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“So, Sawyer.” She flashed him some seriously white teeth. I almost reached for my sunglasses, except I had forgotten them at home.
Sawyer gave the epitome of Southern charm his attention. With her free hand, Shelby tossed her golden tresses and batted her baby blues. Oh, she was good. I had to wonder, though, if her eyelashes were fake. Those lush babies made it look as if two beautiful black butterflies landed on her eyes and were flapping furiously.
“You know, I just moved to town.” She bit her lip in that sexy don’t-you-want-a-taste way. “And I was wondering if you would be willing to show me around?”
I grabbed my tall, cool glass of Dr. Pepper and began to down it while watching the man I loved get stalked by a jungle cat in heat. Okay, she was lovely. But that made it worse.
Sawyer cleared his throat and stretched his neck from side to side like he did when he was thinking. What was he waiting for? She was absolute perfection, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I could tell she was nice. Like, I would have tried to get to know her if she wasn’t eyeing my man like he was a sundae drenched in the deepest, darkest fudge and she wanted to swim in it before tasting every drop. Get in line, sister. I’d been standing on the diving board for almost a year waiting to take the plunge. Me and every single woman in Edenvale. I wasn’t sure what he was waiting for. He obviously had unrealistic expectations. I’d seen him turn down every beautiful woman this side of the mountains in the last year. Maybe this Southern Belle would catch his fancy.
I began gulping the Dr. Pepper to help me cope. Too bad my chug fest didn’t account for the carbonation. My favorite beverage went down the wrong way. It was all I could do not to spray the table with my backwashed drink. I began to splutter and cough violently, all while praying it didn’t come out my nose. It had happened. Jenna had it on video.
Sawyer turned his attention from Shelby and jumped into action by patting my back. “Em, are you okay? Lift your arms,” he said through his smile. This, unfortunately, was a pretty regular occurrence around him.
When I didn’t raise my arms, Sawyer took the liberty and lifted them for me while shaking his head. “Maybe you should start seeing Mr. Pibb again; he doesn’t have as much kick.”
It took me a moment to catch my breath before I could respond. “You know how I feel about the doctor.”
Sawyer placed my arms gently by my sides; his eyes were smiling.
As I did all too often, I found myself gazing into those pretty amber orbs wishing he knew how I really felt about the doctor and that he could find it in himself to reciprocate. By doctor, I meant the optometrist staring at me, not the tasty beverage. But Sawyer had never made a move after our first meeting.
Sawyer tapped my nose in a brotherly fashion. “I know you’re hopelessly devoted to him.” Truer and more disturbing words had never been spoken.
I swallowed and smiled. “Maybe we should order.”
“Good idea.” Sawyer picked up his menu. “Do you want to order the cilantro lime quesadillas and I’ll get the caprese grilled cheese sandwich so we can share?” He knew me so well.
“Perfect.” I turned from him to meet several sets of eyes staring at us with interest, especially the beautiful blonde who was eyeing us carefully.
“Did you two grow up together?” Shelby asked.
Sawyer and I both vehemently shook our heads while I silently begged her not to ask any more questions.
Jenna saved the day. “Hey, Em, are you still up for doing our gender reveal party next week at the club?”
“Yes!” I flashed a grateful grin at my best friend. “Wait until you see what I’ve come up with. Wear something you don’t mind getting dirty.”
Brad and Jenna scrunched their faces at me.
“Believe me, it will be mild compared to what you’re going to see come flying out of your baby.”
Brad turned green. Poor guy had the worst gag reflex. It only took someone pretending to vomit for him to toss his cookies. Jenna rubbed her husband’s back. “Breathe.”
I couldn’t believe my best friends were procreating. Jenna had had a tough time convincing Brad that they should. Brad had some serious reservations, as he himself was a big kid, and that gag reflex thing. But he loved Jenna and they babysat Jenna’s sister’s baby last year for the weekend and survived. Brad only threw up twice. So Brad agreed they could try. Honestly, I think the blizzard we had back at the beginning of February when we were snowed in for a few days had something to do with it. I expected a huge baby boom in Edenvale come November.
