Chapter Fifteen

I stared up at the Saturn V rocket suspended above my head, trying to pay attention to the presenter droning on about scrap metal supplements and alternative iron making. Usually this stuff totally geeked me out and I had no problem paying attention, but I had a lot on my mind. Starting first with—was Josephine an adulteress? That was a funny word with a very ugly connotation. Would she cheat on my dad? Did she even love him? I knew she loved his bank account.

Then there was Sawyer. He never showed up for dinner at his dad’s house. He said by the time he was done working he was beat, so he and Shelby grabbed a bite to eat before he went home. How come he had enough energy to eat with Shelby? I guessed it had worked out. It let me get to know Bridget and Warren better and get some of my questions answered. I didn’t like what they had to say, but I figured I wouldn’t. I did like them, though—a lot. I kind of sort of mentioned that to Sawyer on the phone when I called him from the airport to let him know I arrived safely in Huntsville Saturday night. He got quiet, like, the deafening kind. I probably should have waited to have that conversation in person, but he’d brought it up. He said, “I never got to ask you how dinner went on Friday.”

I mean, I didn’t tell him I wanted to kiss Bridget because of her chocolate cake. Or even that when they both hugged me goodbye it felt like when he hugged me. All I said was, “I had a great time. They want us to come over sometime next week when I get back.”

Sawyer suddenly had to get off the phone. He and Kellan were watching the Rockies or something. That was three days ago, and we hadn’t talked since. It was a good thing I hadn’t mentioned I was meeting Bridget at the cute new ice cream shop in Edenvale when I returned.

On top of my Sawyer dilemma, I was struggling with whether or not I should talk to my dad. Would he even listen to me? Or would he chalk it up to me not understanding what marriage was all about? Maybe I didn’t have firsthand knowledge, but I sure knew what a good marriage looked like, and his and Josephine’s didn’t qualify. I was racked with thoughts of what if things didn’t work out between them, which I’m not going to lie, I would be A-okay with that, but would he be upset after the fact that I didn’t tell him what I knew?

This was all giving me a headache. I was glad when the presenter gave his ending spiel about the company he worked for and all the amazing research they could provide, you know, for the right price.

I stood and took a deep breath and let it out.

“That sigh sounds like it has some meaning,” the man next to me said. Of course it was a man. Eighty-five percent of the attendees here were men.

“Scrap metal supplements deserve deep thought.”

The stranger chuckled and stood. “I’m Dustin.” He held out his hand that looked like it had seen some hard work. Veins popped out under his calloused skin. My own hands had looked that way from time to time. It was a byproduct of my profession.

I took Dustin’s hand and shook it. “I’m Emma.”

He let go of my hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Emma. Where are you from?”

“Colorado. How about you?”

“Born and raised here.”

“So, do you work at a local steel plant, or do you just like to crash these kinds of events?”

His grin lit up his pretty blue eyes. I wasn’t sure why I noticed that, but then I noticed he was a handsome guy. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he was well built with a pleasant face. For a second, I almost felt guilty for thinking he was attractive, like I was cheating on Sawyer. Sawyer had consumed so much of my thoughts the last year, I realized I hadn’t really noticed any other men. Don’t get me wrong, this Dustin was no Sawyer, but Sawyer was my friend, end of story. Dustin would probably end up that way too. They all did.

“I work at Ducor.”

“Oh. I signed up to do a tour of your plant tomorrow.”

He leaned in, allowing me to get a whiff of his spicy cologne. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of nice. “Then I will see you tomorrow, Emma from Colorado.”

Was he using a flirty voice there?

“See you then.”

“I look forward to it.” He walked off to join a few other guys, but not before he looked back at me and flashed me a smile.

I looked behind me to see who his pearly whites were directed at. There was no one there. I guess that meant it was me. I smiled back and waved. His smile grew bigger before he turned around. That was weird.

What was weirder was Dustin wasn’t the only man who had given me attention since my arrival at the conference. Maybe I should do my hair more often outside of work and wear something besides old T-shirts. It was really time consuming, though, to do all the girly things like blow drying, curling, makeup, shaving your legs. Though I had to do that last one religiously unless I wanted to look like Bigfoot’s younger half-sister.

I decided to get takeout for dinner from the Brazilian restaurant near my hotel. I would have loved to take advantage of the running trails near my hotel, but holy mother was it freaking hot and humid in Alabama. How people even breathed here I didn’t know. It was like inhaling soup.

