Page 9 of Beauty and the Bayou

She gave him a look.“You had just saved me,” she said.“The adrenaline was rushing and I just reacted.I don’t go around spontaneously hugging strange men.”

“I’m not complainin’,” he told her.Having her up against him had been the best part of his day.The day hadn’t been going on for very long, but he knew that wasn’t going to change.“But I’m glad you’re acting at least slightly skeptical.”

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“We’re going to get mypartnersand myemployee”—oh yeah, he was going to remind his baby sister that she worked for him—“to admit that this was all just a big joke they’re pulling on me.”

“Wait,what?”

He nodded.“Yeah, sorry.”

“No.”She shook her head.“This is binding.The lawyer did the mediation paperwork and everything.We committed money and two weeks’ time and labor to this.”

“Two weeks?”

“That’s how long Chase has until he has to report to school.”

Sawyer sighed.It would be great ifanyof this made sense.“School?”

“He starts med school in two weeks.So, we’re here until then.We’ll get as much done as possible and then pay for someone to finish it.Maybe Mitch and Leo,” she said, perking up.

“No.Mitch and Leo are not going to be finishing it,” Sawyer said.Even if he thought Leo could get off his barstool before ten a.m.and not take an afternoon fishing break every day, he needed Leo and Mitch both driving the buses for Boys of the Bayou.They did the hotel pickups and drop-offs in New Orleans for all of the tourists that came down for their tours.

But two weeks was enough time to rebuild a dock.If you knew what you were doing.

“But—”

“Juliet,” Sawyer said.Saying her name gave him a little jolt.It wasn’t abadjolt.It almost felt like excitement.But it was weird.“I’m sorry that your brother is on the road to becoming an entitled asshole, but that’s not really my problem.A functioning, safe, and solid dock for my businessis.”

“You don’t think that the entitled assholes in the world are kind ofallof our problem?”she asked dryly.

He’d give her that.“Still, I can’t even keepmyselffrom being an asshole, so I don’t think I can be worrying about preventing someone else from becoming one.”

“You’re an asshole?”

“You can’t tell?”

She tipped her head, studying him.“I mean, I saw a glimmer here and there, but no, not really.”

Yeah, well, she should stick around.

Except she shouldnotstick around.

“You kept me from falling off the dock.”

“I would have done that for anyone,” he said.She didn’t need to think that he had a soft spot for her.He didn’t.Of course not.That would be ridiculous.

But she laughed lightly—and he felt that jolt again, stronger this time.

“The fact that you would saveanyonefrom falling doesn’t make you an asshole, Sawyer.”

Damn, her sayinghisname was also jolt-inducing.

He cleared his throat.“Maybe you’re not a great judge of asshole-ness.Maybe your brother is fine.”

“He is fine,” she said.“But it’s a tenuous situation.”

Again, Sawyer had the urge to laugh.He shook his head.“How so?”

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