Playing for Keeps (Heartbreaker Bay #7)(33)

Sadie closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. And then opened her eyes again and texted a reply: It’s your wedding, whatever you want.

Clara’s response was, What I want is to not hear Mom say, “What about Sadie?” I’m tired of this being about you, okay? It’s my wedding.

With a pang of guilt, Sadie texted one more message: I’ll take care of it.

And then she turned off her phone because she had no idea how she was going to take care of it. Her hair was easy enough. The color was a wash-in and would come out with a few more shampoos. Her tattoos were slightly more problematic, but she loved them and wouldn’t apologize for them. She’d simply have Addie double the lace if needed.

What she couldn’t change was that she didn’t know how to be what her family wanted, and she’d lost the need to try anyway. All she knew how to do was be . . . her.

And she liked her, just the way she was.

Mostly. Okay, so she was working on that too. She could certainly start by being a little more . . . open. If she was, if she hadn’t avoided being alone with Caleb for an entire week like a chickenshit, she might’ve gotten another heart-stopping kiss.

And more . . .

Whew. Thinking of sex after not having it for three years made her a little shaky. Maybe she was hungry. Maybe she just needed French fries. Deciding that was it, she headed toward the pub, making a pit stop at the pet shop on the way. Willa was thankfully working late in the back, bathing a cocker spaniel.

“What’s up?” Willa asked, blowing kissy faces to Lollipop.

“I’m in need of French fries.”

“And you want to leave Lollipop here while you do,” Willa guessed.

“If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Willa said. “I still owe ya.”

“You don’t.”

“Yeah, I do.” Willa staggered to her feet and rubbed her baby bump. “Remember when I told you that I wasn’t feeling sexy, and that me and Keane hadn’t managed to have sex in two weeks? And you told me it was never too late to have my slutty phase, that it builds character.”

Sadie smiled. “And?”

“And last weekend, I hired a temp to take some of the overnight dog-sitting shifts. I bought some sexy stuff and seduced my husband. He was so happy, he coaxed me into hiring the new kid as a permanent addition.” She smiled. “We needed that. I mean the night before, we’d fought over the fact that he wouldn’t tell me where he’d hidden the candy I’d asked him to hide from me. I didn’t speak to him for twelve hours.”

“You’re pregnant,” Sadie said. “You were going stir-crazy.”

“To say the least.” Willa reached for Lollipop. “I’ve got her covered. Go have French fries. And a drink for me, okay?”

Two minutes later, Sadie walked into the pub. It was owned by friends of hers, the O’Riley brothers. Finn and Sean were bartending when she sat at the far right corner of the bar, which they kept reserved for the tight-knit group of friends who lived or worked in the Pacific Pier Building.

Finn jerked his chin her way in greeting. “Whatcha having tonight?”

She didn’t drink much. She preferred to eat her calories, thank you very much, but after thinking about Caleb and how much he made her ache for things she’d given up, she realized she needed more than French fries. “Whiskey. On the rocks.”

“Rough day?”

She shrugged. “A banana is a hundred calories. A shot of whiskey’s only eighty. I’m just choosing wisely.”

Someone slid onto the barstool next to hers. She didn’t need to look over to know it was Caleb. She could tell because her nipples got hard.

“How about you?” Finn asked her new barstool neighbor. “Rough day?”

When he didn’t answer right away, Sadie turned to look at him.

“More like frustrating,” he murmured, eyes on her. “Someone I wanted to talk to is playing the coy game and hasn’t returned a call.”

“Maybe it’s not about being coy,” she said. “Maybe it’s about being . . .” What? Afraid? That was weak. And she didn’t do weak. “Cautious,” she said.

“Where’s the fun in that?” As he spoke, there was a flash of something in his gaze, maybe frustration that she was being aloof. But it was instinct, a knee-jerk reaction thanks to her need to try to control her emotions, especially around him.

And for him . . .

But now that he’d had his hands on her, she was having a hell of a time controlling herself at all. And he was changing a lot of what she thought she knew of him. On the outside, he gave the world that laid-back, easygoing smile. All while holding most of himself back.

But in those sixty seconds that he’d had his mouth and hands on her, he hadn’t held anything back, giving her a glimpse of a man who had depths she hadn’t even guessed at.

“What’ll it be for you?” Finn asked Caleb.

“Fuzzy Navel.”

Finn nodded and moved away to make the drinks.

Sadie went brows up. “Did you order a Fuzzy Navel just so I’d ask you why you’d order such a thing?”

“You mean a girlie drink?” he asked.

“To be fair, I’d question any gender’s decision to order a Fuzzy Navel.”