who it was, she froze. “Adam? Helen, Ray? What are you doing here?”
Adam was staring up at her with, of all things, something akin to jealousy in his eyes while his parents were looking pleased if a bit apprehensive.
“Jordan was a client,” Ray said as they came down the remaining steps. “What brings you here?”
Sydney accepted his and Helen’s hugs. “He was Sawyer’s dad. Sawyer, this is—”
“I know who it is.” Before anyone could say or do anything, his fist flew out with a sharp jab, catching Adam under the jaw. He staggered back a few steps, then fell flat on his ass, looking up at Sawyer with stunned surprise as he touched his face.
Sydney’s hands flew to her mouth and she stood there, wide-eyed, staring from Adam to Sawyer as Ray helped his son to his feet. He was shaking his head, but aside from a flare of anger in his eyes, he didn’t say anything.
“What the hell? I don’t even know you.” Adam swayed on his feet but caught his balance. “What was that for?”
“Take your pick,” Sawyer growled. “From what I understand, you have plenty sins to atone for.”
Frank stepped in, hurrying to get between the men. “Nothing to see here, folks, sorry for the disturbance,” he told the small crowd that had gathered in the foyer as he turned to Sawyer. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he hissed.
“It’s been a long couple of weeks,” Sawyer gritted. He still had yet to take his eyes off Adam. “Sorry.”
Sydney was mortified. At the same time, she wanted to shove her finger in Adam’s face and yell with triumph. Instead, she figured she might want to try to diffuse the tension.
“Adam’s my ex-husband,” she told Frank. “I’m sorry.”
“We’re going to find some ice,” Ray said. “Come on, son. Let’s get you out of here before any more of your chickens come home to roost.” The slap he landed on Adam’s shoulder wasn’t quite gentle as he steered him toward the dining room.
Helen grimaced. “I supposed he had that coming, although I don’t appreciate you punching my son. Are you the same Sawyer that Sydney’s been working for in Hazard?”
“I am. She’s spoken very highly of you and your husband. I am truly sorry for the embarrassment,” he told her, inclining his head the direction the men had gone.
She shook her head. “You’re awfully protective of Sydney to just be her boss. Not that she’s not worth protecting.”
“I’m not just her boss. We’re engaged,” he admitted.
Frank’s eyebrows rose. “No kidding? Since when?”
“Three days ago. We didn’t want to make an announcement given the circumstances,” Sydney said, clasping Sawyer’s hand.
He winced and sucked in a breath. “Ouch.”
“Looks like you need some of that ice yourself, big brother,” Frank said. “I’ll get it and bring it to the patio. Helen, can I get you anything? Sydney?”
“The same, thanks,” Sydney said after Helen asked for a sparkling water.
“So this is why you were so full of ‘Sawyer this’ and ‘Sawyer that’ when we’d talk,” Helen said as they walked to the back of the house.
Sydney nodded. “It crept up on us, I guess you could say.”
Helen’s smile was a bit sad. “I’m glad. I’ve hated knowing you were alone. We only ever wanted the best for you, you know that, right?”
“I do.”
Halfway down the house, Ray and Adam emerged from another door. Helen lifted a hand toward them. “I’d better go to them. I’d say it’s been nice to meet you, but… I am sorry about your father,” she told Sawyer.
“Thank you.”
Sydney was relieved when Ray steered Adam in the other direction, and she did the same to Sawyer. “You silly man. What were you thinking?”
He leaned up against the concrete balustrade and shrugged, a broody scowl on his face as he looked after the Tates. “That I should have hit him harder?”
“Sawyer… what am I going to do with you?” she asked as Frank came out, bowl of ice and glasses of water in hand. He had a towel draped over his arm.
“Here. So why’d you hit him?” he asked as he set everything down on a nearby table. He spread the towel out and dumped some of the ice in it, deftly folding it into a bundle that he placed on Sawyer’s hand.
“Because he hurt her.” Sawyer sighed. “I didn’t even think about where I was. I’m sorry, Frank.”
“And here I thought the only ex’s we’d have to worry about today would be Christie.” He snorted, clearly amused. “You’re lucky you just addled him. Congratulations, by the way, on the engagement.”
Sydney eased the ice off Sawyer’s knuckles to see how his hand looked. “Thank you. This looks like it’s just bruised and scraped. I don’t think you hit him hard enough to break it, thank God.”
“I just gave him a little love tap,” Sawyer said as Nan and his mother came out of the house. “Oh, boy.”
Frank pulled Sydney aside while they lectured him. “I’m glad you two found each other.”
She smiled. “Yeah? So am I. Even if he is an ornery bird sometimes. I’m sorry for the drama.”
He waved it aside. “He’s just like Dad. Consider that a warning—you’ll have your hands full the next forty years or so.”
“If I’m lucky,” she said softly. “But so will he.”
Frank grinned. “I kind of got that impression. I hate to see you two go back to Kentucky. I’d like to get to know you better, and I know I speak for the rest of the family when I say that.”
She crossed her arms loosely over her chest. “It isn’t that far of a drive. Sawyer said that you all as a family didn’t get along that we
ll. But that’s not what I’ve seen here.”
His brother shoved his hands in his pants pockets and shrugged. “It’s better now than it was. There was a lot of tension between Dad and Sawyer. Dad carried a lot of guilt over the way Sawyer was raised, and that colored their relationship. He couldn’t let go of it, even though I think Sawyer forgave him for any transgressions years ago.”
That was so damned sad, Sydney thought. “Hopefully now things will have a chance to fully heal.”
“I hope so. Well, I’d better see to the guests.”
After he’d excused himself, she made her way back to Sawyer.
Elise was shaking her head. “Stubborn mule. Sydney, good luck with him, sweetheart. You’ll need it.” She kissed Sydney’s cheek and went back inside.
Nan chuckled even as Sawyer gave an exasperated sigh. “He almost got himself grounded,” she explained. “I’d like to have seen the altercation. Was it exciting?”
“No, it was scary. You could have hurt him, and then where would we be?” Sydney scolded even as she put her arms around Sawyer. “All those babies we’re going to adopt would be left without a daddy.”
He hugged her close. “I know. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
“I know you are. And I’ll love you forever for doing that for me.” She tipped her face up for a quick kiss. “Among other things.”
He brushed his cheek across her temple. “Imp.”
“Don’t you forget it.”
Chapter Sixty-One
Once they got back to Kentucky, life slowly returned to normal. Since they’d been out of town for so long, Sarah decided to once again push the birthday party back, this time for two weeks. At Sunday dinner the week they returned, Owen good-naturedly joked that by the time the kids got to eat their cake it would be older than dirt, but Sarah had simply laughed at him, refusing to be swayed.
