Page 38 of Blue Moon

Chapter 16

Sol

Last night with Sawyer had been incredible. I’d never come with a man before. Now I couldn’t stop imagining how good sex would feel with him. I couldn’t wait, but deep down, I was still afraid. Afraid I’d fall in love with him, lose my virginity to him, and then, he would leave me. Sawyer had been right—I was now positive that if I’d lost my virginity to him in San Francisco and had never seen him again, I would’ve been devastated and eventually regretted it. Not just for emotional reasons, either. I was already so addicted to how he made me feel that I’d be crushed if I couldn’t sleep with him every night.

The next morning, Sawyer woke at five to head to the base to begin practicing for the air show, which meant I was on my own. I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be spending the day with him but was going to make the best of the situation. I took a long, luxurious bath, scheduled a massage for the afternoon, and ordered room service.

I texted Raine, and luckily, she was available to meet me for coffee. I started to get ready when my phone rang.

It was Kelli.

“Hey. Don’t worry. I’ll be posting some more pictures later today.”

“Great, Sol, but that’s not why I’m calling. I just received an exciting opportunity for you.”

“Really? In Seattle?”

“No. It’s in Miami. Not this weekend but next.”

Miami? An ache settled in my stomach. I wasn’t interested. Not now. The next stop on the air show tour was in Pensacola, where Sawyer actually lived. I wanted to spend time with him in his home.

But Miami was close to Pensacola. So maybe we could go there for a day for the shoot. I could ask him . . .

But work wasn’t a priority for me at this moment. For once, I was going to put my happiness first.

“I’m not really interested in accepting any new travel gigs right now. I have some money saved up, so I want to take a break and only go where I want to go. Focus on more authentic connections.”

“Hilarious, Sol. You can take a vacation after this gig. Now’s the time to strike while your engagement is hot. Your Blue Angels posts did incredibly well. It would be great if you could somehow post some more of those.”

She was so on to me. My first thought was to confess to her that I was dating Sawyer and then post some pictures of him so I could keep my engagement high without having to accept a new job. But I kept my mouth shut—for now.

I ignored her leading statement. “So, what’s the job?”

“This fashion mogul has requested that you take pictures at various locations in Miami. He’s already sent a contract, and I’ve spoken to him. It’s a wonderful opportunity for you. It’s for one weekend, and it pays fifteen thousand dollars.”

Whoa. Fifteen thousand dollars was nothing to scoff at. And the client had already sent a contract. I’d be a fool to let an opportunity like this pass me by all because I wanted to follow Sawyer around the country like some sort of lovesick puppy. I couldn’t seem to focus on anything but him. Sawyer dominated my mind. I was so pathetic.

Maybe accepting this job would be a good opportunity to see if Sawyer and I had a fighting chance. If I could go away for a weekend and come back, and we still wanted to take this further, then maybe we could make this relationship work in the long run.

“And the guy’s legit?”

“Yup, he checks out.”

Granted, she thought that last guy was legit too, but that was a fluke.

“Okay, I’ll consider it. Send me the contract, and I’ll look it over.”

“Sounds good. I’ll email it now. I’d like to get this finalized by the end of the business day.”

Well, no way that was going to happen—I needed to talk to Sawyer first. I wasn’t going to blindside him.

“I’ll try my best, but I can’t guarantee I’ll make a decision by tonight. I’m on the way to meet my friend today, so I’ll be busy.”

Kelli sighed. “Fine. I’ll check in with you later today. Bye.”

“Bye.”

So much for my relaxing vacation in Seattle. I’d wait until I could go over the contract, talk to Sawyer, and then I would make a decision.