Page 91 of Infatuated as They Come
I laughed, fidgeting a little in his arms. “Stop trying to scare me.”
“I’m just kidding.” His nose nuzzled into my neck before he sighed. “I missed this. Having you close, having you right next to me. Justseeingyou. I think about you all damn day at work. Your face is the only thing getting me through a shift. I missed you so much it hurt…”
“You deserve this. Not just so we could spend time together, but so you could have a few days to yourself. You deserve a break. I hope you’ve been enjoying it as much as me.”
“I am, baby. So, so much. Thank you for this and the truck and for thinking of me and doing something so nice. I’ve never had anyone put this much effort into me. But you always think about me,” he said, holding me a little tighter, “you always know exactly what I need.”
I hummed. “I really liked seeing you paint the last few days. You look so relaxed when you do it. It’s nice seeing you like that. I really love the one you did of the mountains. And the lake—that one’s so pretty. It’s my favorite one, I think.”
“I like the ones I did of you,” he said.
“You have to stop painting me,” I said with a soft laugh. “Such a bad habit.”
“I can’t stop.”
“You need to. I told you: no one wants to buy paintings of me.”
“Those are for me. Those are an excuse so I get to stare at you for hours straight. So I can stare at those pretty eyes.” He kissed at my neck, the feeling soft and gentle and lingering. “And that gorgeous smile.” He kissed me again. “And those soft, perfect lips…”
My cheeks burned. “You doallof that hard work just so you can stare at me, hm?”
“Told you I can’t stop,” he murmured. “But I’m so happy we got to spend so much time together. Just you and me.”
“And the ghost.”
He chuckled. “And the ghost.”
“You worry about me way too much. About things you don’t have to worry about.”
“I don’t mind worrying about you. It’s my job to do that.”
“And you’re really good at it. But… All you do is work, work, work. You don’ttake time out for yourself. I just wish you’d just take it easy and think about yourself for a change. I’m not asking you to quit, I’m just asking you to consider maybe… not working as much. I know you’re worried about rent and everything else. There’s a million things to pay for, but I can handle that stuff.”
“I know you can, but… You know, I’m taking this all one day at a time. I’m trying to save and make sure I always have enough for you. And I know you’ve got a bank account with more money than I’ll ever see in my life, but I want you to know that you can rely on me, that I can take care of you, that if you ever need help with anything at all that I’m here for you.”
“I already know that, Sawyer.”
There was a long pause. All I could feel was the gentle fall and rise of Sawyer’s chest, his fingers still tracing those little circles against my stomach.
“I know you want the fairytale,” he said, breaking the silence.
“You might be interpreting my idea of fairytale differently.”
“What’s your version?”
I hesitated. “It’s gonna sound silly.”
“Tell me. I wanna know.”
“You’re gonna laugh.”
“Promise I won’t.”
“You’re gonna think it’s dumb.”
“Do you wanna live in a mansion in Beverly Hills or something? And then you have three obnoxious rich kids who go to a fancy private school and push the maid down the stairs for fun?”
“What kind of nightmare children do you think I’d bring into this world?” I giggled at the image. “That’s the complete opposite of what I want.”
