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Sawyer raised his coffeesalute “Clover turned out to be the perfect fit and not just for the job We connected right away A few pineapple shakes and trips to the flea market later, and I was hooked”

Her dad’s fork fell with a clank onto his plate, his eyes wide His face had lost what little color it had Fear twisting her lungs tight, Clover was out of her seat in seconds rushing to his side She and her ot there at the same time

“Stop your fussing,” he said, waving them off as an embarrassed flush filled his cheeks “I’m fine”

Clover’s pulse pounded in her ears as she took a hard look at her dad, but he looked annoyed, not like he was about to have a heart attack for real She let out a deep breath and slid back into her chair

“I’ve gotta get this straight You voluntarily went to the flea market? With Jane? On one of her DIY hell trips?” her dad said, his tone a ?”

Sawyer nodded, just the right amount of bemused wonder on his face

“Laura, darling, call off the dogs,” her dad said with a chuckle, sneaking a sip of his wife’s coffee before she could swipe the cup frooner”

…

Was he a goner? Almost two hours into the drive back to Harbor City and Sawyer couldn’t shake the question

He wasn’t, of course That would be ridiculous It was an unusual situation, and add to that the fact that the condoht and of course it could appear that way, even if someone didn’t know all of the relevant facts Like that the whole farce of an engagement was just another fun adventure for her and an efficient way for him to submarine Operation Marry Off Sawyer Well, not the condo part That was just the bit of reality to smack both of them upside the heads

Could she be pregnant? Yeah Was she? Highly doubtful It was just the once

Said every high school-aged parent ever

Okay, he was not going there

Back to soes affair Had Clover become a distraction? He snuck a peek at her out of the corner of his eye She inding a strand of hair around her finger while she gnawed her bottom lip raw and stared out theat the outer suburbs of Harbor City Her sunglasses were on, which kept hi the look in her brown eyes, but he didn’t need that to know She’d been curled up in the passenger seat the entire trip as if she could e to reach out to her, take her hand at the very least, hter because with every inning to get obvious—especially considering the nuet to the city He had a deal to prep, a trip to Singapore to get ready for, and yet here he was cruising down the highway at a brisk fifty-five miles per hour

Was he distracted? Hell yes