Chapter 47
CHAPTER
47
‘I’ve never seen them so happy,’ Mila said, giving a subtle jerk of her head in the direction of her grandparents, who’d rarely left the makeshift dance floor all night.
Sawyer followed her line of vision and smiled. ‘Romance is in the air.’
‘You’re not getting soppy on me, are you?’ Her hands, draped around his neck as they swayed to a ballad, tightened a little, forcing his head closer to hers. ‘I like my men tough.’
‘You love my marshmallow core,’ he said, palming her butt and tugging her closer against him. ‘And my hard bits too.’
She sniggered. ‘I’ll remind you we’re in public, and while some of the singles have hooked up and are snogging in the back of utes, we’re already open to enough speculation, so let’s not give the gossips any more fodder.’
‘Let them talk.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Or we can go make out in that dark corner over there and really give them something to talk about.’
‘We can do that in private later.’
And she could hardly wait. Sawyer looked incredible in a charcoal suit and black shirt that lent him a devilish edge. Though she much preferred him not wearing anything at all.
Snuggling up to him at night, waking in his arms every morning … A girl could get used to it. He hadn’t mentioned leaving yet and she hadn’t asked, content to make the most of their time together, however long they had.
The only instance he’d mentioned returning to Melbourne was to accompany his sister and nephew to a doctor’s appointment, but that wasn’t for another month. Four long weeks where she could see them growing closer and making it difficult for her to say an inevitable goodbye. A pragmatist usually, it shouldn’t bother her. She’d known the score from the start. She’d always had a thing for Sawyer and indulging her crush meant she’d have great memories to resurrect on dark winter evenings. But she had a feeling her logic would desert her when it came to saying goodbye to this incredible guy.
‘Hey, Alli and Mick have just walked in. Let’s go say hi.’
‘Sure.’
Mila didn’t know Allison well. While everyone could recognise everyone else in Ashe Ridge, if you didn’t move in the same circles the only time you saw each other was if you happened to be having a meal at the pub. Besides, Mila had probably avoided the woman because she knew Allison was Sawyer’s sister and if they’d chatted, she would’ve been tempted to ask what her brother was up to.
Allison caught sight of them as they strolled across the marquee and waved.
‘I’m glad they made it,’ Sawyer said. ‘From reading between the lines after hanging out with Alli a bit, I don’t think they get out much.’
‘Nothing wrong with being a hermit. I’m proud of my recluse status.’
‘That’s only because you’re locking me in the bedroom these days,’ he murmured, and Mila laughed.
‘Maybe I should install a permanent lock on the door and throw away the key?’
While flippant, she’d thrown her comment out there to test his reaction to the hint of something long term, and disappointingly, he ignored it and thrust out his hand at Mick as they reached the other couple.
‘Good to see you guys,’ Sawyer said, shaking Mick’s hand and giving his sister a hug. ‘You know Mila, right?’
‘Of course,’ Allison said, with a warm smile, and Mick nodded. ‘How are you, Mila?’
‘Good thanks. Busy, like everyone else.’
‘You must have the patience of a saint to be putting up with this one on top of your usual workload,’ Allison said, pointing at Sawyer.
‘He’s not so bad,’ Mila said, chuckling as Sawyer tweaked Allison’s nose.
Allison glanced around the marquee, her eyes wide and filled with excitement. ‘I can’t remember the last time we got a babysitter let alone went out on our own. This looks great.’
‘As long as you don’t expect me to dance.’ Mick grimaced. ‘I’d rather do a nudie run to the dam than hit the dance floor.’
Allison rolled her eyes, but she smiled at her husband. ‘In that case, brother dearest, you owe me a dance.’
Sawyer glanced at her, and Mila nodded. ‘Go ahead.’
Besides, she saw Freddie incoming and wanted to ask him if he’d finished looking over the documentation for the land acquisition.
‘I’m grabbing a beer,’ Mick said. ‘Want anything, Mila?’
‘No thanks. I need to chat with a friend, but I’ll see you guys later?’
‘Sure,’ Allison said, linking arms with Sawyer. ‘Ready to show this town a move or two, little brother?’
Sawyer winced. ‘Be gentle with me.’
Mila laughed. ‘I’ll see you back here when you’re done.’
With one last pleading look in her direction as Allison dragged him towards the dance floor, Sawyer surrendered with a shrug and Mila gave a little finger wave.
‘Back soon,’ Mick said, heading for the bar in the far corner, just as Freddie arrived.
‘You look gorgeous, Mila,’ he said, with a grin. ‘Though you know what they say about purple.’
Yeah, she knew, but with Sawyer around, purple did not equate with sexual frustration. Besides, didn’t Freddie ever give up? She’d made it more than clear they’d never be more than friends—acquaintances, really—but he just didn’t quit.
Ignoring his innuendo, she said, ‘Actually, I was going to call you tomorrow to see if you’re doing due diligence, checking for any loopholes in the acquisition paperwork.’
His eyebrow arched a little. ‘I didn’t think you’d be worried about anything like that, considering who bought the land.’ He pointed at the dance floor. ‘You two seem super cosy.’ He pulled a face. ‘Sawyer’s a lucky bastard.’
Annoyed that he wanted to bring up her relationship with Sawyer rather than discuss business, she said, ‘We’ve been friends a long time. So, from an accounting perspective, the deal looks good?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Of course it does. As you just said, if you two are such good friends, why would he screw you over?’
Confusion gave way to dread as she realised she’d misinterpreted what Freddie meant when he mentioned the acquisition and her closeness with Sawyer. He hadn’t been talking about two different things.
He’d meant Sawyer had been the one to acquire her land.
Oblivious to her devastation, Freddie continued. ‘I’ve researched the other land-broking deals he’s done and he’s a bigwig in the industry. Highly respected, so you’ve done well. But I guess you already knew that? Though it always pays to research documentation and the financial ramifications thoroughly, friendship or not.’
Mila couldn’t speak, anger tightening her throat.
Sawyer had deceived her.
He’d swept in to save her, even after she’d rejected his initial offer.
She didn’t need a knight in shining armour. She needed a guy to respect her enough to let her make her own decisions, not a guy with a rescue complex.
Heck, for all she knew he’d done this for business and would onsell the land at a profit. Maybe that’s why he’d been cosying up to her from the beginning?
Her stomach churned at the thought and the hot dog she’d consumed earlier threatened to make another appearance.
‘Hey, are you okay?’ Freddie touched her arm, and she jerked back.
‘I think I need to head home,’ she managed to say, averting her gaze from the dance floor so she wouldn’t be tempted to march over there and slug Sawyer in front of everyone. ‘Thanks for checking over the paperwork, Freddie. I’ll be in touch.’
With that, Mila hiked up her dress, and made a run for it.