“Let me help you,” Sawyer said, “We’d have to fool our friends and family, I just don’t know if we can pull it off. The wedding will be the perfect time to start. We can say we looked at each other in a different way. You could dance with me as if, as if I’m someone you wanted.”
Something flashed in his eyes. His jaw clenched. “Do you think you could pretend to want me too?” his voice stroked her like velvet.
Sawyer’s heart pounded. She felt flustered. “Um, I-” she stammered.
“I’m going to flirt with you, we’d have to be affectionate in public, like holding hands, touching, kissing.”
Sawyer melted. Her eyes stared at his full lips in a way that she never allowed herself to before. She gulped.
“When I flirt with you,” he said, “I won’t stop until you respond, it has to look real.”
She nodded mutely.
“Wanna practice holding hands?”
Is it hot in here? Sawyer made a strange sound in the back of her throat. Rowan’s big hand slid over hers and linked with her fingers. Her palm tingled.
“Oh!” she said, surprised by the unfamiliar sensation. His hand felt so warm. The skin on skin contact sent a hot shiver down her spine. “It feels good,” she said.
He managed to nod. The air between them suddenly felt charged.
“We should practice hugging,” he said thickly.
“We’ve hugged loads of times,” she said.
“Not like this.”
Rowan gently tugged her into his arms. Sawyer pat his back awkwardly. He chuckled in her ear. “Like this,” he whispered.
He placed her arms around his neck. His hands spanned her slender waist. He crushed her full length to body and lifted her off the ground. His muscles were hard, his body radiated heat, his hands caressed her waist and back.
Sawyer closed her eyes. Oh God, the man felt so good. Her hands stroked his hair for the first time. She felt the gold red hair like silk between her fingers.
“Rowan-” she never said his name quite like that before.
A shock of desire went through her. He felt it and stiffened. His arms tightened around her. His head buried in her neck. He kissed the pulse that leaped there, licked that spot that beat wild for him.
Sawyer moaned in a way that made him tremble from head to foot. Jesus! The door opened. They sprang apart. Sawyer breathed little gasps. Rowan walked to the wall of windows with his back to her.
“Well,” Deena said, as if she were oblivious to the undercurrents in the room. “It’s all arranged. Sawyer, my assistant will take you down to the spa.”
Sawyer nodded and fled the room. Rowan took deep breaths. He stared blindly at the Vegas strip and mountains beyond.
“You’ll have to be a really good actor dear but I’m sure you will…rise to the occasion,” Deena said, clearly amused. She sat down at her desk. He heard the rustle of papers.
Rowan, in the meantime, was shocked to the core of his being. A simple hug with Sawyer gave him such a hard on he could barely move. After years of celibacy his body roared to life and it wanted Sawyer and her round, juicy ass. His body went rigid. He tried to breathe, calm himself down. No doubt he would’ve reacted that way with any woman with close physical contact. Perfectly natural. It had been years since he touched a woman with romance in mind. No wonder his body reacted so…fiercely. His feelings for Sawyer didn’t go beyond friendship and affection. Rowan’s shoulders lost some of the rigid tension. He could feel his mother’s hawk eyes.
“Sawyer doesn’t know that you paid the balance for her father’s medical expenses, does she?”
“No,” he said self-consciously, “Let’s keep it that way.” The stress of the past few months took its toll on Sawyer. He couldn’t bear it, to see her suffer.
“Would it be so bad to let yourself love again?” Deena asked.
Yes, yes it would. After what he did to Becky…
“Rowan, it’s not your fault.”
The hell you say! He closed his eyes. Becky’s delicate, pretty features were fading from his mind. He wouldn’t dishonor her memory by groping his best friend.
Sadly, Becky always felt threatened by his close friendship with Sawyer. She demanded he stop calling her or visit her whenever they were in Aberdeen. He patiently explained the platonic nature of their relationship but Becky resented their undeniable bond.
Rowan never did figure out how a stunning beauty like Becky could be jealous of a salt of the earth, no frills librarian from Aberdeen. The pretense of dating Sawyer felt like a betrayal of both women.
Deena regarded her son thoughtfully. She clapped her hands, “I need ideas for another hotel, what about Shakespeare, too trite?”
