34. Violet

Chapter 34

Violet

“Hey, girl!”

Callie pulls me in for a hug as soon as she opens the door.

It’s been a week since Sawyer officially signed with his new agent, and since Jake had another party today and there are no games on Sunday, I’m here to meet Reese for lunch.

“Hi, Callie.” I smile as I hug my soon-to-be sister-in-law back.

“You look great. Come on in,” she says brightly as we separate, gesturing for me to follow her.

She’s got a smear of blue paint on her cheek, just under her eye, but she doesn’t seem to have noticed it. I rub my finger on my cheek where the paint would be, and Callie gets the hint. She quickly reaches up and smudges it away with the back of her hand, then looks down at it.

“Oops. Thanks. I was up in the art studio Reese built for me working on a new project when I heard the bell,” she explains, and I smile at her.

I’m so glad my brother finally got his head out of his ass and realized just how perfect Callie is for him.

As if summoned by my thoughts, Reese strides down the stairs, freshly showered with his hair still wet at the roots.

“Hey, sis,” he says, nodding at me in greeting before striding over to Callie to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Hey, firefly,” he murmurs, and Callie lights up, beaming as their lips meet in another quick kiss.

They really do look like a picture-perfect couple, standing together like this. Reese’s arm stays wrapped around Callie’s waist, keeping her close as he gazes down at her with adoration in his eyes, and my heart squeezes in my chest at the sight.

I love Callie almost as much as my brother does, and I think she’s perfect for him. I’m so happy they found their way to each other, after being friends for so many years.

But the sight of them makes something inside me twinge a bit—because as much as I keep saying I’m not interested in love or dating, part of me wishes I could have what they have someday.

That thought makes my mind flash with the image of Sawyer’s arm wrapped around my waist like that with Jake standing between us. My heart skips a beat at the thought, and I shake my head slightly to clear it.

Reese looks at me quizzically. “You okay?”

I give him my brightest, most carefree smile. “Yeah, why?”

“Oh, well, I just asked if you were ready to go and you stood there staring at me blank-faced, like you didn’t hear a word of it.”

“Sorry, I was distracted by how cute you two are together,” I cover quickly. Reese rolls his eyes slightly but Callie smiles at me.

“That’s sweet of you to say, Violet. Thanks!”

“Are you ready to go? I’m starving,” Reese says, pressing another soft kiss to Callie’s cheek before letting her go.

“Yeah, I could definitely eat too.”

“Then let’s hit the road. See you in an hour or two, firefly,” Reese tells Callie before we head for the door.

“Good to see you,” I tell her, waving as we leave.

I follow my brother to his car, glancing at him as he walks around to the driver’s side door. I don’t really know where we’re going—he picked the restaurant in advance and insisted on making it a surprise—but my curiosity is killing me.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

Reese flashes me a playful look and pushes the unlock button on his key fob, making his car beep. “Nope. Get in.”

When we’re buckled in, Reese starts the car and turns on some music, then backs out of the driveway.

“Should I be prepared for a long drive?” I ask, and he laughs.

“I’m not kidnapping you, sis. We’re just going downtown.”

True to his word, we park on the street a few minutes later in front of a very fancy looking Thai restaurant that I’m definitely not dressed appropriately enough for. Mildly annoyed, I unfasten my seatbelt and give him a glare. “I wish you’d told me we were going somewhere this nice.”

“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise, would it? And you look great, don’t worry. They don’t have a super fancy dress code or anything.”

“You’d better be right about that,” I say and climb out of the car with him. He at least had the foresight to make a reservation, which is good because the place is buzzing. The host takes us to a two-person table tucked away in the back corner of the surprisingly small restaurant, away from most of the other patrons. The place is decorated in a very traditional Thai style, and even the booths have the trademark accented edges.

“See? No problems at all,” Reese says as he takes his seat and picks up his menu to scan it. A waiter brings us glasses and a large pitcher of water, and Reese orders an appetizer plate of spring rolls to get us started.

“The Panang curry here is incredible. You’ve gotta try it,” he adds, reaching over the table to point at it on my copy of the menu.

“Mmm, okay. Thanks.”

I end up ordering the curry, while Reese gets some sort of soup I’ve never tried before. He collects both our menus and passes them to the waiter, then tucks his hands under his chin and stares at me.

“So, how are things going working for Sawyer?”

I knew he was going to ask about that at some point—the whole nannying arrangement was his idea, after all—so I make sure to keep a neutral expression on my face. “It’s been good. Surprisingly so.”

“Oh yeah?” Reese asks, his brows lifted.

“Yeah. I mean, when you first suggested it, I thought you were crazy. I barely knew Sawyer, and even though I’ve babysat here and there, nannying is a whole other ball game.”

“It’s not that different, is it? Just more time spent with the same kid. Speaking of, how are you getting along with Jake?”

I’m glad for that question because I can be totally honest in my answer.

“Jake is fantastic. He’s such a well-behaved kid, and he’s hilarious too. Sometimes without even trying. I didn’t think I’d ever say something like this, but I really love hanging out with him.”

Reese grins at me. “Good, I’m glad everything’s working out so far. I’ve gotta say, Sawyer seems happier than he’s been in a long time since you started the nannying thing, so you must really be helping him out.”

