Page 49 of The Story of Us
How did the old saying go?Be careful what you wish for.She’d wished she could make Sawyer understand, and once he did—once they locked back into sync with each other, the way they used to be—all the feelings she’d been bottling up for the past fifteen years had come flooding back.
Thank goodness Matt had called. Not that Jamie had any desire to speak to him—what could they possibly have to say to each other? She was thankful for the interruption, though. Who knew what would have happened if she and Sawyer had continued making eyes at one another in the moonlight?
Nothing remotely helpful for True Love Books…or for her peace of mind. That was for sure.
“So,” she said, eager to keep her mind off kissing or anything remotely kissing-adjacent. Was she going to have to tattoo the wordsromantic hiatusacross her forehead, so she’d see them every time she looked in the mirror? “We’ve talked about my past and Rick and Lucy, but I couldn’t help noticing we haven’t talked aboutyourlove life.”
She was dying to know if he was seeing anyone, even casually, but up until now, she’d been afraid to ask. Truthfully, she still was. He could have fallen in love any number of times over the past fifteen years. As silly as it seemed, Jamie wasn’t sure she could stomach hearing about Sawyer with another woman.
But she couldn’t resist asking, romantic hiatus notwithstanding.
“Because there’s not much to talk about,” he said.
It was a vague response, but Jamie’s heart still soared. “So no one?”
“There was a woman.” He lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. He was wearing his peacoat again—the one that put her in mind of Captain Wentworth and made Jamie go all swoony. She did her best not to look at it. “Sarah. We came close.”
“Close, as in…?” Jamie peered at him. Was he telling her he’d almost gottenmarried?
“I thought about proposing,” he said quietly.
Jamie blinked. “Wow.”
“Yeah, well. That was about the same time she met the guy who was everything she’d ever wanted. And she said it made her realize that—in her own words—we were just kind of going through the motions.”
Jamie could relate. Sometimes she wondered if she’d only been going through the motions with Matt. If he’d been the love of her life, wouldn’t she have wanted to move to Texas with him when he’d asked? Probably. She’d certainly been ready to pick up and move to Columbia with Sawyer. She’d even applied and been accepted.
Minor detail: Matt had asked her to come with him, and Sawyer hadn’t.
Jamie cleared her throat. “Was she right?”
“Yeah…yeah!” Sawyer gave a decisive nod. “I recognized it even as she was telling me. I’d thought about proposing just because it was the time my life where I thought I should. And Sarah was—is, I should say—a wonderful person. But we were only ever just playing at being a couple instead of really connecting like we should.”
Jamie kept her focus on the rainbow puddles on the sidewalk as they kept walking. She didn’t quite trust herself to meet Sawyer’s gaze when what he’d just described sounded so much like every attempt she’d made at a relationship since they’d broken up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. It hurt my ego, not my heart.” He gave her shoulder a gentle bump with his. “I know the difference.”
So did she.
The last time she’d felt truly heartbroken had been fifteen long years ago. She’d thought that meant she’d simply grown up and become more mature. But now she couldn’t help wondering if she’d been holding herself back. After all, if she never fell as hard for anyone as she had for Sawyer, she’d never end up as devastated as she’d been after their break-up. But was that really a way to live?
She’d certainly thought so until Sawyer popped back into her life. She’d even been fine with the idea of taking a break from romance altogether. Now, though…
Now she wasn’t so sure. About anything.
They walked the rest of the way to Jamie’s house in companionable silence. It had been a while since she’d spent time with someone without feeling the need to fill the quiet moments with chatter. She’d forgotten how nice it felt to simply walk together and justbe.
It wasn’t until she paused at the walkway in front of her Cape Cod-style cottage that Sawyer seemed to realize they’d reached their destination. The rain had stopped, so he snapped the umbrella closed and finally took in the sight of the gabled roof and white picket fence.
For a second, she wondered if he’d recognize it.
Then his face broke into a broad smile. Of course he did. “You live at your parents’ house?”
She nodded. “Yep. I bought it six months ago, right before they left on their big retirement trip across the continent.”
They strolled toward the porch as Sawyer’s gaze roamed over the house and his smile turned wistful. “Oh, yeah. They always talked about wanting to do that.”
“Yep, and they did it. I just couldn’t stand the thought of letting this place go.”
