Nadia didn’t know whether to quell that thought or embrace it. She was still in an uneasy state between shifting from employee to lover to something more. Neither she nor Sawyer had expected to want anything more, and their plans didn’t include each other. It would have been wiser to try to break the connection between them, but her heart twinged at the thought, and she couldn’t do it.
She hadn’t been looking for love, and she certainly wouldn’t label it as love yet anyway, but if there was a possibility of a real future with Sawyer, she needed to explore that option. They both deserved to know if they could make this thing work.
It was late in the evening by the time they returned to his family’s home, just in time for dinner. After eating with the Sinclairs, Nadia and Sawyer went upstairs to his room. They opted for an early night, though they didn’t fall asleep for hours. They were too busy with each other, lost in the sensual pleasures of exploring each other.
Chapter Nine
On Sunday, Nadia slept in. She rarely did such a thing, but her late nights with Sawyer, coupled with the physical exertion of their trip to the city yesterday, followed by more exertion between the sheets last night, had left her exhausted.
She was surprised to find Sawyer up before her, and she realized he had been rising before noon during their trip back to the Sinclair household. Feeling decadent and lazy, but intending to enjoy the sensation, she slid from bed and hopped into the shower. A while later, dressed in silk shorts that brushed her knees and a sleeveless button-down shirt to match, she headed downstairs. Her sandals made a slight slapping sound on the marble of the staircase.
No one was immediately visible when she reached the downstairs living area, so she searched a bit. She wondered if the family went to church, but she couldn’t see Sawyer sitting in a pew for that long, at least not without fidgeting. Besides, she was there, and they would have invited her to go as well.
She had to bite back a delighted laugh at the idea of Kiersten and Caitlin deciding to throw them an impromptu wedding after the morning sermon. Those two would just about try it, she decided with a grin of affection as she made her way to the kitchen.
Sunday was the cook’s day off, so she had a breakfast of leftovers foraged from the fridge, along with a cup of strong Italian coffee. After finishing, she poured another and continued her search for Sawyer or someone in the family.
There was nobody visible on the lower level, so she assumed they must be outside. She was headed toward the garden when voices coming from the vicinity of Harold’s office made her freeze. She was certain she recognized Sawyer’s, so she turned in that direction.
Some instinct warned her to move quietly, and she did so as she approached the partially opened door. The angle was perfect to allow her to look in, and her eyes widened with surprise when she saw Sawyer leaning back against his grandfather’s desk with Paige, the sexy blonde secretary, leaning into him.
Disappointment welled in her, and a hollow sensation filled her stomach. She should have known Sawyer couldn’t go without his typical womanizing. Perhaps it was her own fault, because she hadn’t explicitly stated there would be an embargo on other women while they were busy exploring the relationship. To her, it had been a given, but she supposed she shouldn’t have assumed it would be that way for a man used to sleeping with every woman who caught his eye.
She hesitated, not certain whether she should barge in and make it plain to Sawyer that he had blown things, or if she should walk in and stake her claim. Or should she just turn around and walk away, chalking up the brief fling with Sawyer as a life lesson and move on? Could she just move on, or was she already too emotionally invested to take that step?
Torn by indecision, she gasped when she heard the conversation.
“Come on, Sawyer. You have quite a reputation as a ladies’ man.” The irritating blonde punctuated the words with an ultra feminine giggle as her fingertips danced across his chest.
Jealousy surged in Nadia, giving her the answer to her dilemma. As she started to push open the door wider to announce her presence, she froze again in shock.
“You’re a lovely woman, Paige.” He took her hand in his, moving it from his chest and back to her side. “If I had met you before, I would certainly be tempted. However, I discovered there’s only one lady I want. My heart just wouldn’t be in it if I slept with you.”
Paige’s lips puckered into a pout, and her other hand displayed across his hip. “It’s not really your heart I’m after, is it?” With a sultry laugh, she splayed her hand across Sawyer’s package.
Nadia gasped softly in outrage as Sawyer stiffened, his posture radiating rejection. “I said no. My heart belongs to someone else.”
Nadia’s own heart stuttered at his words, but she shoved aside her reaction for future contemplation, deciding it was time to rescue her man from the blonde beast currently fondling him. She made no attempt to be quiet as she shoved open the door and strode across the hardwood floor. “There you are,” she announced brightly. “I’ve been looking for you, love.”
Paige had stepped back, looking guilty, but Sawyer was clearly just relieved. He scooted away from the blonde warily, as though she were a poisonous snake that might strike at any moment, before coming to Nadia. “I was just coming to wake you up.”
She glared challengingly at Paige as she put her hand across Sawyer’s chest. Of course he made no move to shove her away or shrug her off, unlike he had the blonde. Power swelled in her, along with a strong surge of satisfaction, and she couldn’t help a slight smirk in the blonde’s direction. “You should have come sooner. You could have woken me up in that special way of yours.” She purred the word with a deliberately sexual undertone that made the other woman snort with disgust.
With a grin, deliberately turning her back on Paige to demonstrate she considered the other woman no threat, she wound her arms around Sawyer and pulled him down for a deep kiss. The coffee cup in her hand wobbled slightly, and she leaned over so she could set it on a printer table. Then her arms went around him again, hands moving possessively over his back.
The kiss started out as a show of ownership, of marking her territory, but rapidly changed to something more. She had a new appreciation for Sawyer’s display of jealousy the other night at the party, but that was her last coherent thought as the door banged shut behind Paige, and Sawyer drew her over to the couch. It was almost an hour later before they emerged from Harold’s office, both looking rumpled, but sated.
That afternoon, the Sinclairs packed a picnic to take to Golden Gate Park. It was Nadia’s favorite spot in the whole city, and she was touched that Sawyer had remembered her saying so the day before. She wasn’t surprised to learn he was the instrument of the picnic organization, but she was happy he’d included his family as well. As much as she wanted to monopolize his time and keep him to herself, at least until she figured out how she felt and where things were headed, she also didn’t want to block out his family, or hurt the people who had been so kind to her.
Even Harold had accompanied them, grousing a bit in the process, but mostly for show. She was amused to see him get out of his scooter and sit on the blanket Caitlin had spread out over the grass. He sighed, leaning back a bit, though he groaned and rubbed his neck. “Damned arthritis,” he muttered.
There was a veritable feast, and she wasn’t certain if it had been catered, hiding in the kitchen the whole time, or if Caitlin had thrown it all together herself. Whoever had put it together was a genius. They dined on fried chicken, fruit salad, crostini with marinated mushroom and olives, and beet salad with creamy dollops of chevre, all washed down with chilled white wine.
Afterward, certain she would never move or nee
d to eat again, Nadia laid her head on Sawyer’s lap and curled up close to him. The way he ran his fingers through her hair was soothing, and she was soon on the verge of falling asleep. A sense of contentment filled her, reminding her once again she could get used to living this life.
She would always want the water, and her desire to win the America’s Cup hadn’t faded, but she was considering for the first time that there might be room for two dreams in her life instead of just one. Had Sawyer really meant it when he’d told Paige someone else owned his heart? If it hadn’t been just a brush-off to the other woman, he had to have been speaking about her.