Me: Instead of waiting around for him to pull his head out of his butt, I should just give my secret admirer a chance since he seems to know me so well.
Me: If I already had, maybe I wouldn’t be spending Valentine’s Day as a sad, single person.
Sawyer: What if I want to be your valentine?
My eyes widened at his question. Was that all I’d needed to do all along? Had I somehow managed to prod him into finally confessing that he saw me as more than just Jesse’s little sister? And if I pushed even harder, would my dream of us together come true?
Me: If you were my valentine, you’d be here right now.
Sawyer: Look up from your phone, baby.
My heart raced in my chest as my head lifted. I was filled with hope for the first time in seven weeks. If Sawyer was here, then my dream husband might not be as out of reach as I’d thought.
2
Sawyer
Katie’s head flew up, and I got lost in her velvety brown eyes for a moment.
Damn, she was gorgeous.
I’d been stalking her social media since the day I left her house, and even though I’d see picture after picture, none of them captured her true beauty. Now that I was standing in front of her, I had no idea how I’d made it this long without coming to see her. At the time, my reasons had made sense. I wanted to build our relationship and give it time so her brother couldn't argue that we barely knew each other. And without the ability to physically connect, we’d learned a fuck of a lot about each other. I’d known rather quickly that Jesse didn’t see Katie as she truly was, but after only a few days of texting, I was fascinated by her mind, her wit, and the way she drew people to her. She was like pure sunshine, lighting up the world around her.
It was so fucking hard to stay away, but I’d thrown myself into work and spent every spare moment on a special project just for her.
The plan had been to come to her at graduation, and I started the “secret admirer” stuff to help ensure she stayed single. I’d assumed she’d quickly deduce that it was me, but from her rambling text, it seemed I was wrong. I would have been worried that she might not want it to be me, except I saw the look of irritation when she brought him up, and the longing in her expression when I asked about being her valentine.
Katie was frozen in place, her thumbs hovering over her phone and looking at me as if she wasn’t sure I was real.
I shoved my own cell into the pocket of my jeans and closed the rest of the distance between us. She double blinked when I cupped her face in my hands, then inhaled deeply as if she’d been holding her breath.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby,” I said softly before brushing my lips across hers.
“How…why…um, what are you doing here?” she sputtered.
I pressed my forehead against hers and closed my eyes, reveling in her vanilla and ginger scent. “I was already at my breaking point, then when you didn’t answer me about your plans…” I kissed her again, then wrapped her in my arms and buried my face in her silky hair. “I just couldn’t stay away any longer.”
“Stay away?” she echoed.
“I tried,” I mumbled. “But I missed you so fucking much.”
Katie melted against me for a second, then her spine stiffened, and she poked me in the shoulder. “You better explain yourself, Ward,” she snapped, and I was glad she couldn’t see my face because I wasn’t able to contain my smile. She was too fucking adorable.
A slow song with a heavy, sensual beat began to play, and I couldn’t resist the urge to dance with her. “I know we have a lot to talk about, but first…” I took a few steps back and held out my hand. “Will you dance with me?”
Her expression turned soft and dreamy, then she nodded and placed her palm in mine. I drew her close and held our connected hands to my chest while I wrapped my other arm tightly around her waist. Her curves were every bit as delicious as I remembered, and my body simmered with need. I didn’t try to hide how she affected me this time, and as we swayed to the music, my hardness brushed across her stomach. She sucked in a quick breath, her eyes flying up to meet mine.
I was relieved to see the desire burning in the chocolate depths, and I couldn’t help dipping my head down and capturing her lips in our first real kiss since two days after Christmas. She tasted even sweeter than I remembered, and I devoured her with the desperation of a starving man.