“I hadn’t thought your plans would change just because we fucked.”
I didn’t know what to make of it. It had felt like a slap in the face, but then she’d come around the table and sat in front of me with no underwear on under her T-shirt, and I’d simply given myself over to my carnal urges instead of agonizing over the state of my heart.
But in the days following, my heart was the only thing I could think about. The way it swelled whenever I saw her and then turned into a pattering mess the second I laid my hands on her. How it grew wings and took flight whenever she laughed at something I said or looked at me with that lust-filled blue gaze.
The more I dwelled on what was happening to my heart, the more adrift I felt—as if I really was that lost little boy Pops had accused me of being when I first arrived.
Sawyer and I spent every free moment together. It felt like a clock was ticking down, and we needed to cram in as much time together as possible, which is why she’d agreed to come with me to my mom’s birthday party tonight—despite how much she loathed fancy events.
Pops was impossible, as always, when it came to how much time I spent at Sawyer’s. His remarks were getting more and more pointed every day. I shake my head as the memory of this morning runs through my head.
“Are you sure you’re even helping out on this ranch anymore? Sawyer sees you more than I do. Did she have some more horses that needed chasin’, or can we just say to hell with the pretenses and talk about how you’re ditching your grandfather to knock boots with the neighbor girl?”
He made me want to dig my brain out of my skull with a teaspoon so I could forget every word he said. “Are the questions about my sex life really necessary??”
“I’m seventy-seven years old. I don’t have the time and energy it takes to be polite. I gotta get to the point or I’ll die before I get answers.”
For Christ’s sake.
“What are you smiling at?” Sawyer asks from the seat next to me. We’re driving my Lexus to the city, since it gets much better gas mileage than either of the trucks do.
“Just thinking about something ridiculous Pops said earlier.”
Her eyes soften when I talk about Pops. “Still giving you a hard time?”
“Yep.”
“I wouldn’t expect any less,” she says.
“Me neither.” I smile, glancing over at Sawyer.
Her red hair is down in curls, and with the makeup and dress she’s wearing...Damn. She nearly knocked me on my ass the second I saw her. I was speechless.
The slit on the sage green cocktail dress she’s wearing is riding up, baring most of her thigh to me, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to focus on the road.
You would think after how much of her I’ve seen, a little flash of thigh wouldn’t be my undoing the way it is right now, but all I want to do is pull over, tear that dress off her and fuck her so thoroughly that riding the horses tomorrow will be a problem.
“Why do you look so serious?”
“Because I’m seriously debating the pros and cons of turning this car around and taking you back home so I can fuck you again.”
Her cheeks turn pink and she laughs, shaking her head like I’m ludicrous.
“You think I’m joking? I can’t keep my hands to myself when you’re in this,” I say, gripping the silky fabric in my fingers.
She wraps her hand around mine. “You’re going to have to find your city manners, cowboy. Your mom would be upset if you miss her party tonight.”
I sigh, knowing she’s right, but hating that she is.
My stomach churns with nerves. I wanted Sawyer with me for moral support and maybe as a bit of a buffer with my parents. But now I’m wondering how much my family will read in to me bringing her along. I didn’t even call to warn them she was coming.
Sawyer’s hand finds mine on the middle console, our fingers twining together. “You okay?”
I peek at her out of the corner of my eye. She’s gnawing on her lip, just as nervous as I am. “Yeah, I’m good.” I try to sound convincing. “It just feels weird being back in the city. Like I’ve been gone for months instead of weeks.”
Life at Dawson Ranch felt like an entirely different world compared to the one I left behind here.
She nods in understanding and stares at the twinkling lights that illuminate the city streets.
