The Bartender's Daughter (10 page)

“
And I assume, by your appearance, that you eventually extricated yourself from your girlfriend’s arms.” She snapped out.

He sighed.
“Sam, she’s not my girlfriend. Yes, she’s been my date to many of these events. It’s expected and I find it makes life easier if I give in on these small things when it comes to my family.”

He took a seat on the couch and rubbed his knee. She had noticed a slight limp earlier when she had first spotted him at the party. She jiggled the bottle in her hand.
“Do you want some?”

Lee
’s eyes quirked in question and she pointed at the knee. He hadn’t realized he’d been doing it. “I’ll take two.”

She got up and grabbed a bottle of water before handing him the pills.

He took a gulp of water. “Please put shorts on or something. You’re distracting me.”

She looked down at herself, noticed that the length of her
T-shirt did not cover the sheer panties she was wearing and huffed off to the bedroom. When she returned, Lee focused on her face. “I showed you mine. Now your turn. How serious are things with you and Dylan?”

She almost lied. The words were there on her tongue but she couldn
’t do it. “We’re friends.”

“
He looked a little more than friendly tonight and the other times I’ve seen him.”

She was tired of standing, her feet still hurting from the heels
, and with only the couch as seating in the living room, she plopped down beside him. “I’ve told him that I’m not available for dating. Despite the way things are, we’re still married and it’s just not right.”

He sat up from his lean on the back cushions.
“You’ve been faithful?”

She hadn
’t meant to tell him that but it came out because she was tired. Bone tired of trying to figure him out and keeping herself buttoned up tight to keep the pain out. She pulled her foot into her lap and began massaging it. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Why didn’t you tell me about the accident?”

“
Of course. I’m sure Dylan couldn’t wait to tell you all about my history.” His eyes hardened as he gripped the water bottle. “Let’s see. I had just destroyed a two hundred thousand dollar car while my father was dying in a hospital, thereby getting myself kicked out of the Marines. It wasn’t something I was very proud of.”

“
You still should have told me.”

He pulled her foot out from her grasp and placed it in his lap. He massaged her toes while he spoke.
“You know, the first minute I saw you, I wanted you.” As she scoffed, he pulled her other foot, making her recline further down the small sofa. “Not just like that. I mean, completely. You were so sweet, so tempting. You looked at me like I could be something more than just a spoiled rich boy that fucked everything up. And then you left and I thought I deserved it. I wasn’t good enough for you. I had squeaked by in college. I spent more time drinking and having sex than doing anything else.”

She put up a hand to her chest at the sudden pain.

He stopped rubbing and looked her directly in the eyes. “Not what you wanted to hear, I’m sure. I’m sorry.” He took up rubbing the ball of her foot again and let the silence open up between them for the next few minutes. His voice was soft when he continued. “And then you took off with Dylan.”

“
I did not take off with Dylan. I moved in with Serena and I waited for you. I told you this already.”

“
I get that but then it was like you left me for someone like I used to be. Dylan was just as spoiled as I was. He was just as much of a player. Hell, we had competitions to see who could get the most numbers during our summers here.”

“
I know how Dylan is. Was.” She let the silence settle over them as he kept rubbing. His hands had moved up to her calves and she struggled against the quicksand pulling her down. Each little press of his fingers sent shockwaves through her body. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t come after me.”

“
At first, I wasn’t sure what I did wrong. I had so much to prove to myself, to my family. You were just one more person I’d let down somehow. I focused, got started on my big plans to do something with my life, to show you that I wasn’t just a dreamer. I could make it all happen.”

“
And then my sister told you that I was dating Dylan.”

He nodded.
“Your father said you had moved in together.”

She closed her eyes at the memory
. “He did eventually but I lied in the beginning. He was so worried about me being in the big city with just Serena. I thought he’d sleep better thinking I had Dylan to protect us.”

“
But he couldn’t protect you while you were at work, could he?”

Chapter Ten

Sam sat up but he wouldn
’t let her pull her legs from his grip. Her skin was soft and such a contradiction to the muscles ranging up her legs. Even if he hadn’t seen her running, he would know she was a devoted runner by the shape of her calves, the muscles in her thighs.

“
Of course not and that had nothing to do with Dylan.”

“
What happened, Sam?”

She shook her head and then finally relented, dropping back down to the couch.
“I worked for this family for a year. Their son, Noah, was the best. I still miss him. His father was home a lot. He’s a writer and Margo, the mom, a Broadway actress. With rehearsals and appearances, she was never home. I got close to Neil. He was, I thought, a good guy. He said I gave him the wrong impression. He said I was giving off these vibes.” She dragged a few breaths into her lungs.

He watched as pain and anger crossed her face.

“He kissed me. I pulled away. I think he thought I was reluctant only because he was married, that I would lose my job.”

