Sawyer decided that texting would be far more effective than calling. Besides, chances were good Clementine had her phone on silent, not wanting anything to disrupt whatever heart-to-heart she might be having with the princess while trying to talk her off the ledge. He hoped that maybe she was giving her a good chewing out, but he figured in reality, no one reprimands a princess, except maybe a queen. Must be why they get so darned spoiled. And sassy. Damn, her, she had a hell of a mouth on her. Sawyer was almost turned on, listening to her turn downright tornadic with rage. He was like some Pavlovian dog: once he got a taste of that churning energy, he wanted more.
Hey, Clem, it’s me, Sawyer. Look, I know things looked pretty sketchy tonight with me being with Amelie. But I need you to help me out here. Trust me, you can even ask Gabriella, I was only doing her a favor by going out with her friend. I had no idea who she even was. I was just trying to have dinner and capitulating to my friend’s request.
When I found out who she was, the first thing I thought was what a great idea it would be for her to meet Isabella and apologize to her. That’s just what I was about to suggest when Isabella launched into that tirade.
Please—I really need to talk to her. Help me out, would you?
~*~
They’d just started watching the movie and were awaiting their pizza delivery when Clementine’s phone dinged with an incoming text message.
Isabella didn’t even bother to ask her about it; she was so tired out from the emotional exertion of the past couple of hours, she instead curled up on the sofa and settled into the movie. She’d borrowed a silk camisole nightgown from Clementine and was totally engrossed in the film, oblivious to anything else. She didn’t even notice when the pizza arrived.
~*~
Sawyer heard the text message as he was getting into his car.
Hey, Sawyer. Normally, I’d try to stay far away from this mess, but I’m a little worried about Isabella. She is so even-tempered and just normally such a chill person, I don’t even recognize the woman who went so apeshit on you tonight. I’m sure I’m going to tick her off, no doubt, by meddling, but hopefully, she’ll get over it. Sometime this century. Now, here’s the deal: we’re at my place, watching a movie. I’m going to leave the front door unlocked. We’ll be in the study. Please, be super quiet coming into the house. When I know you’re here, I’m going to just get up as if I’m going to get something in the kitchen, then you’ll come in and replace me. She’s so tuned out right now she might not even notice the difference LOL. The beauty of this plan is this: Isabella has to be quiet or else she’ll wake my mum, and she knows better than to do that. The last thing she wants is my mum chiming in on her relationship woes, especially because she knows my mum will then tell hers. So after I slip out, it’s up to you to ply her with your charm and apologies, even if you didn’t do anything wrong. Good luck!
Hallelujah, he thought as he entered her address into his GPS. There is hope.
~*~
Sawyer was so paranoid Isabella would discover him and kick him out, he even turned off his headlights as he drove down the long, dark driveway of Clementine’s family estate. He then parked behind the barn, far from the manor home, in order to avoid being heard shutting the car door. He quietly crept up the front stairs and opened the door like a cat burglar, desperate not to make the slightest sound. Once inside, he slipped his shoes off, carrying them in his hand as he negotiated his way down the hallway. When he got to the study, he gave a nod to Clementine, who slipped out while Isabella was engrossed in the movie, oblivious to anything going on around her. She didn’t even turn when Clementine closed the door behind her on the way out.
The timing was impeccable. In the movie, Jack and Rose would soon be steaming up the windows of the car in the cargo hold just as Sawyer slipped behind Isabella and put his hand over her mouth, whispering in her ear, “It’s me, Sawyer. Don’t make a noise or you’ll wake Clementine’s mother up. I’m here to clear the air, Princess. I don’t want you thinking I’m a bad person because I’m not.”
Isabella didn’t yell, but she did bite down on his finger, which almost made Sawyer scream out in pain.
“What did you do that for?” he said, shaking his hand against the sting of the bite.
“You know why,” she said in a hiss, glaring at him.
“Princess, you’ve got it all wrong,” he said, stroking his hand through her hair from behind as he tried to pull her closer to him. She was like a wild horse that needed to be gentled.
“Damn, that hurt,” he said, licking his finger where she’d broken the skin. “Isabella. I shouldn’t have to remind you that you’re the one who left me holding the bag. Remember? We spent the whole night together, we had the most amazing time, and then the minute I fell asleep, you turned into a pumpkin or something. Only you didn’t even leave a glass slipper behind... just the memories.”
“It wasn’t the minute you fell asleep,” she mumbled.
“Well, close enough. All I know is I fell asleep the most satisfied I think I’ve ever been, and I woke up abandoned and alone. A lot of good that does a man’s ego, you know.”
“Sor-ry,” she said, pouting with emphasis. “I just couldn’t deal with it all. It was a mistake and I had to go.”
“So you’re telling me all the intimate things we said and did with one another that night, that was all a mistake?”
Isabella paused, leaving the two of them staring at the large screen with Jack and Rose caught up in the aftermath of their steamy encounter, Rose’s hand streaking the fogged-up window.
Slowly, Sawyer pulled Isabella onto his lap, and his hands slipped beneath her camisole nightgown and settled on her breasts.
“Princess, I’m all about more of this,” he said, kneading her breasts as their breathing became more labored. “I don’t know why you don’t want to play with me. We had so much fun before.”
“You went on a date with her,” Isabella said, her voice cracking slightly. “How could you?”
“I promise you, I didn’t know who she was, baby,” he said, his mouth reaching for her neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses. “But the thing is, first off, you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me. Besides, I was just doing this as a favor for Gab. And when I found out who Amelie was, she and I talked about everything—”
“I don’t want to know about her. She’s probably someone who goes around stealing people’s puppies for animal research. And you shouldn’t have talked to her.”
“Bella, by the time I knew who she was, we’d already been talking,” he said. Not exactly for hours or anything, but she didn’t need to know that. “It was the polite thing to do. What she did more than a decade ago surely shouldn’t follow her around for the rest of her life.”
“What she did to me has stayed with me.” Bella started to cry a little bit. He could feel her soft sobs against his chest.
“My sweet princess,” he said, scratching her scalp gently with his fingertips. “Look at you. You are this beautiful, bright, much-loved woman of the world. You don’t have to let something that happened to you a lifetime ago define you.”
“Yeah, but she’s mean.”
“She was mean,” he said. “But she’s a different person now. I promise you, I wouldn’t lie to you about this.” He shifted her so that she was sideways on his lap, and he used his fingertips to pull her chin toward him. “Isabella, may I kiss you?”
She looked at him, her blue eyes boring into his. She looked confused. “I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head.
“Then why don’t I help you make up your mind?”