I settled onto my bed with a variety of meat, fresh fruit, and a soccer match on the TV. This was the life. Then my life called, I mean Sawyer. Same thing, right? Wrong.

“Hey, what’s up?” I decided to act chipper despite our less than cordial conversation a few days ago. I didn’t think we had gone this long without talking since, well, you know, when the worst thing that had ever happened to me happened, paving the way for all the other crappy things that had followed.

“How are you, Em? I miss you.”

I loved when he said things like that because I used to pretend he meant it in a romantic way, but I had to face reality, like for reals this time. “I’m good. How are you?” You see how I left off how much I seriously missed his face? Baby steps.

“You don’t miss me?”

Dang him.

“Should I?” I teased, trying my best to hold on to my iron will. Make that my paper-thin will, but I was getting credit for trying.

“I know we left things a little weird on Saturday.”

“Did we?”

“Come on, Em. I know I was short with you and I haven’t called, but I have a really good excuse.”

“You know, I haven’t noticed.” I grinned evilly to myself.

“Knife to the heart. I am sorry, for not . . .”

“I know you have a hard time with your dad and Bridget. I get that.”

“Regardless, I shouldn’t let it affect us. But I didn’t call to talk about my,” he cleared his throat, “father.”

“Why did you call?”

“Like I said, I missed you, and I haven’t called because I’ve been under attack, literally.”

“From who?” Please don’t say Shelby.

“It’s not a who—it’s a what.”

I was more than confused. “What are you talking about?”

“My apartment has been infested with bees.”

“Are you serious?”

“Very. There are thousands of them inside the walls. Not only that, but the honeycomb has soaked into the wall causing an ant infestation as well. There are ants everywhere, not to mention I was stung twice while taking a shower.”

I tried to control my laugh. “Should I ask where?”

“Sitting has been a pain. I’ll leave it at that.”

My laugh escaped. “I’m so sorry. What are you going to do?”

“I’ve been staying with Kellan while apartment management tries to get in a beekeeper. They are trying to find a specialist because the infestation is that bad.”

“You need to move.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I’m more than right.”

“They’ve offered to let me move into a different unit, but it’s not available until this weekend.”

“You need to move out of that complex, period.”

“I will when the time is right. For now, I was hoping you might take pity on me and let me crash at your place. Kellan’s place smells like pork rinds and cheap perfume.”

“That’s telling.”

“Yeah, well, his couch isn’t all that comfortable either, and someone I know has a spare bedroom.”

“You want to use me for free room and board now?” I teased.

“Name your price. Please, I’m desperate. Your house smells good and my body is crying for a bed.”

The thought of Sawyer sleeping at my house was making me feel all sorts of things. Like one, why wasn’t I home already? Two, I would be home on Thursday, which meant we would be living together for two or three days. It would be like a dream come true minus we weren’t married and sharing my bed. So basically, it would be like hell because I could look but not touch.

“So,” he interrupted my thoughts, “will you save me?”

Who was going to save my heart from him? “Sure. You have a key—help yourself, but no parties or girls.”

He chuckled.

I wasn’t kidding. He better not bring any women into my house to live out my fantasies with him.

“You drive a tough bargain, but okay. Honestly, thank you. You’re a life saver.”

“You’re welcome. The sheets on the guest bed are clean and there are fresh towels in the linen closet near the upstairs bathroom.”

“You’re the best, Em. How’s your conference going?”

“Good. I attended a really sexy session today about remelt processes and innovations. I know you’re jealous.”

“Very.” He laughed. “I can’t wait to hear all about it when you get home. And,” he paused, “I still want to talk to you.”

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m hoping it will be.”

“You’re worrying me.”

“No need to worry, just promise me you’ll keep Friday night open.”

“Is after soccer practice okay?” We had a game on Saturday and there was no telling what Gwendolyn, the worst assistant coach in the history of any sports team, had been teaching them while I was gone this week. I’d left her instructions, but I knew she wasn’t following them. She was probably stuffing my girls with caviar and Perrier while her boy toy husband rubbed her feet or something.

“That works. I’ll see you when you get home.”

“Hey, don’t touch my real Dr. Pepper if you know what’s good for you.”

“I do know what’s good for me. Good night.”

Strange. I stared at my phone after he hung up. I thought he would laugh and remind me he didn’t drink his calories.

Why did I feel like things were changing for us? I had a feeling, like most of the change in my life lately, it wasn’t the good kind.