"Looks like the flights are still okay," I reassured him, nodding toward the plane now only a few hundred feet from the ground.
"Good. I was worried I wouldn't get to see Nana and Gramps," he mumbled. I ruffled his hair and we set about a morning routine of showering, eating a buffet breakfast down in the dining room, and reloading the car before checking out when we set off for the airport.
I never thought I'd be happy to see Logan again, but I was when I caught sight of him when I pulled into the drop off zone. I was glad I didn't have to park and take Colby inside. I wasn't keen on seeing Poppy out of fear I'd tear her a new one for arguing in front of my son and leaving me with Logan on Christmas Day.
Pulling over, I left the engine running, opened the trunk from the button on my dash, got out of the car, and headed back toward it.
Logan was already lifting Colby's bag out and as he closed it, Sawyer came into view on the sidewalk, facing me with a wide grin on his face.
"Sawyer!" Colby shrieked excitedly as Logan opened the door of the car. Sawyer smirked and winked at me, but turned his attention to Colby instead of me.
Pushing past Logan, our son hugged Sawyer's leg and Sawyer's arms immediately engulfed his little body in return. "Did you come to see me off as well?" His little voice couldn’t contain his pleasure at the thought.
"Of course! I couldn't let my little buddy go to Florida for a whole week without saying goodbye, now could I?" My heart squeezed, my teeth biting back the grin at Logan's pissed-off expression when he saw the scene between our son and my boyfriend.
"I didn't think I was going when I saw the snow," he disclosed to Sawyer.
"Nah, this weather is nothing these guys here at the airport can't handle," he said, dismissively allaying Colby's fears. Glancing up, Sawyer looked to me smiling, then more seriously to Logan. "All right, get yourself inside, it's freezing out here. We can't have you arriving at your grandparents with the sniffles now, can we?" he asked Colby. Colby nodded and Sawyer released him.
Logan stepped forward, his face like thunder, and took our son's hand. "Come on, Poppy's waiting inside." Colby didn't reply like a child who was looking forward to seeing Poppy, instead, breaking away from Logan and rushing to hug me again.
"She's not my mom," he whispered into my ear.
"No, sweetheart, she isn't. But she's the lady your dad lives with, so I expect you to be polite to her," I told him. Colby gave me a chaste look and nodded before I drew him in for another long tight hug. "Stay safe and have fun and I'll see you at the start of the new year."
When I let him go, Colby retook Logan's hand and Sawyer immediately stepped over toward me and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Hey, beautiful," he said, kissing my temple in earshot of Logan, as we stood watching them enter the doors to the terminal. Colby looked back over his shoulder and we both waved in unison.
As soon as the automatic doors closed behind them, I sighed in relief that there hadn't been a confrontation between the two men, and Sawyer chuckled. "Okay, so that went well."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The slow but picturesque drive from the airport to Sawyer's parents' house in Long Island was lovely. Whizzing by the magnificently pretty, white landscape while sitting in on a cozy heated leather seat in my car, a luxury upgrade I'd recklessly agreed when I'd bought it, felt divine.
Sawyer took the wheel but had held my hand for most of the way. To anyone watching it could have looked like a scene from a Christmas Hallmark movie.
Although our conversation was easy, there were several times during the journey when we fell quiet. During those moments, I studied his handsome, studious face as he concentrated on the road and marveled at how incredible I thought he was, and how different my last few months would have been had he never been in that wine bar.
"You like this song?" he asked, cutting into my thoughts as George Ezra's "Hold My Girl," began to play on the radio, breaking my gaze from the beautiful snowy landscape I smiled affectionately toward him.
"I do. It's very romantic," I murmured.
"It's one of those songs that comes on the radio and reminds me of you," he confessed. My heart clenched with his admission and listened until it ended.
"I have another song that reminds me of you," he told me, turning on the windshield wipers when a fresh flurry of snow began to fall again.
"You do?" I asked sounding surprised.
