I swallow hard and take a few breaths. Then I whip around and smile at him. “I know. You don’t have any friends.”
I walk past him out to his back slider. I step out and am blown away by how beautiful it is out here. The sun is setting, illuminating the sky with pinks, purples, and blues. “Wow.” I breathe out.
I walk over to the swing on his back patio and take a seat. Sawyer sits next to me and grabs a couple grapes from the bowl and pops them in his mouth. I look out over the large backyard. “How do you have time to take care of all this?” I ask.
He raises an eyebrow at me. “I have no friends, remember?”
Sawyer left the slider open so Princess comes running out. He tosses one of her toys, and she happily runs and grabs it.
I laugh at his joke and lean my head down on his shoulder. “So you don’t hire someone to come do all your landscaping?”
He chuckles. “You mean with all the money I’m squeezing you dry of?”
I look up at him. “Yes, exactly. What are you spending all that money on?”
His smile stretches across his face. “Oh no, I blow all that on strippers and blow. I have to do all my own landscaping.”
I slap his chest. “Shut up.”
He leans back and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “I like working outside. It’s peaceful. So unlike our work environment.”
I pull my legs up on the swing and cozy up. I know exactly what he means. It’s so nice out here. “Is that why you don’t bring your girls back here? Disturbing the peace?”
He glances down at me. “Yeah, except somehow the biggest pain in my ass ended up here.”
I reach over and pinch his stomach. “Ow!” He half shouts, half laughs.
“Now I’m a pain in your side too.” I grin up at him.
He shakes his head and laughs. “Dork.” Then he leans down and presses his mouth to mine.
I kiss him back, and he reaches over and cups my jaw. I completely relax into him until suddenly I stop. I can’t do this.
I pull back abruptly, and he gives me a confused look. I can’t stay here. I quickly stand up. “I have to go.”
He stands and follows me back into the house. I rush to the bedroom and find my clothes. I close the bathroom door and change as fast as I can. He calls through the door, but gives me my privacy. “Want to tell me what just happened?” He asks, still sounding confused.
I close my eyes tight to try to get a grip, but it’s too late. I could feel myself falling for him, and no matter how many times I’ve been told I need to put myself out there and not shy away from relationships, I know giving my heart to Sawyer would be the biggest mistake of my life.
I open the bathroom door and give him a half smile. “I uh...I just remembered I have to take care of something.”
I rush past him before he can see right through my lie, but he follows me out. “Blake, c’mon.”
I don’t turn around to look at him as I reach the front door and walk out to my car, but I can still hear him following behind me. “You’re seriously not going to tell me what’s going on?” He asks.
I finally turn to look at him. “I’m sorry I disturbed your peace. Really. Thank you for letting me escape.”
His face hardens, and his eyes turn angry. It feels like a hole was shot right through my chest. “Yeah, whatever.” He says angrily and then turns around and walks back into his house.
My shoulders deflate, and I quickly hop in the car. I can feel tears prick my eyes as I back out of the driveway, and once I’m driving back home, I let them flow freely. Every single emotion from the day has caught up to me. I crash onto my bed when I get home. My whole body feels completely drained. I don’t even bother getting ready for bed. I close my eyes and hope that I can wake up tomorrow and just move on.
Chapter 13
I’ve been in a grumpy mood ever since I left Sawyer’s place. Sunday I laid around the house all day. I’d look at my phone every five minutes, debating on whether or not I should text him. He never tried to reach out, so I thought better of it.
Monday I was able to avoid him all day. He was out of the office most of the day, and I had a bunch of paperwork to get caught up on, so I mostly stayed at my desk the whole day. Today though, I have to go see him. We had this meeting scheduled already. We have to go over some sales accounts and leads for the team before our weekly meeting with the whole team.
He usually just shows up at my desk, and we’ll head over to a conference room or something, but I haven’t seen him yet today. With just a couple minutes until our meeting time, I stand and blow out a breath and then walk over to his office.