Chapter 25
twenty-five
Sawyer
He's here.
In another world—one where fate didn't have an evil sense of humor—this would be romantic. This should be the moment I leap into his arms, and he dips me into one of those kisses that stops time, that spins us off into a happily ever after written in the stars.
But those aren't the lemons life handed me.
I keep my feet planted on the floor and barely get the words out. "What are you doing here?"
"It's great to see you too, Sawyer.”
Trouble’s right behind me, but his eyes are locked on Harrison. Harrison stares right back. The silence stretches—tight, electric—until finally, Harrison sticks out a hand.
“I’m Harrison.”
Trouble doesn’t move. Doesn’t shake. Just lifts his drink, takes a slow sip, and looks him dead in the eye.
Cool. Calm. Deadly.
Then he turns to me. “I’ll be right over there,” he says, voice low and rough. A promise and a threat, all in one.
And just like that, he walks off to a corner of the bar with his brothers.
My stomach twists. The sight of Harrison hits me the way it used to for a moment—the pull of the familiar, the gravity of a man I once thought I knew.
Old habits, old feelings, they don’t just vanish.
And I hate that a part of me still wonders if I miss it…
or if I just miss the person I was before he broke me.
And Trouble is right over there. Somehow that makes it all worse—because standing here, caught between what was and what might be, I don’t know which direction could hurt me more.
I can almost feel the city clinging to Harrison—the scent of asphalt after rain, the echo of car horns. He brings the rush of traffic and the gleam of skyscrapers into this small-town sanctuary. The neon sign of the bar flickers as I take a step back.
"I can’t have one vacation? Just one," I spit out, still processing. "You blowing up my phone isn’t enough? You had to show up in person? I'm surprised you didn’t take one look around this town and turn back."
"You haven't responded in days, Sawyer," he says. His tone is almost... desperate? Concerned? It's hard to tell with him; emotions are just another accessory he can adjust like his tie. "So I came."
"Can't say I appreciate the sentiment.”
Honey, her arms crossed over her chest, leans against the polished wood of the bar. "Well, no shit. If it isn't cheater boy himself," she announces, loud enough to make the drunk man asleep on the bartop twitch.
I wait for his reaction. His face gives away nothing. Around us, the locals exchange glances, their expressions a mix of curiosity and judgment. They watch him, this man from another world.
"Sawyer," he begins, "can we go somewhere and talk?"
"No," I say, too quickly. "I'm not in the mood. I'm in the mood for… a drink—a big one." Honey’s still watching, amused. “Honey,” I call over. “Make it strong.”
“On it,” she says, grabbing the tequila bottle.
Harrison adjusts his tie. "Alright then. Me too."
He gives the barstool a reluctant glance before he sits, like he’s making sure it’s clean.
"I'll take a Manhattan."
Honey lets out a snort and heads for the beer cooler. As she grabs a bottle, she starts singing loud enough for half the bar to hear her own butchered version of Avril Lavigne.
“He was a cheater boy, she said see ya later, boy…”
She sets the beer in front of him with a grin. “You wish, cheater boy. Here’s what you’re actually getting.”
He exhales, tired. “Perfect.”
"Go back to Chicago, Harrison." I say, taking a seat next to him.
"Thought I'd stay here a few nights," Harrsion takes an awkward sip. "See where you grew up."
"We dated for how many years? And you've never wanted to come here."
"Yeah well, I'm sorry about that," Harrison says, forcing down another sip like it pains him. "I've had time to think—about how much more I should have done, about how important you are." He leans forward. "And I need you back."
"Harrison," I start, my voice steady despite my scattered thoughts. "There's still things I need to figure out here."
"Well," he says, clearing his throat, "I took a couple days off too. So I can help."
"Where are you even staying?"
"That’s a story in itself. This place—no hotels," he chuckles. "So I called the agent who has that house listed in town and asked if I could pay the owner to rent it for a week. Told him I'd send him a few referrals from Chicago—but we both know no one from Chicago is moving to this dump."
Annoyance builds the more he speaks. It's not just that he's invaded my space, it's that he comes strutting in here with the same arrogance, the same presumption that he can do whatever he wants. And to top it off, I'm frustrated that I didn't think of renting that house first.
I should have seen this coming—the grand gesture, the refusal to let me do my own thing. Because if he ever really lost me, that would mean him losing, and Harrison never loses. Not in business, not in life. And certainly not when it comes to me.
