Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110113 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 551(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Because of course he’d thought to bring it.
And of course it’s his mom’s skillet, the same one she seared steaks in for him and his brothers when they were kids.
I helped out Sawyer, and then he did the same for me—without having to be asked. Same as I’d noticed him fading back at his house, he noticed I’d need a hand with dinner after having the girls all afternoon.
The guy fucking noticed.
Not because he’s in trouble, or because he’s trying to get laid. I’m starting to realize that Sawyer notices because that’s just who he is. He’s a decent, thoughtful, deeply kind human. And tonight, I get to be with him.
Look up bliss in the dictionary, and I’m pretty sure you’ll find a picture of this moment.
“Sawyer, that was so good.” I motion to my empty plate before glancing at June’s. “I mean, even the kids ate it. A meal that appeals to the bigs and the littles? That’s no small feat.”
Sawyer looks at me, his dimple coming out to play as he gives the ice in his glass a shake. “Bigs and littles?”
“Bigs are the big people, like you and Mommy,” Junie explains around a mouthful of potatoes. “Littles are little people, like me and Yella.”
“Yeah, Daddy, we’re little,” Ella says.
“You’re also such a big girl, coming over to our house today all by yourself.” I hold up my hand, and Ella gives me a high five. “I’m proud of you, Ella.”
I turn and see Sawyer still looking at me. The adoring, and very hot, gleam in his eyes has my stomach doing a backflip.
Oh, heavens, we are in it, aren’t we?
One date later—does this count as another date?—and all of a sudden, we’re looking at each other like this. Like I hung the moon, and he lassoed it. Because I know I have that look in my eyes too.
How could I not? Sawyer showed up at my house with an overflowing grocery bag of ingredients that he used to make the most amazing steak dinner ever. He remembered everything, right down to the butter, kosher salt, and sprigs of rosemary he used to season the meat.
He cooked vegetables. Several of them. Ones my child actually ate.
He turned me onto mezcal and a band named First Aid Kit, and then he introduced my daughter to the tickle monster. It was love at first sight for June.
Might’ve been love at first sight for me too. That’s the only explanation for how down bad I am for him at this point in our relationship. I’ve never fallen this hard, this fast. Not even when I was sixteen and falling in love with Dan.
Imagine that—those raging teenage hormones don’t hold a candle to whatever shit is coursing through my being right now.
I’m floating.
I’m so scared and so excited and so eager to know what happens next. Because with Sawyer, every chapter just gets better and better.
I don’t want him to leave. Apparently neither does Junie.
She crawls into my lap and puts her hands on my face. “Mommy?”
“Yes, Bug?”
“Can Yella stay for bath time too?”
Ella’s face lights up. “Can I, Miss Ava? Please please please?”
“Y’all are shameless,” Sawyer says with a chuckle. I notice he’s blushing a little as he runs a hand over his face. “Ella, we should probably get going.”
I put my hands on Junie’s little hips. “I don’t see why Ella can’t stay for bath time. Think we have enough water, Junie?”
“I think so.”
“And soap? Do we have enough of that?”
June looks at her new friend. “Yella, we have so much soap. Probably enough to wash my hair and yours.”
“So what do you say?” I look at Sawyer. “This way, you can put her right to B-E-D when you get home. Start the week off squeaky clean and well rested.”
“You sure?”
I smile. “Can we stop asking each other that already? I’m sure, Sawyer.”
I’m sure about so much more than bath time.
But I’m not ready to explore those feelings, much less talk about them. I’m not ready to face the fact that Sawyer wants a wife, and I am not at all interested in being one. So I stand up and hike Junie onto my hip, telling Sawyer to leave the plates.
He doesn’t, of course.
Junie wiggles her way out of my arms and onto the floor, and she and Ella promptly fly through the living room, where they dive into a basket of Magna-Tiles.
“I’ll clean this up real quick,” Sawyer says, hands full as he heads for the sink.
I roll up my sleeves. “I’ll help.”
I ignore him when he fights me, telling him that whoever cooks shouldn’t have to clean up. Waving the thought away, he scrubs the pots and pans and I load the dishwasher and wipe down the countertop, the two of us chatting about everything and nothing as we move inside the kitchen.