Sweet Tea at Sunrise (23 page)

“Tell me about it,” Raylene empathized. “But you know the good news? You got your heart broken once before and here you are, stronger than ever. You survived and found out just how fabulous you are, and now you have a man who appreciates that. What’s not to love about that? I’d say the odds are all in your favor.”

Sarah ran across the room and gave her friend a fierce hug. “What would I do without you? You always put things into perspective for me.”

“Right back at you,” Raylene said. “Now get out of here and have a wonderful evening. Try not to think everything to death.”

Sarah grinned. “If Travis has his way, it’s much more likely that I won’t think at all.”

Travis was more nervous than he’d been in years. Liz finally looked at him in disgust.

“You’d think you’d never been on a date before,” she chided. “What is wrong with you?”

“I just want this to go well. A lot’s riding on it.”

“Relationships don’t come apart just because one date doesn’t go exactly right. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. The beef Stroganoff will knock her socks off. The asparagus is perfect. The dessert is outstanding, if I do say so myself. I haven’t fixed a chocolate decadence cake like that in a while, but people still remember the last one.”

“Okay, thanks to you, the food’s covered,” he said. “I get that, but what about me? There’s no guarantee that Sarah’s finally going to stop looking at me as if I’m bound to let her down.”

“Only time will prove that to her. You’re just going to have to give her however much time she needs. There’s no magic bullet to get you there faster. Now I’m going to get out of here before she catches me and decides I’m meddling.”

“Or invites you to join us,” Travis said.

“You could have worse company,” Liz teased. “At least I could coach you through these nerves.”

“Just how pitiful would that make me look?” he asked, then held up his hand. “Never mind. I already know.”

Liz gave his hand a squeeze. “Just remember what a catch you are in anybody’s book. You’re not going to be the only lucky one tonight. Sarah’s darn lucky to have found
you.
”

“Maybe I should have you write a testimonial and leave it for her.”

“She already knows,” Liz assured him. “I see it in her eyes whenever she looks at you. It’s time the two of you took a leap of faith.”

When Liz had gone, Travis walked through the house one last time. His furniture had come, there were carpets on the floor and curtains at the windows, but there was something missing. The house still didn’t feel like a home. He wasn’t sure what he’d forgotten.

Then Sarah walked in and, as if the room had suddenly been transformed, somehow it all felt right. She was what the place needed—what
he
needed—and he intended to do everything necessary to make sure she became a permanent part of his life.

The meal, for all the combined effort Travis and Liz had put into it, could have been sawdust for all the attention Sarah paid to it. She studied Travis across the fancy new dining room table and realized he was equally distracted. Unable to ignore her nerves for one more second, she set down her fork.

“This isn’t working,” she announced.

“Is something wrong with the food?” he asked, immediately looking alarmed.

“The food’s great, but I’m a wreck and so are you. Admit it.”

“Why would you say that?” he asked, his expression wary.

“We both know what this date is about and, to be honest, I can’t seem to focus on anything else.”

“You think I’m going to try to seduce you,” he surmised.

“Aren’t you?”

A smile tugged at his lips. “It crossed my mind to try. I was thinking I’d at least wait until after dessert, though. I understand that Liz’s chocolate decadence cake is quite seductive in its own right.”

“Save it,” she said decisively, and stood up. “Let’s get this over with.”

Travis chuckled, but didn’t budge. “Now those are words every man dreams of hearing from a woman he’s hoping will make love with him.”

Sarah studied him with a narrowed gaze. “Are you backing out?”

“Nope, just trying to figure out how to get the romance back into this before it spins out of control into some kind of booty call I’ll hear about forever.”

“I’m too scared to worry much about romance,” she confessed. “Believe it or not, I’ve never slept with anyone besides Walter, and if you don’t make a move soon, I’m probably going to pass out right here.”

Finally, Travis was on his feet. “Well, we definitely can’t have that,” he said, scooping her into his arms and cradling her against his chest. He stood there looking down into her eyes. “We don’t have to do this, you know. We could agree to table it for another time, enjoy
the rest of the meal, then maybe make out on the sofa all night long. Then we can sit on the patio drinking sweet tea at sunrise before you go home.”

