Page 46 of Unromance

Luis shrugged. “Well, I never said I was good at math. Anyhow, you’ve told me about it. I was just in denial that one day it would become real and I might lose you. It’s been great having you back in Chi, but you haven’t been happy working onDiagnosticsin years. I want you to love what you do again.”

Gratitude for his best friend swelled in his chest, and there weren’t words for how much Mason appreciated him, so he pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you. For everything. And for dinner. Food was great, as usual.”

Luis clapped him on the back before pulling away, keeping his voice low even though everyone else had already left. The boys had been put to bed hours ago, the only sound Margot pouring herself a glass of wine in the next room. “She’s great,” Luis hedged carefully, jerking his head in the direction Sawyer had disappeared to.

Mason shook his head adamantly. “I told you—it’s not like that.” He’d said it so many times tonight, the words seemed to have lost their meaning.

Luis nodded. “I know. But do you?”

“I know what I’m doing,” he said under his breath.

As he spoke, Sawyer reappeared, her yellow coat like a beacon at the end of the hall.

“Your face says otherwise,” Luis muttered.

Sawyer reached them at that moment, so he couldn’t have responded—even if he knew how.

“Thank you so much for having me,” she said warmly, embracing Luis like an old friend.

Margot reappeared with her goblet of wine, kissing Sawyer on both cheeks. “It was so lovely to meet you, and thank you for the book recommendations. I hope we see you again soon.”

His sister had never said that to any of his girlfriends, and he didn’t think it was simply the wine talking. Sawyer had made Margot laugh more than once during dinner, and Margot wasn’t an easy one to crack. He’d even seen Sawyer and Bex swapping numbers before she left. When she pulled back from Margot and Luis and caught his eye, he couldn’t ignore the slight raise in his spirits.

Fuck.

Luis was right.

He’d done it again.

He liked Sawyer Greene and he couldn’t do a goddamn thing about it except let her ruin him.

They walked to his car in silence, Mason too in his head to notice that Sawyer was watching him curiously, only coming to when she placed her hand atop his when he opened the car door for her.

Narrowing her eyes, she scrutinized him. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I didn’t even finish the glass of wine I poured hours ago.”

Sawyer nodded. “I know. That wasn’t what I meant.”

He breathed in deeply, the cold winter air bringing his thoughts back into focus.Get it together, West.Tonight had been long, and he didn’t want to think about his family or Guiding Light or LA, much less talk about it. “Still thinking about your tights.” There. Back to their usual teasing.

Sawyer’s brows rose slowly, her lips parting slightly. Composing herself, she ducked into the car, and Mason took a few more gulps of the frigid air. It helped, but when he settled into the driver’s seat,glancing sidelong at Sawyer as she shrugged out of her coat, he nearly swallowed his tongue.

“Did you lose your bra between the bathroom and the car?”

She blinked up at him innocently. “I didn’t lose it.” She plucked it out of her coat pocket and twirled it like a party favor.

The back of Mason’s head hit the headrest with a thud.

“What?” Sawyer laughed. “It’s a long drive. I wanted to be comfortable.” The laughter faded from her voice, dropping to a husky whisper. “That okay with you?”

He took a steadying breath before leaning across the center console, reaching for her seat belt and clicking it into place. “Of course. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to make you more—” He adjusted the strap across her chest, letting his knuckle graze over her peaked nipple, her breath hitching. “Comfortable.” He swore her legs squeezed tighter together. A thrill ran through him. “If there’s anything else you want to take off, be my guest.”

She nodded jerkily, her voice a rasp. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”

It was an effort to pull back from her. He counted to three before starting the car.

He was grateful to lose himself in the familiar drive, silently drinking in the beauty of Lake Shore Drive at night. He definitely wasn’t overthinking how their usual taunting banter had progressed into something physical. He may have gotten a little too lost in the drive, going into autopilot as all their teasing touches replayed in his mind, realizing a beat too late he’d missed the exit to Sawyer’s place. “Shit.”

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