Chapter Twenty-Four

Pulling into the long driveway that led up to Liam Cruz’s house, Sawyer felt more like a teenager meeting parents than he did a guest. He’d been to Cruz’s place several times, including after he and Isla moved in together. He’d never come just to talk to Isla, though. That was new.

Parking in front of the house, he grabbed his wallet and phone, shoving them in his pockets as he walked to the door. He knocked and waited. The house was gorgeous without being pretentious. It was a hell of a lot classier than Sawyer’s place but then, Liam had grown up in a pretty two-story home with a family much like Addie’s. Sawyer was so grateful to be able to make his own way, he didn’t care about fancy. Still, he thought his rancher suited his style the way Cruz’s did him.

The carved front door swung open, and Isla stood in a pair of yoga pants and an oversize Slammers hoodie. She looked too young to own a baseball team. And be his boss.

“Hey. Come on in.”

She closed the door behind him. Sawyer removed his shoes and hung his jacket on the coat tree by the door. Something smelled delicious. His stomach growled in response.

Isla grinned. “Don’t worry, I didn’t cook. Liam made coffee cake. Want some?”

“I’m not going to turn that down,” he said, wondering if Liam was joining them. Hopefully not. He’d already gotten enough of Cruz’s big brother glare, and they’d hardly hung out as couples.

The kitchen was open and spacious. Gleaming countertops and windows that looked out onto an expansive lawn made it brighter.

“Want a drink?”

“I’ll take some water, but really, I just wanted some insight into Addie so I could plan something special for her. You don’t have to cater to me.”

Isla stopped by the fridge and turned to face him. “Offering company food and a cold drink isn’t exactly catering. Wow. I thought you all-stars were used to the royal treatment.”

Sawyer laughed and took a seat at the island countertop. “Hardly. You know you own a team that’s been at the bottom for years, right? It’s a dream to play in the major leagues, but we’re not exactly used to having riches and freebies thrown our way. Liam’s probably a bit of a diva just because he came back from L.A.”

Isla’s laugh was easy and genuine. He could see, outside of the fact that she was a gazillionaire, why she and Addie were friends. She grabbed them both waters as she chatted about the team and what she hoped to do to help improve their standing.

He bit into the piece of cake she’d cut him. “Damn, this is good. Cruz could make a living.”

“His job is fairly secure.” She took a large bite of her own and sighed in pleasure before pointing her fork at him. “So. My bestie. What are your intentions, McBain?”

He had to laugh at the tough line coming from the small, feisty woman. He hadn’t thought much about his single friends settling down. Some of his pals were married, but Sawyer mostly saw them with just the guys. He could see, though, being with Isla, that she’d been easy to hang out with. Laugh with. And the thought of doing that as one half of a couple with Addison made him want to know her better.

“My intentions are to show her how special she is. I’ve got some basics. I know her favorite foods, her love of Netflix and yoga pants, her penchant to doodle when she’s thinking, and her serious affection for shoes and purses.”

Isla smiled at him. “She does have some beauties. But you don’t want a gift, right?”

“I’m not opposed to getting her something. I just wanted to do something that would…” He stopped, glanced down at the counter. Running a hand through his hair, he took a deep breath and met Isla’s curious gaze. “Listen. I like her. I want to plan a special evening for her. I don’t really want to talk it to death, but I want her to know she matters.”

Sliding off the stool, Isla patted his shoulder. “I don’t think you need me. You already have the right reasons, and whatever you do will be special because she’ll know you wanted it to be.”

“Seriously? That’s it? Is this some sort of girl code? A test?” He was only half joking. He picked up their empty plates and handed them to Isla at the dishwasher.

“No. I just don’t think you need any guidance. You know your girl. She spends all her time thinking about others. The fact that you’re doing something to show her you care will be enough no matter what it is.”

“Guys need more guidance than that, baby,” Liam said, walking into the kitchen from the other side. Cruz had a full workout room downstairs and clearly, he’d been using it.

