This washerhometown. These wereherpeople.
Paxton knew she would never be able to look at herself in the mirror if she didn’t do right by them. She just needed to make sure what they were doing really was the best thing for Gauthier.
Sawyer rested his head on the rim of the sofa while running his fingers through Paxton’s short hair. They had been in this position for the past hour, her head on his lap, face turned to the television. Neither of them paid much attention to the crime drama on the screen.
He’d tried to cajole her into driving out to Maplesville for a late dinner after this evening’s meeting, but she had declined, saying she just wasn’t up to it. Honestly, neither was he. Instead, Sawyer had made them both peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, which they’d eaten while standing at his kitchen island.
He’d given up trying to read her mood. The only thing he was sure about was that it had changed drastically in the twenty-four hours since they’d last been here. When they’d sat in this same spot last night, they were both naked, and the atmosphere had been a heck of a lot more fun.
Another twenty minutes of him gently stroking her hair passed before Paxton stirred and asked, “Why did you sell your parents’ home?”
Sawyer’s fingers paused mid-stroke. “Where did that come from?”
“Even though I’ve been here nearly every night for the past week, this is the first chance I’ve had to really look at your home.”
He dipped his head and placed a kiss on her ear. “That’s because I’ve kept you too busy with other things to worry about giving you a tour of the house.”
Her sexy laugh triggered a hardening in his groin.
“This place is nice, but I can imagine that your old house was even more spectacular.” She turned in his lap, resting the back of her head on his thighs so she could look up at him. “Why did you sell your childhood home so quickly? Was it because you had no intentions of returning to Gauthier after you got married?”
Sawyer thought about that for a moment before he shook his head. “No, I knew I would be back,” he answered. “Even though I still have my condo in New Orleans, I always planned to return to Gauthier. I just didn’t want to live in that house.”
“Too many bad memories? I mean, with you losing both of your parents there, I can only imagine.”
“Actually, it’s a bit more practical than that. I just don’t need that much space. Funny thing is, I found out that my mom and dad both thought the house was too big for our family, too.”
“Wait. So neither of your parents wanted that big house?”
“Nope.” He went back to stroking her head.
“So…why?”
“My mom and dad both grew up poor. When they were first married, Dad promised to build her a house fit for a queen. Once he became successful, he did. She thought it was too big, but she didn’t tell him because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He didn’t say anything for the same reason.”
Paxton burst out laughing. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But that’s so incredibly sweet.”
“They were embarrassingly sweet. They would have been just fine living in this house,” he said, gesturing to his living room, which was still fairly large by most standards but was nothing compared with the mansion he’d grown up in.
“I was so jealous of your childhood home,” Paxton admitted in a soft voice.
“Hey, Matt Gauthier’s family had a bigger house than mine.”
“Yeah, but he’s aGauthier. They’re royalty around here.” She looked up at him. “And I didn’t have a crush on Matt.”
Sawyer couldn’t believe the pleasure he derived from her sweetly whispered admission. Yet it killed him to think about how much time they’d wasted.
“You do realize how ridiculous it is that we both had a thing for each other yet were too cowardly to say anything for all this time, right?”
“I doubt I would have been able to handle all of this before now,” she said. “It still doesn’t feel real.”
“What doesn’t feel real?”
“This,” she said. “Being here with you, having you stroke my hair, lying here as if I belong in your arms.”
“This is exactly where you belong, Pax.”
She smiled up at him, but it was too conciliatory to convince Sawyer that she actually believed him.
