For Seven Nights Only - Sarah Ballance Page 0,47

said as she situated the silverware on the table beside the plates Estelle had placed.

Estelle shot her a knowing look. “He has. With you.”

“Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes,” Alice called. “Rolls are going in now.”

“The boys just went out back to check that spot on the roof,” Russell replied. He had his back to them, his attention fixed on the football game.

“Why don’t you tell them?” Estelle said to Kelsie. “Alice’s gardens are amazing, and that’s coming from a landscape architect. It’s definitely worth a trip back there.”

“Okay,” Kelsie said. “I’d love to see them.” Amazing wasn’t a typical factor in New York City backyards, when they even existed, but while her curiosity was piqued, she also hoped for a minute with Sawyer. He’d been a bit distant since they’d walked through the door, which was expected under the circumstances, but she missed having that sexy, miscreant smile trained on her.

“I think you’d love to see him,” Estelle said with a knowing look. “But the backyard is definitely worth a look. You should have seen it over the summer.”

“Maybe next year,” Kelsie said without thinking.

Ouch.

Estelle’s brow raised.

Kelsie walked away, blushing. She headed down the hall toward the back of the house, expecting to find Sawyer outside, but halfway down, she heard his voice. “Don’t even look at her, man.”

Her heart bloomed at the territorial edge to his voice.

“Her girlfriend potential is pegged at zero,” he continued in the same cocky tone that, seconds before, had given her a serious case of the warm and fuzzies. “Granted, she’s hot as hell, but not even that makes her worth your time.”

Stunned, Kelsie took a step back and felt for the reassuring presence of the wall. Hot tears pricked her eyes, but a couple of hard blinks took care of that.

It wasn’t like she expected more from him. It wasn’t like she wanted more. But she did want to be respected, damn it.

And damn him.

She straightened and returned to the family room long enough to swipe one of her brownies. She made enough noise walking back to Sawyer to warn him of her approach, lest he have any other opinions to spew, and found him with Liam and Ethan, both of whom had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. But not Sawyer. He looked, as ever, like the cat that ate the pathetic, trusting, hopeful canary, but she had something better for him.

“I brought you a brownie,” she said sweetly, then shoved it into his mouth. “Enjoy.”

Chapter Thirteen

If looks could kill, Sawyer would be toast. Burnt toast. He could only assume Kelsie had overheard him telling his brothers to back off by the fact that she’d tried to maim him with one of her brownies, but she’d refused to talk about it since.

That, or anything else.

Brownie incident aside, he hadn’t realized she was upset until the ride home. At his parents’ house, she’d seemed to have a good time and definitely had found a friend in Estelle, but she’d spared him few words. He just hadn’t realized how few until it was just the two of them and dead, utter silence.

When they entered the elevator of their apartment building, he hesitated over which button to push. “Want to hang out at my place?”

“No,” she said tersely. “I have some work to catch up on.”

“So I’m guessing you don’t want company?”

She glared. Which, if nothing else, made it clear he wasn’t her company of choice.

“Listen,” he said, pressing the buttons for his floor and hers. “What you heard—”

She sighed. “It’s fine. I get it. I appreciate you not telling them you were hired to make me dateable. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”

He winced over the word “hired.” He wanted to argue or at least explain why he’d said what he said, but she didn’t look amused. She looked…defeated.

“The gravy was good,” he said. “My mom said you were a natural.”

“Your mom gave me a whisk and told me to stir.”

The doors slid open on his floor. He stepped in front, blocking them. “I have faith in you. Why don’t you feed me tomorrow night? You know what they say about the way to a man’s heart.”

“What? That it’s through his rib cage?”

“Or, less violently, through his stomach.” He shifted uncomfortably. Why couldn’t he and she get on the same page? The only thing they seemed to get right was staying on the opposite sides of battle. That and sex. “Look,” he said. “I’m willing to try your cooking again.