It makes me even more happy to know that he’s right across the parking lot again, instead of sleeping in my mom’s guest bedroom. I would have let him stay with me, but as our relationship progressed, it became clear that we needed at least a little space.
My legs ache from a full day of work at the shop, then all the meals I made for Katelyn and Garrison’s freezer, now that they’re home with their new baby. But I’m so full of joy that I can’t even bring myself to care.
Katelyn had her baby.
My family is safe.
And life is back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as it can be after all we went through.
The door is locked, so I raise my fist and knock.
A few minutes later, Sawyer comes into view through the small window. When he sees me, his entire expression lights up. He pulls open the door and leans against the doorjamb, pulling the sucker out of his mouth as he grins. Wearing stained coveralls that are folded down to his waist, a tight black T-shirt, and his favorite baseball cap, he is a sight to behold.
Warmth spreads through me as my blood turns molten in my veins. Oh, Sawyer Maddox, how you make my heart flutter.
“You know, if you keep coming over here like this, my girlfriend is bound to get jealous,” he jokes, playing off the same thing I said to him when he’d visited me for lunch earlier.
I roll my eyes and press a hand to his muscled chest. “Maybe she should keep a better eye on you.”
He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in, then reaches up and flips his grease-stained baseball cap backward before leaning in and capturing my lips with his. Sawyer kisses me like the world is ending and it’s our last two seconds of survival. The sweetness of his sucker dances on my tongue as he pulls back just the breath of an inch. “Maybe you should,” he whispers against my lips before kissing me again.
Breathless, I laugh. “You’d better stop, Maddox, or I won’t give you your present.”
“Present? Is this not my present?”
Laughing, I pull away and move into the shop as Sawyer closes the door behind us. “That was part one.” As soon as we reach the main bay, I turn toward him and offer the small wrapped box.
Sawyer takes it, studying the kitten wrapping paper.
“It seemed so fitting since you’re such a big softie for Axel.”
Sawyer laughs and slowly unwraps the present, taking his time to slide his fingers beneath the seams so he doesn’t damage the paper.
I know it’s silly, but the care he takes with it reminds me of the care he’s taken with me over the last six months. It’s been a long process of healing, but this past month, I’ve finally managed to get a full night’s sleep without waking up drenched in sweat, crying, and terrified that I was back in Jack’s clutches.
That we were back on that boat.
That Sawyer and the others didn’t arrive in time.
Every single time I woke up terrified, I’d call, and Sawyer would be there. He’d sit up with me, drinking coffee despite having his own busy schedule, and he never made me feel like I was overreacting. Like I shouldn’t still be having issues.
He was just there. A solid, steady presence in the middle of my nightmares.
There’s no doubt in my mind that God sent him to me. That He brought Sawyer and me together. We’re soulmates, he and I.
Sawyer opens the box and reaches inside to pull out a coffee mug I spent the last three months trying to track down.
“No way!” he exclaims as he studies the ceramic mug with the words Starter Fluid painted on the side. The handle is a wrench, and he grips it now, a boyish grin on his face. “It looks just like the last one you got me!”
Joy surges through me at the absolute delight on his face. “I know the other one didn’t survive, so I wanted to get you a new one. You can’t run a business without a special coffee mug. It’s pretty much the law.”
Sawyer laughs and sets the box aside to reach for me. “Thank you, baby.” Those caramel eyes lock onto mine, and my breath catches.
“You’re welcome.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