I fix Harrison with an icy look. "Well, whatever you needed could have waited. I'll be back in the office soon. It'll survive until then."
Harrison leans back, the tailored lines of his suit doing nothing to hide the tension in his shoulders. "It's not just the office," he starts, but the sentence is cut off by the insistent vibration of his phone.
He pulls the phone out of his suit pocket. "Sorry, I have to take this."
He turns away slightly. "Hello," Harrison's voice is all business. "Yes, Lexi, I can hear you."
It's her—the boyfriend stealing assistant. My gut twists, anger simmering.
I catch only snippets. He hangs up, then drops his phone on the bartop before he turns back to me.
"How's Lexi?" I ask, casually.
"Lexi?" he echoes, buying time. "She's been keeping things together. She’s been... supportive. Making sure I'm not falling apart without you."
“Of course she is.” The words slip out. I can almost taste the bitterness. It's so obvious, isn't it? The fact that he's even saying this right now, the fact that she's still in his life—it should tell me something I should've realized a long time ago.
"I know we made a mistake before, but she’s not as bad as you think she is," he says with that smug little smile he always saves for people he thinks he’s outsmarted. "She just wants to make sure I’m okay, you know?"
My nostrils flare.
His phone buzzes on the bartop. Face-up.
I glance down without meaning to.
A photo flashes across the screen—Lexi, sprawled on a bed in nothing but a bra, lips parted in a pout.
Lexi
Hurry back now
My stomach drops. Then it flips. Then it burns.
He snatches the phone like it might catch fire, slipping it into the inside pocket of his tailored suit like I didn’t see a thing.
But I did.
I saw everything.
My blood boils. My jaw clenches so tight I can feel it in my temples.
Why did he come all this way?
To play games? To prove a point? His ego?
Whatever it was, I’m done.
Just then, Trouble steps up beside me, drops two empty bottles on the bar with a clink. He doesn’t say a word.
“Well, I’m so glad Lexi has been taking care of you because this cowboy?”—I nod toward Trouble—“He’s gonna be real busy taking care of me tonight.”
“Come on, Sawyer,” Harrison scoffs, smug as ever, eyes flicking to Trouble like he’s a joke he doesn’t get. “That’s hilarious.”
“I’m not joking. Not even a little.”
“You really gonna ask this cowboy to be some pawn in your game? To try to make me jealous? That’s what we’re doing now?”
Before I can open my mouth, Trouble’s voice cuts in, calm as steel.
“She’s not gonna do that.”
Harrison smirks. “See? Even the cowboy agrees with me.”
Trouble takes a step forward, slow, deliberate—enough to make Harrison flinch.
“She won’t have to ask.” His eyes lock on him, unshaken. “I’m volunteering.”
Harrison clenches his fists. “No. I’m not gonna let you walk out of here with some dangerous cowboy just to prove a point, Sawyer. That’s not gonna happen.”
I laugh, sharp and humorless.
“Dangerous? You mean the man who took care of my daddy without anyone having to ask him? He’s my brother’s best friend, you ass. He’s been there for my family. And what have you done? Besides your assistant.”
Harrison blinks. He didn’t think I’d say it. Didn’t think I’d dare say it in public.
I reach for Trouble’s hand, threading my fingers through his like it’s instinct. I could care less if his brothers see, if this town sees at this moment. Even if Knox finds out.
I know I told him I could keep this light, just a summer distraction. A fling. Something that wouldn’t matter once I left. But somewhere along the way, Trouble stopped feeling like trouble. He feels like steady ground, like something I want to hold onto.
I’m not ready to tell him—not yet—but I’m already falling for him. Because it doesn’t feel like a fling, I don’t know if it ever really did. It feels like the start of something I’m not ready to let go of.
“Let’s go,” I tell him, my voice firm, final.
We turn to leave—but Trouble pauses. Turns back just enough to look Harrison in the eyes.
“Looks to me like you had your chance…” He tips his hat, all slow and laid back. “Real shame you didn’t know what to do with it.”
One sentence and suddenly I don’t feel small anymore. I feel seen. And damnit, because the more this man defends me, the harder it’s gonna be to keep my walls up.
We make our way out—me in my boots, him with that crooked smile—and Harrison sitting there, simmering.
And it hits me, that whatever this thing with Trouble started as, whatever neat little box I tried to stuff it in, I don’t care anymore.
Seeing Harrison again only proves it. I want Trouble.
Not for the benefits, not just to get back at Harrison.
I want him for me. And I’m done pretending otherwise.