Page 29 of Infinite as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #3)

Holly

The water in the motel pool swished around as I kicked my bare feet back and forth. Clara was sitting down next to me, her feet dipped into the water as well while her son was busy showing us just how quickly he could swim from one end to the other.

“He’s pretty fast,” I said, eyes following Tommy across the water.

“And he won’t let you forget it,” Clara said.

“Did you guys see that?” he called out when he made his way to the end, his blond hair soaked and slicked back. Even from where I was sitting, I could see a big grin spread across his face. “Mom, did you see? Did you see how fast I was?”

“I saw, baby,” Clara said. “And the whole building heard you bragging about it too!”

He snorted and swam back our way, his little arms and legs kicking before he came to a stop in front of us.

I had spent my whole day with Clara: eating lunch on her little patio and watching some TV with Tommy when he got home from school before the day got too hot and we decided to head out to the pool.

Sawyer had left in the morning to go run some errands, and I couldn’t help but crane my neck to look over my shoulder, just in case I could spot him.

He was nowhere to be seen, though. He had been doing that a lot lately.

Disappearing all day, giving me vague answers, keeping to himself.

The thought had me gripping the edge of the pool tighter, the tiles smooth and cold against my warm fingers .

“Holly, do ya want to interview me?” Tommy flashed me a smile. “You can ask me whatever.”

“You want me to ask you questions?” I asked, tilting my head at him.

“I saw you interview Travis yesterday,” he said.

“Mr. Travis,” corrected Clara, her voice bordering on stern.

Tommy nodded. “Right. Mr. Travis, from upstairs.”

Ah, Mr. Travis. He had been interesting to talk to.

A decade ago, he had struck gold and won the lottery: a good ten million dollars, only for him to make some “not so good decisions” with his winnings.

He had clung on to some heirlooms of his rich past, though.

His motel room was stocked with Armani suits and Rolex watches.

They were items he couldn’t quite bring himself to part with.

Despite it all, he still seemed pretty happy.

“I did have a lot of fun talking to Mr. Travis,” I said.

Reaching behind me, I felt around for my notebook that I had kept hidden from water under Clara’s fluffy floral purple towel.

Dragging that and my pen to my lap, I looked over at Clara.

“Wait, is it okay with you? Maybe I could talk to the both of you?”

She shrugged. “Be my guest. We’ll both get to feel a little famous.”

I quickly got to learn that Clara had lived in Texas all her life. She was originally from Waco and then moved to Austin, then to Dallas, then back to Austin again when she got pregnant with Tommy.

“I never meant for this to be permanent,” she said.

“It was supposed to be more of a pit stop, you know? Just somewhere temporary until I could get back on my feet, but then Tommy started going to school here and he really liked it, and I got my job at the diner, and this place started to feel more and more like home. We’re happy here. ”

“Real happy,” Tommy said.

“I had to stop thinking about the future so much eventually,” Clara said.

“There’s not a lot you can control, especially when you don’t have the funds, so sometimes you just have to…

stop and let whatever happen just happen.

I used to spend all my days worrying about my next move, my next choice, but after being here for a while I just sort of stopped fretting over what was going to come around the corner.

It’s not about what happens next.” She se nt me a teasing smile, giving my knee a little pat.

“I guess a girl like you isn’t really used to that. ”

My pen tapped against the notebook, heat sweeping across my cheeks. “I suppose not. I’m not used to…”

“Standing still?”

“I guess I haven’t ever really had the chance to do that,” I said with a sheepish laugh, eyes lowering to the water, the little ripples capturing my attention.

“I bet you miss your fancy Manhattan penthouse now.” She grinned. “But you know what? I’d pick this place over anything like that. This place feels like home. The town, the people, the closeness. I’d never want some big mansion when I could have this.”

Tommy gasped suddenly, eyes all big as he stared at me. “You live in a mansion?”

“Uh…” I chuckled uncomfortably. “You know what? Your mom’s right. There’s something special about this place.”

Tommy grinned. “I know how to shake the vending machine just right to give me two Cokes.”

“And what more could you want outta life?” Clara asked.

