For Seven Nights Only - Sarah Ballance Page 0,39

“I’m sure she was incredibly flattered you offered your services.”

“Not like that, man. She wasn’t interested.” For some reason, the admission didn’t bother him as much as he expected. Probably because she’d since changed her mind.

“Ah,” Ethan said knowingly. “Clearly she’s never heard of the great Sawyer Chase.”

“Opposite problem. My reputation preceded me.”

Ethan snorted. “A woman with taste. Awesome. So what happened?”

Again, he hesitated. “So I talked her into giving me a chance,” he finally said. “Seven of them, actually. After which she can dump me if I haven’t proven myself worthy.” Yeah, something like that.

“So you made it to date five, and now you’re pissed?”

“Dinner wasn’t supposed to be date five. It’s like she wants to rush through to the inevitable end.”

Ethan rubbed his face. “Apparently I accidentally grabbed decaf this morning, because I’m having a hard time following you. She’s going out with you, which is what you wanted. And for some unknown reason, you’re bringing her to meet your family, which is something you wanted. She’s saying yes, so what’s the problem?”

Sawyer couldn’t say something had changed for him. He couldn’t begin to explain what or how—just that he didn’t want her so fired up to count to seven and end things with him.

He didn’t want dinner to be date number five, because five was too damned close to seven.

Five was too damned close to over.

Ethan leaned back in the chair. “You ever think maybe this one is different?”

“Yeah, she is,” he admitted. Easily. “But her being different doesn’t change who I am.”

“If that’s the case, then you’re a coward.”

Sawyer jerked his gaze to meet his brother’s. “Why the hell do you say that?”

“Why are you so against being with one woman?” When Sawyer didn’t answer, Ethan answered for him. “It’s because you’re afraid.”

“Since you know so much,” Sawyer said evenly, “why don’t you tell me why that is?”

Ethan shrugged. “That’s for you to figure out. But if she really is different, you’d better come to your senses before she does, or you’ll lose her.”

Sawyer almost said she wasn’t his to lose, but something stopped him.

Something made him want to hold on.

And that scared the shit out of him.

Chapter Eleven

Kelsie got up early Sunday and took Marmaduke for a walk. She intentionally avoided the dog park she’d visited with Sawyer, opting instead to head toward the water. The Pier 6 Dog Run was nearly empty, but Marmaduke was content to trot beside her on the leash, so she skipped Pier 6 in favor of a stroll along the East River. Normally she loved the view, but today she barely saw it.

All she saw was Sawyer. And it hurt.

But why? She’d yet to figure out what her problem was. Amazing sex? Check. Incredibly hot guy who worshipped every inch of her body? Double check. But therein was the lie. He worshipped a different woman every week. She wasn’t so much bothered by his past but by the fact that she couldn’t trust anything between them. Sure, he made her feel good, but he probably recycled those lines on every woman he met. And bedded. And she should have known better—she did know better—but that didn’t stop that hollow little hole from expanding into something suffocating. She’d told him from the beginning things wouldn’t get physical between them, and they had. She couldn’t exactly accuse him of dragging her kicking and screaming into an affair—she’d practically begged for it—but if he could win her over, he was the ultimate player.

And she’d just gotten played.

Marmaduke barked ferociously at a discarded paper cup, dragging her from her thoughts. She sighed and picked up the trash, dropping it in a nearby receptacle and nearly bumping into a man when she turned back toward the path.

“Excuse me,” she said automatically.

“Kelsie?”

She looked up at the vaguely familiar voice. It belonged to a man she’d worked with recently as part of her contract to bolster his firm’s online presence. “Derek?”

“You remembered me.” His face relaxed into a boyish grin.

Oh, Lord, she definitely remembered him. She’d crushed on him in a bad way, but she had a thing against getting involved with business contacts, especially while on rebound from the crash and burn of a long-term relationship.

“And this must be Marmaduke.”

“You remembered my dog?” she asked, astounded.

“Background image on your phone, right?”

“Ah, yes.” She was shocked. She’d had no idea this guy had looked twice at her, at least not beyond what was required of his job. Although, now that he mentioned it, she did remember