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Grace
I arrived to the Prescott household five minutes prior to the time Sydney gave me.
I woke up early.
Showered early.
Sat around and had nothing to do so… I showed up early. I suppose I could have done something with my hair; it would have taken more time to dry it than to throw it in a messy bun, but I was anxious to get to Sydney’s house.
It had absolutely nothing to do with Sydney’s brother. Nothing.
Nothing to do with the almost kisses yesterday.
Nothing.
Nope. It wasn’t the hand hold, the brushing of my back, the whispered words, the calm he forced on me. None of it.
Keep telling yourself that, Grace.
It was funny. Sawyer had only been in my house a handful of times and yet I could feel him everywhere I looked, which probably added to my anxiousness to see him—no, Grace. To see Sydney—again. Jeremy, on the other hand, had practically lived at my place with how often he was over, and if it weren’t for the occasional reminder by way of the postal service, I would easily forget he’d been there.
At the Prescott house, I parked my car in the same spot I always did and walked to the garage code box, punching in the four numbers to open the door. Just like I had access to their house, they had a key to mine—not that I went out of town that often, but the few occasions I did go back home, Sydney watched over my place.
When I entered through the mudroom, I noticed the dryer already running and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Sydney was such a housewife. I didn’t know many people who were almost finished with a load of laundry by eight on a Saturday. And by the looks of the linen and some bed clothes folded on top, the dryer’s load was not her first of the day.
I walked through the mudroom and into the living area, where I could hear Brody squealing happily and Brandon talking loudly over him. I smiled as I entered the room, taking in the chaos that was the Prescott household.
Sydney would have picked the place up the night prior; there was no doubt the place had been immaculate this morning. That is, until the boys woke. And sure enough, there were books and cars strewn on the floor, large Lego blocks intermixed with magnetic tiles all over the coffee table, and one very sleep rumbled Sawyer on his stomach with Brody climbing all over him.
Good lord, that man.
I quickly took in his bedhead as he rested his cheek on his forearms, the hooded sweatshirt he wore with the sleeves pushed up, and his lounge pajama bottoms that, likely due to being a human jungle gym, dipped just slightly while his sweatshirt rose just enough, showing the tantalizing V of muscles in his lower back.
Sawyer had been fit when I met him, but he was muscle and then some these days. What I wouldn’t give to see all his muscles up close…
I sighed. Not happening, Grace.
Not wanting to get caught staring by either him or his sister, I stepped further into the room. “Good morning,” I said with a bit too much cheer in my voice.
Sawyer lifted his head, propping his chin on his forearms, and offered me a tired smile. Sydney, on the other hand, stopped her conversation with Brandon. “Hey, Grace! How are you this morning?” When Brandon tugged on her shirt, Sydney’s face morphed into stern mom and she told him, “I said no.”
I chuckled lightly to myself. Sydney was such a cute mom.
“I’m taking the kids to a playdate,” Sydney said as she stepped past her oldest and came near me. When she passed, I frowned and followed her into the mudroom where she pulled out the diaper bag. I watched her pack it up with a few pairs of super cute, boxer briefs for Brandon that were on top of the dryer, and diapers for Brody and Brie. The woman had diapers and wipes in every room in this house.
In went a new onesie for the littlest Prescott and shorts and shirts for the boys.
I kept my gaze fixed on her movements, unsure of what to do. Slowly, this change in plans had my heart accelerating and blood pumping. She did say we were doing breakfast this morning, right? What happened to that?
Just like a flip of a switch, the racing started completely, first in my head, followed by a tightness in my chest.
“That I forgot about,” she added quickly, making me realize that maybe this really hadn’t been planned. “You don’t mind keeping Sawyer company for an hour or two, do you? I totally screwed up on this, planning it back when the schedule came out and I knew Cael would be gone. We’ll be back before lunch. I’m so sorry, Grace.” She offered me a sympathetic smile. She almost pulled it off too. “It was scheduled months ago.”
They say that people who were trying to believe their own lies continuously added to their story.
Sydney was digging herself a big hole.
Still, I was unnerved by the idea of spending the day with Sawyer and just Sawyer. It was one thing for me to be with Sawyer when she was nearby. It was quite another to be completely alone with him.
