Page 74 of Sparking Sara

He looks amused. “I wonder what other surprises you’ve got in store for me.”

“I could get you some tickets to a game, you know,” I tell them. “I’ve got connections.”

“Oh, I’d love to see a game in person. Wouldn’t that be fun, Ollie?”

He smiles at her correct use of his nickname. “I suppose it could be rather fun if that’s what you want.”

“Can we, Donovan?” Sara asks with excitement.

“You meanbeforeyou return home?”

“Yes. Another field trip. Come on, I did good today, didn’t I?”

“You did great,” he says. “Going to your apartment is one thing, Sara. A baseball game will be crowded. You could be pushed down. I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“Not if we’re in a suite.” I say.

Donovan’s jaw drops. “You could get us into a suite? I thought you were a fireman.”

“I am. But my brother-in-law plays baseball and two of his best friends play for the Hawks.”

“Tickets for four?” Donovan asks.

I look at Sara. “That’s up to Sara.”

She nods. “Tickets for four.”

“I’ll set it up.”

“Thank you,” she says.

“Yes, thank you,” Donovan adds, looking almost as excited as Sara.

Our cab arrives and Oliver pulls Sara close. “I’ll see you tonight, luv. Any requests for dinner?”

“Anything but tofu.”

He laughs and then leans down to give her a peck on the lips. She lets him. Oliver looks at me to see if I noticed before helping Sara into the cab. As Donovan climbs in behind her, Oliver asks them to wait for a second.

He pulls me aside. “You’re coming on kind of strong, don’t you think, mate?”

“Come again?”

“You know. The baseball tickets. The shirts. The pizza and the cheeseburgers. Maybe you should give it a rest. She’s not your fiancée, after all, now is she?”

“I’m not doing anything she doesn’t want me to do, Oliver.”

“Remember the promise you made to me the day we met? What was it you said? That you wouldn’t step on my toes? Well, if I took my shoes off right now, you’d see that my feet are nearly flat with all the bloody stepping you’ve been doing. I need you to back off. I need you to back off so she has a chance at becoming the woman she once was. Don’t you think you owe her that?”

I look into the cab to see Sara staring at me impatiently. I think about the kiss that she allowed moments ago. And I know that he’s right.

I nod at him as I duck into the back seat, making sure to keep Donovan in the middle.

Chapter Eighteen

222-555-7591: Hi, Denver. It’s Sara.

I find it difficult not to smile when I read the text. I don’t want to admit how hard it was to stay away from her today. To walk away from her this morning. I didn’t know what to do with myself. For three weeks now, if I haven’t been at work, I’ve been by her side. But this morning at her apartment, I realized that’s not my place anymore. Maybe it never was.

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