Rowan turned away from the window and his troubled thoughts. “It has merit,” he said. “What about the Camelot, King Arthur legend?”
She smiled. “I’ll have our design firm draw up the schematics.”
Sawyer gaped at her reflection. Between the stress of her dad’s illness, crushing financial pressure and running back and forth to work, her hair was never styled, just shoved into a messy bun or pony tail. She didn’t have the time or the money to bother with makeup. She threw on whatever clothes were clean in a mad dash for the hospital to see her dad. Manicure? Pedicure? What’s that? She thought ruefully. The spa treatments were decadent. Sawyer sighed as she received a facial, Swedish massage, manicure, pedicure, aromatherapy bath, stylish haircut and new clothes.
“Burn these,” Deena said, of her ratty sweatshirt and faded jeans. The stylist, Fernando, held the offending clothes at arms-length.
Deena eyed Sawyer up and down. “Yes, you will do nicely.”
Sawyer studied her coral colored polished nails. “Do you really think it will work? I mean, these women after Rowan, they’re really gorgeous and I’m…they won’t view me as much competition.”
Deena’s frown softened. She knelt beside Sawyer and clasped her hand. “Those hussies don’t stand a chance,” she said kindly. “You have a certain appeal for my son those women don’t possess, now I need you to proceed with confidence. What are you wearing to the wedding?”
The unorthodox ceremony included a wide array of costumes. “I’m a bridesmaid, I’m going as Flynn.”
Deena gave her a blank look.
“You know, Flynn from the TV show The Librarian, I have the khakis, duffel bag and dagger.”
Deena closed her eyes as if praying for patience. “Fernando!” she called sharply. He came running. “We need a costume, something…naughty.”
Chapter 4
The Black Widow costume did wicked things to her body. The skintight jumpsuit hugged every lush curve. The Bride, Harper, spun Sawyer around. “Damn girl, you look fierce!”
The other bridesmaid, Emerson, a newlywed herself, took one look at Sawyer and whistled. “Whoa! Who’s the man?”
Sawyer, flustered, paced the length of the bridal suite. “Why do you assume-”
“Oh please, it’s me you’re talking to, tell Aunt Emerson all about him.”
“It’s Harper’s big day,” Sawyer protested.
“Spill!” Harper demanded.
“Rowan,” she muttered.
“Your best friend, that Rowan?” Emerson said in disbelief.
“Pastor Camden?” Harper asked wide eyed.
“Yep.” This was the true test. If Sawyer could convince her dearest girlfriends, their plan might work.
“I knew it!” Harper crowed.
That startled Sawyer. “Uh, you did?”
“He is hot, hot, hot,” Harper said fanning herself.
“When Dyl and I got married, I swear, I would’ve agreed to anything he said, that husky voice,” Emerson mused. She flopped back on the bed in her Supergirl costume. “He is yummy.”
“Saw this coming a mile off,” Harper said as she inspected her bridal costume – the Amazon warrior princess, Wonder Woman.
Sawyer felt uneasy.
“What do you mean? We’ve been friends forever.”
“Babe, you’ve been sweet on him for years,” Harper said.
“And he adores you!” Emerson said, “A blind man can see that.”
What?!
Sawyer was still baffled. She held a bouquet of roses about to walk down the aisle. What did Harper mean – she saw this coming a mile off? How could Emerson say, she’s been sweet on him for years! Is that what everyone thought? It’s not true! But that’s what Rebecca Camden believed. A few months before her death, Becky – with her perfect supermodel hair, South Beach tan, lithe body and trendy clothes – paid Sawyer an unexpected visit. While Rowan was in Austin scouting a hotel location, Becky drove north of the capital, to Aberdeen by the Lake and dropped by the library.
Sawyer felt peace around books. It gave her a sacred feeling, like church. She loved the new books smell, cracking the spine, and seeing miles and miles of glorious books on oak polished shelves.
Becky found her in the kids section, shelving books. Sawyer sat up between a giant paper cut out of The Cat in the Hat and Barney the dinosaur.
“Hi Becky,” Sawyer headed to the check-out counter. She looked around, “Where’s Rowan?”
