Page 15

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you properly at this end of the table,” Nash says, standing up and moving in closer. “Because I’m pretty sure I heard you say you found a date to my wedding.”

I swallow hard, the thud of my pulse rushing blood through my veins growing louder with each beat of my heart. Panic starts to set in, the whole group still staring at me. Expecting an answer. One I don’t have.

Because either I continue the lie, or I admit that I lied.

And frankly, I’m not exactly sure which is worse.

“I did. I…do,” I spit out.

Okay then. Continuing with the lie it is.

“Oh, this is gonna be good…” Milo mutters, sitting back in his chair and taking a long swig of his beer.

Part of me wants to tell him to fuck off, but I don’t have the energy. Or the mental capacity. Not when I’m trying to figure out what to say next. How to keep this going.

And how I’m going to get out of it.

That, however, is later Anton’s problem. Right-now Anton has to sell this thing. Big time.

“You don’t believe me?” I lean forward, as if I’m being challenged. Digging down, I try to find confidence I don’t have at the moment, hoping that the five guys at this table who know me better than anyone aren’t going to see through it .

“It’s not that we don’t believe you…” Gus starts.

“It’s just that we don’t believe you,” Jace finishes for him.

Fair. Totally fair.

“Sucks to be you. Because I do. I have a date all secured. And she’s very excited to be attending.”

“Who?” Ewan asks.

Really, Ewan? Really?

I glare down at him, seriously reconsidering his status in the hierarchy of my favorites list. On any given day I would have told you he was the favorite sibling, mostly because he doesn’t give me too much grief. Of course, of all moments to challenge that, he picks this one.

“Do we know her?” he continues to push. Fuck, you’d think he’d been taking notes from me all these years.

The screen door slides open, stealing my attention.

It’s impossible not to look with the sun reflecting off Sawyer’s hair, making it shimmer like the lake on a hot summer’s day.

She blows at that rogue strand out of the corner of her mouth, her hands full of a plate of beignets, hot out of the frying pan and smothered in powdered sugar.

That’s when it hits me.

“Sawyer.”

That lie flows out even easier than the first. Shit, you’d think I practiced this.

“What?” She looks up, more than a little caught off guard that we’re talking about her.

“Sawyer’s my date for the wedding.”

Sawyer freezes, looking like a deer in the headlights of a Mack truck, the plate of fried goodness balancing precariously in her hands.

Shit…

“Sawyer,” Jace repeats, pointing at Mama’s houseguest. “Sawyer here is accompanying you to our sister’s wedding?”

“Yup. ”

If I can convince her…

Sawyer tries to move, taking a step forward. The full plate shakes as she moves, each step as slow and purposeful as if she were walking a tightrope. I stand, reaching out in an offer to help, startling her.

Letting out a squeak, Sawyer jumps, the plate shifting. We both move, trying to save the dessert, with Sawyer’s arms catching it before I do, pulling it against her. Shit.

Slowly, she moves her arms down, the plate and the powdered creations shifting back into place, leaving behind a mess on her shirt.

Gus stands up, taking the plate from her.

Turning to her, I smile as nicely as I can, but I know that it comes out forced.

And probably more than a little scary. Because shit, I am scared.

Scared that I lied so easily to my family.

That I drug her into this. That I embarrassed her in front of all my brothers.

That she’s going to lose her shit on me like a honey badger and claw my eyes out.

“I should change,” she murmurs, backing away.

“Sawyer.” I try to stop her, but she’s too quick, slipping through the screen door before I can even take a step.

Fuck.

“It’s generally helpful if your date is in on it,” Hux comments.

“Shut it!” I head to the door, stopping short, second-guessing if I should follow her or not. I need to. Because I need to make this right. Need to get her on my side.

I leave my brothers behind, the whole lot of them laughing at something. Probably me. But I have bigger things to worry about right now.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I’m on the top landing in a flash, making my way to my room as if on autopilot. I’m twisting the handle and through the door before it occurs to me that it’s not my room anymore—and not just because I haven’t lived here in over a decade.

