Page 31 of Infinite as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #3)

Holly

Dinner with my boyfriend’s parents. I didn’t think I’d ever have to do it.

It was stupidly daunting as I stood there in front of the bathroom mirror, turning left and right and then left again, twisting around as I eyed my reflection.

Every curl of my hair felt wrong. Every streak of blush against my cheeks felt too much.

And every single dress I had slipped into felt like some horrid, terrible choice.

Blowing out a frustrated breath of air, I smoothed my hands over the champagne colored silk of the latest dress I had put on.

The material felt cool against my skin, the neckline and shoulders covered in delicate lace detailing.

I turned, looking over my shoulder to take my reflection in again before deciding that I had wasted enough time getting ready.

Moving back into the room, I saw Sawyer sitting in the chair up against the wall, his brows deeply pulled together and one shoe covered foot tapping against the floor.

He was ready. God, he had been ready twenty minutes ago, and there he was waiting on me.

He had his phone in hand, eyes unblinking as he stared down at the screen.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” I said, leaning a hand against the bathroom doorway.

His eyes stayed stuck on his phone, his thumb swiping away.

“Sawyer?” I said, grabbing one of my heels I had kept by the bathroom door. One hand still clinging to the doorway, I lifted up a foot, slipping it into one of the shoes. “Are you ready to leave? ”

Still no response.

I pushed a foot into the second heel, patted down the skirt of my dress, and crossed the room over to him. It was only when I was standing right in front of him that he noticed me, jumping a little as he hastily shoved his phone into his pants pocket.

“You’re on another planet,” I said. “I am too. I’m so nervous.”

Standing up, he pushed his hands through his hair. “You’ve got nothing to be nervous about.”

“I’m meeting your mom , Sawyer.”

He chuckled. “You already met her.”

“I know, but this time it feels more… I don’t know, more real.” I shrugged. “More formal I guess. Like it’s actually happening.”

“Yeah, I get it,” he said, eyes raking over my body. “Christ, look at you. You look beautiful.”

“Sorry it took me eighty years to pick a dress.”

“Worth the wait,” he said, giving me a quick kiss before clasping his hands together. “I guess we should go now. You ready?”

I shrugged. “Let’s do it.”

Hand in hand, we left the motel room behind and made our way down the stairs. We bumped into Tommy along the way who was harassing the vending machine, and when he couldn’t get his extra can of soda out, Sawyer helped him give the machine a perfectly strategic shove.

“You’re so bad,” I said as we walked over to the truck.

Chuckling, Sawyer pulled open the passenger door. “Getting a free drink out of a vending machine is an artform. Don’t be jealous you can’t do it.”

I hummed as I slid into my seat. “You’re right. You should teach me.”

It was a quick drive over to Sawyer’s mom’s place, my foot tapping nervously against the floor of the truck the whole time.

I just wanted it to go well. Every other interaction had gone well, really, but there was something about tonight that felt oddly intense and serious.

That bridge between Sawyer and his mother had yet to shrink, and I knew I couldn’t push him to close it.

She couldn’t push him either. It was up to him and him only for that to happen, and if it didn’t happen at all, I couldn’t fault him for it.

When we got to her place, Sawyer helped me out of the truck, our fingers laced together as we moved up the driveway. The sun had only just started to set, a blend of orange and yellow streaked behind us as Sawyer gave the door a knock.

It opened in a flash, and there stood Spencer, all dressed up in a little blue button up and black pants.

There was a clear sign of a bruise there on the skin around one of his eyes, purple and alarmingly bright, and the thought of him getting hurt made my heart get all twisted up.

He had new glasses on, a bright green pair, and he slid them up his nose as he gave us a little smile.

“Hi, Sawyer,” he said, eyes all big as he stared at his brother. Then they moved over to me. “Hi, Holly.”

“Hey,” Sawyer drawled. “How’s that bruise doing? You feeling okay?”

Spencer nodded eagerly. “It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt anymore. But guess what? Guess what happened?”

“What?” Sawyer asked.

Spencer’s eyes darted between the both of us, his cheeks all red as he shot us a big grin. “I got suspended!”

“What?” snapped Sawyer. “What do you mean? Why? ‘Cause of the fight? Because you defended yourself? Why do you look so happy?”

“It’s so cool, right?” Spencer said. “I’ve never been suspended before. For a week, too. Did you guys ever get suspended?”

Sawyer turned to face me, eyebrows raised. “This kid loves getting into trouble.”

“You’re definitely related,” I said.

“Holly, did you ever get suspended?” Spencer asked.