“As lovely as that sounds, no. I may never work up this courage again,” she said, terrified that he might back down and she’d have to go through this stomach-knotting tension all over again.

“I just wish you didn’t look and sound as if this were some kind of chore you need to get out of the way,” he told her.

She hesitated, her hand in midair, then rested it against his cheek, her expression softening. “I don’t mean to. If you could feel the way my heart is racing, you’d know how much I want this, how much I want you. I just don’t want to get it wrong.”

“You couldn’t possibly get it wrong,” he assured her. “There’s no way.”

“Don’t be so sure,” she said dryly. “Walter—”

He cut her off. “Walter is not going into this bedroom with us,” he said heatedly. “Is that clear? Neither is anyone I’ve ever been with. Tonight is all about you and me and our first time together.” His eyes held hers. “Can you focus on that?”

Right at that moment, in his arms, with unmistakable desire shining in his eyes, Sarah was pretty sure she’d think of nothing else for the rest of the night…and maybe for days to come.

T
hough she’d resolved to live totally in the moment, Sarah grew increasingly self-conscious as Travis removed her clothes. Despite working out for months at The Corner Spa, despite the weight she’d lost, she was still the mother of two, not some slim supermodel. What would he see when he looked at her?

To her regret, instead of making short work of stripping off her clothes, he took his own sweet time about it. Shivering as his fingers skimmed over bare flesh, she kept her gaze pinned on his face, waiting for any hint that he was repulsed by what he saw. Toward the end of their marriage, Walter had insisted on making love in the dark. Sarah had assumed it was because he couldn’t bear to look at her overweight body. He’d never said or done anything to dispel that notion, either.

Now, though, as her bra and panties disappeared, leaving her completely vulnerable, and Travis’s gaze seemed to be taking her in with a kind of reverence, the last of her nerves evaporated right along with those final scraps of lace.

In that instant her doubts fled. She forgot about
months of being conditioned to expect rejection or criticism. She felt unimaginably beautiful, and for that she would always love Travis. In just a few heartbeats, with a few passionate glances and intimate caresses, he’d restored her body image, right along with the missing piece of her self-esteem. She felt whole again, the way she had before Walter and his family had chipped away at her confidence.

After that, she let herself go in Travis’s arms, let herself feel…everything. Travis took her on the ride of her life, showed her a side of passion she’d only read about in books. He was a thoughtful, generous lover. He turned parts of her she’d never imagined being sensitive into newly discovered erogenous zones.

Even as she lay there, weak and trembling, he looked into her eyes and began to move again, coaxing her to come with him, teaching her that new heights were possible, making her his.

When sensations washed over her like a tidal wave, tears filled her eyes. “I never…” she whispered, her voice catching with the wonder of what she’d experienced.

He touched the dampness on her cheeks, his gaze filled with concern. “Never what?”

“Knew it could be like this. Isn’t that amazing, that I could have been married for all that time, and never had any idea sex could be magical?”

He smiled at that. “Sarah Price, you do the most amazing things for my ego,” he said.

“Don’t get too sure of yourself,” she retorted. “It only counts if you can do it again.”

Travis laughed at that, which was yet another shock.
She’d never known it was okay to laugh in bed, to make fun of yourself or your partner. Walter had never wanted to talk at all. He’d always focused on the end result, not the journey.

“I’ll do it again and again, for as long as it takes to convince you,” Travis offered.

“Now you’re just bragging,” she teased, relishing the freedom this night had taught her.

Travis’s expression sobered. “Care to test me?”

She cupped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. “You know, I think I would,” she said, then drew his head down until their mouths met.

It was hours before they said another word, but this time the silence was especially sweet.

After confirming one more time with Sarah that she thought she could work with her ex-husband, Travis called Walter back into the station to offer him the sales job. Though his personal distaste for Walter ran deep, he was wise enough to recognize that he was the right man for the job. And if Sarah could put the past behind her for the sake of their kids, Travis certainly ought to be able to.

When Walter showed up for the Monday afternoon meeting, Travis gestured to a chair. He studied the man who’d made such a mess of his marriage to Sarah with something that felt surprisingly like pity.