It’s her room.

And she’s not wearing a shirt.

Shit.

“Have you not heard of knocking?”

Sawyer whips around, hands covering her bra-clad chest. My whole body reacts— brain short-circuiting as every bit of blood coursing through me rushes straight to my dick.

I blink, spinning back to face the hallway, trying to right myself.

Not an easy feat. I might have only gotten point six seconds of a look, but now her boobs in that little black bra is all I’m going to be able to think about.

Not good when you have to work with someone.

And she already hates you.

“Sawyer, I’m sorry, I?—”

“What the fuck is your problem, Anton?”

Good question…

“Am I allowed to turn back around to answer that?” I ask.

“Depends. Are you going to look me in the eye?”

“Yes. I promise.”

Sawyer sighs. “Then yes. I’m clothed.”

I open my eyes, turning to face her. Her powdered sugar-covered tee is gone, replaced by the faded Roll Tide one she wore the day we met. There’s still a little evidence of the accident on her collarbone, and I have to stop myself from reaching out and dusting it off her.

“I’m sorry. I should have knocked. It’s not a good excuse, but I’m not used to having to do that walking into this room.”

“You’re right; that’s not a good reason.”

Damn, okay…she’s not going to give me any room here. Got it.

Stepping inside farther, I try to reduce the distance between us, both in physical space and emotionally. It’s the only hope I have to get her to help me out.

“About what you just heard…”

“That I’m your date to your sister’s wedding?”

“Yes.” I pause, trying to find the words. “I need you to please go along with it.”

“Why should I?”

Also a good question…

Sawyer crosses her arms, shifting those boobs I’m trying not to think about higher, short-circuiting my brain once more.

It’s crystal clear that her tolerance for me is at an all-time low, and that whatever ground I thought I’d gained the other night at the Giddy Up is long gone.

Which means there is only one thing left to do. Come clean.

Time to lay it all out there. Here goes nothing.

“I made a bet with my brothers that I could find a date to Willa’s wedding, but because of the shit-tastic peach season we’re having, that’s taken up all my attention, so I have let it slip.

” There, that’s close enough to the truth.

“And now it’s six weeks away and they’re all giving me shit about it, and well…

I really need to not lose this bet. So please. ”

Sawyer relaxes, her arms dropping, hands sliding into her pockets.

Her exhale is soft as she looks me up and down, the weight of her attention still more than my dick can bear at the moment.

If I didn’t think she’d slap me so hard it’d leave a handprint, I’d consider pulling her into me and seeing if she’s feeling this too.

“What’s in it for me?”

“Pardon?”

That wasn’t what I was expecting.

“If I do this, what’s in it for me?” she repeats.

“Ummmm…”

Other than a raging hard-on, right now I don’t know that I have anything to offer her. And based on our history so far, I am pretty sure she has zero interest in that—or anything else witty I might pull out of thin air.

“Well, you’re already one up in the secret department, so…what else do you want?”

Narrowing her eyes at me, she takes a large step toward me. My pulse does the long jump within my veins, threatening to stop altogether as she gets closer.

“I want a letter of recommendation.”

“Seriously?”

That’s what she wants?

Sawyer nods, as serious as I’ve ever seen her. “I’m applying for a promotion—Lead Soil Research and Development Manager. A letter of recommendation from the Vice President of Agriculture and Produce for Hayes Industries would go a long way.”

I don’t believe my ears. She’s willing to do this. Willing to be my date to my sister’s wedding to help me win a bet. And all she wants in return is a letter of recommendation? Sold.

“Done.”

I hold out my hand, ready to make the deal. Sawyer slips her hand into mine, the contact from our skin sending a zing down my spine. This has the potential to be dangerous, but right now, I don’t care.

I have what I need.

“It’s a date.”