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“Not horrible. Determined.” Sawyer tilted his head to eye her. “You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Whereas you have,” she replied, not questioning but merely stating.
“I have. But there’s a few things that haven’t changed. How I feel about you being one of them.”
Maddie held the air in her lungs until she felt she must have turned blue. How was she meant to respond to that? She never should have agreed to give him a chance. Except, deep down, somewhere underneath all those logical thoughts and the hurt still simmering through her, she had wanted to give him another chance.
The fact was, she still wanted Sawyer Steele.
Chapter Six
Sawyer tapped his foot impatiently and glanced at his watch. Was she ignoring him? She’d mentioned having some books for him to look over in regards to the house and had promised she’d have them ready for him by Friday. That had meant two days of not seeing her.
Two days too long.
The curtains were drawn. That was a good sign, right? It meant she was home. Perhaps she was fixing her hair or something like that. He shook his head to himself. That didn’t sound like Maddie.
Finally a key in the lock rattled and she drew open the door. A pale face set in fuzzy hair peered at him as though he was a ghost.
“Sawyer?”
The nasal quality to her voice told him why she looked like she’d been mummified in a thick pink dressing gown and had dark rings under her eyes. As much as he fancied the hell out of her, she looked terrible.
“Are you sick?”
“Yes. Didn’t you get my text?”
He slipped his phone out of his pocket and flicked the screen. “No. Nothing.”
“Shoot, I thought I texted you but I guess...” She waved a hand. “I’m not feeling very...” She gripped the door and her already pasty skin paled further.
“You’re not well at all.” He pressed open the door, forcing her inside, and shut it behind him. “Let’s get you to bed.”
“The place is a mess.I’ma mess.” She sneezed and fished a tissue out of her pocket to blow her nose noisily.
Sawyer gave her a stern look and pointed up the stairs. She turned with a sigh. She really had to be sick if she wasn’t fighting him on this. Even though she took an inordinately long time to ascend the steep steps, he couldn’t help wonder what was under that dressing gown as her pink fluffy rear lined up with his gaze.
He’d never stepped inside the flat above the bookshop before but it reminded him of Maddie—and Ballicliff. It was—what did women call it?—shabby chic style. He recalled one of his girlfriends being obsessed with all this furniture that looked old and worn out but cost a fortune.
A cream couch took up most of the space in the sitting room and a pine coffee table was scattered with tissues, books and packets of cold and flu tablets. The TV was showing some game show but she had the volume turned down. A faded cream bookcase was crammed with books. She had a whole bookshop downstairs, so why she needed her living space to be full of them, he had no idea, but the image of her curled up on the sofa with a book in hand on a Sunday afternoon had the strangest appeal.
With a hand to her elbow, he waved away what he knew would be an apology and directed her to the bedroom. He paused briefly at the threshold. He hadn’t expected this. Deep purple bedding with a damask print covered a bed with a large, dramatic headboard. There was something sensual and sexy about the room. And the huge print of a woman half-covered by nothing more than a sheet added to the feeling. It was beautifully painted and not at all pornographic, but he never imagined Maddie wanting to share her room with a naked woman.
He clenched his teeth. Now there was one fantasy he didn’t need to think about right now.
Except there wasn’t any other woman he’d want joining her. But if there were two Maddies... now that was an idea... He gave himself a mental slap. No, that wasn’t an idea. That was a big, fat fantasy and an inappropriate one at the moment.
Sawyer drew back the sheets and coaxed her into bed. She moved slowly and reluctantly even though he could tell she was dying to curl up and rest. He tucked the duvet around her and she drew it up under her chin. He couldn’t help grinning. She scowled.
“What?”
“You’ll kill me for saying it... but you look kind of cute all tucked up with your hair messy.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. Perhaps she didn’t believe him but at that moment in time, he didn’t think he’d seen anything more endearing. Not hot or sexy, but cute as hell. The kind of cute that made a guy stop thinking of sex and start thinking of marriage and everything that came along with it. He supposed that wasn’t a bad thing considering he’d already asked her to marry him.
“I’ll get you a drink,” he said and turned before she could argue.
The tiny galley kitchen proved to be perfectly organised. Even though she’d clearly been battling to look after herself and a few mugs sat in the sink, there was no doubting Maddie lived here. Tiny labels noted what should go where on each shelf and he had no problems finding the tea and sugar. He flicked on the kettle and pondered the living room area.
