Page 41 of Nights at Seaside
Am I falling for him?“Itriedto wait, but…”
“He was too big and strong and enticing?” Jenna suggested as she sat down beside Sky.
“He was too tasty of a morsel?” Amy asked with a wiggle of her brows.
“No, you guys. This is Sky. Our earthy girl. I think it has more to do with who he is as a person than any of those things.” Bella narrowed her eyes. “We know he says really sweet things, so I can only imagine what came out of his mouth when you guys were all hot and heavy.”
Sky rested her head back on the couch and sighed dreamily. “He’s…gosh, you guys. I think romantic things just flow directly from his soul. Bella’s right. It’swhohe is.” She couldn’t suppress her smile. “And all those other things you guys said, too.”
“So why did you have the long face a minute ago?” Amy asked as she sank down beside her on the couch.
“Because I finally meet a guy who isn’t a jerk or dumb as a doorknob, and he’s aboxer. Afighter. He takes pleasure in beating the stuffing out of other people.”
“Five bucks.” Jenna held out her hand to Bella. Bella took it and set it on top of her little baby bump with a sly smile.
“My own sister-in-law bet on me? Did you bet on me having sex or on me freaking out about him being a fighter?”
Jenna pointed at Bella. “She said you wouldn’t sleep with himbecausehe was a boxer, so I said you would because the way he looked at you last night was like you were the only person on the entire beach.”
“And everyone knows we women melt when we’re looked at like that,” Amy added. “She really meant it in the best way.”
“I’m sure she did. You guys, what am I going to do?”
Merlin pawed at Sky’s leg, and she lifted him into her lap. He purred as he settled his chin over her leg and closed his eyes.
Sky sighed and said, “Why can’t he be like Merlin, just—”
“Furry with a motor you can turn on and off?” Bella asked. “That pretty much describes every man I know.”
“Caden isn’t very furry,” Amy said as she rubbed her belly. “He’s got hardly any chest hair at all. Likemyman. The perfect amount of fur and a motor that revs up with a kiss.”
“Okay.” Sky set Merlin on Amy’s lap and rose to her feet. “You guys are totally not helping, and I need to go get some work done at my shop before it gets any later.”
“Wait.” Amy pulled her back down beside her. “You can’t just leave us in limbo like this. So how did you leave things with Mr. A-ma-zing?”
“I don’t know. I told him that I needed to think about everything, and then I kissed him.”
“And now you can’t see straight.” Amy threw her hands around Sky’s neck and hugged her. “It’s okay, Sky. You’re supposed to feel all dizzy and not be able to think straight when you’re falling for a guy.”
“I’mnotfalling.” She pushed to her feet, hating her indecision and annoyed with herself for not thinking through Sawyer’s boxing before she allowed herself to get closer to him. His voice was already ingrained in her mind, his touch still lingered on her skin—and she needed to get the heck out of there before her friends saw it written all over her face.
An hour later Sky was standing on a stool outside her shop, painting a coat of bright yellow on the columns between the windows, when her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and saw her brother Matt’s handsome face. She’d wondered when the news of Sawyer would reach him.
“Hey, Matty,” she said.
“Hi, sis. How’s everything going?” Matt’s tone was patient, whereas her other brothers always seemed in a bit of a rush.
“I’m sure you already know the answer to that.” She smiled when he laughed. “So tell me what you really want to know, and you might as well butter me up with a promise to be at my grand opening.”
“You know I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Sky.”
She saw Matt so rarely that when they spoke it made her miss him even more. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just tell me everything’s cool with you and this boxer guy I’m hearing about. Is he treating you well?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yes, of course.”
“And are you happy?”
