I needed to close this deal, finish my due diligence, go home, move on, and forget about Sawyer.
With a heavy heart, I pulled out my phone and started drafting an email to Sawyer and his uncles, upping the amount of the offer and adding an additional million-dollar bonus if they agreed to the deal by 10:00 a.m. the next morning. I knew Sawyer would be furious and he would try to talk his uncles out of accepting, but I also knew his three uncles could, and likely would, override him.
My thumb hesitated over the Send button as I stared through the window at Sawyer. He would hate me when he found out. I had to accept that. But maybe it would make it easier to say goodbye and move on. Swallowing thickly, I sent the email.
I watched as Sawyer distractedly reached for his phone and frowned.
I didn’t want to see what happened next and turned my back, instead looking out toward the ocean. It was late afternoon, sliding toward evening, and the sun hung low in the sky. Already the few clouds along the horizon had begun to glow a vibrant pink, and a slash of orange lit up the tips of the waves.
The breeze had picked up, bringing with it the scent of salt and sand. A large family posed for sunset pictures on the bluff with a photographer while the same family from yesterday was down on the beach playing, the young kid dangling between his parents, swinging himself high into the air. Closing my eyes, I could just catch the faint sound of his laughter.
I heard the door open behind me, and I braced for Sawyer to come at me for that email. I anticipated anger and shouting. Instead, his arms slipped around me, palms pressing against my chest.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked. His lips were close enough to my ear that I could feel his breath wash against my skin.
I kept my eyes closed, drinking in the feel of him, his warmth seeping into me. I nodded. “It’s perfect.”
“Almost every night of their lives, my grandparents would fix a cocktail and sit out here to watch the sun set together.” I could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke. “When my cousins and I were younger, we’d run around the yard like maniacs, playing tag or chase or whatever game we’d made up that afternoon, and just as the sun almost finished setting, my grandmother would always call for us to stop and come sit by her, and we’d hold our breaths as we watched for the green flash of the sun being swallowed by the sea. She said it was good luck and to make a wish when we saw it.”
There was such nostalgia and love in his voice as he spoke of the past that it was hard to find my own voice. “What did you wish for?”
I felt the press of his chest against my back as he chuckled. “When I was a kid? Candy most likely. Or the ability to stay up late watching whatever I wanted on TV. When I was a teen, it was for Tommy Masters to be my first kiss.”
I reached up and threaded my fingers through his, my hand covering his as it pressed against my breastbone. “And now?”
The sun was sinking lower, already half lost to the horizon. He turned, pressing his lips against my neck, and a shiver broke along my arms. “You know the rules,” he murmured. “If you tell someone your wish, it won’t come true.”
But even as it said it, his fingers pressed harder against my chest, almost clutching me, pulling me tight against him. His hips ground against my ass, the length of him hard and straining. I groaned low in my throat. I started to turn in his arms, needing his mouth against mine, but he held me firmly in place.
“We have to wait for the green flash,” he told me.
So we stood there like that, me almost panting with need and him rubbing his cock against my ass, teasing me. When the sun had almost disappeared, I heard him suck in a breath behind me, and I did the same. We waited, watching, and I just knew that if we saw that green flash everything would be okay. We’d somehow find a way through this together—I’d figure out a way to satisfy Dick Sr.’s business interests without destroying Sawyer’s dreams.
My heart thudded hard against my ribs, my entire body straining, waiting. The last sliver of light lit against the horizon, growing smaller and smaller and smaller until it disappeared.
There was no spark of green.
I let out my breath in a whoosh. I spun toward Sawyer. “Did you see it?” I asked. “Did I miss it?”
He chuckled at the crazy worried face I was probably making. “Don’t worry, there’s always tomorrow night.”
Except there wasn’t. “I won’t be here tomorrow night.”
He frowned. “You won’t?”
I shook my head. “That was Dick Sr. on the phone. He wants me back in the office to start work on another deal.”
The muscles along his jaw clenched as he glanced past me toward the ocean. “More dreams to crush, I guess.”
The comment stung. “Look, Sawyer—” I started, wanting to find a way to explain the earlier email.
He held up a hand, cutting me off. “You know what? Can we not do this? If this is your last night here, I don’t want to spend it arguing about the Sea Sprite or my uncles or any of that. Can we just enjoy it? Agree to disagree for now and go back to being enemies in the morning?”
I raised a hand to cup his face, letting my thumb trail up his cheekbone. “I’m not your enemy, Sawyer.”
He tried a smile, but the edges of it were fragile. “Not for tonight anyway.”
I moved forward, letting my lips brush against his. Not ever, I thought, but I kept the words to myself.
Sawyer melted against me, deepening the kiss. I threaded my fingers through his hair. “Maybe we should find a place less public to continue this conversation,” I growled against his mouth.
“Mmmmm,” he hummed in agreement before wrenching himself back. “Wait,” he panted, practically out of breath. I moved toward him, and he held out a hand to stop me. “I promised Karlie I’d tap the new kegs and help get dinner service started. It will only be a couple of hours, I promise. Then the rest of the night is yours.”
There was no way I could argue with him. I glanced through the windows at the stack of boxes still sitting by the table where we’d been working. Him being gone would give me a chance to finish things up before leaving in the morning. “Fine,” I reluctantly agreed. “But hurry back.”
“Oh, I will,” he said, leaning in for a kiss and reaching a hand around to squeeze my ass in a promise. I stood outside on the patio, watching as he jogged through the lobby, tossing a wave to Ana Lucia, who’d just arrived to take over behind the counter before heading out into the parking lot.
I was about to follow behind when my phone buzzed with a text.
Oscar: OMFG, you got back together with him and didn’t tell me? WTF?
I blinked, having no earthly idea what he was talking about.
James: ???
Oscar: Richard is all over social media right now posting pics of the two of you acting like you’re back together. I thought you were on the Cape?
I frowned. What the hell?
James: I am.
Oscar: Well, are you back together with him or not?
James: Hell no. You know me better than that.
Oscar: True. After you broke up with me I tried for months to get you to take me back but when you’ve made up your mind, there’s no budging you.