“Yes, it is,” she said with a laugh. “I can’t believe you remember that.”
Donovan was not so amused. He gave Sawyer an assessing look from head to toe, a slow and pissed-off perusal. Paxton couldn’t help but chuckle. This poor kid really thought he had a chance with her. She didn’t know whether to be charmed or exasperated by him on any given day.
“I appreciate both offers to help, but I think we’ve got things under control. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow,” she told Sawyer. She looked at Donovan. “You did a good job tonight, but you should go home and check on your grandpa.”
“He’s okay,” Donovan said.
“Well, then, just go home and get some rest.”
“You’re going to miss me when I’m gone,” he said. And, of course, he winked.
If she could get away with it, she would superglue his eyes shut.
“Are you really putting me out, too?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes,” she said, taking him by the hand and tugging him toward the exit. She walked him to his car, which was one of the last remaining in the parking lot. It was a good thing he was driving his dad’s Buick. His luxury car would have stood out among the dusty pickup trucks and dented sedans.
“So, have you thought about what I suggested?” he asked.
She cocked her head to the side. “Refresh my memory?”
“Me, you, and three weeks of no-strings-attached fun before you go back to Little Rock.”
“Oh, that.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m too tired to think up a good excuse to say no. Ask me again tomorrow, when I’m well rested and on my game.”
He ran his hand along her hair. “There’s only one answer I’ll accept, and no isn’t it.”
“Goodnight, Sawyer. Thank you again for coming tonight.”
“Maybe I’ll become a regular,” he said. “Especially now that I know I have competition.”
She chuckled. “If you’re talking about Donovan, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Maybe I’ll become a regular anyway,” he said. “Just because the more you see me, the harder it will be for you to turn me down.” He leaned in closer to her, his lips nearly touching hers. “I’m going to make you see the real me, Pax. That’s a promise.”
She suffered through a full-body shudder.
Could she want him any more than she did right now? Impossible.
He got into the Buick and slowly backed away; the loose gravel kicked up from underneath the tires.
Paxton stood there for several minutes, giving herself time to come down from the stimulating high she’d been on since Sawyer walked through the door. She returned to the kitchen to help Belinda and Jessie clean. Even though they were all exhausted, they were done in less than an hour.
As she and her mother crossed the pasture, heading for their trailer—Heinz trotting alongside them—they chatted about the success of opening night. Paxton’s chest was so filled with pride that she feared it would burst wide open. Belinda’s excitement was palpable. Paxton couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her so animated. So happy.
However, once they arrived home, her mother’s mood changed.
Paxton was adding leftover food scraps into Heinz’s food bowl when Belinda came upon her, her expression devoid of the sunniness that had been there all night.
“Is there something I should know about you and Sawyer Robertson?” she asked.
Paxton’s head popped up. “We’re working together. You know that already.”
“What I saw tonight looked like a bit more than just colleagues shooting the breeze.”
“Really?” Paxton chuckled as she walked over to the kitchen faucet and filled a plastic cup with water. “The question,” she said as she poured the water into Heinz’s water bowl, “is what’s going on betweenyouand Sawyer. There was a weird vibe between the two of you tonight.”
“I was just shocked to see someone like him in my bar.”
