Page 82 of Break My Heart
‘Yeah. I heard he’s outside. I’m going to go find him.’
‘Martha invited the family over for breakfast tomorrow,’ Lyndsay says. ‘You’re welcome to come.’
‘Yeah, you should,’ Nick says. ‘We’ll have more than enough food.’
‘I’ll talk to Sawyer about it. See you guys later.’
They already treat me like family and I’ve only been dating Sawyer for a month. And I’m his competition. But they don’t seem to care about that. They’ve welcomed me with open arms.
Continuing through the crowd, I finally make it outside. I’d normally just walk around the barn but it’s been walled off with stacks of hay. The Kanfields want people to go in the barn and visit the booths. During the festival, they let people in town set up booths to sell crafts or other items to earn money or promote their businesses. Speaking of that, I need to find Martha and ask her if I can hand out the flyers I made. I could’ve asked Nick, but I forgot.
Looking around outside, I don’t see Sawyer by the pumpkins, just a bunch of kids begging their parents to buy them the biggest one. I gaze out at the orchard and see Tom, the print shop owner, and some other guys. One of the guys moves and I see Sawyer just in front of him.
I walk over there. Sawyer’s talking when he sees me. He smiles and waves me over. Tom and the other guys glance back at me, then say something to Sawyer and walk off.
‘You made it,’ Sawyer says as I come up to him. He’s got such a great smile, and he looks like a hot lumberjack today, dressed in jeans and a red-and-black plaid shirt with a black Kanfield Orchard t-shirt underneath. He’s also wearing a black baseball cap with the Kanfield Brewery logo on it.
‘Is that new?’ I ask, pointing to his hat.
‘Yeah, I ordered some new merchandise. We already sold out of the hats, but I’m getting another shipment tomorrow. The t-shirts are almost gone too. I was just talking to Tom about printing some more. I usually order them online. It’s cheaper. But I need some fast so Tom will print them up tonight and deliver them tomorrow.’
‘That’s great they’re selling so well,’ I say, telling myself to be happy for him and not envious. I can do just as well as Sawyer, or better than him. I just need to work harder.
He pulls me into his arms and kisses me. ‘I missed you last night.’
‘I missed you too.’ I pause. ‘My dad called.’
Sawyer pulls back and looks at me with concern. ‘Your dad called? And you’re just telling me this now?’
I’ve told Sawyer about my dad and how we don’t have a good relationship. It’s not something I normally talk about, with anyone, but I do with Sawyer. We tend to talk late at night, after our bars close, so maybe I’m just tired and more willing to open up. Or maybe I trust Sawyer more than I want to admit.
‘I didn’t want to call you when you’re busy with the brewery and the festival.’
Sawyer takes my hand and brings me farther into the orchard, away from all the noise and activity. ‘You should’ve called. I’ll make time for you. You should know that by now. So what did he say?’
‘He just wanted to check in, see how I’m doing. And give me a lecture about how I should’ve kept my old job and used my inheritance to buy a house.’
‘He still isn’t okay with you opening G’s?’
‘No. He doesn’t approve. He thinks it’s a bad idea. He’s already talking like it’s failed, telling me I’ll find another job.’
‘You’re not going to close.’
‘You’re right.’ I hold my head up higher. ‘I’m not. SoonI’mgoing to be the one with people waiting outside the door and running out of merchandise.’
‘I know that tone,’ Sawyer says, a smile sliding up his face. ‘You sounded the same way right before you beat me at the pie-eating contest.’
‘It’s because I’ve decided I’m not going to stop competing against you just because I’m your girlfriend.’
‘You’re my girlfriend? You said I couldn’t call you that.’
‘You know what I mean,’ I say, ignoring his comment. ‘Our personal lives are separate from our businesses. I need to treat you like I would any other business owner.’
His arms go around my waist. ‘But I can call you my girlfriend?’
I smile a little. ‘As long as it’s outside of our businesses, then yeah, I guess it’s okay.’
‘Good, because I’ve already been calling you that.’