"Usher's 'You Got It Bad.' The lyrics don't relate to me, but it expresses everything I feel about how you affect me." I chuckled because I didn't know the lyrics, but the title made me laugh.
"I have one that reminds me of you. 'Carry Me Away' by John Mayer." Sawyer's eyes snapped toward me, a scowl on his face.
"You're not boring. You just needed to be reminded of the fun side of life after being stuck with that selfish fuck. After meeting him, it's no surprise you'd forgotten how beautiful and vibrant you are," he told me, staring back to the road as we switched lanes and headed toward the exit off the A495 for Southampton. "You, darlin', are everything. And from the time we've spent in bed, I'd say you have the potential to be pretty wild."
I felt my face flush as a thrill of arousal shot through my body and he chuckled. "Damn, it's so easy to make you blush," he said, stealing a glance toward me. "It's my goal to make you smile and bring color to your cheeks every day in the future," he informed me with a wink.
After his declaration, we sat in a comfortable silence until he turned off the main road, drove through some stone pillars that marked the entrance to a private drive, and continued down an imposing snow-covered driveway. There was no house in sight and my nerves grew as I began to realize the true wealth of Sawyer's parents.
When I’d learned where Sawyer had grown up, I'd felt scared everyone would hate me. I’d felt intimidated by how wealthy he was because of the inheritance he'd told me about, but after seeing his family home; I figured his wealth paled in comparison to that of his parents. I didn't live in a hole and had been a finance wealth manager, but it was only when he headed for Southampton, the most exclusive of the Hamptons, that it had dawned on me he, came from old family money.
"You lived here?" I asked, overwhelmed by the gigantic mansion.
"Yeah, this is where I grew up."
"It's like a fancy hotel," I muttered in awe. My wide eyes scanned the perfectly washed house windows I had begun to count in my head until he interrupted me.
"It's only a house, Billie. Breathe."
For some reason, I had imagined his parents had been left a property by his uncle, but I was speechless when I realized Sawyer's family probably had at least a century of wealth, maybe more. I was confused because he didn't give off the usual arrogant vibe I had experienced in my previous role at work in wealth management. At least from the clients, I had met with similar backgrounds.
Rounding a circular driveway to the front of the house, Sawyer passed by it and drove down one side and into a courtyard where there were at least thirty cars already parked.
"Oh, God. I wasn't prepared for this," I mumbled, keeping the thought in my head about facing his family and being judged on being the divorced cougar, who'd snapped up their youngest son.
I sat petrified, wishing I hadn't agreed to this as Sawyer crunched his way around the front of the car in the snow and opened my door.
"Ready?" he asked beaming a bright smile that showed no hint of nerves at taking me inside.
"Jesus, no. You never told me about all of this," I grumbled, waving my hands at the luxury cars parked one after the other like some exclusive auto show display. Sawyer snickered and took my hand.
"They're only material things."
"Expensive material things," I corrected.
"Don't allow any of this to intimidate you, Billie. All of those fancy cars together aren't worth a hair on your head to me."
"Damn, Sawyer, you have got it bad. But you're biased and I'm too nervous now to go in there. They're going to hate me."
"Stop it. They'
ll love you," he snapped. "You trust me, remember?"
I shrugged, my eyes going from a fiery frightened death glare to nervously unsure in a beat. "I remember," I confirmed with more than a note of uncertainty. Fuck, what am I doing here? How can I possibly fit in with all of this?
Lacing his fingers in mine, Sawyer dipped his head toward me and pressed his lips to mine. "Mmm, I missed you," he whispered, his other hand glided up my back and cradled my head. "When we get in there, remember, you're all that matters to me. Hang on to that and you won't care who you meet or what they think."
I wasn't sure how he intended for me to take his comment, but it frightened the crap out of me. I had no idea what hostility I might encounter, so I wasn't sure whether his words were offered in reassurance or a warning.
Looking into his eyes, all I saw was adoration and I remembered his words from before: "We're all that matters." This centered me and although I felt somewhat unprepared for the meeting ahead, this was what Sawyer wanted, and I didn't want to let him down. He squeezed my hand after a few seconds and glanced toward the house. "Come on, it's freezing, let's get you inside.
