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As quickly as she'd invaded our conversation, Charlotte spun on her heels and left. The door she'd entered and left through closed with a bang. Sawyer shook his head. "Fuck, I'm sorry about that," he said and kissed my forehead.
"What was that?" I asked, my heart torn, not sure what I'd witnessed. "Do you still love her?" Panic rose from within and I held my breath. I wasn't a fool—there had been an oppressive vibe when they looked at one another.
"Do you still love Logan?" he shot back. His response shocked me because I'd expected a no. I stood toying with the food on my plate unsure of his answer and my heart sank a little.
"Yes, I do. Despite everything he put me through, a part of me still does, but how I feel about him is different now. I don't admire him or respect him in the same way anymore." I glanced down at my plate and forced myself to eat the last of the coleslaw with my fork.
"And there's my answer to your question," he replied, his face deadpan. I temporarily froze as a mixture of fear, insecurity, and jealousy ripped through me with his admission. My thoughts flew between wondering how he could talk about marrying me if he still had feelings for someone else. I knew I wasn't in love with Logan, and since Sawyer's answer had sounded clipped I wasn't sure exactly what he meant.
"I can see I've upset you," he said, wandering over to a small table and set his plate down on it. "Come here," he demanded, gazing down at me with concern in his eyes as his strong arm slid around my shoulder. I was shocked at how quickly my heart had gone from whole to fractured in minutes, and it unsettled me. "Like you and Logan, Charlotte and I have a long history, and my ending with her was abrupt."
"Are you saying you still need closure?"
"Not really. What I'm trying to say is Charlotte and I had been friends for most of my life before we had gotten together. In addition to being hurt and furious at what they'd done, their betrayal left me with a large void in my day-to-day life. Plus, there was the complication of the man she betrayed me with. James told me he was drunk and it should never have happened, and she told everyone James had worn her down by relentlessly pursuing her. I get that she was lonely when I was away, but so was I, but I'd stayed faithful to her. The fact it was with my brother? That was the ultimate infidelity—I've never gotten over that."
"I don't know what to say."
"There's nothing to say. It's over and I'd go through that again knowing you were on the other side." His answer only made me feel marginally better because, from the way Charlotte had felt confident to challenge us, I knew she'd continue to test what we had in the future. I didn't miss the hateful look in her eyes when Tammy and Caitlin glanced over at her. Changing the subject, Sawyer placed his hand on my lower back and kissed my temple.
"Come on, forget them. There are more people I want you to meet." He led me into another smaller room where his parents and some of the older family members were gathered, and a very pretty girl a year or two older than Sawyer broke away from the small crowd. Sawyer's smile beamed with delight.
"Don't tell me. Let me guess—this is the woman you won't shut up about?" Another young woman with a face resembling Tammy's smiled up at Sawyer with curious eyes. I knew instantly by the affectionate way he looked back at her it was his youngest sister, Lorna. "Go on then, introduce us," she prompted, elbowing Sawyer in his side.
Breaking away from me, he took my empty plate and placed it on top of his on the table. "Lorna, this is Billie, the woman who's stolen my heart," he told her dramatically. I grinned at the theatrics of his introduction, shook my head, and held my hand out. Lorna ignored it and, like their mom, pulled me in for a hug instead.
"It's great to finally meet you. This boy hasn't shut up about you since the moment he met you." This time there wasn't a hint of embarrassment in Sawyer about his sister's disclosure.
"True. But now you see why, right?" Lorna stood staring almost too long before the smile on her lips widened.
"I love how happy you are," she said, at last, wrapping her arms around his neck and pecking him on the cheek. "Welcome to the family, Billie," she stated like it was the most natural thing in the world. Breaking away from Sawyer she hugged me again, stepped back and held me by my elbows. "My brother is smitten," she told me. I noted it was the same word Tammy had used to describe how Sawyer felt, and it brought home how open and accepting they were of me. "Don't hurt him. This one has a beautiful soul."
My heart overflowed with affection for Sawyer at his sister's beautiful, unguarded assessment of her brother. We settled into a conversation about Colby, their nieces, and nephew, and with every moment that passed, I felt like I finally belonged somewhere.
Lorna stayed by our side as Sawyer introduced me to more family and friends, all of whom were a different breed in terms of class and life experiences. Surprisingly, none of them were particularly stuffy.
Hearing my boyfriend's cousins sharing funny stories about them all as children were particularly endearing. From everything they told me, I knew that my man had always been the popular, thoughtful, and sensible guy I knew him to be.
More than once I stared at him when he wasn't looking, and with every story, they shared, little pieces of the puzzle of what had shaped my boyfriend to be the awesome guy he was fell into place, and what I learned made me fall for him just a little bit more.
Excusing myself, Lorna led me to a restroom, leaving me at the door before going to her car to collect something from her trunk.
The downstairs bathroom was immaculately designed with twin vanity units and mirrors at all angles of the room, I guessed for checking attire.
Catching sight of myself in the mirror, I noticed how happy and bright my blue eyes appeared and noted my glowing completion. I chalked both up to Sawyer's attention and how happy he made me feel. Next, I ran my fingers through my long, dark, silky hair and for the first time in a long time I liked what I saw. I knew I looked the way I did because I was in love.
Pulling open the door, I was about to step back into the hallway when Charlotte rushed me from nowhere, placed a firm hand on my shoulder, and pushed me back into the restroom.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
Shaken at being caught off guard, my body stiffened. "I beg your pardon?" My tone sounded assertive, not aggressive like she'd been toward me.
"You think you can show up here and …" She struggled for the verb she wanted to use. "Inject yourself into the family?"
I scoffed and tried to appear calm. "Is that what I'm doing? Injecting myself? Your suggestion would imply force. In case you missed the meme, Sawyer and his family invited me here."
"You think? You see, I know these people. We go waaay back. They invited you?" she scoffed. "The Wilds are doing what they do best, being polite in front of everyone. Do you think they'd all readily accept someone like you? Do you believe Ronald and Harriett are happy their youngest son has taken up with a woman of your age?"
"I do," I snapped without hesitation, but the weight of her snarky comment still managed to seep into my confidence. For a moment, I let the silence stretch between us as I fought to stay in control and tried my best to ignore the negative slant she had placed on Sawyer's introduction of me to his family.
