Page 60 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

Holly

It was almost the end of the week and I was absolutely itching for it to be over already.

My classes were getting harder and cheer practice was stretching out every last one of my muscles as we got closer and closer to game day, but despite all of that, the last few days had still managed to be so, so lovely.

I got to wake up in Sawyer’s arms, my head on his chest and his lips ghosting along my forehead as he murmured out a soft, “Good morning, princess.” We’d eat together and tell each other about what our plans were for the day and Sawyer was wonderful at calming down my nerves for the upcoming game.

The afternoons were even better. Sawyer would do exactly as he said: he’d be home at a normal hour and we’d share dinner and watch stupid TV shows before we played an even stupider game of trivia. It was pure bliss.

My Thursday had been long and sluggish and I was eager to just get inside the apartment and dump all my stuff on the floor.

It was just before five as I stepped through the front door, almost immediately met with the delicious, inviting smell of garlic.

Something else, too. Like hot bread, and after the day I had just experienced, I was dying to get my hands on a nice meal.

I moved into the doorway of the kitchen, about to peek nosily in the oven when I heard footsteps behind me.

There was Sawyer, hair slightly tussled with my floral apron sitting atop a T-shirt.

“You’re home early,” I said, eyeing him up and down. “That’s also a very interesting look on you. What are you doing in here?”

“Making us dinner,” he drawled. “Making you dinner.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“You cook for me all the time. Thought I’d do the same for you. It’s not gonna taste as good as anything you make, though. Just giving you a heads up.”

“I’m sure it’ll taste fine.” I pecked his lips, feeling his hand grab at my bags. “What are you doing?”

“I timed it all perfectly.” He moved out of the kitchen and placed my things on the carpet. “The bath’s filled up and by the time you get out, the chicken will be done.”

“It smells so good.”

“Hopefully it tastes good too.” He grabbed my hand, guiding me away from the kitchen and over to the bathroom. “You’re probably all sore from cheer practice. Come have a bath and then when you’re done, we’ll eat together.”

“Such a gentleman,” I said.

“Only for you.” Pushing the bathroom door open, he nodded to the side. “Come on, the water’s gonna get cold.”

“But what about—”

“I’m not gonna burn down the kitchen.” He spun me around and kissed the back of my head. “Dinner should be ready in twenty, so take your time.”

My eyes were stuck ahead of me. The bath was filled to the brim, the water stacked with soft, fluffy bubbles. He had dimmed the lights low and placed a few candles around one of the sides of the tub, giving the room a gentle, calming glow.

I stripped, getting settled into the bath and feeling instant relief as the hot water coated my body.

Stretching my legs out, my worn-out muscles finally got the relief they needed after such a long day.

My head rested against the edge of the tub, eyes shutting as I let the gentle scent of rose and lavender fill my nose.

I must have spent a good fifteen minutes in the tub before I finally got out, dried myself off, and slipped into something comfortable—and Sawyer’s flannel shirts were always somehow so soft and warm.

When I made my way back to the dining room, I was met with the sight of Sawyer with his lighter in his hand.

There were four white tapered candles on the table, three already alight while Sawyer held his hand close to the last one.

Slowly, his green eyes flickered up to meet mine before they lowered to his shirt I had on.

He jolted suddenly, sticking his thumb in his mouth for a quick second. “Fuck.” Then he looked back up at me. “You gotta warn a man if you’re gonna come out dressed like that.”

“Did you burn yourself?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good. You hungry?” he asked, coming around to my side of the table. He dragged the chair out and gestured a hand to it.

“You didn’t have to do all of this for me.” I pushed myself up against him, my hands on his broad chest. The apron was gone, revealing a simple T-shirt that felt all soft against my fingers. “You finally have some time off and this is what you spend your day doing?”

He ran a thumb across my cheek. “I owe you a dinner, remember?”

“My birthday dinner? That’s what this is about?”

“I never got to take you to that restaurant.” His eyes moved over to the table. “It would have been really nice to take you out that night, but… Well, you know what happened. So, since I can’t take you there, maybe this will make up for it.”

