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"Then you were heartbroken."
"Yep, I was, but more about what I'd lost in terms of family, no matter how fractious our relationship had been. To have your trust abused that way is heartbreaking. Much like you when Logan cheated." I accepted his point, but unlike Logan, I knew from the way Charlotte came at me and her connection to his family, she wasn't someone who was going to disappear from his life either.
Until my visit to his home, I hadn't realized Sawyer and I weren't so different after all. Like me, he came with baggage. It wasn't divorce and a child, and I didn't fully understand the situation between the family connections, but it appeared Sawyer's circumstances with his ex were every bit as complicated as mine. At least I didn't have to face Logan and Poppy hanging all over one another at family events.
"Does James know she still wants you?"
"Of course he does. I think she loves us both, and I don't know why he stays with her. You'd have to ask him that yourself."
"And that's so screwed up I can't even begin to comprehend it."
"Who knows what goes on in his head. I don't think he knows, either. I don't think he has a choice. They have to work for now, since Charlotte wants to save face." I stared at Sawyer with a multitude of thoughts running through my head. I had more questions than answers about his ex and his brother.
Eventually, I blew out a breath and my heart sank when I thought of how determined Charlotte had sounded. She wasn't going away, and I wondered if I had the mental fortitude to deal with someone like her. Of course, you do, Billie. You've never been a quitter.
"Then we are going to have to be wary of any tension your brother and his girl may try to create between us. I trusted you when I agreed to come here, but there has always been a little corner of my heart that told me not to accept something that felt too good to be true. Meeting Charlotte told me I have a challenge to deal with, but she also helped confirm to me exactly how I feel about you."
"And?" he asked, hesitant.
"When I strip everything away and look at us in isolation, it's simple. I love you and I don't want to lose you. In the short time, we've known each other, you have filled my head with thoughts and feelings, some I never figured I'd think or feel again for any man, and some I'd never felt in all the years I spent with Logan. Hearing how Charlotte felt almost made me feel sorry for her that she'd screwed things up between you both, but it taught me just how much you mean to me."
"Again, you heard what I said. I want to marry you, Billie. Forget the past. Forget how long we've been together and what Charlotte and Logan did. I don't know, in some sick way, maybe they were supposed to do what they did because fate had another plan for us."
"Trust you to think of something hippy like that," I offered a small smile.
"Hell, it's my job to help you make sense of this. My mind's been working overtime with all the ways to melt your heart and get into your pants."
"Your secret weapon, huh? Your mind."
"Nah, I've been saving that. We haven't danced properly yet, and I haven't sung in your ear with the stars above us and a bottle of white wine in your belly to loosen you up," he replied with a wink and a sexy lopsided grin. "Come on. The night is still young, the stars in the sky are priming themselves, and by the time I bring you back to my bed you'll believe me when I say, no one matters but us."
