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Chapter Seven
The conversation came easy when Sawyer picked me up from my home in New Jersey for the short ride to the beach. Being a mom, I was organized for a day at the beach with my multicolored beach umbrella and two matching low deck chairs. My beach bag was ready and waiting to be packed in the trunk and contained two brightly colored beach towels, sunscreen, and two iced bottles of water for hydration.
My heart skipped a beat, my mouth went dry and all my planning went to shit when Sawyer pulled up to my door on his huge, shiny Honda Goldwing motorcycle wearing a baggy black T-shirt, faded ripped jeans and biker boots.
"I know what you're thinking," he said, tugging his helmet off and placing it over the end of the handlebar of the bike. "Trust me, I'm not compensating for anything," he stated, lifting his long muscular leg off the bike and wandering up the path to my front door, holding his arms out. "Tell me you don't have anything against riding on the back of a motorcycle."
For a long minute, I stood frozen, searching for a way out of this, because never in my wildest dreams had I considered he might expect me to get on the back of a motorcycle.
"The look on your face is priceless," he said, chuckling. "I get it, maybe I should have told you I don't have a car. I've never had any real use for one. I prefer this," he advised, gesturing toward his powerful ride. "It fits in the gig truck with everything else when I go on tour."
Thankfully he hadn't seen the pile of beach equipment I had prepared and stowed in the garage, and I felt my cheeks redden at the thought I'd done all that without thinking. Then I figured going with the flow, like Sawyer wanted me to, wasn't going to be as easy for me as he'd thought.
"Sorry. Where are my manners? You look absolutely stunning." His eyes roamed appreciatively over my tight fitting burgundy top and white fitted capris I'd thrown over my bikini, stopping at the sparkly cherry and white flip-flops on my feet.
Stepping forward, he slipped his hand around my waist and unexpectedly took my lips in a slow and tender kiss. An instant thrill of electricity flowed through my body at how confident he was.
I could tell he was on the verge of losing control and kissing me deeper when he suddenly tore his lips away and stepped back, growling and putting some much-needed space between us. For a small kiss that had only lasted several seconds, it had still stolen my breath and flooded my senses with pangs of desire.
"Wow," he said, huskily. I noted his hazel eyes had turned heated, like melted honey and this gave me a spark of confidence. "I figured I'd get that one out of the way, since I deliberately didn't kiss you last night. My instincts told me if I had, you'd have found a reason not to come out with me today. Now you won't need to sit there distracted and wondering when I'm going to kiss you."
I had to smile because he had great insight. If he had kissed me then I'd probably have done just that. I must have looked hot and flustered, still reeling from the unexpected move he'd made because he pulled me into his chest. "Relax, Billie. Today is gonna be fun, I promise."
"Morning, Billie," Gillian Dobson called out loudly from across the street, and my body immediately steeled at the sound of the shrill tone in her voice.
Pushing Sawyer away, I tried my hardest to look as if what she'd seen was an innocent embrace, but he’d anticipated my move and slid his hand around my waist determinedly, and pulled me into his side.
"Oh, hey, Gillian," I said, my voice shaking slightly as my whole body vibrated with nerves from Sawyer being close to me and the way she stalked toward me.
"Oh my, and you are?" she asked, her greedy eyes scanning Sawyer from head to toe, widening with every new feature of his gorgeous physique she took in. Desire flitted through her expression, and I knew how she felt because I'd had the same feelings the first time I'd seen him.
"Sawyer Wild," he offered, sticking one hand out to greet her.
"Nice to meet you, Sawyer," she said batting her eyelashes at him. I couldn't help but notice how clumped her mascara was. I smirked. "I like to keep an eye out for my friends, especially when they're having their lips sucked off the way you were a few minutes ago, Billie Drummond." Crap.
"Collier," I corrected her, "my name is Billie Collier now."
"No cause for alarm, ma'am, Billie and I go way back. Now if you'll excuse us, my time with this beauty is far too limited and we've got somewhere else to be."
For a moment I felt a tad overwhelmed at how he'd taken control of the situation with Gillian, but when he turned his attention back toward me and dismissed her. However, I had been thankful he'd shut the conversation down between us all.
"We better get moving or we'll be late, Billie," he said. "Are you grabbing a purse or are you ready to go like this?"
I was almost too scared to go inside to pick it up. I didn't want to leave Sawyer alone with Gillian; I knew how nosey she could be. Plus, I was concerned about what Sawyer would say. Gillian and her husband, Mark, had been friends with Logan and me before he left, but since then I'd hardly seen them around.
When I looked at Sawyer, he winked at me, and for some weird reason, I felt centered and not at all worried about collecting my purse.
Leaving them in my driveway, I went back inside, checked that my patio doors were locked, grabbed my keys from the console table in my hallway. Setting the alarm, I stepped out of my house, closed and locked the door, and rejoined them at the precise moment Sawyer was finishing the same made-up story he'd told Logan on the day that we met.
"Ready, gorgeous?" he asked, reaching out and resting his hands on my hips. "If we set off now, we'll catch the tide." Letting his hand slide from my hip, he grabbed my wrist and took my small purse off me and led me slowly toward his ride. "Nice meeting you, Gillian," he called over his shoulder.
My heart swelled at how smug I felt with how attentive he behaved toward me, and how dismissive he was of Gill. A smile spread on my lips when I thought of how pissed he'd likely have made her since I knew how much she loved being the center of attention all the time.
As he helped me climb onto his bike, I mumbled, "Thanks for that." He stopped what he was doing and looked into my eyes, his bright ones filled with amusement and staring intently.
"For which part? The off the charts kiss or getting rid of your nosey bitch neighbor?"
"Bitch?" I asked.