I bite my lip, both to keep from saying anything I might regret and because I’m more than a little affected by hearing that I’m making Sawyer happy. But is that really because of me particularly, or is it just because he finally has someone reliable to help him with Jake? Either way, thinking that I might be a source of happiness for Sawyer makes my stomach flutter.

“I bet it’s gonna hit them both like a ton of bricks when you have to leave for your new job,” Reese says casually, then taps his phone to wake the screen and check the date. “You’ve only got, what, a little less than a month left to go?”

My heart crashes into my stomach as his words wash over me.

Oh my god, he’s right .

I’ve been so wrapped up in everything with Sawyer, especially since we started sleeping together, that I completely forgot how close the deadline for my move is getting. When I first started, the move to LA felt like an eternity away, like Sawyer and I had all the time in the world to enjoy each other, but Reese just slapped me across the face with reality without even meaning to.

Three weeks. That’s all that’s left. If I’m being honest, it’s not just Jake and Sawyer who are going to be hit hard by the move. I don’t really know how I’m going to handle it, either, especially now that things have really ratcheted up between me and Sawyer.

You always knew this was going to happen. It was part of the deal.

That nagging, condescending voice in the back of my head is right, and I know it is, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’m not ready to end things with Sawyer, not now that it really just got started. And I’m not at all prepared to say goodbye to Jake. I’m honestly not sure which is going to hurt more.

“Sore subject?” Reese prompts, and I realize I blanked on him again.

“No, it’s just… shit. I didn’t realize it was that close already.”

“Aren’t you excited?”

“Yeah, of course. Who wouldn’t be over the moon about starting a new life in California, especially—” I start to say, but catch myself when I remember that Reese doesn’t know about any of what happened back in Chicago. He stares expectantly at me, waiting for me to finish the sentence. “Especially at such a well-known agency.”

“Right,” Reese says, but his forehead wrinkles a bit. Maybe he can guess that I was going to say something else, but I don’t add any more detail.

I’ve never wanted to be a burden on him, least of all now, when things are going well. I love my brother to death, and I appreciate him having my back, but I don’t want him feeling like he always has to look out for me. I’m a grown woman, and I can take care of myself.

Thankfully, the waiter comes with the food, giving us a break in the conversation and me a second to collect myself. I unfold my napkin and drape it across my lap, then dig into the curry.

It’s delicious, and we spend the rest of our meal talking about Reese and Callie’s wedding planning. They’re still in the early stages since they won’t be tying the knot until next year, but I can see the excitement that shines in his eyes as he talks about it. I laugh as he tells me that Noah has been dispensing wedding planning tips to him after practice, my heart warming at the idea of his team captain having his back like that.

I adore how hard my brother and his teammates love the women in their lives. It’s amazing to see.

After we finish eating, I snatch up the check before Reese can grab it, surreptitiously sliding the credit card Sawyer got for me into the little black holder. The other night, he admitted that he didn’t actually get it for me so that I could put business expenses on it—he said he just wanted to make sure I was taken care of. And then he tortured me by edging me until I agreed to put a higher spend on it.

I can feel heat creeping up my cheeks as I imagine how he might “reward” me for doing what he said, and I quickly flag down the waiter so that Reese won’t have a chance to notice.

As we leave the restaurant, he drapes his arm around my shoulder, giving me a brotherly side hug. I hug him back. I’ll definitely miss being this close to him when I move to the west coast.

“Thanks for the lunch, Vi. Next time, it’s my treat, alright?”

I grin. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Oh, hey,” he says, looking down at me. “You’re coming to Grant’s birthday party on Tuesday night, right? Did Sawyer tell you about it?”

I laugh wryly, shaking my head. “Yeah. I still can’t believe Grant agreed to let you throw him a party.”

Reese chuckles, sunlight glinting off of his blond hair, which is a slightly darker shade than mine. “Well, I don’t know if ‘agreed’ is quite the right word. He may have been lightly blackmailed into it. But I’m pretty sure he’s secretly excited.”

I give him a skeptical look. “Grant Parker? The Aces goalie? Excited about a party?”

“Okay, maybe not.” We reach Reese’s car and climb inside, and he starts the engine. “But he’s being a very good sport about it. I know Sawyer is coming, and I’m sure Grant would love it if you were there. Think you can talk Sawyer into hiring a babysitter for the night to give you the evening off?”

“Umm…” I chew my lip, gazing out the window as we leave the parking lot.

Convincing Sawyer to hire a babysitter won’t be hard, since he already invited me to the party and said he’d make sure Jake is taken care of that night. I wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea for me to go though. Would showing up with Sawyer make it too obvious that there’s something going on between us?

But now that Reese has invited me, I have the perfect excuse to show up. And I really like the idea of getting all dressed up and going out with Sawyer, even if no one else can know that it’s a date. I love the time we spend together at his house, whether we’re fucking like wild animals or just hanging out on the couch talking late at night… but sometimes it bothers me that we can’t go anywhere together. It’s better if it all stays a secret, but a night out sounds really fucking fun.

“Yeah,” I say, turning to Reese. “I’ll ask him. And hopefully, I’ll see you there.”