Lee stopped massaging her legs. He had to loosen his grip, mindful of her delicate skin. He waited, on the cusp of telling her that he couldn
’t handle hearing what happened to her.

“
When I tried to explain, he pushed me down on the couch. He was on top of me, his hands held my arms down. Their maid walked in while he was kissing my neck.” Her voice drifted off. She closed her eyes, as one small tear slid down the side.

“
Why did you ask the police to dismiss the charges?”

“
Margo sided with him. She said that I had asked for money and when they wouldn’t give it to me, I made up the story to force the issue. I had bruises on my arms but that’s it. Nothing that was substantial. I just wanted it to go away.”

He reeled at the thought of Sam hurt. He controlled his voice when he asked,
“What happened after that?”

“
Serena and Dylan stayed close. They made sure I was okay most of the time and then when I needed that kick to get back into life, Dylan was the one dragging me out of the apartment. With their help, eventually I was hired by another agency. I would have been blackballed if it wasn’t for their influence.”

Her hands clenched into fists on her stomach, her breathing shallow. He reached for the left one and rubbed a finger over the spot below her ring finger. The callous he expected to find was there.
“My ring wasn’t enough protection.”

“
If his marriage didn’t matter to him, I’m sure ours wasn’t going to make a difference.”

“
Damn it, Sam. I should have been there.” He couldn’t pull his eyes from hers. It didn’t matter that it all happened a year ago. The pain was fresh and raw for him.

They stayed like that for a while. Sam closed her eyes while he continued to massage her feet and legs. He hadn
’t told her everything, hadn’t come close to explaining the kind of influence she’d had on his life. He wanted to know if Dylan was waiting for her to be ready to move on. After half an hour, he slipped out from under her legs and lifted her. He was careful to lead with his strong knee.

She opened her eyes as he walked through the threshold of the bedroom.
“I wasn’t sleeping.”

“
I know.” He leaned down to place her on the bed.

She frowned as he straightened.
“I don’t want you to go.”

“
Sam—” He hesitated a moment, his emotions too raw but the need in her eyes nearly broke him.

“
Just for a little longer.” She moved to the middle of the bed as he nodded.

He sat down and remembered the nights they had hid
den out here, the dreams he weaved as they dozed and made love. He toed his shoes off and laid back. Sam nestled into his chest. Her fingers went to the buttons of his shirt and began undoing them.

“
You need to understand something. I slept around a lot.” He felt her stiffen, forcing him to push the words out. “But I haven’t been with anyone since I met you, Sam. There’s been no one else. If we do this, I need you to understand that.”

She rose up on her elbow and looked down at him.
“Melissa?”

He pushed back the hair that had fallen across her face. She was so beautiful, it hurt to want something this bad.
“No one else. I told you. I was hoping I could win you back. Sleeping around wasn’t going to make that happen, and by the time I realized you weren’t coming back I was too angry to get involved with anyone.”

“
We’re quite a pair, aren’t we? If I had come back sooner or if you had chased me down in New York, it wouldn’t have been two years that passed.”

“
And you wouldn’t have been hurt.”

“
You can’t say that. We don’t know what might have happened, Lee. That wasn’t your fault.” Her green eyes focused on his for a second before she dropped back to the bed. “There are too many regrets between us.”

****

In a sudden move, Lee rolled on top of her. His legs between hers, the rough material of his pants rubbed against her legs. “There’s a lot more than regret between us, Sam.”

She could feel it too. The pull, the almost physical connection they shared.

He dipped down, his lips lightly touching hers. His tongue slipped between her lips and stroked. The fires banked earlier at the country club blazed to life. She lifted her hips and pressed into him. His hardness sending a jolt of need down her spine.

“
I’ve missed you. I’ve missed this.” At his urging, she pulled her T-shirt off and pressed her bare breasts against him. It wasn’t enough. She needed the warmth of his skin. She needed all of Lee. “Why is it always like this between us?”

He groaned and then dipped down to lick a path over her collarbones.
“I don’t know, but I can’t survive another minute without being inside you.” He rolled off her to finish undressing. The entire time he never stopped looking at her body. Everywhere his eyes landed, her body ached to be touched. Hunger made his eyes a stormy blue. Need made her hands shaky as she removed the last of her clothes. From the corner of her eye, she saw him pull something out of his pocket and place it on the bedside table before dropping back down beside her. It had to be a condom; she couldn’t take another false start.

“
I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I’ve wanted you. Years, Sam. Years of imagining what you were doing and who you were doing it with.” His right hand squeezed her breast while he slid the other up her thigh. She widened her hips and wrapped her legs around him as he rolled her to her back. He moaned just before kissing his way down to her ear lobe. He gave it a soft tug with his teeth before resuming the path down her neck. “It doesn’t matter.”

She tried to focus on his words but each press of his finger, each kiss tightened the coil of need inside her.
“What doesn’t matter?”

