Page 20 of Love Me Reckless

I frown at it. Who wrote this?

Bachelorette party escort?

A nervous tingle stirs in my belly. This has to be from Sawyer. He gave me his number? A laugh escapes my lips. I press my fingers to my lips, then rip my hand away.

Why do you do that?Sawyer asked.Are you afraid?

I meant what I said. I don’t mean to be. I don’twantto be.

Didn’t tonight prove that I can be brave? Or was that just a reckless urge?

After adding a layer of tape over the Band-Aid, I tidy up, brush and floss my teeth, then turn off the light. But once I’m in bed, that tingle in my belly turns to dread. By throwing out that wrapper, am I throwing away my connection to Sawyer?

I throw back the covers and hurry back to the bathroom. Squatting down, I dig in my wastebasket for the Band-Aid wrapper, and when it’s in my fingers, I heave a breath of relief.

There must be something wrong with me, because having a boy’s phone number has never made me feel like this.

Before I lose my nerve, I carry the wrapper to my phone. I ignore the missed texts from Birch and type in Sawyer’s number. I reason that I never have to call him. If I need a bachelorette party security team, I can hire one myself, not rely on a stranger.

Though Sawyer doesn’t seem like a stranger. Why do I feel like I already know him?

Back under my covers, I curl on my side and gaze out my window. The inky night is bursting with stars, the jagged silhouette of the mountains like a black cutout edging the horizon. Sawyer’s last words float through my thoughts.

What makes you think I don’t already have everything I want?

If that’s true, then he’s the most interesting person I’ve ever met.

In the morning,I sneak out for an early ride before the tour I’m leading at ten. The heavy dew soaks my riding pants, but I love the scent of the trees and the crisp bite in the air. Back in the stable, I’m grooming Pennyroyal when George, the stable manager, darkens the stall doorway.

“Message from your mum,” he says in his Aussie lilt.

I step closer and take the slip of paper.

“I can finish up here,” he adds, nodding at Pennyroyal munching from her feeder.

Breakfast on the north patio at 8:00. Your dad is leaving for London.

There’s no signature.

“Thank you,” I say, and hand George the brush. On my walk back to my bungalow, my stomach tightens with every step. I should shower, but I don’t have time, and I must still be feeling rebellious because showing up in wet riding gear smelling like the barn will be sure to irritate my parents. There’s a car waiting when I reach the bungalow. The driver steps out when he sees me and opens the back passenger door.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been corralled into meeting with them, but it’s the first time it’s sent prickles up the back of my neck.

Maybe my inspiring conversation with Sawyer last night is to blame. Or maybe it’s the flicker of hurt that I’m being mistreated by the man I’m supposed to marry.

Reluctantly, I get in the car.

If the driver notices my stink, he doesn’t let on. I focus on the beautiful wildflowers and groves of aspens clustered along thesweeping drive, their white trunks in stark contrast to the bright blue sky and their golden leaves quivering in the breeze.

Inside the house, I make the long walk to the north patio, the slap of my slip-on shoes extra loud in the cavernous hallway.

When I step into the covered patio, I freeze. Sitting at the table with my parents is Birch.

Chapter Six

KIRILEE

“There you are,”Mom says, her anxious gaze softening as I approach.

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