For Seven Nights Only - Sarah Ballance Page 0,58

of him.

Not because Kelsie did.

Definitely not because being without her scared him even more.

“It was a long time ago,” he told himself. “Years. This is ridiculous.”

Some pep talk. The murky water looked like death. Or sewage. The memory of that something touching his leg returned fiercely, and he shuddered and took a step back.

Jesus Christ. He was a grown-ass man. It was water. And Ethan was right. Sawyer had been touched by something far scarier than whatever lurked under the surface of New York Harbor.

He’d fallen the fuck in love.

“If Kelsie was in that water,” he muttered to himself, “you’d go after her.”

He straightened. Kelsie was in that water.

She’d said her sister was getting married in the harbor. He pulled out his phone and started calling wedding charters, hoping upon hope that her sister shared her last name. On the third call, he hit pay dirt.

“Yes, sir, there’s a Reed wedding, but they’ve already left the dock.”

After asking the name of the boat, Sawyer asked, “Any chance you can deliver a late-arriving guest?”

“No, sir. Once the boat leaves, that’s it.”

“Thanks for your time.” Sawyer ended the call. Now what? His gaze skated over the river, the tracks left by boats and the kayaks that dotted the surface with bright color that seemed out of place against a concrete world.

God, he really was an idiot. He’d find someone with a boat.

But first he had a stop to make.

Back in his apartment building, he hesitated over the button for his floor and pressed the one for Kelsie’s instead. He let himself into her apartment with the just-in-case-the-ceiling-falls-in key she’d given him. As soon as the door swung open, Minidick scampered to meet him. Was it Sawyer’s imagination, or did the dog look unhappy that he wasn’t Kelsie? Irrationally annoyed, Sawyer sat on the floor. Even from that position, he towered over the dog, but he wasn’t about to lie down to come face to face with a creature that had lifted his leg on him once before.

“Look, mutt.” He stopped when the dog cocked his head. Was he actually listening?

Nope. Teeth appeared. Minidick wasn’t listening. He was probably deciding which bite to take first. Sawyer sighed and decided to switch tactics. What was the damned dog’s name again? And why was he negotiating with a two-pound bundle of nerves?

Marmaduke.

He tried again. “Look, Marmaduke.”

To his surprise, the low rumble that had emanated from the dog ceased. His tail wagged, and Sawyer realized this might actually be the lowest moment of his life. Freaking hostage negotiations with a dog. Just give me Kelsie, and I’ll do whatever you want.

“I screwed up,” he told Minidick. “I really like your boss lady”—because he was so not going to refer to Kelsie as the dog’s mommy—“and I didn’t tell her, not that it would have mattered if I had. Apparently I’m the wrong kind of man for her, but I want to date her, more than seven times, so how wrong can that be?”

The mutt cocked his head.

“What I’m about to do, I’m not sure I’ll survive.” Sadly, only a slight exaggeration. “And I’m not sure she’ll want anything to do with me if I do, but I just wanted you to know I was trying. And if we don’t see one another again, do me a favor and bite the shit out of the next guy who touches her.”

Minidick stared blankly. Figured. Sawyer reached to pat the little rat on the head and stood. And the dog didn’t so much as bare one tiny little tooth.

Before Sawyer walked out, he left his key on the counter, then locked up and went downstairs to his apartment to change clothes. He felt like he was dressing for a funeral. Or a wedding. Same difference.

But maybe not anymore.

Kelsie had changed all that.

Chapter Sixteen

After a beautiful ceremony, the chairs were broken down, and the deck opened for dancing and socializing.

Kelsie felt like doing neither.

Chad’s girlfriend seemed to come closer to spilling out of her top with every sway of the boat, and despite that, Chad seemed to be paying more attention to Kelsie, whose cups by no means runneth over. Kelsie managed polite conversation and ignored Chad’s incessant compliments, but thereafter dodged him by hanging out with her grandma and the rest of the over-eighty crowd. Fortunately, despite the fancy venue, her sister’s wedding was low-key and lacking in ritual, in particular the one requiring her to dance with the best man.

An hour after the vows had been exchanged, her