Act Like You Love Me (An Accidentally in Love Novel) (Entangled: Bliss) (18 page)

Chapter Twenty

Brynn thought she’d feel better once she got out on the water. After she’d shot death glares at a customer for asking her to take all the lures down so he could see them better, Paul decided she needed the rest of the day off before she strangled someone. He’d given her the spare key to Dad’s boat and pointed toward the lake. Suddenly all that water looked like the perfect escape.

So she’d driven the boat out until the buildings along the shore were tiny squares and the breeze was whipping her hair around her face. She’d even baited a pole and set it up, though she was staring through it more than at it.

While at least she felt less like inflicting bodily harm, irritation was still coursing through her veins. Maybe it was the looming dark clouds overhead, or maybe it was the way time had slowed to a slug crawl.

Or maybe it was because she’d wanted to scream/cry/throw things ever since she noticed the
For Sale
sign in the yard next door had been taken down. Actually, there was no maybe about it.

She’d told herself it was okay. That it didn’t change anything. She was still going to find a way to show Sawyer how much she missed him; she just needed to figure out how she was going to pull it off. Showing up on his doorstep in New York seemed like a total stalker move, but she hadn’t ruled it out.

She could try calling again, but somehow it didn’t seem like enough—there was no way she could truly express how sorry she was about everything, or how much she wanted him to give her another shot. Even if they had to date long distance. At this point, she was considering telling him she wouldn’t mind if he dated other people on the side if he wanted to.

But that would be a lie, and probably not the best way to start fresh with Sawyer.

Still, that missing For Sale sign hung over her, making her feel like she was too late.

A drop of water hit her nose and then her cheek. She looked up, the falling raindrops shining in the rays of sunlight trying to break through the gray sky. The breeze picked up and the dark clouds shifted, covering the sun.

Dad always swore rain brought out the fish. Brynn didn’t know about that, but as long as it didn’t get too heavy, she enjoyed the occasional rainstorm. How it would cool off the hot summer afternoon and make everything smell fresh and clean. The way the raindrops would make little ripples across the surface of the water.

Thunder rolled in the distance and the air shifted, as if the storm was only getting started. A little rain was okay, but if it got too heavy, she could get cold. Plus, if lightning started up, well, she was one of the tallest things on the lake, so there was also that to worry about.

To stay or not to stay. That is the question.

How much more time did she need on the lake? She thought of having to look out her window at Sawyer’s now-sold house, and decided maybe she’d live here instead of going back and seeing someone else moving in. More drops fell, faster and faster, the water starting to seep into her clothes.

The motor of a boat buzzed in the distance, growing louder by the second. Brynn glanced toward it, blinking at the water sticking to her eyelashes. Common courtesy said to keep generous space between boats, but this one was driving right at her.

It’s going to stop before barreling into me, right?
Her pulse quickened.
Unless the driver can’t see me through the rain.

The boat slowed and banked last minute, the waves rocking her enough she had to grip onto the railing.

“Brynn? Is that you?”

She recognized the voice before she could make out Sawyer’s features. Goose bumps broke out across her skin and she could hear her rising pulse pounding in her ears. She put her hand over her eyes to block the rain and squinted, needing visual confirmation before her emotions skyrocketed completely out of control. Sawyer’s dark hair was slightly damp, his cheeks reddened from the wind—but it was him.

“Thank goodness,” he said, moving toward her. “I went by the shop and your brother told me you were out here. I’ve been searching every green boat on this lake. There’re more than you’d expect.”

Some time between realizing it was him and trying to make sense of his words, Brynn’s heart had stopped beating.

“Also, there wasn’t anyone manning the rental place when I got there, but the keys were in this boat, so…let’s just say I borrowed it, and people
might
be looking for me soon.” Sawyer got up onto the edge of the boat. “But I had to find you, and I couldn’t wait another second. Brynn…” Sawyer took a large step, starting across to her boat. But it rocked and his foot slipped on the wet siding. She watched in shock as he fell into the lake with a loud splash.

“Sawyer!” She dropped down to her knees and leaned over the edge.

His head broke the surface of the water. He shook out his hair and shot her a sheepish grin. “That went differently in my head.”

She couldn’t help but smile at that, despite the ball of nerves twisting in her gut. It was the story of her life, everything going differently—and more disastrously—than she’d planned. As he swam to the edge of the boat and climbed on, her heart started beating again, faster and faster, like it was trying to make up for all the beats it’d missed.

And then he was standing in front of her. His hair was plastered to his head and water ran down his face in rivulets, clumping his eyelashes together. His shirt was molded to every sexy inch of his torso, and she wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry or throw her arms around him and beg him never to leave her again.

