Page 43 of Unravel Me

Sawyer snorts.

“You’re doing it wrong then.”

I gasp and inhale bits of muffin, coughing and choking on brown sugar.

“Jesus, are you okay?” He pushes my coffee toward me as I hack up a lung. Real fucking cute, Ivy.

“Fine. I’m fine.”

We eat in silence for a few moments, me enjoying every mouthful of my muffin while Sawyer scarfs his in two large bites.

“Did you even taste it?”

“Tried not to.”

“Why on earth are you eating them if you don’t like them?” Finally asking the question I’ve been dying to hear the answer to.

“You know why, Ivy.”

“I don’t know if I do . . .” I don’t understand it at least. I don’t understand what would possess him to do it. Or why. I wait and study his face. His hand rubs aimlessly across his beard and my hands itch to knock it out of the way and feel the short facial hair against my own palm and fingers.

“They were always your favorite. I went in one day with Liam and when I went to order, that’s what I asked for.”

“My favorite muffins? That you actually hate.”

“Yep. It was a piece of you that was left behind that I got to have anytime I wanted.”

I let that sit in the air between us. It’s been ten years since we’ve seen each other. This man never forgot about me and did everything he could to make sure he never did.

“So, Charlotte. Liam’s right?” Changing the subject to a safer one seems like the best idea at the moment.

“No, actually.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah. It was a bit of a shock to everyone. The dad is an asshole and he and I don’t get along. Liam has never left Hannah’s side, though. They’re still best friends and he loves that little girl fiercely.”

“That’s really sweet, and I’m not surprised, actually. Liam was always a good one. That has to be hard on Hannah, though. But my god is she the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Surprised you didn’t settle down. You used to talk about being a mom.”

“Well, my life didn’t turn out the way I thought it would have back when we were together. And I know that’s my fault. To be honest, I didn’t really date. I mean, I dated a little, but there was no way I would have had a baby with the last asshole.”

“I’m sorry, Iv.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Sawyer just nods his head as he sips his coffee.

“How’s the rest of the Hayes brood?”

“Kins just graduated from college and is teaching kindergarten now. She loves it. And me and the boys are all running the distillery together.”

“No fucking way! Sawyer!”

“Don’t get too excited. It was way earlier than I expected. My dad had a stroke, and he really struggles with communication. He’s still up and living his life, but running a business this large was too much stress. I took over as CEO recently, Dallas and I work hand in hand, Liam works the actual creation and quality part, and Carter works branding, PR, and relations. It works until it doesn’t, but we get through it.”

“I’m sorry about your dad. That’s hard. I always adored your parents.”

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