* * *
"Mom, Dad, this is Billie," Sawyer said casually, as I drew in a deep breath and stared nervously with wide eyes at his pretty and petite mother. My heart was in my mouth. She was a beautiful lady in her mid-to-late sixties with perfectly coiffed silver hair and a slender hourglass figure.
Dressed in an electric blue satin floor length dress, she appeared chic and effortlessly elegant. I felt like I looked as if I was applying for a position as her assistant wearing my conservative black woolen pantsuit.
Narrowed hazel eyes, similar to Sawyer's, examined me for a moment before a genuine smile curved her perfect cherry lips and she stepped in for a hug. It was strong and meaningful, and a reaction I hadn't expected from someone who appeared so refined. As she did this, I was aware Sawyer hadn't let go of my hand.
"At last, we put a face to a name, right, Ronald?" she asked, sounding happy as she turned her attention to the man standing next to her. I assumed he was Sawyer's father.
With my heart beating wildly in my chest, I turned my attention to the gentleman beside her and saw he was dressed in expensive navy suit pants, a matching suit vest over a crisp white shirt, and silk, dark mustard-colored tie. When I glanced up to his face, my breath almost caught in my throat at how much Sawyer looked like him.
The only difference between the two men was that this older version looked distinguished with the smattering of silver-gray through his dark hair, and unlike Sawyer, he had the most piercing light blue eyes.
"We were beginning to think you were a figment of our son's imagination, Billie," he agreed leaning in and hugging me just as welcomingly as his wife. My immediate thought was if they'd had reservations about Sawyer being with me, they'd hidden it well.
"Ah, now that I've seen the latest woman to capture my baby brother's heart," said a man, who appeared through some open double doors to the left of the hallway. He made a show of raking his eyes over me.
This version of Sawyer was older than him but younger than his father, and I knew straight away it was his brother, James. He gave a low whistle. "Wow, hello, beautiful."
Sawyer's hand immediately tightened around mine, and I felt stunned for a moment when I considered the close similarities between Sawyer and his older brother. I couldn't help but note how close he was to my age. I'd heard about what he'd done and was prepared to hate him on sight, but I wasn't expecting him to look the way he did. How could I hate someone who looked just like the man I loved?
"James!" Both Ronald and Harriett admonished him immediately. Sawyer's hand clenched tighter around mine, and my heart cracked with the feeling of insecurity I felt through Sawyer's possessive grip. I couldn't imagine how he felt about seeing his brother together with the girl he'd lived with for six long years.
"Lovely to meet you," I smiled, directing my greeting at his parents in support of Sawyer, who'd done all the hard work by telling them about me before I arrived.
"It's a pleasure, my dear. Sawyer tells me you met over a year ago, and in his words, 'he's madly in love and has been since the first time he saw you.' I never knew my boy was such a romantic," his mom said, patting him affectionately on his shoulder.
"That's Sawyer, he falls hard," muttered James. I gave him a sideways glance, instantly disliking his casual attitude toward his brother about me. For some reason, I couldn't stop looking at him until I realized it was because of how strikingly similar they both were.
Once I got past the first impression, however, I didn't miss the ugly smirk he directed at Sawyer when he thought the rest of us weren't looking.
I chuckled as if I were amused by his comment because both Sawyer and I knew it wasn't quite as he'd relayed. "So he says," I replied in my sweetest tone, turning to look up at Sawyer with pure adoration in my eyes. James was my age, but Sawyer was everything I could have wished for and more. "I'm still in awe that he did, and it makes me a very lucky woman," I stated. I'd stopped caring about who was listening or what they might have thought of me since James's interruption.
"The money helps, right? My little brother is quite a catch." I fought to prevent the smile on my face from freezing in shock at his spiteful comment. I turned and raised an eyebrow.
