Page 63 of Sinful as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #1)

SAWYER

My hands were a little sweaty as I drove up Holly’s driveway. Her dad’s car was out the front. The sight of the Mercedes made me grip the steering wheel a little tighter.

It was finally happening.

No more sneaking around. No more hiding. No more climbing into Holly’s window to have some fun with her – though that part was a lot of fun.

It was now or never. I was about to walk into Holly Sutton’s house and tell her parents that I was in love with their daughter. And they weren’t going to be happy. I could already tell. Her mom seemed cool that one time we met, but she was probably only tolerating me.

And her dad? Her dad was going to lose his fucking mind. But he could do that all he wanted. I was ready to fight for Holly. She was my girl. Mine and no one else’s, and I wanted it to be official. I wanted every single person in the world to know that Holly belonged to me.

My truck came to a stop and I gave my reflection a quick glance in the rearview mirror.

My hair was brushed back neatly, the first time it had ever looked so polished.

My tie was tight at the neck and I gave it a little pull, but that didn’t relieve any of my stress.

I fucking hated wearing ties. But it was worth it for Holly.

“Alright. Let’s fucking do this,” I told my reflection. Not wanting to be late, I hopped out of my truck and shut the door lazily behind me. It was a bit of a walk from Holly’s driveway to her actual house, but it gave me a few more moments to prepare for whatever the hell I was walking into.

I gave the front door a knock, ready for her dad to open it up and slam the door in my face.

But when it did swing open, Holly stood there looking as beautiful as ever.

Hair in soft curls, eyes big and filled with light, lips pouty and looking so damn kissable.

She had on a white dress that stopped just past her knees.

“Sawyer.” She smiled brightly at me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as she stood on the tips of her toes. Even in her heels she wasn’t my height.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I murmured. I gave the top of her head a kiss, my nose instantly met with a combination of her perfume and her lavender shampoo. I could never get enough of her scent. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She took a small step back, her hands resting on my cheeks. “You look so handsome in a suit. How lucky am I?”

“Let’s hope that luck will get us through tonight,” I mumbled. “They have no idea I’m here?”

“They know I have a new boyfriend, but they don’t know who he is. I figured it was better to tell them that news together.”

A sense of pride hit me at that label she had so casually used. Boyfriend . I was her boyfriend.

I saw the light fly away from Holly’s eyes.

She knew what could happen as well. It could be total hell, and if her parents didn’t want me to see her ever again, there was no doubt in my mind that they’d be able to keep her away from me.

My hands formed fists at my side. I couldn’t stand the thought of Holly not being all mine.

“I’m not gonna let them keep you away from me,” Holly said with big eyes. “I won’t. I promise.”

I sighed at her words. “I know, baby. You ready to do this?”

She nodded once. “Let’s do it.”

Holly reached down and laced her little fingers with mine, giving me a comforting smile.

Standing by her side, Holly led me through the hallway and past the stairs.

I had only ever been up them once, but I had been on that second floor quite a few times.

Her parents had no idea about that. About how many times I had snuck into their daughter’s bedroom and…

There was no time for that kind of thinking.

Holly rounded a corner, her hand still in mine. She stopped for a second, gave me another smile, and then guided me through the doorway.

We entered the dining room and it looked exactly how I imagined – fancy as fuck with a large, long table at the center of the room and an expensive looking chandelier hanging above. I had also expected the two pairs of confused eyes that landed on me. Holly’s dad quickly stood up.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Joe pointed at me.

“Daddy—” Holly started.

“Let go of her hand,” he snapped. “What are you doing here? Holly, why did you let him in?”

“Daddy, Sawyer is—”

“I’m five seconds away from calling the cops,” he continued.

I rolled my eyes. Jesus, what an asshole.

“Joe,” Nicolette sighed. “Calm down for a moment.”

“Sawyer is the guy I was telling you about,” Holly said. “Sawyer… Sawyer is my boyfriend. And I’m his girlfriend. And we’re together. We have been for a little while now.”

There was silence. A quiet, cold silence. I could tell Holly’s dad wanted to jump over the table and rip my head off. Her mom looked… confused. Not angry, just a little bewildered at what she was seeing. Maybe she was offended Holly hadn’t told her the truth.

“Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot,” I said. “You don’t like me. I get that. But Holly means a lot to me, and I really want us to do things the right way. I don’t wanna have to sneak around anymore.”

“This is a joke, right?” Holly’s dad asked with a smirk. He looked over at his wife, like she was going to give him the answer he wanted to hear, but she remained silent.

“It’s not a joke.” I cleared my throat, grabbing Holly’s hand a little tighter. “I… I love your daughter.” That was my first time saying those words to her. It would have been nice if the moment had been a little less miserable. “I love Holly. And I don’t wanna have to sneak around and—"

Joe let out a soft, sarcastic laugh. “Say that again?”

I turned my head to the side and sucked in a sharp breath before looking back at him. “You heard me. I said I love Holly.”

“Oh, you think I care about how you feel?” he mocked. “I’m sure Holly doesn’t feel the same way about you, anyway, so whatever you think is going on here between you two, think again.”

“You might wanna try talking to her about that,” I told him bluntly.

“I know I’m not the guy you imagined being with your daughter.

For a long time, I never thought I’d want her the way I do now.

But Holly’s really special to me. She’s the best person I’ve ever had in my life, and I don’t ever wanna go back to how things were before. ”

I watched as Joe glared at me for a few more seconds before looking over at Holly. She was avoiding her dad’s gaze, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Holly, I’m begging you to tell me that this is a joke,” Joe sternly said. “Because right now, I’m not quite sure what to think.”

“Daddy,” Holly whispered. “He’s right. I love him. I love Sawyer too.”

My heart skipped a fucking beat. She loved me. She loved me. She loved me. I squeezed her hand. God, I should been jumping for joy. I should have been holding her tight and kissing her, because the sweetest girl in the world loved me back. But the situation was fucking dire.

“I know you don’t approve,” she said. “Not right now, at least. But once you get to know him, I promise you, you’ll see what a good guy he is.

He’s sensitive and kind and protective and – and he’s so talented!

He’s the best painter in school. You know he’s sold a painting to Eric, and he’s working on a project with the library, and everyone there loves his work.

He has so much potential and so much talent.

I love Sawyer a lot, Daddy. Please don’t judge him before you get to know him. ”

My eyes never left Holly’s face during her little speech.

There was something in her voice that I didn’t hear from people very often.

Proudness. Fondness. Like she was more than happy with me, like she wanted to show me off, like she wasn’t ashamed of me or where I came from.

My heart soared a little and skipped a beat and fluttered and all that good shit.

My hand grabbed Holly’s even tighter, watching her closely as she turned to face me, giving me the sweetest of smiles.

“I don’t care about any of that,” Joe said far too casually for someone who had just heard his daughter pour her heart out.

“What?” Holly asked.

“I don’t care about any of that. So he knows how to use a paint brush. Is that supposed to change my mind? Is that supposed to make me like him?”

“Sawyer isn’t the guy you think he is,” Holly said with a hand to her chest. “Please don’t judge him the way other people do. Just get to know him. Just—"

“You really think I’m gonna let you be with someone like him?” he spat out. “He literally lives in a trailer park , Holly! Is this what you wanna do with your life? You wanna marry trailer park trash?”

There it was. I rubbed at the back of my neck.

My heart was racing again and not in a good way now.

I knew he was gonna bring that up. I knew it.

But I wasn’t ready for it. I never was. Not when Carter did it, not when some other asshole did it, and especially not when someone’s who’s respect I was trying to earn did it.

“Don’t call him that!” Holly cried out. “Sawyer works so hard, Daddy. Do you know how many hours he has to work after school, just so him and his cousin have somewhere to stay? Life’s not easy for everyone.

We’re the lucky ones. I’m so thankful to live here, to have a roof over my head.

Sawyer’s roof is different to ours and there’s nothing wrong with that. ”

“We all need to sit and calm down,” Nicolette suggested. “Joe, we need to talk about this properly. Please.”

Joe rubbed at his temples. “Nobody here seems to be getting what I’m implying here, so I’m just gonna come right out and say it.”

“Yeah, please just say it already,” I spat at him.