Sawyer reached out and cupped her cheek. “Maybe I didn’t see you in high school, Brynn McAdams…but now you’re all I see, everywhere I look.” He took another step closer, until their chests met, rising and falling against each other, so close not even the rain could get between them. “I’m sorry I was too scared to stay before. But I’m going to try to fix it.”

“I was about ready to come to New York and bang down your door,” Brynn said. “I just…didn’t know where it was.”

One corner of his mouth twisted up. “Well, now all you have to do is walk a few steps from your place to mine. Bang down my door any time you want.”

He didn’t sell the house!
Sweet relief flooded her, and the sense of wrongness that’d been plaguing her since she saw the missing sale sign lifted. Brynn placed her hands on the sides of his waist. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth, but I was afraid once I did, you wouldn’t want the real me.”

“I was afraid to admit that I might need another person, so I guess that makes us even.”

“Just to be on the safe side, there are some things you should probably know…” She peered into his green eyes. “I know enough about fishing to write one of those ‘For Dummies’ books on it.”

Sawyer slid his hand from her cheek to her neck and stroked his thumb across her jaw. “Good. I plan to do a lot of fishing now that I live here.”

“And I randomly break into song, and often quote lines from classic literature and plays in normal conversations.”

“I need more culture in my life. Plus, I think it’s adorable when you do that.” Another brush of his thumb, and her breath grew shallow.

She licked her lips, trying to focus, needing to get it all out. “I have seven kissing figurines and I’m obsessed with love stories and the reason my birds are named Lance and Guinevere is because I always wanted those two to find a way to be together.”

Sawyer smiled down at her and her heart rate rose impossibly high, making her dizzy. “Who doesn’t love a sweeping bird romance?”

Warmth flooded her body, affection and attraction all at the same time. Now for the hard part—the part that replaced her momentary happiness with a sharp ache. “In high school I was in drama club, dressed weird, and obsessed over a cute boy I didn’t even know.”

Sawyer lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers. “Lucky boy.”

A tight band formed around her chest. “And in my only school play appearance, one of the actors stepped on my skirt and the entire school saw my underwear. It was awful.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. But if it makes you feel any better…” He placed a kiss on the sensitive spot just under her ear. “I’m dying to see you in your underwear.”

A laugh escaped her lips.

Sawyer rested his forehead against hers, the wet from his clothes seeping into hers and further soaking her, but she didn’t care. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tighter.

“I have a couple of confessions, too,” Sawyer said. “In high school, a beautiful, unique girl apparently asked me out. And I was dumb enough not to say yes. Now, I could make the excuse that I was lost, unable to think about anything except how my dad was going to die—and it’d be the truth. But that girl didn’t deserve to be treated like that. And later, when I got lucky enough for that girl to give me another chance and she told me she loved me, I freaked out…”

He locked eyes with her. “I’ve missed you so much. Not the fake girl, but the one who sang while she painted, teased me about liking grape soda, and got up onstage and threw herself into a part so much that I got lost in the story. That’s the girl I fell for. That’s the girl I’m in love with.”

Tingly butterflies swarmed her stomach and a euphoric buzz flooded her from head to toe. “I love you, too.”

Time slowed, each raindrop falling from the sky glittering around them. Then he pulled her flush against him and captured her mouth with his. It was a blur of lips and tongues, hands sliding over her body, the feel of his skin under her fingertips. The taste of fresh rain in his kiss, the cool water pouring from the sky combating the heat rising through her body.

She sucked his lower lip between hers and smiled when he groaned.

Sawyer had come back for her.

He loved her.

And surprisingly enough, the romance stories she’d always loved so much didn’t have nothin’ on the real thing.

Epilogue

Sawyer kept typing a sentence or two, and then glancing at Brynn. Another sentence. Brynn. She’d said she didn’t mind if he worked on his computer in bed—that she had a novel to keep her busy. Only all he could think about was keeping her busy in other ways. They’d made good use of his new bedroom furniture—an antique oak set that had made Brynn’s eyes light up when she saw it in the store. She’d gotten so excited picking it out, he’d told her she could be in charge of decorating the master bedroom. It was now the perfect blend of his style and hers, and his new favorite room in the house.

A whole month had passed since he’d officially moved from New York, and life just got better and better. His agent had sold his new screenplay—and they were actually filming the movie in Wilmington, where he was going to try his hand at directing. It might crash and burn, but Brynn was on board, telling him he could do it, and that made him feel like he could. Well, that, and it made him love her even more, which he’d thought was impossible. Yet every day, he did.