“He’s not here,” Becky said. She cocked her head to the side as if observing some new species found in the wild. “God, you’re plain.”
Sawyer flushed. One of the other librarian’s helped a boy at the computer station. A student diligently studied in a corner. A mommy and me toddler reading group was in progress near the pillows corner.
Sawyer bit her tongue for Rowan’s sake. “Are you looking for a book?” They both knew that was an absurd question. Becky’s idea of deep reading was a tabloid magazine.
Her pretty face soured. “Stay away from my husband.”
Oh here we go again. “Excuse me?”
“Get a man of your own – if you can.”
Sawyer paled. She gripped the edge of the counter. For Rowan’s sake, she held back a biting retort. “You really need to get therapy for that insecurity issue, Rowan and I have been friends since the Fifth Grade, get over it.”
“He says your name in his sleep, did you know that?”
What?! Sawyer’s heart climbed to her throat. She dreamed about him too. Sometimes they were random images, other times down right erotic. It wouldn’t do to admit that. Sawyer never told anyone for fear it would be misconstrued.
“Becky, he’s crazy about you. He married you. I’m just…a friend.”
“No, you’re someone he can’t live without.”
That stunned Sawyer and robbed her of speech. “If something happened to me, Rowan would grieve for a while but you – if he lost you he would lose his mind. You’re vital to him in a way I’m not and I resent the hell out of you for that. I’m his wife damn it, I should be his best friend, he’s mine, I’m not sharing.”
Sawyer wanted to scream. “Rowan had friends long before he met you, I’m one of them, I am no threat to your marriage.”
“You’re in love with him,” Becky accused.
“Oh for God’s sake!” Sawyer threw up her hands. “Look, I’m not one of these women who fight over men, you know why? I don’t have to. All this drama between you and me? We’re done.”
Sawyer turned to walk away. Becky took off her high heel and launched it. The spike hit Sawyer in the back of the head. She slowly turned around and glared at the irate wife.
“Oh honey, for that, you better put your husband under lock and key cause the next time I get him alone, I’m gonna ride him like a stallion, don’t wait up, we’ll be at it all night.”
Becky bristled with fury. “Give me back my shoe.”
Sawyer picked up the $600 designer shoe and snapped the heel off. “Oops.” She placed the broken shoe on the counter. Fuming, Becky snatched up the pieces and limped away.
Rowan never knew about the ugly confrontation with his wife. She suspected Becky gave him an ultimatum about their friendship shortly thereafter. He didn’t call Sawyer as often but he never could give her up completely. In all their years of friendship, they never crossed the line. Sawyer wouldn’t hurt another woman that way, even a bitch like Becky.
And yet…Sawyer adored Rowan. Would it be a stretch to pretend to want more? They would have to be convincing indeed but it didn’t take much to persuade her girlfriends. Emerson and Harper acted as if a romance between her and Rowan was a given. Sawyer fought a wave of confusion and guilt. Before her untimely death, did Becky know something she didn’t? As Sawyer walked down the aisle she looked at Rowan for platonic reassurance. His green eyes burned and locked with hers. Her stomach quivered in response.
Chapter 5
Rowan knew he was in big trouble. When Sawyer turned the corner, at first he didn’t recognize her. He blinked in the sunny courtyard and every muscle in his body went taunt. Her fly away, frizzy hair shined a glossy mahogany with a riot of curls. She wore light, natural make up that enhanced her sparkling hazel eyes, rosy cherub cheeks and pink, luscious lips.
Rowan wanted to charge down the aisle and cover her from the neck down! He didn’t like the lingering looks of male appreciation one bit. She had breasts! Round, perky breasts that could fit perfectly in the palm of his hand. The Black Widow jumpsuit hugged every lush curve of her body. He stared hard, unblinking. On a primitive level, his body wanted her with a single minded fury that shocked him. He’d never felt anything like it.
This is Sawyer, his sidekick from school days, the first person he called when his dad died, the first to know which college he selected, the one he celebrated with after his first hotel development deal. She knew when he lost his virginity to Becky on a moonlit beach and they compared notes about sex. When he married Becky, Sawyer was his ‘best man’. She even dressed in a tuxedo. Becky distrusted their relationship from day one.
