Page 115 of Sparks Fly

“She’s been so patient with me. I’m scared that patience will only last so long.”

“Take it from someone who’s been hidden.” He sighed. “It stops feeling good when you don’t see any progress.”

My chest tightened.

“Maybe you could introduce her to Tiff and Rowan,” he continued. “Let her meet people from your world who already know.”

I liked that idea. I didn’t want Sawyer to feel like a secret I was ashamed of.

“Yeah. I could do that.”

“And maybe tell Mom you’re seeing someone,” he added. “You don’t have to tell her everything. Just enough that she stops trying to set you up.”

“She’ll ask questions.”

“She always asks questions.”

“I mean real ones. Who is it? How long has it been? Where did we meet?”

“She’ll want to feel included,” he said.

“She’ll want control,” I corrected quietly.

Benji nodded. “Yeah.”

I looked toward the river, sunlight flickering across the water.

“I don’t want to lie. I’m just not ready to open the door all the way.”

“That’s fair.”

Something in my chest eased.

“It’s so easy with Sawyer,” I said. “Then I sit across from Mom and everything feels heavy again.”

“You don’t owe her an explanation for who you love.”

“I know.”

We sat quietly for a moment while the café buzzed around us.

Then Benji nudged my foot beneath the table.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re handling it in your own way. That’s probably the point.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

* * *

Packing for the bachelorette trip felt like punishment. My suitcase sat open on the bed, clothes half folded and half abandoned. I had been standing there for ten minutes, holding the same dress without actually packing it.

Sawyer stretched across my bed like she belonged there.

Honestly, she did.

One arm rested behind her head as she watched me with an amused smile. “You’ve folded that dress three times.”