Page 45 of One Weekend in Seattle

“Sure of what?” Curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know his reasoning.

“After I sold my tech startup, I dated a woman. She knew who I was, and it started off well. She made me believe she wasn’t after my money. It started slowly, she began asking me for more and more items. I finally caved and gave her one of my credit cards, and she went on a spending spree. When I canceled the card, she became angry. She flat out told me all she cared about was my money and what I could buy for her. Since then, I’ve been very cautious.”

Gabby glanced out the window. “That’s horrible. I can understand why you’d be cautious.”

His hand closed over hers, but she pulled away, not quite ready to forgive him. Even if all she wanted right now was his hands on her. His lips on her. His heart beating the same as hers.

“You’re not like that. I realized it within minutes of meeting you.”

“How?” She was curious.

“The first sign was that you didn’t recognize me when I introduced myself.”

“Why should I?”

Sawyer chuckled. “See. Your friend Lindsay figured that out faster than you did. When I learned you didn’t live in Seattle, I began to understand why you didn’t know my name.”

“I was shocked when Jesse said you owned The Vault. I have to admit I did a quick internet search on you when I got home. But nearly all of the information was business, almost nothing personal. Why would that make you so recognizable? I don’t understand.”

“You read about VoltAir Technologies?”

“Yes.” Her eyes widened as if she realized what it meant. “I only skimmed the articles, and the ones I read didn’t mention money.”

“I sold it off five years ago, and it made me an instant billionaire. And that’s when all the parasites started coming out of the woodwork.”

“What happened?” She reached out and squeezed his hand.

“Everyone wanted a piece of me, including Gina.”

“The woman you mentioned?”

“Yes. I hated being defined by my money. So I basically went underground. Eric and I bought The Vault. It was still a little crazy after we opened—with people trying to curry favor—but they learned quickly I wasn’t going to bite.”

“And Gina?” Her heart hurt for him. Her ex had treated her like a bank but nothing like what Sawyer must have gone through.

“When I refused to give in to her demands, she tried a few other things, but when I wouldn’t bite, she finally left. Not that it bothered me. By that time, I was tired of her. When I met you…”

“You were worried I’d go crazy over your money.”

His eyes lit. “Yes, but you were the opposite. I saw it from the start. Gabby, you were so down to earth. When I said I was a manager, you didn’t look down on me, but instead, we started talking about how hard a job it is.”

“And Saturday?”

“I knew I needed to tell you. Selfishly, I held back. I wanted to spend time with you and show you Seattle. Knowing you’re a chef, I decided to pull out all the stops with the food tour, shops that would appeal to you, the underground tour, and dinner at the Space Needle.”

“All things to seduce me.” Her voice was soft.

He shook his head. “All things you would be likely to enjoy with me. You don’t know how hard it was for me not to buy you everything you looked at. I wanted to. I wanted to see you smile and be carefree. And at the end of dinner, if you had wanted to go back to Lindsay’s place, I would’ve taken you there. Even if it meant a very cold shower when I got home.”

She believed him. Sawyer wasn’t one to hold a woman against her will. “The car and driver?”

“He’s an employee of a local company; I do use them a lot.”

“The apartment belongs to you?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to frighten you away.”

Gabby shifted in her seat. “When I told you about my ex, why didn’t you say something?”

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