Page 79 of Where the Heart Is

Allison rolled her eyes, but she smiled at her husband. ‘In that case, brother dearest, you owe me a dance.’

Sawyer glanced at her, and Mila nodded. ‘Go ahead.’

Besides, she saw Freddie incoming and wanted to ask him if he’d finished looking over the documentation for the land acquisition.

‘I’m grabbing a beer,’ Mick said. ‘Want anything, Mila?’

‘No thanks. I need to chat with a friend, but I’ll see you guys later?’

‘Sure,’ Allison said, linking arms with Sawyer. ‘Ready to show this town a move or two, little brother?’

Sawyer winced. ‘Be gentle with me.’

Mila laughed. ‘I’ll see you back here when you’re done.’

With one last pleading look in her direction as Allison dragged him towards the dance floor, Sawyer surrendered with a shrug and Mila gave a little finger wave.

‘Back soon,’ Mick said, heading for the bar in the far corner, just as Freddie arrived.

‘You look gorgeous, Mila,’ he said, with a grin. ‘Though you know what they say about purple.’

Yeah, she knew, but with Sawyer around, purple did not equate with sexual frustration. Besides, didn’t Freddie ever give up? She’d made it more than clear they’d never be more than friends—acquaintances, really—but he just didn’t quit.

Ignoring his innuendo, she said, ‘Actually, I was going to call you tomorrow to see if you’re doing due diligence, checking for any loopholes in the acquisition paperwork.’

His eyebrow arched a little. ‘I didn’t think you’d be worried about anything like that, considering who bought the land.’ He pointed at the dance floor. ‘You two seem super cosy.’ He pulled a face. ‘Sawyer’s a lucky bastard.’

Annoyed that he wanted to bring up her relationship with Sawyer rather than discuss business, she said, ‘We’ve been friends a long time. So, from an accounting perspective, the deal looks good?’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Of course it does. As you just said, if you two are such good friends, why would he screw you over?’

Confusion gave way to dread as she realised she’d misinterpreted what Freddie meant when he mentioned the acquisition and her closeness with Sawyer. He hadn’t been talking about two different things.

He’d meant Sawyer had been the one to acquire her land.

Oblivious to her devastation, Freddie continued. ‘I’ve researched the other land-broking deals he’s done and he’s a bigwig in the industry. Highly respected, so you’ve done well. But I guess you already knew that? Though it always pays to research documentation and the financial ramifications thoroughly, friendship or not.’

Mila couldn’t speak, anger tightening her throat.

Sawyer had deceived her.

He’d swept in to save her, even after she’d rejected his initial offer.

She didn’t need a knight in shining armour. She needed a guy to respect her enough to let her make her own decisions, not a guy with a rescue complex.

Heck, for all she knew he’d done this for business and would onsell the land at a profit. Maybe that’s why he’d been cosying up to her from the beginning?

Her stomach churned at the thought and the hot dog she’d consumed earlier threatened to make another appearance.

‘Hey, are you okay?’ Freddie touched her arm, and she jerked back.

‘I think I need to head home,’ she managed to say, averting her gaze from the dance floor so she wouldn’t be tempted to march over there and slug Sawyer in front of everyone. ‘Thanks for checking over the paperwork, Freddie. I’ll be in touch.’

With that, Mila hiked up her dress, and made a run for it.

CHAPTER

48

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