“They almost kicked her outta high school,” Sawyer said. “You shoulda seen her back in the day.”

Spencer gasped as he stared at me. “Really?”

“Your brother’s a liar.” I laughed. “He’s also projecting.”

“You guys are funny,” Spencer said before reaching out, his little hands grabbing at one of Sawyer’s. “Do you wanna see the new flowers I planted? I planted sunflowers. Come look at them, Sawyer! ”

Spencer yanked Sawyer forward, pulling him into the hallway. Sawyer’s mom popped up then, an apron wrapped around her waist and her hands on her hips.

Shaking her head, she clicked her tongue. “Don’t get your clothes dirty before dinner!” she called out.

“I won’t!” Sawyer and Spencer yelled at the same time.

The scene had me smiling a little too much. Linda’s eyes found mine and I gave her a wave, still standing there in the doorway.

“Hi Holly,” she said, stepping over to me, her soft hand landing on the small of my back. “Come inside. The boys are being a little rowdy tonight, aren’t they? Why don’t you come take a seat? Me and Kurt are almost done cooking. Would you like to watch some TV?”

“I could help you out,” I offered. “I don’t mind.”

“You don’t want to ruin that beautiful dress.”

My head shook. “Don’t worry about that. What are you making? I’d love to help.”

Chewing at her bottom lip, she gave me a nod. “Well, okay. If you don’t mind. We’re making tacos. I thought we’d go a little casual tonight. Don’t let Spencer’s outfit fool you. He insisted on dressing up.”

“He looks so cute. I guess we both overdressed.”

Entering the kitchen, I found Kurt at the stove stirring away at something in a pan. He shot me a smile over his shoulder, waving with his free hand.

“Holly’s here!” he said, but then his smile dropped as he looked at Linda. “Sawyer didn’t come?”

“He’s in the backyard with Spencer,” Linda said, wiping her hands against her apron. “They’re both gonna be sitting at the dining table with dirt all over them.”

Kurt laughed. “Ah, they’re just being boys.”

“That smells really good,” I said, standing by the counter. “Yum. Chicken, right?”

“Yup. Should be ready in about ten minutes if you wanna take a seat,” Kurt said. “You can relax in the living room.”

“Holly said she’d like to help,” Linda said, holding up a head of lettuce. “ Wanna help me rip it up?”

“Sure.” I gave my hands a quick wash at the sink before moving back over to her. “Tacos sound nice. I haven’t cooked in so long. Me and Sawyer haven’t really been able to get much cooking done in that motel.”

Linda came to a halt at that, eyes widening. “I’m sorry. You were supposed to be going all over Texas, right? You were supposed to be having some fun adventure before you…”

I gave my head a firm shake. “I don’t mind this at all. I promise. Texas will still be there later, right?”

She laughed softly. “I suppose so. I just don’t want to get in the way of anything.”

“You’re not. I’m glad that you and Sawyer found each other again.”

There was a pause that was more than awkward suddenly, and I distracted myself a little by digging my nails into the lettuce, giving the green leaves a yank.

“Your folks must be so proud of you getting into Columbia, Holly,” Kurt said from the stove. “They’re in Texas too, right? In Dallas? Where abouts?”

“They live in Highland Park.”

Kurt whistled. “Dang. Highland Park? When I was a kid, we used to drive around that neighborhood for fun. It was like going on a vacation to another country. My dad would show me all the houses around there. They’re something else. Did you have a personal chef cooking up your meals?”

“No.” Laughing, I shook my head. “Nothing like that. You sound like Sawyer, by the way.”

Kurt chuckled. “Well, I hope our tacos are up to your standards.”

“Whatever you’re cooking smells amazing, so I’m sure they’ll taste great.”

“I bet your parents are over the moon now that you’re back home,” Linda said. “They must have missed you a lot while you were in New York.”

I could sense something else in her voice as I tugged at more lettuce. A little bit of wistfulness and longing that I knew she felt for Sawyer and had probably felt from the second she left. My eyes moved to her, watching as she sliced away at tomatoes, moving so gingerly, so delicately .

“It’s really nice to be back,” I said. “Not just because of them, but because New York is so… overwhelming. It’s nice to be somewhere quiet and peaceful and just… home.”

“Nothing beats home, right?” Linda asked with a little, thoughtful looking smile.

“No, I guess not. I promise New York’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” I said. “Your home feels pretty special too.”

“We have a garden designed by Spencer Hardwick,” Linda said. “You can’t find that anywhere else.”

“No, you definitely can’t.”