Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85565 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I said.
“In my world, it does.”
I opened my mouth and started to argue, but he cut me off. “What about you, James? What life do you want to live?”
“I’m already living it,” I answered automatically.
He lifted an eyebrow, making it clear he didn’t buy my answer.
“I am,” I said more forcefully.
He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “You keep telling yourself that, James,” he said, before walking away, leaving me standing alone in the lobby to his father’s building.
And I did keep telling myself that, to the point that I almost had myself convinced.
20
Sawyer
I spent that evening at the pub unable to get thoughts of James out of my mind. I was so distracted that I accidentally swapped two of the keg lines, rang up the first three dinner orders incorrectly, and completely failed at updating the specials board. Finally, as I stood at the bar trying to remember the proportions for a proper Sazerac, Karlie rolled her eyes at me and elbowed me out of the way to fix it herself.
“What’s up with you tonight?” she grumbled as she pulled a bottle of rye from the well.
“Nothing,” I answered automatically.
She turned and fisted a hand on her hip, tilting her head at me with that “we both know you’re lying, so out with it” expression. She was going to make an excellent mother. “Spill,” she commanded.
“I’m fine,” I promised. Hoping to evade further questioning, I managed to pull the rest of the drink order together and get it delivered. On my way back behind the bar, Karlie looped her elbow through mine and hauled me into the back room. She parked herself in the doorway, effectively trapping me.
For a moment she studied me, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed. I crossed my arms, staring her down.
“It’s that lawyer, isn’t it?” she finally asked.
I was so startled that she’d guessed correctly that I didn’t immediately respond, which apparently confirmed her suspicions. She sighed and leaned against the doorjamb, rubbing a hand absently over her expanding belly. “That’s what I thought.”
“It’s no big deal,” I told her. “There’s not even anything going on between us.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Not from what I saw of the two of you together.”
I felt my cheeks heat. “Fine,” I admitted, “I’m physically attracted to him. You happy?”
“Given the way that man looked at you, the feeling’s mutual,” she pointed out, laughing.
I felt like a teenager with a crush, wanting to ask her to elaborate. “It doesn’t matter. He left for New York this morning after closing the deal on the Sea Sprite.”
“Then why are you here?”
I blinked at her. “Because it’s my night to take closing shift? Where else would I be?”
“On your way to New York to hunt that man down,” she said like it was obvious.
I almost choked at the suggestion. Even though the thought of it sent my heart racing, it was a nonstarter. “What’s the point? I’m telling you, Karlie, it was just physical between us. A one-night stand, that’s all.”
“More like multiple-night stand,” she said, rolling her eyes. “How did you leave things when you said goodbye?”
I shuffled my feet. “We… uh… didn’t really say goodbye.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
I thought back to this morning, to the humiliation I’d felt sitting naked in bed while James and my uncle discussed the sale of my future dreams. “I kind of walked out on him when I heard about the sale of the inn going through.”
She threw up her hands, exasperated. “Sawyer Gilley, you were raised better than that.”
How could she not understand? “Karlie, that man stole my future! I had it all planned out, I had a business plan, and dreams, and it was going to work. It would have been hard work for a few years, but over time we’d have come out ahead—we’d have made more money keeping the property rather than selling it, and in the process I’d be able keep the family legacy alive!”
Karlie let out a long sigh and stepped toward me, her expression shifting to one of sympathy. She pressed a hand to my cheek. “That man didn’t steal your future, Sawyer. You still have everything ahead of you, and money to make any dream you want come true.”
“My dream was the Sea Sprite.” I knew I sounded petulant, but I couldn’t help it.
Something shifted in her eyes, turning harder. “And you think my dream was to become a single mother? To get knocked up by a man who turned tail and ran at the first hint of responsibility? You think I wanted to move home? Live with my parents? Work in a bar?”
I winced, realizing how selfish I’d sounded. I started to apologize, but the look she gave me made clear she wasn’t done talking, and I swallowed the words.