Page 56 of Love Me Reckless

He offers me his hand, and I let him tug me to the sidewalk.

“Zach told me that when you were little, someone took you.” He frowns, like he’s angry. “Is that why your family is like this?”

I release a breath, puffing my cheeks. “It’s a factor.”

“Are they ever going to let you live your life?”

I can’t answer this, so I don’t. “I’m sorry if buying the ski gear made you feel bad. I didn’t mean it like that.”

He caresses over my fingers with his thumb, and the sweetness of it makes the emotions locked inside me feel extra sharp. A charged energy fizzles between us.

“I’m grateful to be included in your trusted circle,” he says.

I smile. “So we’re good?”

He smiles back. “We’re good.”

I know I should try to put space between us, but I can’t seem to, or maybe I’m not trying hard enough. Sawyer sits by me in the booth at the pizza place where we get into a heated debate about the heroine in the book I gave him, then he walks close to me on the way back to the car. And watchingCharlie’s Angelsfrom the pillow fort we built on the floor of our suite, he’s the one sharing the blanket with me and making sure I don’t run out of licorice.

When the movie ends, it’s after 11:00. Sofie and Zach slunk off to her room as soon as the credits rolled, and Ava heads off to bed because of her early flight in the morning to make it back in time to start her new rotation in the pediatric cancer care unit.

“You ready to call it a night?” Sawyer asks from the pillow fort. “It seems like a shame to let that hot tub out there go unused.”

“I’m totally going in. Feel free to join me.” I fight the flutters tickling up my chest.

He rolls to his feet. “I’ll just grab my trunks.”

When he returns, I’m perched on the edge of the tub. Tiny snowflakes are drifting down from above, melting on my shoulders like tiny wet kisses.

In the dim lighting, Sawyer’s broad chest looks even more chiseled, all hard edges and firm planes. I force my eyes away, but it doesn’t stop the daydreams swimming through my thoughts. What is it going to be like to go home tomorrow and we both return to our separate lives?

“There’s beer in the fridge and ice for the whiskey if you want to make a nightcap,” I say.

“I’m set,” he says easily.

It dawns on me that I’ve never seen him with so much as a beer. He and Zach pledged to be our designated drivers and safety crew, but the weekend is almost over and we’ve landed safely at the hotel for the night. “You don’t drink.”

“Nope.” He hangs up his towel.

“Because of a bad experience?”

His face is calm but there’s a sudden stiffness in his movements. “Uh, something like that.”

This hints at a deeper story. Does someone he care about drink too much? His mom? His half-brother? He did say they aren’t close anymore. Is this the cause?

I want to ask, but maybe he’ll share when he’s ready.

“Nice tattoo,” Sawyer says, nodding at the giant rose on my left bicep.

I ease into the tub, the bubbles caressing my bare skin. “Too bad it’s going to fade in the water.”

“There’s one way to fix that.” He climbs up to the edge of the tuband steps in.

I laugh. “I don’t know if a rose is my thing.” Plus, it’s way too big.

“Butterfly?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Not me at all.”

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