“Maybe you did. I’m fine,” Sawyer said, more just to give his buddy a hard time than because he meant it.

“Yeah? Is that why you’re in my kitchen eating my coffee cake and grilling my fiancée?”

“The cake was awesome, man. You’re going to make a great wife.”

They both laughed, and Isla rolled her eyes. “Okay. I’ll tell you this…she spends a lot of time indoors because she’s a workaholic, but she loves being outdoors. It’s not the best weather for that, but if you can find a way to incorporate a view of the water and some stargazing? She’ll be happy.”

Liam cut himself a chunk of the coffee cake. “You and Addie just casual or does the fact that you’re here mean it’s more?”

Sawyer leaned on the countertop and crossed his arms over his chest. “I get it, man. She matters to you. But stop big-brothering me.” He said it, but only part of him meant it. He appreciated Liam’s friendship and the fact that he could have Sawyer’s back and look after Addie.

Liam put his knife in the dishwasher, and Sawyer could see he was choosing his words carefully. He glanced at Isla, the affection in his gaze filling the room with unchecked emotion. Did Sawyer look at Addie like that? Was he that far gone?

Did he want to be?

“Addie’s got an innocence to her,” Liam said.

“What does that mean?” Isla asked, breaking off a piece of Cruz’s cake.

“It means she’s…gentle. On the inside. You,” he said, looking at Isla, “you’re a fighter because your dad and brother are jerks and to get anywhere, you had to prove yourself. You’re sweet like Addie, but you’ve got an edge, and that’s why you’re successful in business.”

Liam wasn’t wrong, but still, Sawyer mentioned, “Addie’s doing pretty well in business.”

His friend nodded. “Yeah. She is. She’s excellent at what she does. But she isn’t cutthroat. She doesn’t have an edge.”

“Hey,” Isla said, putting her hands on her hips.

Liam grinned at her and tapped her nose with his fingertip. “Baby. You know I love you. Everything about you. Tell me you’d send Addison into the boardroom with your father.”

Isla cringed. “Oh. No. I wouldn’t do that. It’d be like sending a teddy bear into battle with a grizzly.”

Sawyer couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay. I get it. I’m not looking to break her heart.” Or have his own damaged. “Thanks for the intel and for watching out for her. You can trust me to do that now, yeah?”

They both nodded, yet Sawyer couldn’t help but feel Liam was withholding judgment for now. Fair enough. It wasn’t like Sawyer had the greatest track record publicly or privately where relationships were concerned. But Addie was different. In every single way.

…

“Where are we going?” Addie asked for the third time since he’d picked her up.

Sawyer reached for her hand and held it across the console. “You know what a surprise is, right? It’s where one person doesn’t know what’s going to happen until the other person is ready to tell them?”

Squeezing his hand, she laughed. “Yeah. I’m familiar with the process. I love planning them but get antsy when they’re aimed my way.”

“How often do you get surprised?”

“Uh…not all that often, actually. My parents’ visit was a surprise. They think you’re wonderful, by the way. I’m not sure who seemed more enamored, my mom or my dad.”

He turned off the freeway at their exit. “It can be a tie as long as you are as well.”

He felt her gaze on him, and his body lit up with awareness. The quiet hummed between them, electric.

“You know I am, right? Against my better judgment?”

With a rough laugh, he pulled to a stop at the traffic light. “Uh, thanks?”

Addie traced over the back of his hand, like she was memorizing it, with one finger. “I’ve been in a couple of relationships and I’ve dated, but I’ve always stopped short of being all the way in.”

It was a sentiment he definitely understood, but coming from her, it surprised him. “Why? You give one hundred and fifty percent to everything you do in life. Why would you stop short when it comes to being with someone?”

Since it led her to you, maybe you shouldn’t be asking.

The light turned and Sawyer accelerated, looking for the street that would take them up into the hills. She was quiet for a few moments, but after he’d taken a right, she sighed.