I chuckled and continued on with my questions.

Tommy wanted to be a wrestler when he grew up and swore he’d make enough money to buy the whole motel so he could live there with his mom and his friends forever.

Clara was thinking of studying at the local community college—maybe something with food since she liked making meals at the diner, but Tommy insisted she wouldn’t need any of that when he was old enough to wrestle and take care of her.

It was a fun afternoon that let me learn a lot more about them.

Clara and Tommy were sweet and I hoped with everything in me that all their dreams came true.

It made me think of Sawyer. How much he had taught me, how much he had given me.

I never really got to enjoy the simple things until he came along.

Every gesture from him was so genuine, so pure, so drenched with him .

It was the kind of love I wouldn’t have been able to get from anyone else but Sawyer Westbrook.

The boys I had always been surrounded with were all about the shallow, flashy signs of affection.

But Sawyer? Sawyer knew how to show me love in a way no one else could.

In a way that reached right into my heart, holding it tight, making me feel warm all over.

It was getting hotter and hotter, and I didn’t really feel like going for a swim, so I bid farewell to Clara and Tommy who were going to hang out at the pool for a little while longer.

Pushing open the motel door, I gasped softly when I came face to face with Sawyer.

“You scared me,” I said, hand on my chest. “I thought you’d be back later.

” Where he had been, I had no clue. I had no clue where he had been going the last couple weeks, really.

All I knew was that space was what he needed sometimes, and if there was ever a time he needed that space, it was now.

“I…” His voice trailed off, a too deep sigh leaving his lips. The stress was there on his face, clear as day. Furrowed brows, jaw tight, lips pressed together. And those forest green eyes looking all dark, like they were masking something. “I love you, Holly.”

My foot kicked the door shut behind me before I tossed the notebook and pen to the little chair by the door.

The room got quieter as we locked eyes, the only noise coming from the little old radio in the corner of the room that I must have forgotten to switch off before I left.

The sound came out all crackly and the only stations that worked played nothing but songs from so long ago I was pretty sure they were a good hundred years old, but there was something charming about them.

“I love you too,” I whispered, watching as he closed the small gap between us.

One of his hands found mine, our fingers lacing together.

With a gentle tug, I was right there in my favorite place to be: my body flushed against his.

Chests pressed together, lips brushing against mine so softly, his other hand moving to the small of my back. “Are you okay?”

He stayed quiet, lips pressed together and eyes all clouded with confusion. I hated seeing him that way, all in his head and overwhelmed. He deserved better than that.

“Spencer got hurt,” he finally said .

My eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“Some kids. I don’t know. I guess those same ones who like giving him a hard time. They broke his glasses.”

“Oh my God, is he okay?”

“He…” His brows pulled together. “He seems pretty happy, actually.”

“Happy?”

“He’s a little bruised. I’ve never seen someone so happy after taking a punch. Kid was excited as hell.”

My head shook. I couldn’t imagine sweet, little, soft-spoken Spencer reacting that way. “But he’s alright? He’s okay?”

“They broke his glasses. He’s gotta get new ones now, but other than that… he seemed pretty excited. He got a couple punches in.”

“I guess those fighting lessons helped then. Did you talk to your mom? Or Kurt?”

“Both.”

“And they’re…?”

“They took it better than I was expecting. They asked me to dinner. This weekend. The both of us.” His tongue clicked a few times. “You wanna go?”

“Do you wanna go?”

“Yeah, I think I do. Part of me was worried my mom would freak out. You know, it’s kinda my fault,” he said, brows pulling together. “I’m the one who taught him to fight back, to stand up for himself, but they both seemed pretty proud of him.”

“It’s good he’s sticking up for himself,” I said. “And that he has someone like you in his corner. It’s not your fault those kids are so mean to him. You know what he’s like. So sensitive and quiet and sweet. Kids see that as a target.”

“I just want them to leave him alone. He’s tougher than he knows. Those kids broke his glasses but he still went down fighting. In a few years he might be able to take me in a fight.”

“Hm, I think he gets that tough streak from you,” I said, leaning in a little closer. “He’s lucky to have someone like you as his big brother.”