As I climb under the covers, I peek across the room. His back is facing me now and I wince at the position Sawyer is curled up in as he tries to fit his large frame on the miniature couch. Sighing, I glance to the other side of the bed before turning back to him.
“Sawyer?”
He glances over his shoulder at me.
“You look miserable over there.”
Scoffing, he turns to face me. “You saying that just to rub it in how much this is going to suck for me.”
“No.” I giggle, shaking my head and he cracks a hint of a smile. “Come sleep on the other side of the bed.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod. “You stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine. We’re both adults. I think we can handle it.”
“Only if you’re sure…”
“I am,” I answer and he releases a breath as he tries to roll off the couch but ends up falling to the floor with a loud thunk and a grunt.
“Thank fucking God.”
I laugh as I watch him lumber to his feet and round the bed. As he climbs under the covers, I turn away from him and curl up on my side. He flips the lights by the bed off and when he’s settled, I look up at the ceiling and mentally try to tell the butterflies in my stomach to shut the hell up.
“Goodnight, Juliette,” he whispers and my heart skips a beat.
“Goodnight, Sawyer.”
Chapter Nine
Juliette
A horn blares through the room, piercing the morning stillness and jerking me from the first night of restful sleep I’ve had since waking up in the hospital a week ago. My mind screams in protest, trying desperately to pull me back into peaceful dreams and I’m just so damn warm and cozy that I might give in. Humming at the comfort surrounding me, I snuggle into my pillow and throw my arm over my ear to block out the noise but it’s persistent, demanding I heed its call.
“No,” I moan, trying to fall so far into the bed that I disappear. “Make it stop.”
Something between a groan and a hum greets me in return and my pillow, or what I thought was my pillow, moves underneath me. I jerk up in bed, blinking to clear the sleep from my eyes as I glance down at the bed. Sawyer cracks his eyes open and our gazes meet. My lips part as I suck in a breath, the situation crashing down on me as a blush creeps up my cheeks.
Oh my God…
“So much for you staying on your side of the bed, darlin’,” he quips as a sly grin stretches across his face and he reaches over to the nightstand to grab his phone and turn off his alarm. Silence descends on the room and I groan again as I drop my face into my hands. I’m going to die of embarrassment. His soft chuckle pierces through my imminent demise and I move my fingers to peek out at him. My cheek is still warm from where it was pressed against his chest and my fingertip traces over the indentations left from his shirt.
“I’m sorry,” I squeak and he laughs again. The sound is rich and warm. It’s the kind of laugh that immediately puts you at ease and makes you yearn for more, the kind of laugh that will have me doing all sorts of stupid things just to hear it again. With a sigh, I drop my hands into my lap and stare at him, unable to look away as he throws one hand behind his head and lays the other over his taut stomach. Even through his wife beater, I can see the definition of his muscles and my mouth waters.
“Hell, I’m not,” he replies, looking up at me with a shit eating grin. “Been a long time since I woke up with a gorgeous woman in my arms so I’m certainly not going to complain.”
My lips part as I suck in a breath. “You think I’m gorgeous?”
“I do have two functioning eyes and twenty-twenty vision so…yeah.”
“Oh,” I whisper as I drop my gaze to the comforter. My heart races out of control in my chest and my cheeks burn. If it really was five years ago and a man like Sawyer told me I was gorgeous, I would have flirted with him without a second thought but now… I have no idea what to do or who to be.
“What? No compliments for me?” he asks, moving the hand on his stomach to cover his heart. “I’m hurt. Is it my hair? Does it look like shit in the mornings?”
He ruffles a hand through his hair before trying to comb it all over to one side and I laugh despite the butterflies trying to escape from my belly. Pushing it all down, I summon a little piece of that girl I was five years ago and give him a little shove before turning to swing my legs over the edge of the bed.
“You’re all right, I suppose,” I fire back, peeking back at him as I fight a smile. “But I need to go get ready.”
He laughs. “Yeah, all right. I’ll load up the truck while you’re getting ready and we’ll hit that diner before we take off.”
I nod and push off the bed before grabbing my bag and slipping into the bathroom. When the door is locked, I turn to the mirror and stare at my reflection again as my heart rate slows to a normal level and my cheeks go back to their usual tan color. Good Lord, what is going on with me? I’ve never felt anything like this in my life and I can’t decide what is real and what is just a result of this crazy situation I’m in.
“Be rational, Jules,” I whisper to myself as I shake my head. I met the man a total of seven hours ago and most of that time was spent asleep so there is absolutely no way in hell that I actually feel anything for him. Do I think he’s cute? Hot, even? Absolutely and I do think he is kind for agreeing to this plan in the first place but that’s it. Except I don’t know if that’s true…
There is this nagging feeling that I’m finding harder and harder to ignore telling me that this time is different. But then again, I can’t remember the past five years of my life so what the hell do I know? Sighing, I drop my head for a second before meeting my gaze again. I can’t keep doing this. If this whole thing is going to work, if I’m going to get the answers I so desperately need, I have to follow my heart and just do what feels right. Even if that means flirting with a man I just met. I can’t fight it anymore and I have faith that someone out there has a plan for me, that all of this is happening for a reason.
Confident in my conclusion, I nod to my reflection and turn to my bag before opening it and pulling out a pair of dark jeans and a casual t-shirt. It’s cute but perfect for sitting in a truck all day long as we make the drive back to Baton Rouge. Once I’m dressed, I fix my hair into a cute messy bun and throw on some mascara and lip gloss. Satisfied with my look, I pack everything back into my bag before stepping out into the room again. Sawyer is sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at his phone and he glances up.
“Ready to go?”
My stomach growls as if on cue and I laugh as I nod. “I think that’s a yes.”
“Let me take your bag,” he says, reaching for the duffle in my hand and I pass it to him. As we head for the door, I feel his hand at the base of my spine, gently guiding me out of the room and for some reason, it makes me feel so safe. He’s literally got my back and I feel like nothing bad will happen to me as long as he’s around. Well, hell… I guess Mercedes might have been onto something when she called the club. When we get to the truck, he opens my door for me and I flash him a smile as I climb inside.