Was Sawyer a lesbian? She asked hopefully.
Ah, no, he answered.
Why did he need Sawyer when he had a wife? How could he explain what Sawyer meant to him? It was hard for his wife to imagine him a skinny, pimple faced ten year old kid who got the tar beat out of him on a daily basis. Melvin and his thugs were the friendly neighborhood bullies. They used to chase him all the way home, across the railroad tracks on the Aberdeen/Great Hills boarder.
After months of sheer terror, Sawyer appeared one day with her baseball bat and pepper spray. Melvin and company never bothered him again.
Sawyer and Rowan became inseparable after that daring rescue. They did each other’s homework, paired up on field trips. He taught her how to cook. She taught him self-defense moves her dad taught her. “It’s called Krav Maga, the Israelis use it to kick ass.”
Krav Maga led to weight lifting and Cross fit. By senior year in high school, Rowan towered over Melvin and had the muscles to pound him into the ground. Girls who didn’t give Rowan the time of day, suddenly flirted and asked him out by the dozens. Rowan turned them down flat. He asked Sawyer to the prom.
After the dance, they watched a Star Wars marathon on TV with a box of pizza between them. It never occurred to him to make a move on her. He never thought in a million years that she might have feelings for him. He treasured her friendship so much, he only ever focused on nurturing that. Sawyer Landon just made everything in life better. If anyone else was threatened by that, tough shit. He refused to dump his best friend regardless of who did the asking.
Becky was a gorgeous, fun, loving life partner but she could never be Sawyer. The thought of Becky was sobering. Right now, he felt the seductive pull of temptation. He made a vow of abstinence years ago until he remarried, which he didn’t intend to do. His mother accused him of punishing himself for Becky’s death. Maybe she was right. It was his fault, after all. Becky would do summersaults in her grave if she knew what he felt for Sawyer. He wore a Scottish kilt for the wedding. Thank God his heavy arousal was well concealed. He remembered laughing when Becky told him Sawyer’s threat.
&n
bsp; I’m gonna ride him like a stallion.
Please do! Unholy lust filled him with heat. The thought of Sawyer, naked with her sweet, round ass riding him…damn!
Rowan cleared his throat. He heard one of the groomsmen, Seth McClain ask, “Who is that?”
Dylan Chambers, who stood on the other side of the groom, answered, “Sawyer Landon.”
“The librarian?” Seth asked in disbelief.
“Yep.”
Seth made a sound in his throat of masculine appreciation. Rowan flashed him a murderous look. Seth caught it and recognized jealously for what it was. He grinned wickedly.
“She is smokin’ hot,” Seth said loud enough for Rowan to hear. He bristled. Seth was an ex-Navy Seal, good looking in a rugged, lethal way. Women noticed men like Seth. Sawyer never mentioned the man before. The bastard would be single. Rowan knew his thoughts weren’t exactly Christ like but G.I. Joe better keep his hands to himself. Rowan didn’t like the glint of interest in the other man’s eyes.
Sawyer made her way to the end of the aisle. She tore her eyes away from Rowan and stood to his left beside the other bridesmaid, Emerson. Her husband Dylan winked at her. She blushed in return. When Harper and her father walked down the aisle, she made a stunning bride. Rowan heard Donavan’s swift intake of breath – the groom was clearly smitten.
As a pastor, weddings were his favorite thing to do, besides baby dedications. The joy, love and emotion of the ceremony never failed to move him. He’d seen some strange and amusing things happen at weddings, this one didn’t disappoint. As soon as Carl Grant handed his daughter over, the groom cupped her head in one hand, her back with the other, leaned her down and kissed her passionately. The guests clapped, hooted and whistled.
Sawyer smiled. She caught Rowan’s eye. He leveled her with a potent gaze. She blushed. God, he wanted to taste her all over. Seth cleared his throat, with a mischievous spark in his eyes. Mister Captain America was really getting on Rowan’s nerves. He tried to focus on the ceremony. Just a minor issue. The groom couldn’t keep his hands off his bride.
Where There's Smoke: A Texas Heat Novel Page 2