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He looked down at his hands and at the items still littering the sidewalk. “Wow. This is a lot of pink.”
I let out a snort of laughter. “Yeah. It’s Renee’s birthday. I might have overdone it.”
His chuckle crawled across my skin. “You kidding? For something as big as a girl turning three? No way. Especially not when it’s a kid as enthusiastic as Little Bit.”
I grinned down at the sidewalk as I picked up the last of the items I’d dropped. “This is very true. When I asked what colors she was thinking for her party, her answer was ‘all the pink in the world.’”
“That sounds like something she would say.” He lifted his head and tilted his chin toward the opened door. “That your car?”
“Yeah—Wait, you really don’t have to—” He stood, taking the remaining bags from me and started in that direction. I quickly scooped up the last of my fallen purchases and scurried after him.
“It’s not a big deal, really.” When I reached the car, he divested me of my items, stowing them between the bags that weren’t damaged and reaching up to push the button that would lower the door.
“Um, well, thank you. For helping.”
“Don’t mention it.”
We stood there, looking up at each other in silence until it started to get awkward, the air around us getting thick and soupy. I was just about to make an excuse to get out of there when he spoke.
“Sawyer, I owe you an apology.”
Oh God. “No, you really don’t—”
“Yeah, I do. I’m really sorry for how I reacted the other night.”
I held my hand up to stop him, the sincerity in his eyes shining in the afternoon sun. “Trent, it’s okay. Really. You didn’t do anything wrong, so you don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m the one who’s sorry. I misread the situation, and I put you in a really uncomfortable place.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I—” My brows slashed down over my eyes in confusion. “What?”
“You didn’t misread the situation, darlin’. I was attracted to you. Iamattracted to you,” he stressed.
The air whooshed from my lungs at his admission. I wasn’t sure what to think or what he was getting at by telling me this. But Ididknow it went a long way in making me feel better about the whole debacle.
“It’s just, the timing... I wish—”
“Trent, please. You don’t owe me an explanation. Your private life is your own. I get it, really.” I let out a small, humorless laugh at the irony of the whole situation. “I know all about bad timing. Probably better than most.”
His expression softened with tenderness, slamming right into my chest like a closed fist. “I never meant to embarrass you. I do like you, very much. And if this was another time...”
He trailed off, and I understood perfectly what he was trying to explain. “Yeah. I get it.” Letting out a sigh, I gave him a genuine grin. “Well, just because the timing sucks doesn’t mean we can’t be friends for the rest of your stay here, right?”
That dimpled smile was in full effect. “I’d really like that.”
“Me too,” I replied softly. “So how about you come to Renee’s birthday party? I know she’s love it if Tent was there,” I said on a giggle. “And it could never hurt to have another adult to help wrangle toddlers. They’re bad enough on their own, but they’ll be hopped up on sugar and excitement, so if you happen to have a tranquilizer gun, it would be welcome.”
“No tranq gun,” he said on a laugh. “But I’d be happy to help wrangle.”
“All right then. It’s Saturday at two. Just walk down the beach until you run into a massive crowd of screaming kids. Can’t miss it.”
“I’ll be there. Looking forward to it.”
“Famous last words,” I called as I started around the car to the driver side door. “I’ll be sure to throw them in your face later.”
Those dimples pressed deep, his white smile glittering in the sun. “I’m sure you will. See you Saturday.”
“See you then.”
