Sawyer by Samantha Whiskey

Author:Samantha Whiskey [Whiskey, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
Goodreads: 48219196
Published: 2019-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

12

Echo

Sawyer wiped down the bar as I locked up for the night. He’d shown up after practice and stayed throughout closing. Not to drink or eat, but just to be around me. We were still firmly agreed on the no-strings-attached deal—especially after my overreaction at dinner the other night—but I couldn’t deny just how much I enjoyed his company.

When he was in town, that was. They were smack in the middle of the second round, two games up and two more to win before they could move onto the conference finals. His playoff schedule didn’t allow for a ton of downtime, which would normally be my jam, but seeing as how I liked the son of a bitch so damn much…

“You know,” I said, eyeing him as he shelved all the clean glasses. “If you ever get tired of being a super-star NHL goalie, you’d make one hell of a bartender.”

Sawyer’s grin was slow and easy sliding over his lips. He put up the last glass then leaned over the bar, our roles reversed. “You know I used to tend at a place in Seattle. Helped pay the bills.”

“And look at you now,” I said, sinking onto the barstool before him, content to play this game.

“Yeah,” he said, that familiar weight returning to his gray eyes. “At least we’re winning again.”

“I figured you had a healthy dose of winning and losing in college. Shouldn’t the swings hurt less now?”

“Maybe,” he said, sighing. “Maybe it wouldn’t hold as much weight if I hadn’t moved my mom all the way out here. Hadn’t uprooted her life—”

“She’s happy here,” I said. “You’ve seen her. She’s told you that. And anyone can see how damn proud she is of you.” I reached over the bar and cupped his cheek, the scruff from his trimmed beard scratching my palm. “You have to take ownership of your accomplishments, Sawyer. They’re something to be proud of.”

He leaned into my touch, nodding. A blink and the seriousness in his eyes was gone, replaced with question.

“What?” I asked, dropping my hand.

“Have you ever wanted to do anything else but be a bartender?”

I bit my lip to stop my smile.

“I mean,” he continued. “I know you said you and your dad always dreamed of opening a bar together. Do you still want to? I think you’d be good at it. You practically run this place. I may even know a recently wealthy hockey star who would sponsor such an investment.” The last words were part tease, part truth, and it made my heart swell in my chest.

Stop. No strings.

But friends? That was easy with Sawyer. In fact, before the sex, and hell, even after, he was one of the best friends I’d ever had. Friends were easier. Safer.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked when I’d done nothing but grin at him.

I turned my gaze to the empty bar, my eyes trailing over the custom finishes, the scythe hanging over the shelves of liquor, and back to Sawyer.

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