“Get a room.”
“Huh?” Jill rose and turned to the sound of a smooth-as-whiskey voice.
Sam grinned. “You two look like you’ll be pretty happy together. Even if you are a different species.”
“Meet Ms. Wildflower, my nemesis.”
“Looks harmless to me.”
“Shows how much you know!”
He quirked a brow. “How is this flower hurting you?”
“It’s not,” she huffed. “But I might be hurting it. I found out this morning that I have to get through one more snooze fest of a city council meeting because a resident is concerned about a wildflower on the ridge that’s indigenous to the area. We had an environmental study and no one mentioned it.”
“And this is the flower?”
“You see any others around here?” She shoved past him. “It’s called Wildfire Ridge for a reason.”
He followed her, steps behind her. “What does this mean? You can’t open?”
“No one’s going to stop me from opening. But it means lots of meetings and reports and maybe...delaying our opening.”
This didn’t seem to faze him in the slightest. “And?”
“And that wasn’t the plan!”
“Move to Plan B, babe.”
“Move to Plan B, he says. Move to Plan B.”
“Is there an echo here? Calm down. We can work this out.”
He smiled and stepped into her personal space. One hand wrapped around the nape of her neck. Nervous, she did her usual yammering when a really hot guy was this close. A super hot guy that she had growing feelings for.
“I’ve sunk thousands of dollars into marketing with our opening date. I’d have to spend more money changing everything. All the graphics and ads. We’re booked solid for six months. And I’ve already invited so many people to our grand opening.” She took a breath, and then a chance. “I had hoped you would invite your parents to come. But not until I’m sure of the exact date.”
His hand came down and he took a step back. “Why would I invite them?”
“Because, Sam, they were wrong.”
The expression that crossed his face wasn’t the one she’d wanted to see. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. “Don’t. Don’t do this. You’re feeling sorry for me. I didn’t ask you to fix me.”
“I’m not trying to fix you.” She pointed to him. “That was you. You said you were trying to fix your bad decisions.”
“This isn’t about me.” He shook his head. “You say you don’t care whether your parents come to the grand opening. You think you don’t care whether they approve of what you’ve done here. But you do.”
“That’s not true. I don’t need anyone’s approval, least of all theirs.”
“Then why did you take on such a huge venture? You don’t take on something as public as this is if you’re not looking to impress someone.”
He’d managed to turn this all around on her, but she didn’t want to hear this. Her parents had nothing to do with her choices. Stepping away from him, she wandered down a trail.
“You don’t know me like you think you do. You’re wrong.”
“I’m wrong?” He followed her. “It’s clear that your big brother is your hero. And good choice, by the way. But I get that he may have stolen some of your thunder.”
“Ryan didn’t... Okay, look. I’m not talking about this.”
She hiked farther down the path hoping he’d catch the hint she’d just pitched him and leave her alone. She liked stewing in denial on her own. Her trail of denial was an expert-rated hike and she could do it with her eyes closed.
But he was still following. The ground was so dry that she lost her footing a little and slid down part of the trail, recovering her balance by grabbing onto a sturdy shrub. “God, I hope you’re not a special snowflake, too.”
“You talking to a shrub now?”
“I’m not talking to anyone right now. Especially not you.”
He was right, damn it. Being up close and personal with Sam, who truly didn’t need anyone’s approval, forced her to see it clearly. He wasn’t faking this. It was clear he didn’t care. But she’d wanted her parent’s approval far too much for a badass such as herself. And okay, maybe all the encouraging self-talk hadn’t helped. Her theory was “fake it till you make it.” She should be past wanting approval from anyone, but saying it to herself and anyone who listened didn’t make it true.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Sam reading her so clearly. Not just seeing right through her, either, but calling her on it, too. Ryan probably suspected too, but he hadn’t confronted her. He hadn’t been right in her face about it like Sam had. He reminded her of herself. It was exactly what she did with her friends and with anyone she truly cared about. Try to get them to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
Even though she’d appreciate some approval sometime this millennium, that’s not why she’d put her heart into this project. Sam was right that she could have chosen many other businesses that weren’t this public but she was tired of working for something that didn’t have her whole heart. This idea had gripped her from day one and she just couldn’t let go despite the all-consuming work and time involved.
She continued to walk the trail leaving Sam in the dust. But he was a hell of a lot more sure-footed than she and in no time at all he’d cut through the trail and was ahead of her.
He stood before her, those strong arms folded across his chest, and the hint of a smile on his sensual mouth. She’d never seen a man look better in a pair of tan cargo pants and a T-shirt. Said T-shirt strained against his arm candy biceps, which had something to do with it. Sam wasn’t wearing the T-shirt. The shirt was wearing him.
“Hey, I’m sorry. Let me make you a deal.” His gaze was full of a mix of sensuality and compassion that shocked her to the core. “You stay out of my personal business and I’ll always have your back.”
“What?” This man of all people was going to have her back? Not possible.
He took another step forward and his hands slipped to her waist. “Look. You’ve done a great thing here. I know it, and every one of the men know it. Your brother knows it. Soon the whole damn town is going to know it. What you need to do is stop caring so much what your parents, or anyone else, thinks. Stop trying to show them that your version of you is better than their version.”
Since he’d done such a good job of it himself, he might figure it should be that easy for everyone. “Oh really. Is that all?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t say it would be easy. But it has to be easier knowing you’re right.”
“What does that mean?” That sounded odd. “Knowing I’m right?”
“You had the best of intentions. Starting a unique business and doing some good, too. Setting out to help veterans find work. And that’s exactly what you’ve done. Because sometimes, even with the best of intentions, plans don’t work.”
