The silky pull of her lips.
The tempting taste of her mouth.
A sense of triumph rushed through him—after all this time, he was finally kissing Betzy Benton.
He tipped his head, desperate for more, when a distinct clank sounded from the kitchen.
Betzy was the first to respond. At once, she pushed away from him and sprung up like a jack-in-the-box. “Who’s in here?” she called. Ifguiltyhad a tone of its own, Betzy had found it.
“Me,” one of her brothers mumbled. The clank came again. “I need coffee.”
Betzy shot from the floor to the mantle, where Sawyer had been sitting moments ago.
Duke, it turned out, shuffled into the living area in a zombie-like state. Until he caught sight of Sawyer on the floor. At once he froze in place, gaze ping-ponging between Betzy, him, then back to Betzy once more.
“What were you two doing in here?”
Sawyer shot a look at Betzy as she blurted a response.
“Nothing. Just talking.”
Duke performed a slow, insinuative nod. “Uh huh. Yeah, right.”
“No, really,” Betzy persisted. Only Sawyer couldn’t understand why. Why would she try to hide the fact that they’d been kissing? Was she ashamed of him after all? Worried about what her family might think if she did, in fact, have feelings for him?
He considered making some sort of joke to ease the tension, but he was too bothered by the situation to even try. Instead, Sawyer hoisted himself off the ground, put the throw pillow back in place, and made his way to the patio.
“Busted…” He heard Duke say as he closed the door behind him.
Who knew how Betzy would respond to that. All Sawyer knew was that he hadn’t anticipated this type of reaction. He didn’t want to be someone she was ashamed of.
Beyond that, he hadn’t expected things to move as quickly as they had. One minute he’d been rubbing her feet, the next they were well on their way to a make-out session.
Residual heat pulsed through him at the recollection of that kiss. And call him crazy, but he was pretty sure she’d been the one to start it by turning to face him. Sure, he’d teased her a little first, but she’d encouraged him by moving her hair out of the way.
Sawyer shook his head, unable to make sense of it. Apparently, he was good enough for thepublicto think they might marry, since it would help her save face in a pinch. But heaven forbid herfamilyactually think it was real. Heck, if she wasn’t so worried that her grandma would expose the ruse for what it was, Betzy probably wouldn’t have invited him to the cabin at all.
Sawyer suddenly felt like nothing more than a stage prop in Betzy’s little show. Men like Marcus Creighton, as slimy and selfish as he was, landed among the elite with their name and family alone. Forget the fact that he squandered his daddy’s money and bankrupted the business.
Somehow it was Sawyer who’d never measure up. Money or no, he was still Sawyer Kingsley.
Good enough for stepping up in a pinch.
Good enough to play the temporary lover.
But not good enough for her.
That cruel, inner voice of Sawyer’s was kicking up once again.
Only this time, he had to admit that it wasn’t as convincing as it’d been before. Perhaps Betzy really did have feelings for him. Feelings she wouldn’t allow herself to give in to.
Their time in front of the fireplace said it all, didn’t it?
Yes. And as he mused back on the way her lips met his, the passion and need he’d felt in that kiss, one thing was very clear: there’d been nothing fake about it.
Chapter 14
Betzy smiled up at the camera as Grandma counted down for a picture. Inwardly, she was reliving a play-by-play of the incredible kiss she and Sawyer shared earlier that day.