“Okay, Walter, here’s the deal. All of us can agree that you’re the most qualified candidate for this job that I’m likely to find in Serenity, but that’s not the only thing that matters to me. Sarah means a lot to this station—”

“And to you,” Walter said, regarding Travis directly, his gaze unflinching and holding no hint of the animosity Travis had feared.

Travis nodded. “And to me,” he agreed. “My point is that she’s very anxious for you to stick around because of Tommy and Libby. She thinks you’ve changed, that the two of you can work together without friction. I want your promise that will be the case.”

“You have it,” Walter said. “Not to drag you into my personal issues, but back in Alabama, I let my parents run the show. They got in the middle of my marriage. It should never have happened. I should have put a stop to it, but I didn’t. I lost Sarah and my kids because I was stupid and weak. Coming here is a fresh start for me, not just with my children, but for my life. I like Serenity. I want to be a part of the town, not just for Tommy and Libby, but for myself. I’m not going to do anything to ruin my chances of staying here.”

Travis liked what he heard, not just because Walter was saying all the right words, but because he was looking Travis straight in the eyes when he said it. He figured it took some gumption to be that candid with the man who was now involved with his ex-wife.

“Okay, then, we’ll give this a try.” He laid out the terms of the job offer. Walter made a couple of modifications that sounded entirely fair. Travis nodded. “Then we have a deal?”

Relief spread across Walter’s face. “We have a deal. Thank you, Travis. This means a lot. I won’t let you down…you or Sarah.”

“I’m counting on that. Now why don’t you plan to get together with Sarah after her show tomorrow and go
over all the current accounts. She’s the one who has all that totally organized.”

Walter looked surprised. “Sarah? She was never much for organization before.”

Travis scowled at the disparaging comment, and Walter immediately got the message.

“No disrespect intended. I just meant it was different when we were married,” he said hurriedly.

“Well, now she has this place running like a well-oiled machine,” Travis told him. “You’d be wise to take lessons from her.”

“Of course. I’ll get together with her tomorrow.”

Travis watched Walter as he left the station and wondered if he’d done the right thing, after all. But then he thought of how much self-confidence Sarah had gained just in the months he’d known her. If she could handle him—and she did—then she could certainly handle Walter. It might even be fun to watch her putting her ex-husband very firmly in his place.

Sarah regarded Travis with disbelief. “You want me to train Walter to take over the sales?”

“Yep,” he said. “You created the system. Teach it to him. I think it will be a good lesson for both of you.”

“But maybe it’s not the best system,” she said, familiar doubts surfacing. “He’ll probably have a lot of his own ideas. After all, sales is what he did for his dad’s company. It’s a much bigger operation and it’s been in business for years.”

“I think your system suits the station just fine,” Travis said, a glint of determination in his eyes.

Sarah studied him suspiciously. “Is this even about
the system we use to keep track of advertising accounts?”

“Of course it is,” he said. “What else could it be about?”

“Maybe you’re thinking I’d enjoy bossing my ex-husband around,” she said.

Travis grinned. “Well, that, too. Are you saying you’d rather not?”

“You know he’s going to pick everything apart,” she said, resigned to getting off on the wrong foot with Walter, just when they’d started to make peace.

“If he does, I’ll fire him,” Travis replied readily. “There are plenty of people looking for jobs.”

Sarah regarded him with surprise. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Of course. We want team players around here. I’m not saying he can’t modify your system as time goes on, but right now he needs to prove to all of us he can fit in. A huge part of that is going to be showing you the proper respect.”

She frowned at that. “Are you two going to spend a lot of time around here marking your turf? If so, it’s going to get pretty uncomfortable for me and Bill.”

Travis gave her an innocent look and beckoned her across the office. “Sit,” he said, drawing her into his lap. “You and I, we’re together now, right? It’s official?”

She didn’t deny it, but met his gaze. “What’s your point?”

“That I’m not going to waste time staking my claim around a man you divorced.”

Though she appreciated him making their relationship perfectly clear, she wouldn’t have minded just a
tiny hint of jealousy. “You could have at least pretended I’m worth fighting for,” she said.

“You are, absolutely,” he said at once. “But we both know there’s no contest. You don’t want Walter.”

“Maybe he still wants me,” she suggested, just to stir the pot a bit.

A dangerous spark lit in Travis’s eyes. “You think so?”