“I think that’s exactly why. There’s never been a guy I was ready to give that much to. I’m not saying that to scare you or whatever—”

He huffed out a laugh. “You haven’t met my family yet. I won’t be the one wanting to run.”

“They can’t be as bad as you’re making them out to be. But, really, I’ve never met anyone who pulled my focus from the other things in my life that took precedence. That probably wasn’t fair of me.”

Sawyer turned his hand, linked their fingers. “Their loss, my gain.”

She didn’t ask where they were going as the space between the houses lengthened. The incline steepened as the road grew curvy. Addie all but bubbled with energy beside him.

“You’re going to combust,” he said, laughing.

“What? I’m totally chill.”

He’d laughed more with her than any other woman he’d known. “Yeah, babe. You’re completely chill.”

When they reached the end of the drive, the road plateaued into an expanse of landscaped yard with a gorgeous plantation-style home resting against the bluff. It overlooked the Belle Meade area of Nashville and with the heated glass terrace, they’d have a great view of the stars. Turning off the truck, he shifted in his seat and was more than a little thrilled to see Addie’s jaw had dropped open.

“Whose house is this?”

“It’s a friend of a friend of a friend’s. I thought of taking you somewhere else; there’s a few restaurants that people rave about and are hard to get into and all that,” he said, thinking of the list his mother gave him for possible dinner venues. “But I selfishly wanted you all to myself.”

The moonlight washed over her features in the cab of the truck so he saw the sheen of tears. When he reached out to stroke her cheek, she covered his hand with hers and leaned into it before pressing her lips into his palm. The simple touch, that gentle gesture, undid him in a way he knew no other woman ever could. He wanted that sweetness in his life.

“When I said I hadn’t met anyone worth the one hundred and fifty percent? I was about to say, until you. But really, you’re worth double that. Thank you for tonight.”

An unfamiliar lump of emotion lodged in his throat, but he smiled and tried to lighten the moment. “Thanking me before we even start? Totally Pretty Woman.”

Addison’s laughter washed over him, and he fell a little harder for her right there in the driveway of someone else’s home.

When they got out and walked hand in hand toward the elaborate pillared porch, she bumped him with her hip. “I think you may have watched that movie far more than you’ll admit to.”

At the door, he stopped before putting the key in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ll admit to nothing.”

They took their time walking through the house. It was stunning and almost surreal in its grandeur. Seemingly endless ceilings and two spiral staircases, a kitchen that would house his entire rancher, and the kind of art on the walls that most people only saw inside museums.

They made their way out to the terrace. A long, ornate table took center stage, twelve chairs around it. Two place settings were at one end with taper candles flickering between them. The room was enclosed in glass, allowing them to look out at the city below and the stars above. While Addie stared out at the lights, Sawyer connected his phone to the Bluetooth and shuffled the playlist he’d made for tonight.

Addie turned when the music started. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a romantic.”

They met in the middle and he pulled her into his arms, gave her the truth. “I’ve never wanted to be. Until you.”

Addison went up on her toes, pressing her body into and up his torso as she initiated a kiss that pushed away the rest of the world. It was easy—too easy—to let the music and feelings surround them.

“This is incredible, Sawyer. Thank you.”

Smiling against her hair when she lowered her head to his chest, he felt her sigh. “No problem. When we’re ready, dinner is warming in the oven.”

Addison arched back, her hands coming down from around his neck and moving over his chest, along the buttons of his striped dress shirt.

“Hmm. That sounds perfect.”

With her looking at him like that, he could think of other things he’d rather have than dinner, but tonight was about Addie.

And Sawyer realized he was a lucky, lucky man when her fingers stopped at the first closed button, opening it before moving to the next. And the next. She pressed her mouth to his chest and he couldn’t stop the tremor that racked him.

“We’ll be hungry,” she whispered, looking up at him. “After.”