“
Where you’ve been. Who you’ve been with. In this moment, it’s just me and you.” He lavished her breasts, nipping and then licking them. The hand at her thigh slid up and his fingers entered her in one smooth move. The pleasure so immense, she wasn’t sure she could handle it. His lips returned to hers, capturing her moan. He pulled back to grab the condom and put it on while she stroked down his muscular back. His weight pressed her down into the mattress a second later as he slid into her. “I promise I’ll go slow. Next time.”

She arched her back, the feel of him inside all that she
’d dreamt, all that she remembered. She needed more of him, every inch of her body needed contact with his. Through it all, Lee stayed focused on her face. His eyes never strayed from hers. It was so much more than what she remembered. She felt whole again, unbroken.

He gripped her hip tighter, angling her up harder against him. Every muscle in her body tightened. Attempting to hold back was impossible. She gave in then, while the current swept her under. Lee kept up the tempo, staying with her through the storm until moments later, he called out her name.

He dropped down and rolled to her right side, taking her with him to lie on his shoulder. “It’s not enough.”

“
What isn’t?”

He reached back with his hand and grabbed for something on the bedside table.
“For the last week, I thought I could get you out of my system. Just one time in bed and I’d finally be able to move on.” He let out a satisfied sigh as he laid back.

A pain started right below her heart at his words. What they had just done was his attempt at
getting her out of his system
. She’d finally felt like she was home and he was working on moving on. She shimmied away, putting space between them, and closed her eyes against everything that had just happened. His arm tightened on her, bringing her back to his side.

“
Where are you going?” He threw one long leg over her body and grabbed her left hand. She didn’t understand what he was doing, until she felt cool metal slide on to her finger.

She pulled her hand away, her wedding band sat just below her knuckle.
“What are you doing?”

“
Giving you back your ring.” He looked down at her while pushing her hair off her face. “Do you realize how many times I dreamt of this? Of coming here and finding you waiting for me? I’m not letting you go, Sam.”

“
You said you were trying to get me out of your system and now you’re not letting me go. I don’t understand what you want from me.”

“
Hasn’t that been clear at all?” This time she let him take her hand when he reached for it. He kissed the knuckle on her ring finger. “I want another chance. I want you to be my wife.”

****

She was gone when he woke up but it didn’t dampen his good mood. Since the accident, he hadn’t slept longer than four hours on any given night, except in Sam’s arms. There was something about finally being with her that gave him the peace to just sleep. It didn’t matter that the mattress was lumpy, the sheets were scratchy or that a gaggle of geese had set up camp outside the bedroom window. The only thing that finally had him up was the lack of Sam’s warm body next to his.

At the bar, he found his sister huffing and puffing her way through unpacking an overstuffed box of produce. She rolled her eyes when he strutted into the kitchen whistling. She barely pointed at the storage closet when he asked where Sam was. When he found her, he was compelled to touch her, and when he touched her, he was compelled to kiss her. He could already see this was going to be an endless loop of more and more touching until he got used to seeing her again.

She was stretching up on her tiptoes to slide a carton of cups onto the highest shelf when he sidled up behind her. His hands landed on her waist and he pulled her back into him. “Why didn’t you wake me? I would have given you a ride.”

When she laughed, he realized the double meaning of his words.
“I meant in the car but I wouldn’t have been opposed to any other kind of ride either.”

“
You were dead to the world.”

He tightened his grip and continued to kiss the back of her neck.
“I think you could have found a way to wake me.”

She looked back at the door and stiffened.
“Don’t do that here.” She moaned lightly as he nipped her earlobe.

“
Why?” He said the word softly against her ear. He loved the way she shivered against him.

She placed her hands on his and pulled them off her hips.
“It’s not right.”

He interlocked his fingers with hers, using the leverage to keep her in place. Something felt wrong about the way her hands felt in his. He had slept more than an hour last night holding her left hand and enjoying the feel of that metal band against his fingers. It wasn
’t there now. He lifted her left hand up. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

He turned her around to look into her eyes.

“No. I’m just not ready to answer questions, Lee. What should I say when people ask when it happened?”

“
Tell them to mind their own business.”

“
That’s ridiculous. Of course, people are going to wonder. My sister, the people we’ve known here forever. Am I supposed to pretend like everything is perfect between us? What about the fact that I’m living in my father’s cottage?”

“
That’s easy. We’ll move your stuff into my house tonight.”

Sam stepped out from under his arms and walked over to straighten a box off in the corner.
“This is my first time living in my own space. No, Lee, I’m not moving in with you. We have to figure this thing out and I’m not going to be rushed to do that. I still have a lot of questions.”

He pushed back from the shelf he leaned on and again walked toward her.
“I thought I told you everything last night. Ask me whatever you want. I’m not hiding anything.”