“Go.” Sara lamented, limply waving him away. “I’m fine, stop your worrying, you can leave me with my babysitter.”
I walked with Liam down the hallway. “What could you possibly have to do at the restaurant that’s so important?” Something passed across his expression that made my chest tighten. “Liam?” He only shook his head, begging me not to push. “Liam, what’s going on?” I demanded quietly.
“Keep an eye on her.” He gathered his keys and phone, heading for the door. “And do me a favor,” he sighed over his shoulder, locking eyes with me. “Keep your hands to yourself and no midnight walks, please.”
I put my hands up in surrender. “No fresh air, got it.”
Something was definitely off with him, and it wasn’t just tonight. He’d been more distant than usual lately, but I supposed he was dealing with his grief in his own way. Doing the best he could. We all were.
I wandered back into the living room, not totally heartbroken by the situation.
“Can I get you anything?” I asked.
Sara sighed. “My sanity?”
“Darn, I’m fresh out of that.” I snapped my fingers.
The corner of her mouth pulled. “Thought so.”
“Seriously, anything at all?” I swallowed hard, listing thingswhile she shook her headno. “Ice cream? I could have someone come do your nails? I know, I’ll go get you one of those puppies.” I offered, not joking in the slightest.
“Thank you, but really, I’m fine.” She gave me a weak smile.
“Do you want to open your gift?” I asked nervously.
Her eyes shifted. “You got me a gift?”
“Don’t get too excited.” I shrugged and gripped the back of my neck. “It’s small.”
Her whole face lit up, making my heart stutter as she nodded. “Of course I want to open my gift.”
CHAPTER 16
Nightmares & Googly Eyes
CARTER
I retrieved the large gift bag from my room, suddenly regretting getting her something so stupid. Her real gift wasn’t ready yet, and I could have literally bought her anything under the sun as a placeholder, and I’d basically gotten her a jar of dirt. I started panicking as I stood there in front of her, hesitating with that stupid bag.
“What is it?” She asked, eyes bright as she sat forward, reaching for the gift. “Oh, it’s heavy.”
Together we set the bag on the coffee table, and I reluctantly let go, watching while she quickly pulled the tissue paper out with something that could almost be called excitement.Frick.
“They uh, they were doing a carnival next to the base for the kids, and I don’t know, I saw these and it made me think of you. It’s probably a dumb gift, it’s not really—” I swallowed hard not sure what to say as I suddenly realized I was standing an awkward distance away that I couldn’t close without it being obvious, so I just stood there on the carpet like an awkward schmuck.
Sara shot me a puzzled look from under her lashes as she unrolled the first tube of sand, trying to figure it out. One after another, she lined up the colorful vials across the coffee table.I’d gotten one of everything, just to be sure, and now, it seemed incredibly silly.
Sara finally pulled the glass figurine vase out, quickly piecing together what it was. “Oh, Carter! I’ve always wanted to do one of these.” She reached into the bag again, finding a second glass bottle. “And would you look at that.” She shot me a shy little smile. “There’stwoof them—should we make them now?”
I shrugged, suddenly feeling incredibly pleased with myself asshe grinned.“Only if you want to.”
Twenty minutes later, we were sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table with two very colorful sand art vases. I’d picked the sand people shaped ones for us because they kind of reminded me of the Sour Patch Kids she loved so much. Both had googly eyes, and were plugged with a colorful sprout of bouncy hair coming out the top—Sara’s was yellow, and mine was blue.Very fitting.
“I’m glad these made you think of me.” Sara chuckled, and sitting a little too far away, she leaned forward to give me a hug. My breath stalled out as her arms slid around my neck, and my arm instinctively found its way around her middle—an awkward angle for a hug, but she lingered all the same, making my every breath come faster and faster, the longer she held on. I could hardly breathe at all by the time she finally pulled back and smiled at me,a real smile.“Thank you, Carter.”
“I’m glad you like it.” I cleared my throat before looking down to play with a piece of fuzz on my jeans—to checkthings.
While Sara was washing her hands, I did a quick vacuum of the rug, and it wasn’t until she returned that I realized my mistake.My seat choice.
