“How did you get past it?
Paige shrugged. “I decided to trust what was in front of me and ignore the stuff from his past. After all, people change. They grow up. I believed with all my heart that he was—we were—worth taking a chance on. And I haven’t looked back. No regrets.” She tilted her head, her expression taking on a dreamy quality. “He’s incredible. He’s … Let’s just say I’m so glad I looked beyond the hype and saw the man. I can’t imagine life without him.”
Paige’s voice cracked on the last words, and Sarah felt a tug on her heartstrings.
When she hung up, her mind was a rolling cement drum, churning a slurry of thoughts … and they weren’t about the blueprints she’d been excited about.
Chapter 22
I’m Not with Stupid
One morning a week later, after Sarah had worked out in the gym with Quinn’s mom and helped her into the hot tub, she thrust a brightly wrapped package at him. “I got you something.”
His breath stuttered for an instant as surprise rocketed through his veins. A gooey feeling followed, settling in his chest as soft and sticky as warmed toffee. “Like, a present? What is it?” He pointed. “Is it going to explode?”
“Guess you’d better open it and find out.” A devilish gleam brightened her hazel eyes, making things in his southern hemisphere perk up like they seemed to whenever he was within eighty feet of her.
He gave her a devilish look of his own and inspected the flat box. It was neatly wrapped with a shiny blue bow. He shook the package next to his ear. “Is it sexy lingerie you’re going to model for me?”
She cinched her arms over her chest. “In your dreams, Sparky.”
Yeah, that scenario’s definitely in my dreams.
Presents weren’t something he was used to getting, and he hated to destroy such a pretty one. “Did you wrap this?”
She nodded.
“Wow. Another talent I didn’t know you had. Wonder what else you can do?” He scanned the package, trying to find the easiest, least destructive way in.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I would.” He was rewarded with the eye-roll he was after, accompanied by a loud snort. Were they doing this? Were they flirting? His hopes found a toehold somewhere above his head and climbed.
Gingerly, he unstuck the tape and was carefully peeling back the paper when she snatched at the gift. “Jeez, you’re slow!”
He yanked it from her grabby fingers. “Hey, hey, hey! This is my present.”
“Then open the da—darn thing!” She rolled her eyes—again. God, she did that a lot, but he had to admit he got a wicked kick out of pushing her buttons, especially when she rewarded him with a quirk of her pretty lips as she was doing now. Yeah, she thought it was funny too.
Slowly, deliberately, he opened the box and pulled out its tissue-wrapped contents. Nestled in the folds was a T-shirt, which he pulled out and held up. On its front were emblazoned the words, “Sorry, Girls, I Only Date Models.”
“Uh … thanks?”
A shit-eating grin split her face. “It’s a good one, huh?”
“You do realize this is for guys who actually don’t date models?” Too late, he realized how arrogant and ridiculous he sounded.
She swung her gaze toward the patio door. “Good. Your mom won’t hear this.” Her gaze swung back to him. “Oh. My. Fucking. God! You are so damn full of yourself!”
Can’t disagree there, but I do date models. Did date models. Wait. Why am I not dating models anymore? COVID-19. But is that the only reason? He stared at her. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Easy. Say, ‘Thank you, Sarah. You’re such a thoughtful person.’” She batted her eyelashes.
“Uh, thank you, Sarah. You’re such a thoughtful person.” He ran his eyes over her face. No malice. No evil lurking in her unmatched, mossy-green eyes. Just something like happiness dancing in them. Because she’d given him a present?
She was proud of this gift, and he was being an asshole. He should be telling her how much he appreciated the trouble she’d gone to, even if he wasn’t psyched about the gift itself.
“You didn’t have to do this, Sunshine.” He wrapped the T-shirt back up in the tissue and crammed it in the box.
Her face fell, disappointment etching her strangely delicate features. Strange because he hadn’t thought them delicate when he’d first met her. Had she always had that soft curve at the base of her neck? The perfectly shaped eyebrows that accentuated her big eyes? Smooth skin that reminded him of fresh cream?
The next words that came out of her mouth nearly undid him. “It was just my way of saying thanks for everything you’ve done. But you don’t like it, do you?”
Smoothing the hair at his nape, he said, “No, I love it. I can’t believe you did this for me. It’s just that …”
“Oh. Is it too small? I got you an extra-large tall.”
He tore his gaze from her. “No, I’m sure it’ll fit. I was just thinking it’d be nice if we could change the word ‘Models.’”
“To what? Porn stars?” she snickered.
He shook his head and looked her straight in the eye. “I was thinking ‘Engineers.’”
“Oh.” Hyperspeed calculations seemed to take place behind her eyes. “Oh!”
For such a badass, she was letting her emotions play all over her face. Maybe because her walls were made of papier mâché—a flimsy facade to disguise the fact that what she hid behind them was, in fact, pretty soft and vulnerable. Right now he could see right through her, though it didn’t help him understand what he was seeing. Was she pleased by what he’d just revealed? Terrified? Disgusted?
Her eyes shuttered. “There’s something I should tell you.” She gusted out a breath. “I’m … I have a date tonight.”
WTF? “Excuse me?”
“I have a date.”
She’s kidding, right? “You said that. When?”
“I said that too. Tonight.”
“With who?” he snapped.
“Whom.”
“Damn it! With whom?” His insides were curling in
