Chapter
Thirty
Sawyer
Soren:
Pretty Girl, what do you think about me making you lunch and watching a baseball game on Sunday? Lane and Jonah are threatening bodily harm if I don’t bring you around more.
Sawyer:
That sounds fun! Tell them I look forward to seeing them again.
Soren:
See ya at 11 a.m.
It had been a week since the not-date that turned into a date. Soren and I had communicated by text and calls throughout the week, but both of us had been too busy to see each other again. When his text came through, I couldn’t wait to see him again. I spent entirely too long contemplating what I was going to wear to Soren’s, and Talia came over and offered all her opinions on every outfit I tried on. Talia assured me that my distressed light wash jeans, white front-tucked t-shirt, and light pink sneakers were a good choice. Although, she would have loved to see me in something the color of a neon highlighter. My hair was in soft curls and I decided to leave it down. The day before, I had baked an angel food cake with strawberries and homemade whipped cream on top. I didn’t make homemade angel food cake often, but it was far superior to anything that could be bought at the grocery store. I also brought along two-dozen chocolate chip cookies because baking calmed my anxiety. The idea of dating for the first time in my life, and the stress of work lately had me baking almost daily, but now, I contemplated if I went overboard. I hated how a simple thing like dating made me feel inadequate, but I refused to allow that to steal my enjoyment of seeing Soren today. I turned into his driveway and parked alongside Soren’s truck. I barely had the ignition off before I saw him coming down the steps. He was dressed in dark jeans and a forest-green henley with the sleeves pushed up. I had never felt the way I had when I looked at him. A part of me that I didn’t know existed came to life around him. He was handsome. There was no denying that, but when he looked at me, he saw more than I wanted him to see. As though he saw all of me. The me that I tried so diligently to shield from the world. I didn’t have any more time to dig into those thoughts before he reached to open my door. I wasn’t sure I could unpack that right now, anyway. It simply made me feel too much, and I was supposed to be here to have fun and learn about baseball.
“Pretty Girl. Are you trying to seduce me?” he asked, glancing at the containers of desserts in my front seat. I wasn’t prepared for flirty Soren, and the tug of his lips made my stomach do somersaults. A giddy smile stole across my lips.
“I bake when I’m stressed,” I answered and handed him the container of cookies.
“Why are you stressed?” His brow lowered, hazel eyes serious, ready to fight on my behalf. Little did he know, he was part of the stress—or rather, my response to him was.
“It’s just work stuff and . . .” I trailed off as I got out.
“Tell me.” His hand gently wrapped around my shoulder.
“What if I screw this up? I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”
Wouldn’t it be better to ignore the attraction and simply stay friends? That way he wouldn’t leave.
“Can I hug you?” he asked as he placed the containers I had passed him on the roof of the Jeep. I nodded.
His warmth engulfed me as his strong arms wrapped me against his firm chest, and I slid my arms around his waist. Soren, I was realizing, was a tactile person in almost every way, and there was something about being wrapped in his arms that made everything quiet.
“Let’s make a deal. You keep communicating with me this openly, and we’ll talk through any concerns you have. I’m not going anywhere.” I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that we could build something that would last, but there was my persistent concern that everyone always left because they always had. But I did as I always had and swept those concerns under the rug. I was determined to make the most of this relationship and our time together until everything inevitably fell apart.
I nodded against his chest.
“Soren, you can hug me without asking,” I said as I pulled away.
“Don’t tempt me with a good time, Pretty Girl,” Soren replied, with a wink that made my face flood with heat. I liked this unexpected flirty side of him even if it made my stomach whoosh as if I were driving through the Flint Hills as I did on the way here.
Three hours later, I sat between Soren and Lane on the couch. The baseball game was tied in the ninth inning. They had both been teasing each other about who could teach me better, but it had all been in good humor. I had been anxious about seeing Lane because of the panic attack he had witnessed, but I found out right away that Lane was as extroverted as Talia. He made a quick apology that ended with him kissing the back of my hand in a grand gesture to which Soren threatened, “Keep your slimy lips off my girl!”
That made me laugh, and all the nerves disappeared. My heart felt like it skipped a beat at his use of “my girl”. The trio immediately made me feel like I was in their group, and I loved their easy-going familiarity with each other. Despite being famous for his time as a baseball pitcher, Lane was as down to earth as Soren and Jonah. Jonah was much more of an observer and had taken up the oversized chair to sit. He wasn’t grumpy per se, but he was not one to be the center of attention. Lane had that covered in spades. Between his size and tattoos, I bet Jonah could be extremely intimidating if he tried, but something told me that beneath the giant of a man was a quiet soul.
“Runnnnn, Gibson!” Lane yelled, pumping his fist as he jumped up. The player rounded third base, headed for home in a game that had me on the edge of my seat.
Soren’s leg brushed against mine as he leaned over to whisper with amusement in his voice.
“I’m not sure if Gibson would know to run without Lane’s couch coaching.”
I laughed, but I was distracted when his breath skated across the skin by my ear, sending tingles across my body. Just then, Gibson made it across home plate.
“YEAH, baby!” Lane yelled again. His enthusiasm was contagious and green eyes sparkled with excitement. I smiled, letting out a pent-up breath, nervous about the outcome.
“Whew. I was worried since the score was so close.” I turned to Soren, and he smiled at me. His hazel eyes scanned my face.
“It was a good game. I’m glad you came.”
“I’m glad you invited me,” I replied quietly. I couldn’t stop the ridiculous smile that stretched across my heated face. Soren’s eyes tracked across my cheeks, and he smiled.
“We might be looking at a World Series if they keep playing like that,” Lane remarked, bringing a water bottle to his lips, his eyebrows bouncing.
“That’d be something. It’s been too long,” Soren remarked.
“Nearly thirty years,” Jonah stated quietly, standing and stretching, the muscular tattooed full sleeve on his left arm rippling with the movement.
“Thanks for lunch, man. I need to head out. I’ve gotta tackle some emails this evening. Tell Travis I said hey. Hopefully he can hang next time,” Lane said, slapping Soren’s shoulder in the way that men did.
Travis, Soren’s foreman, had been planning to join us with his daughter, Sadie, but she’d caught a stomach bug from preschool. Jonah and Lane left shortly after both snagging a couple of my cookies before walking out the door. Soren threw scowls at them while Lane’s eyes danced, knowing he was purposefully riling Soren. I didn’t know Lane or Jonah very well, but I knew Soren was lucky to have them. In innumerable ways, they acted as close as brothers, and I knew losing Abel had been painfully impactful to them all. Maybe it was that loss that had caused their bond to be as deep as it was.