I buried my face in his chest. “Why are you so sweet?”

“I wanna make up for all those things I missed out on. And I wanted to say thank you for everything you’ve been doing for me.

The truck and the parking spot and the trip and the gifts and all the dinners you made me.

I know I’m on my feet all day, but you’re busy too.

You’ve got so much going on with cheer and classes and the paper.

I don’t know how you do all that. You’ve been working so hard this year.

But you’re my smart girl and you handle it all so well. ”

“I’m gonna cry,” I said, voice trembling for a second.

“Don’t cry.” He rested his hand on the back of my head, fingers massaging at my scalp. “You know I hate seeing you cry. ”

“It might happen. I can’t help it.”

He chuckled. “Come eat. You gotta be hungry. Come sit with me.”

His hands gripped the back of the chair, gesturing to it once more, and with a happy but overwhelmed sigh I sat down.

I eyed the food, taking in the smell of garlic and rosemary and thyme, the scent taking me back to all those nights Sawyer took me out to dinner in Dallas.

Just us two, where for a couple hours, we were allowed to not worry about who either of us were and just focused on what we felt when we were together.

“We’re both a little underdressed,” he said, pushing a hand through his hair.

“I like you better when you’re underdressed.”

He tugged at his collar and grinned. “I shoulda put a tie on. You look real good, though.” His head tilted slightly as he eyed me. “You need to wear my clothes more often.”

“Your clothes are a lot more comfortable than mine, so expect that to happen,” I said, twirling some of the pasta on my fork. “This looks really good.”

“Tell me if it sucks.”

Taking a bite, I shook my head. “Nuh-uh. It tastes perfect.”

He took his own bite of the pasta before nodding. “Not too shabby.”

We finished up the rest of our dinner, and for someone who didn’t have a lot of experience with Italian cuisine, Sawyer had done a pretty good job with the meal. We eventually found our way to the couch and Sawyer stretched my legs out across his lap, his hands massaging my calves.

I groaned at how good his hands felt. “You’re being too nice to me. Cheer practice was really hard today. It gave me a headache.”

He tsked, shaking his head at me. “It’s all those backflips you’re doing. You know, the human body isn’t supposed to flip around like that. Your brain’s getting all scrambled.”

I giggled softly. “I’ll warn the girls.”

“Oh, there’s something else I gotta give you, by the way.”

“You’re spoiling me. I don’t need anything else.”

“Nah, I gotta give you this. I need to give you this,” he said, moving a hand into his jeans pocket, and when he uncurled his fingers, I was looking back at my necklace—unbroken and perfectly put together.

“You fixed it!” I sat up straight as he let it gently fall into my palm, the pendant locked to the chain once again.

“Here, let me put it on for you.” He took it from my hand and looped his arms around me, his handsome face right in front of mine, and I couldn’t help but steal a kiss as he secured the chain around my neck.

My hand lowered, giving the pendant a squeeze. That spot on my chest had felt so empty without it. “I meant it when I said it was my favorite gift ever.”

“You have no idea how happy it makes me when you say that,” he said. “God, I really missed seeing you wear it.”

His hands lowered and stayed firm on my legs, and for the next hour he massaged at them, his fingers working his magic as I felt my eyes slowly close.

It had been a long day of practice and classes, but the end of it had truly been beyond lovely.

“Thank you for tonight,” were the only words I was able to get out as tiredness swept over me.

I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore at that point and the only thing I could really register was Sawyer’s touch. He tucked his hands under me and picked me up with ease, and the next thing I knew, I was feeling our hoard of pillows as thick, soft blankets swept across my body.

“You get some sleep,” Sawyer murmured.

“Are you sleeping too?” I asked.

“Yeah, princess. I’ll be right here.”

I felt the bed dip and then Sawyer’s broad chest pressed up against my back, his strong arms circling around my waist. He tightened his grasp on me, his nose nuzzling into my neck as he drawled out a low, gravelly, “I love you so much.”

Nothing was better than this.