He typed another sentence, stared at the blinking cursor for a couple of beats…and then closed his laptop. Brynn glanced over the top of her reading glasses at him, and his heart rate kicked up several notches. He set his computer on the nightstand and then leaned over and kissed Brynn’s shoulder.

She raised an eyebrow. “You told me I needed to hold you off until you got your pages done, and I know you didn’t get them written in fifteen minutes.”

“I didn’t realize you’d be so distracting,” he mumbled against her skin. “I’ll get to the writing later.”

“No, you told me if you said that, I should use sex to motivate you.” She shrugged her shoulder, bumping him off it. “So open up that computer and get your pages done. And
then
you’ll get your reward.”

He moved his lips to her neck, smiling when he heard her sharp intake of breath. “You know what I was thinking?”

She tilted her head back, allowing him better access. “That you’re going to blame me later when you don’t have your work done?”

He kissed his way across her jaw. “Besides that.”

Brynn took off her glasses and set them on the side table—she was giving in. When she turned back to him, she ran her fingers through his hair, managing to turn him on even more than he had been seconds ago. She pressed her lips lightly to his. “What were you thinking?”

Thoughts were getting fuzzy, and it took him a moment to realize he’d started a conversation. “I was thinking that you go nicely in my bed.”

She pushed him back. He was about to complain, but then she straddled him, her nightgown sliding up so that her bare thighs were against his. Her dark hair hung around them like a curtain. “I’m an accessory now?”

He grinned. “A really sexy accessory. And I was kind of wondering…” He slid his hands up the smooth skin of her thighs, gathering the silky fabric in his hands. “If you wanted to be a permanent one.”

She jerked upright, her eyes going wide. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “Move in with me.”

The heat running through his body cooled a bit. Maybe this wasn’t the best time to ask a question like that. Hell, he didn’t know how to do it. He’d just thought it and blurted it out. Maybe Brynn wanted something more planned out. More romantic.

But then the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen curved her lips, easing his worries. “You think you can handle me full time?”

“Hell yeah.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

It was like the last piece inside him clicked into place. He felt whole in a way he hadn’t in years, and he saw that image he’d been envisioning a while ago, with he and Brynn and a couple of kids. He could see a future, and instead of wanting to run from it, he wanted to hold on tight.

Brynn slipped her hands under his T-shirt, tugging it up over his head. Then her soft lips came down on his. “You were right,” she said, her voice breathy. “Work can definitely wait.”

Acknowledgments

Thanks to my husband and children, who were supportive all through this book, from the brainstorming through the writing and editing and panicking and burning of dinners. Yeah, that was pretty crazy, but we survived, so yay! Thanks to my sisters Randa and April, who listened to me as I ran a hundred ideas by them trying to get this book right, and assured me I could write it, even when I doubted it. Super huge thanks to my sister-in-law, Crystal Vaughn, for her knowledge about putting on plays, and for answering my MANY texts, e-mails, and phone calls. And for being the kind of girl who is brave enough to get onstage. To my critique group, Julia Allen, Brandy Vallance, and Bob Spiller, for looking at large chunks at a time and telling me I was on the right track and that you laughed in all the right places. And more than that, for being amazing friends.

I also got encouragement from Jennifer Probst, Lisa Burstein, Rachel Harris (another brainstormer in crime), and Karen Erickson along the way. And as always, thanks to Anne Eliot, who had to endure many frantic phone calls and always found a way to bring it back to the magical elixir. What would I do without you, my friend? You and I, we’re the same.

My editors, Stacy Abrams and Alycia Tornetta, make me a better writer, and on top of being good at their jobs, are a total blast to hang out with! Thanks to my amazing support team at Entangled, editors, publicists, writers—you all rock! I’d be lost without my publicity team, Heather Riccio, the publicist ninja, the fabulous Jessica Turner, and Elana Johnson.

To my girls in the Time Zones Will Not Defeat Us Club, huge hugs! You make me feel like a rock star, and it’s so nice to have a place to chat books and so much more. To my parents, who’ve always been there for me. Thanks to my brother, Greg, for fixing everything in my house that fell apart so I could ignore it and keep writing. I’ve got an amazing support system of family and friends, including my extended family and the amazing one I married in to. To all the bloggers who’ve read and reviewed my books, I appreciate it so much! Special shout-out to Andrea Thompson, who always keeps me entertained on Twitter. 3DG forever, glad we don’t have to sob anymore.

And to anyone who’s read my books—THANK YOU! Because of you, I get to keep doing the best job in the world.