“Yes.”
“Same thing then,” she waved me away dismissively.
Sawyer’s hand found mine, under the table. He interlaced our fingers and pulled it onto his knee.
“So you found a beautiful, affectionate doctor with a big heart,” Sarah continued, “who does volunteer workandrides on the back of that infernal motorcycle you insist on driving around. Is that about the size of it?”
Sawyer answered with facial expressions that only a mother could read. I could see the admiration for her in his eyes, though. The purity of their connection was truly beautiful.
“If she’s all these wonderful things,” Sarah continued without missing a beat, “then what’s the problem?”
Sawyer let out a sigh. “Thereisno problem, mom.”
“Tell me about the complications, then?” she demanded.
Two things were slowly becoming obvious. One was that Sawyer had spoken all about me to his mother as if I were his girlfriend. Which, technically I was.
The other, was that he hadn’t told her the rest of the story.
“What Sawyer’s not telling you,” I began slowly, “is that I met him while I was dating someone else. Or to be more accurate,twoother men.”
He squeezed my hand under the table. It might’ve been a warning, or it might’ve been something else.
Either way, I wasn’t lying to this woman.
“His friends?” she guessed correctly. “Carter and Bodie?”
I nodded and reached for bread.
“So you…”
“Met them all together, at the same time,” I went on. “They all liked me. And if we’re being honest, I liked them.”
Sarah shrugged. “What’s there not to like?”
“Exactly.”
“I mean they’re three handsome, successful men.”
“They sure are.”
“And they all took you out?” she asked. “Rather than fight over you, I mean.”
Our drinks arrived. I dove for mine like a Titanic survivor, reaching for a piece of flotsam.
“I guess you could say I’ve been dating all of them,” I answered, without looking away. “This was their idea, by the way. Not that I argued with it, mind you. I was all for exploring my options. But things just sort of… happened.”
“All at once,” said Sarah.
“Yes.”
She looked at me shrewdly. Her expression became unreadable. “I see.”
“Your son is amazing,” I added quickly. “His friends are equally amazing. They’ve helped me through a very rough time in my life, and were there for me when no one else was. They pulled me out of a very dangerous situation. They’ve even saved me from physical harm.”
Sawyer and his mother exchanged knowing glances. A little voice in my head told me she knew more than she was letting on.
“So who are you going to pick?”
