Page 57 of The Story of Us
Come on, Rick. Get a clue.
“Don’t you?” Lucy tilted her head, then her expression went from hopeful to disappointed. “Right,” she said, shoulders sagging.
She turned to go, but Rick finally seemed to realize Jamie had sent Lucy to him for a reason.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He ran around to the front of the booth to stop her. “Wait! Yes! Help. Here.”
He handed her a cup of risotto, but instead of passing it on to a customer, she dug in. “So I know what I’m serving.”
Rick just chuckled.
“Mmm.” Lucy pointed with her spoon. “You really do make great risotto.”
Rick shrugged. “I’ve had some practice lately.”
Understatement of the century.
Lucy ate another spoonful. “How long is lately?”
Jamie held her breath and prayed that Rick understood Lucy’s question. She wasn’t actually talking about risotto. She’d been carrying a secret torch for Rick since the day they’d met, and she wanted to know if her feelings had been returned all along.
They had—Jamie knew how much Rick cared about Lucy. All he had to do wastell her.
“August ninth, two years ago,” Rick said in a soft voice—so tender and gentle that Jamie almost didn’t catch his words. Even if she hadn’t, she would have known he’d finally confessed his feelings simply by the look on Lucy’s face. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked like she was on the verge of dropping her risotto.
Rick shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Please tell me Quentin isn’t going to show up any second—”
Lucy cut him off. “He’s not.”
“Why not?” Rick dipped his head to meet her eyes with a questioning gaze.
Lucy swallowed. “Because he’s not mywow.”
Sawyer grabbed Jamie’s hand and squeezed hard. It was happening!
“Kerpow,” Rick said, and when Lucy’s face went blank, he explained. “That’s what I call it. Called it…when I first saw you.”
Lucy stared at him for a long moment. Then she set her empty risotto cup aside, grabbed Rick by the lapels of his coat and hauled him toward her for a kiss.
Ahhhhh!
Jamie’s gaze flew to meet Sawyer’s. They looked at each other for a beat, and then…Jamie wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, but the next thing she knew, she’d thrown herself into his arms. They jumped up and down in silent celebration for Lucy and Rick—at least itstarted outas a celebration. Sawyer spun Jamie around and around, and then…
Well…he didn’t let go. And neither did Jamie. She couldn’t seem to tear herself away from him—the soft wool of his peacoat against her cheek, the comforting strength of his arms, the exquisite beat of his heart as it crashed against hers. It was too much. Too overwhelming. Too…
Wow.
The realization hit her like Cupid’s arrow, straight to her heart. Sawyer was herwow.Andherkerpow. Sawyer was the one. He always had been, and he always would be.
She blinked up at him.Oh, gosh. What did this mean? What was she supposed to do with this information—the wholly inconvenient fact that she just might be in love with Sawyer O’Dell?
He smiled down at her, and she took a tiny backward step out of his embrace. “I need to clear up a few things,” she said.
Sawyer drew in a long breath. “Matt?”
Right. Matt. Jamie needed to be honest with him once and for all, but there was also a more urgent matter at hand.
She nodded. “And the council vote is in a couple of days. And I don’t know what my life is going to look like, and I just don’t know if now is the right time…”
