Page 17 of Say Yes to the Death

Halfway through her second slice, a hand landed on Claire’s shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Sorry.” Sawyer withdrew his hand. “I’m pretty much finished installing your system. Can I show you a few things?”

“Of course. Thank you.”

He brought her to the front door and showed her how to operate the video doorbell and alarm. Luke’s eyes burned into her as she connected the system to an app on her phone. What was the deal with all the staring? He was the one who had hired Sawyer to install the stupid system in the first place.

Sawyer stepped into the hallway and closed the front door to demonstrate how the camera worked.

“What’s the password?” Claire called through the door. Only the bottom of his chin was visible on the monitor.

“Shiraz?” he guessed.

She opened the door and welcomed him back inside. “I’m entirely too predictable if you guessed it on the first try,” she joked.

Sawyer smiled, revealing shockingly white teeth. “Do you have any questions?”

“I think you covered it all,” she said.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a business card. “If you think of anything, here’s my work number. Or,” he said, shooting a glance across the room at Luke, “if you’re interested in learning some self-defense techniques, I teach classes. After seeing your reflexes earlier, I think you would do great. The foundation is there, all you need is practice. It might bring you some peace of mind.”

“Thank you, Sawyer,” she said, smiling warmly. “I may have to take you up on that.”

She held out a hand, and he clasped it in his own, completely engulfing hers.

“See you later, guys,” Sawyer said as he stepped out the door. “Kyle, see you on Sunday for the game?”

“You know it,” Kyle said over a mouthful of pizza as Sawyer disappeared.

Luke stood and walked over to Claire. “What’s the verdict?” He gestured toward the control panel.

“It’s nice, I think. You didn’t have to do it, but thank you.” She looped her pinky through his.

“Welcome,” he said, pulling her to him. His hand burrowed in her hair as he lowered his mouth to hers. Tingles shot from her fingers to her toes. As far as apologies went, this one was right on the money.

Kyle cleared his throat loudly. Claire and Luke broke apart, laughing. Luke swatted her on the butt as they sat back down on her overstuffed couch and spent the evening with their friends. Today had been a far cry from the perfect wedding day Claire had imagined, but even flashing her (maybe) boyfriend’s mother and getting sued by her archnemesis was better than marrying an adulterous douchebag.

CHAPTER FIVE

To Do:

- Call the VA clinic to confirm leg delivery

- Research firework companies

“Today’s the big day, Tyler!” Claire exclaimed as her client opened his front door. “Are you excited?”

Jerry, one of Claire’s camera crew, stood behind her on the porch, video camera in hand.

“You have no idea,” Tyler said with a grin and rolled his wheelchair onto the front porch, then spun around to lock the door. A frayed T-shirt with the word “Army” written in capital letters stretched across his broad chest. His left arm had a full sleeve of tattoos, featuring a flaming eagle and album art from a metal band that Claire had listened to in college.

She gripped his hand. “It’s going to be great. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Tyler tossed her a set of keys, and she managed to catch them. He led the way down a ramp and along the pathway to a handicap-accessible van.

The cameraman continued to film as Claire started up the van. The side door opened automatically, and a ramp unfolded itself. Tyler, clearly used to the boarding process, rolled onto it smoothly and entered the car.

Today was going to be a much better day. She hadn’t woken up in the middle of the street with a dumpster taco. The paparazzi must have had a bigger story to chase, because she hadn’t seen anyone all day. She hadn’t even assaulted anyone with a pool skimmer. And she got to work on one of her most romantic and heart-wrenching proposals to date. She was in her element.

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