Page 19 of The Affair
With my grandmother’sjournal still tucked tightly against my chest, I briskly walked down the hall toward the front door, all the while wondering to myself who the heck could be ringing my doorbell at this time of night.
And then I realized that “this time of night” was actually six thirty.
Wow, I truly was becoming the most boring person on the planet.
Setting the journal down on the coffee table in the front sitting room, I quickly checked myself in the mirror by the door, finally understanding why my mom had put it there in the first place. Happy enough with my appearance, I reached for the door, fully intent on offering up my best smile to whatever neighbor was waiting on the other side.
Instead, I found myself face-to-face with Sawyer Gallagher… who was just about the last person I wanted to see.
Well, not the last, but it was pretty damn close.
“What are you doing here?” I found myself blurting out.
A sly smile slid up his lips. “Is that any way to greet a guest? Surely, your Southern mama taught you better than that.”
“My mother was born and raised in the Midwest.”
“Do they not have manners in the Midwest?” he chided.
Rolling my eyes, I moved to allow him entrance even though every bone in my body was telling me not to. Well, actually, several other parts of my body wanted to do something else entirely with him, which was why letting him in was the last thing I should be doing.
Has he always been this good-looking?
Watching him look around made me feel like the whole place was under a microscope. Suddenly, I could see every imperfection. The dust on top of the picture frames, the worn wooden floors that were in serious need of some TLC, and let’s not forget the mess that hadn’t been attended to.
“This place hasn’t changed since we were kids,” he said, his eyes finally resting on a picture of a much younger me in my high school graduation robe that sat on the fireplace mantel. “I checked out the old house up the street. It doesn’t look that different either.”
I shrugged. “They got a new roof last year.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I know.” Before I could ask, he added, “My parents still own it. One of the many rental properties they have in town.”
I’d had no idea. I’d been married to Reed for ten years, and he’d never mentioned his family owning the house they’d lived in forever ago.
How many other things had he kept from me?
“Are you going to update this place now that it is yours?” Sawyer asked.
“I … I haven’t thought about it,” I answered honestly before adding, “What’s your deal with changing everything?”
He shrugged. “Nothing wrong with a little change.”
My arms folded in front of me. “Nothing wrong with a little tradition either.”
His smile grew. “True.”
“Is that what you’re here about?” I asked. “A little change perhaps?”
“Nothing wrong with a little persistence either.” He saw me beginning to roll my eyes. “Look,” he began, “just hear me out, okay? That’s all I ask, and in the end, if you still feel the same and don’t want to give me the spot, I won’t bug you again. Promise.”
“Fine,” I agreed, taking a seat on the couch.
He quickly followed, sitting down in the chair opposite from me. He was buzzing with energy. I could almost see it radiating around him like a glowing aura of intensity. I was surprised he could actually sit down with all that humming inside him.When was the last time I’d felt that way?
“So, here’s my offer,” I could feel the anticipation in his voice. “I saw you take down your Help Wanted sign today.”
I nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed about my impromptu decision. “Yeah, I jumped the gun on that, I guess you could say. I realized, after crunching some numbers and running projections for the year, that I couldn’t actually afford any additional help at the moment.”
“Right.” He nodded. “I came to the same conclusion too.”