Sawyer drew a breath and I shook his hand as if to say, 'I got this.' "Money or no money, your brother is everything to me." Patting his chest with my free hand, I briefly smiled up at him. "He's an incredible person and he makes me happy. James, you said?" I asked, looking to his parents as if I'd forgotten his name. Sawyer slipped a hand up my back and rested it between my shoulder blades and my gaze immediately returned to his.
"Back at you, Billie," he offered in return.
"All right, lovebirds, now that the formal introductions are done, shall we go into the great room and introduce Billie to everyone else? Or do you intend on letting all of our relatives find us in the hallway? She'll start to think she's under scrutiny if we keep her standing here much longer."
Both Harriett and Ronald laughed when Ronald took control, and he held out his hand to lead the way. As we walked toward the great room, I glanced around the grand white marble hallway and saw a central red-carpeted staircase leading to the upper floor of the house.
When we entered the large beautifully furnished area, the opulence of the room took my breath away as three large stunning lime green, golden brown and cream settees took up a large amount of the space.
The room was decorated to perfection, with large windows framed in luxury cream satin and silk drapes and deep plush area rugs that partially covered expensive dark, wooden floors. Above was an incredible ornate gold-leafed vaulted ceiling, and after I'd quickly checked out the décor, I realized all eyes in the room were on us.
Scanning the sea of smiling faces staring at us, my stomach became filled with nerves as I wondered what they were thinking. Seconds ticked by before anyone spoke and my confidence fell through the floor.
Apart from feeling like a prized show pony, the second I stepped in the room, I felt mesmerised by the other guests. Each person I looked at appeared more beautiful and refined than the last, all well-groomed, immaculately dressed and affluent, until Strings' face broke the spell.
He and the young girl who sat on his knee looked out of keeping with the others. Another pretty girl dressed in high street fashion sat next to them, and the resemblance to Strings led me to believe it was his sister, Monica. None of these three people appeared to shine like the others.
Two gorgeous dark-haired women sat elegantly side by side on a chaise lounge by some French doors. One was close to my age, with long dark hair and clad in a black silk dress. A pretty little girl with the same color hair sat on her knee.
The other woman, who appeared to be in her mid-thirties, was also similar in appearance. She was dressed in a beige-colored satin and lace dress and had a young boy of about five years old at her feet.
The women's resemblance to Harriett was more than a passing one and I guessed these were the elder two of Sawyer's sisters. I drew a deep breath and wanted to look away, but when I considered their smiling faces I felt relieved. At least they aren't scowling.
Sawyer squeezed my hand, leaned close to my ear and whispered. "You're the most beautiful girl in the room, remember that. It's you and me, Billie, no one else matters." I turned, a smile curving my lips, because not once had I cared how old I was or how young he was or what people thought of that, it was only that I was a stranger. Sawyer knew how sensitive I'd been about this previously, and he was reminding me not to have negative thoughts.
"This is true," I offered, sarcastically, still feeling all their curious eyes on me. It made my thoughts progress from show pony to circus pony. Sawyer chuckled, and I felt my shoulders relax. He was right: What did they know about us, other than we were together?
"Come on. My sisters, Tammy and Caitlin, are desperate to meet you," he said tugging my hand in their direction. I felt nervous and shy. I wanted them to like me.
"Tammy, Caitlin, this is my girl, Billie."
"I'm hardly a girl, but I'm his girl." I gloated and forced myself to sound confident. A little chuckle escaped my throat and both women immediately beamed perfect smiles toward me. "Sawyer told me what happened, Tammy. You must have been so frightened. I know Sawyer was. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thank you, I'm still having physical therapy every other day, but doing great considering. Thank you for asking."
"So you're the woman that's taken up all of our baby brother's time this past few months?" Caitlin said, cutting in on the conversation and changing the subject. I was thankful for this because I had no clue what I'd have said next. I smiled warmly at Sawyer again, and he slid his hand down my back and rested it on my lower spine.
DARE You, Dare Duet, Part One: Billie and Sawyer: Unchained Attraction Series Page 23