She considered fanning that spark, but decided it was both immature and risky. She and Travis had found something amazing. Why play games with it?

“No,” she admitted.

“You were testing me?”

“A little,” she conceded.

“Just so we’re clear,” he said slowly, his gaze locked with hers. “There’s not a test you can devise that I won’t pass. You’re the woman I want and I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you and make sure you’re so happy you’ll never even think about looking at another man.”

A warm glow filled her, but she tried her best to act nonchalant. She gave him a bright smile, then said casually, “Good to know.”

When she would have stood and walked away, he pulled her back and covered her mouth with his in a kiss that was unmistakably meant to stake a claim. She sighed when he released her.

“I love you, Sarah,” he declared softly. “Don’t ever forget that.”

“Very good to know,” she said, though this time her voice was a little shaky and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. The first time a man said he loved you was a moment to be savored and held onto for a lifetime.

Walter was amazed as Sarah walked him through the system she’d set up for the station’s current accounts.

“And over here are the files for the contacts each of us has made and our notes about why they didn’t want to advertise with us now,” she said. “If they indicated a willingness to consider it in the future, that’s in the file with a target date for getting back to them. I’ve also made a note about which of us recorded the spots for the current advertisers and included a copy of the scripts. I always ask if they want to make a change when I sign them up for a new series of spots.”

“It’s a very thorough system,” Walter said, genuinely impressed.

Sarah shrugged. “It just seemed to make sense. At first Travis and I were crossing paths with the same people. Something had to be done to make it more organized and professional.”

Walter regarded her with newfound appreciation. Sarah had been an excellent student when they’d met, on the dean’s list more often than not. Why the hell hadn’t he remembered that when his mother was so busy cutting her down because she’d burned a dinner or forgotten to do the ironing?

“I never gave you half enough credit, did I?” he asked, not for the first time.

“You mean for having a brain?” she said wryly. “To be fair, I suppose it was hard to remember that I did when you came home every night to a house that was in chaos.”

“Or when my mother was pointing out your housekeeping flaws to me at every turn. It never occurred to
me that she’d always had help around the house to keep it spotless. Why didn’t you remind me of that?”

“Because I was embarrassed that I wasn’t better at it,” she admitted. “I wanted so badly to be a good wife, to live up to your expectations, but I just couldn’t.”

“I should have seen how impossible it was to keep things organized with two little kids. Even now, when I’m with both kids over at the Serenity Inn, I have a hard time keeping the room straight. Two seconds after they walk in the door, it’s cluttered with toys and my stuff winds up being strewn everywhere.”

She smiled at his words. “Now you know I wasn’t just making excuses.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Now I know. I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”

“Things worked out for the best, Walter. You know they did. If I hadn’t moved here and filed for divorce, you’d still be letting your parents run your life. In some ways, I like to think I set you free.”

“You did,” he admitted, realizing for the first time that it was true. “I couldn’t imagine you walking away from me, but when you did, it was a huge wake-up call. I started actually hearing the kind of junk that comes pouring out of my parents’ mouths. I hate to sound like I was some kind of victim, because that was you. They made your life hell, and I did nothing to stop them. In fact, I followed their lead. I’ll regret that till the day I die. You were my wife. I should have taken your side.”

“Let it go. I have.”

He regarded her in wonder. “You really have, haven’t you? Is that because of Travis?”

“Partly,” she said. “Mostly it’s because I’ve figured
out who I am and what I’m worth. I don’t think Travis would care about me the way he does if I hadn’t figured all that out for myself.”

“Are you two serious?”

Her cheeks bloomed with color. “I think maybe we are.”

“And you’re happy?”

Her eyes lit up. “I really am. It scares me sometimes how happy I am.”

“Then I’m glad for you.”

“You sound as if you really mean that,” she said, clearly surprised.

“I do mean it. After all the mistakes I made, you deserve to be with someone who’ll treat you right.” Despite what he said, there was one thing that nagged at him. “You do know that Travis has a bit of a reputation, right?”

She frowned. “And here it comes…” she said sarcastically. “I should have known there’d be a lecture buried somewhere in this conversation.”

“I just don’t want you to get hurt if it turns out he’s not as serious as you think he is.”

“You don’t need to worry about my relationship with Travis, okay? It’s none of your business.”