“She knows how to do a lot more. Be ready to be busy with her.” Sawyer started down the steps. “Let’s get you out of the sun with a nice cold drink.”
Cota followed behind Sawyer, then put his hand out to help me. It was nice, but I felt like he had forgotten that, as a ballet dancer, I was not weak. I would never say that to him. He was trying so hard. The open-air living space that they called a patio was like a dream. He had a buffet of fruits and salads. When he’d said drinks, I wasn’t expecting iced tea and lemonade.
“Sabrina, please have the seat of your choice. What would you like to drink?” Sawyer gestured for a server. “Let Bonnie know if there is anything you want.”
“Hi, I would love some lemonade, please,” I answered uncomfortably. “Can I help you?”
“No ma’am, you relax. I will be right back.” She hurried away.
I looked over to see Sawyer and Cota smiling at me. I smiled, then chose a lounge chair facing the ocean. Bonnie was back within minutes carrying a tray with a plate of fruit and a lemonade. I thanked her then closed my eyes to enjoy the breeze.
“She’s asleep. Did you guys bore her already?” I heard Jade tease the men. “Why don’t you two go tour the house while we have girl talk.”
“You haven’t touched your fruit or lemonade.” Jade sat in a lounger next to me. “I got rid of the men. Time to talk.”
“Should I be worried about this talk?” I opened my eyes.
“Are you kidding me? I just wanna know more about you and how it’s going with Cota,” Jade said. “Start with the ballet. Tell me all about it.”
ChapterTwenty-Four
COTA
Sawyer had done an amazing job on the house and layout. It made me want to do one of my own.
“You wanna tell me why you’re hiding out on this island?” I opened the door and walked out on the upper deck. “It’s beautiful, but you seemed to really enjoy designing and you’re good at it, so why quit?”
“I’m still designing. I don’t need to be in New York to do that.” Sawyer stood by the railing. “I just got tired of the cameras and nonstop fancy obligations.”
“I haven’t had to deal with that too much being in school, but I guess I get it.” I leaned on the railing. “Besides, I’m the youngest, less important, Hawthorne.”
“Less important? Ha. I’m not touching that comment. I’m sure, now that you’re out of school, you’ll get pulled into it.” Sawyer laughed. “Or, you have to hide out.”
“Maybe I need my own island.”
“You need to work. I know when I got out of school I wanted to design right away.”
“Same here, but Dad says I need to prove myself.”
“He did the same to me. The difference, though, was that he needed me sooner, so he had to give in.” Sawyer shook his head. “You have to understand. He had to work hard to prove himself as the “younger Hawthorne”. Now he is doing it to us.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t partied near as much as you did.” I looked down over the pool. “I’ve heard the stories.”
“All lies,” Sawyer put his hand to his chest, “I swear.”
“Nice try. I’m not that much younger than you.”
“What now?”
“Murphy asked me to help her at the theatre.” I looked out over the ocean. “I was considering it to get Dad to see I was ready.”
“Then Aunt Victoria came up with this get married plan,” Sawyer chuckled. “What’s in it for you?”
“She asked me to help Sabrina for a year and explained that it would help prove I’m not that college frat boy still.”
“Solid plan. What do you want to do?”
“Design, and I want to be involved in the family business now, not five years from now.” I paced the railing. “How did you get to do it right away?”