Page 76 of Sawyer

Sawyer smirked. “Yeah, well, with the prize this time around, I’m not surprised.”

Apparently, the prizes used to be pretty low-key, at least according to what Miles and Sawyer had told me.

Things like fewer patrol shifts, a small trophy, or even just bragging rights for the year.

The biggest prize so far had been a coupon for all-you-can-eat and drink at Griffin’s bar, but after the winners that year practically demolished his stock, Griffin never made the offer again.

This year, though, the stakes were high. A weekend stay at a five-star hotel.

With that kind of reward, everyone was eager to compete. Nobody even minded that there was an entry fee to participate for the first time.

Sawyer scanned the crowd, his eyes locked on the racers at the starting line.

He muttered something under his breath, then, without warning, took my hand.

“Let’s stand here,” he said, leading me toward a spot at the far end, between an older couple and Jake, one of the enforcers I’d met before.

I glanced over and saw Noah at the other side of the line. He waved me over with a grin.

“Let’s go there instead,” I suggested, taking a step toward Noah, but Sawyer didn’t move.

He was too busy whispering something to the older couple next to us.

I frowned, tapping him on the shoulder. “Hey.”

He turned, his expression innocent, like I hadn’t just caught him scheming. “Hmm?”

“I know what you’re doing,” I said, crossing my arms.

A week ago, when they announced the prize, Sawyer had gotten a little obsessed with practicing for the race.

He had this wild idea about winning and using it as our honeymoon getaway.

Every evening, he’d drag me out to “practice,” coming up with tactics that—let’s just say—didn’t exactly go as planned.

After a few failed attempts and one minor tripping incident, I thought he’d given up. But apparently, he had a Plan B.

Sawyer gestured to the couple next to us. “Look, these are my dad’s old friends,” he said, then jerked his thumb toward them. “They agreed to help us out—call it a wedding present.”

Then he nodded at Jake, who was already stretching beside us. “And I promised I’d cover four of his patrol shifts next month.”

I shook my head, half-laughing at how serious he was about all of this.

Sure, the idea of a free hotel stay was nice, but the way Sawyer was pulling strings and calling in favors just for a race was ridiculous.

And sweet. The thought that he’d go to these lengths for a little weekend getaway... well, it was hard not to be touched.

Sawyer leaned in, whispering, “So, is it alright?”

I bit the inside of my cheek, glancing around. A fancy hotel stay did sound pretty nice.

I pictured us lounging in one of those ridiculously oversized beds, wearing soft, matching robes, maybe taking a late-night swim in the pool, and enjoying room service breakfast in bed the next morning.

Yeah, we could definitely enjoy that.

I looked down as Sawyer knelt, fastening the band around our ankles for the race.

His hands brushed gently over my ankle, his fingers lingering just a moment longer than necessary.