I’d always cared for Marissa. Maybe it was her being my best friend’s little sis, but I felt alotof brotherly love in her direction. And some not-so-brotherly love, too.
She’d always been a cheery spot of sunshine in my life. Not to mention some gorgeous, completely off-limits eye candy.
Right now my best friend Matt felt like he was a million miles away. And all I knew was that I needed to fix whatever was troubling her right now.
Against all my better judgment, I picked up my tool bag and headed straight for her table.
Marissa looked up and saw me, her eyes widening in surprise when she noticed me coming.
When I got to her table, I dropped my toolkit on the floor and hiked the chair out across from her.
Without waiting to be invited, I cozied myself down in that seat and met her eyes.
Then I drawled out, “What’s wrong, Rissy?”
Marissa’s eyes flickered with shock, then embarrassment. She covered her face with her hands and stammered out, “What thehell are you doing here, Sawyer? Doeseveryone in town need to witness my night from hell?”
I waited for her to answer my question. And while I waited, I studied her. I’d never seen her wear her hair like this before. It was in some kind of a fancy updo with tendrils floating down here and there. It was sexy as hell.
She peeked an eye out through her fingers, then dropped her hands so I could see her again.
Then she parted her gorgeous lips and exhaled deeply. “This is so embarrassing, Sawyer, really. I’m fine. I am.”
“Sure you are. So tell me why you’re sitting in this tourist trap crying your eyes out.”
Harley came by with a notepad in his hand. “Sawyer, good to see you, man. Are you both ready to order now?”
I glanced up at him. “Naw, man. Not right now.” Then I thought about it for a second and pulled two twenties out of my wallet, shoving the bills into his hand. “This is a tip for letting us tie up your table for a while.”
Harley nodded and moved on.
Marissa wiped at her eyes. With the quietest voice I’d ever heard come out of her mouth, she said, “I was planning on leaving. I don’t make a habit of crying in public places. I was just trying to get control of myself enough to go settle my bill and walk out of here with my head held high.”
I leveled her with a serious stare. “Andwhywere you crying? Because some asshole stood you up?”
She blew out a breath and shrugged her shoulders. “It wasn’t just that. I wasn’t really crying overhim.”
My voice grew soft. “Then what was it, Rissy? If it wasn’t that guy?”
Her eyes met mine, holding them in place, and it was like I was caught in her spell again. That had been happening to me regularly for well over a decade now.
The sadness I saw reflected back broke my heart.
“Has life turned out the way you expected it to, Sawyer?”
Furrowing my brow, I shifted in my chair. “In some ways it has. In other ways it hasn’t.”
“Well, my life hasn’t. And I guess tonight it just all came to a head.”
She started slowly shredding the paper napkin in her hands. “I thought things would be different for me. I thought I’d be settled by this stage of my life. And instead…” Rissy swallowed hard, then met my eyes. “Whatever. I don’t want to talk about it. Enough about all that. What’s been up with you? It’s like you disappeared off the map the second Matt moved off the mountain.”
I shrugged. “I’m still here. Doing the same thing I always do. Oh, I got a dog.”
A tiny smile popped onto her lips. “Congrats on the dog. But why did you stop coming around? My parents are practically heartbroken. They feel like they lost two sons at once.”
That put a jolt through me. “Really?”
“Absolutely. They’ve been moping for months wondering why both of you up and quit on them at the same time.”
