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“Nice to meet you,” I reply, feeling my cheeks burn with a flush.
“Maddox and his family are in the area on vacation,” Dylan adds. “We were all supposed to get together this weekend here at Sawyer’s house, but when he told me how big of an idiot he was, I thought it might not hurt to get our older cousin involved.”
Maddox shrugs. “Glad I could help.”
“Oh, you definitely did. I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing Carrie any time soon,” Sawyer says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his chest.
“Good.”
Just then, Maddox’s phone chimes. When he glances at the screen, a wide smile spreads across his gorgeous face. “That’s Avery. Apparently Dax is a little wound for sound, and isn’t having any of the bedtime thing.”
“How are all the kids?” Sawyer asks as we slowly follow them to the garage door.
Again, he smiles widely. “Awesome. Ryder started baseball this past summer. The kid’s a natural, like you. Ellie keeps us busy with dance class, and Dax just keeps us busy. That kid is into anything and everything. And Bean is going to cause me to have a heart attack by the time I’m forty. She’s not even a teenager yet and I’m already having sleepless nights.” Both Dylan and Sawyer laugh.
“You’ll be around this weekend?” Maddox asks me when they head into the garage where Dylan hid his car.
I glance over at Sawyer who gives me a warm, casual smile. “Yeah, I think I will.”
“Good deal. You can help keep my wife from assaulting Sawyer. She’s a huge fan and says he has an amazing ass,” Maddox says, pulling a face, which makes me laugh.
“It is a pretty nice ass,” Sawyer teases his older cousin, earning him the middle finger.
“See you tomorrow,” Maddox says, throwing us a wave over his shoulder and gets into the passenger seat.
“He seems nice,” I say as we watch them back up from the garage and pull away from the house.
Sawyer pushes the button to close the garage door and pulls me into the mudroom. “He is. I think you’ll like his wife, Avery.”
“Four kids, huh?” I ask, slipping my hands into his.
“Yep. Brooklyn was hers from a previous relationship, but Maddox took to her right away and adopted her as soon as he and Avery were married. They had Ryder and Dax right away, and then were surprised with the arrival of Ellie not too long after that.”
“Sounds like a big, boisterous family,” I tell him, stepping into his embrace and wrapping my arms around his waist once more. I can’t get enough of the feel of him against me, the scent of his skin. God, I’ve missed him.
“They are,” Sawyer confirms. “So tomorrow, everyone is coming over here and having dinner. The Italian restaurant is catering it. I don’t want my mom or aunt to have to worry about cooking dinner. It’s been a few years since they’ve seen each other, so I want them to be able to spend as much time together without it being in the kitchen.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
“It’s the least I can do. I have the biggest place for a gathering, and Dad wants to try the fire pit outside,” he says.
“I’m sure they’re all excited to finally see your place,” I tell him, knowing that his parents have been dying to get over here and see him again.
“I think they’re excited to finally meet the woman I love,” he says, stealing another kiss from my still-tingling lips.
The kiss ends way too quickly, though, and when I open my eyes, his blue ones are fixed entirely on me. “I’m sorry, Alison. I never meant to let my past come down on you like this and hurt you. Fuck,” he whispers, closing his eyes to hide his pain. “I’m just so damn sorry.” His words hold so much remorse and truth that the honesty in them practically reaches out and touches me.
My need to touch him again is too strong to fight, so I reach up and cup his jaw. “Stop apologizing. You didn’t do this. Let’s put the blame on the person who’s solely responsible for this mess.”
He nods in reply, but I can tell he’s not convinced. He feels extremely guilty for the events that transpired, which were not in his control. How was he to know his ex-wife would do the things she did to get me out of the picture? He couldn’t have.
I guess I’m just going to have to be more convincing…
I thread my fingers into his hair and pull his head toward mine. Sawyer seems a little surprised by my boldness, but he quickly recovers, wrapping his own arms around my waist and lifting, pulling me flush against his hard body. My toes dangle just off the floor as he moves us farther into the house, flipping off light switches and making sure all of the doors are locked.
When he reaches the stairs, he sets me down on my feet, but only long enough to slide his arms behind my back and knees, and picks me up, as if carrying me over the threshold. Wrapping my arms around his neck, our lips collide as he starts to ascend the stairs, heading to his bedroom.
Inside, he peels his lips from my own and stands sideways to the bed. “It’s all new,” he says softly, his eyes searching my face for a reaction. His words bring a small smile to my face. It’s comforting to know he removed every trace of Carrie from his bed, from his house.