She was about to tell him that they couldn’t know for sure this would work. If they didn’t find enough clients and enough revenue, they’d fold in a year. And then her intentions wouldn’t matter at all.
But his eyes were filled with a look of either pain or regret. She wasn’t sure which and didn’t want to press.
“It’s good to know someone understands.”
“More than just me. Julian, Ty, Michael. We all appreciate the work. I won’t lie. I used to think the agency sounded like a charity. Then I wondered if this place was hiring out of a similar belief. And there’s probably some of that. Wanting to help vets. I don’t like it, but I get it now and I accept that it’s a good thing. Some of us move around a lot. I’ve only been out for a while myself but I can’t seem to find a job that sticks.”
“Why?”
“It seems like I can never find anything that’s hard enough. Challenging enough. Can’t sit behind a desk,
obviously.”
“You do like to push yourself.” She admired that about him, too. It was all she could do to haul her butt to the gym.
He gave her an easy grin causing her to think about last night and one other way in which he liked to push himself past limits.
“I like the way we’re doing so well with our shared history. We’re both very mature, I’d say.”
“Agree.”
“Neither one of us are even thinking about last night.” That wasn’t really true. She had thought about it, just not in the past few hours, though she was now of course. Hard not to.
“I’m not going to lie. Thought about it. At least twice today.”
“Only twice?”
“Lied.” He winced. “Twice an hour.”
The pleasure those words elicited caused a shiver to skim down her spine and heat to pool between her thighs. He didn’t regret them. The whole point of one more time had been to find out if it had been a fluke. She guessed neither one of them expected it to feel like the first time. To want more, and this time have an option. Except the option wasn’t really there, or it shouldn’t be.
She had to remember that.
“I thought about us, too, and I don’t know what to do about that.” Her voice sounded shaky.
“Let’s forget last night happened.”
Well damn, he seemed serious. Forget it happened? Forget? How was she supposed to do that when she hadn’t forgotten in three years of his being out of sight and—mostly—out of mind? Apparently forgetting might be easier for this man than it would ever be for her.
She wouldn’t let him know how much the words stung.
“Is that what you want?”
He stepped even closer and tugged on a lock of her hair. “No.”
She was so relieved to hear the words, to see the slow smile on his lips, that for a moment she was at a loss for words. “Okay then.”
He cursed under his breath. “Keep screwing this up. I’m trying to make this easier for you. To give you a graceful way to back out of what we started here.”
“Do me a favor? Don’t make things easier for me.”
“Fair enough. I should ask you. What do you want?”
If she was being honest, and this just might be the time to do that, she would have to say that she wanted him. By her side. In her bed, or maybe his bed since her cot was now broken. Either way.
“All I know is I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Please. Don’t let me be alone in that.
The pads of his calloused fingers tipped her chin to meet his gaze. “Do me a favor? Don’t stop doing that.”
“Sam,” she whispered.
“Can’t stop thinking about you, either, and you have to know I tried.”
“So...tonight?” she asked hopefully. Jill batted her eyelashes. “Let’s break your cot this time.”
“I promised Julian I’d meet him and the men after work.” He sighed. “And I’d break those plans in a second if it wouldn’t be the fourth time I’d be breaking them. I’m trying, babe. It’s exhausting but I’m trying to be social and not so much of a loner.”
“You don’t seem exhausted when you’re with me.”
“That’s true. I’d say you’re the exception. You always have been.”
The words squeezed her heart and touched it in a way it had never been touched before. “That’s possibly the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“I would think you hear that all the time.”
“Um, no. Try again.”
He cocked his head. “What do you hear?”
“Can you tone it down a bit?”
“That I can believe.”
“Sometimes my positivity seeps out into the conversations I have with others. It’s all the affirmations I tell myself every day.”
“Affirmations.”
“Yeah, how else do you think I convince myself I’m a badass every day? You think this is just put together with luck and spit?” She widened her arms.
“God, you make me laugh.”
But he wasn’t laughing. His lips were twitching like he wanted to smile but there was no sound.
“You’re not laughing, Sam.” It had to be said.
“Oh yes I am, babe. Yes, I am.”
With that, he walked away, but he did do it smiling.
Chapter Thirteen
That evening, Jill drove down the hill to her lonely little cottage on a small residential street in Fortune. An evening of Google searches on California indigenous wildflowers lay ahead of her, along with possibly a glass of wine or two. Or three. No doubt she’d do some thinking about Sam tonight, too. She’d start by remembering what it felt like to know she wasn’t alone in her feelings. To know that he didn’t want her to stop thinking about him. To understand he thought she was the exception. His exception. The smile that had twitched at the corners of his lips and the wicked gleam in his shimmering eyes.
Oh boy. She could fall hard for him.
Shakira waited in her trusty cage. After rummaging in the vegetable crisper for Shakira’s steady diet of rabbit food, she carried a bowl to her cage and served Her Highness. Her little white ball of fur moved forward, pink nose twitching in anticipation, vacant eyes giving Jill nothing.
“Hello, Shak. How’ve you been, sweetie?”
Jill wasn’t actually a rabbit person. According to Zoey, her kindred animal was a horse, but a bunny was the only kind of pet Zoey trusted Jill with at this point. She always deferred to Zoey in all things animal related. Zoey in turn deferred to Jill in all things fashion and makeup related.
Apparently rabbits liked quiet and calm and this often-empty house was perfect. Jill spent too much time away from home. Too much time working. The past two years had been like this, a nonstop cycle of work, sleep, work, and so it was no wonder that she hadn’t met anyone. She hadn’t even tried.
She’d been neglecting that side of her life, certain that she didn’t need a man and without a doubt, didn’t have any time for one. Opening one’s heart meant being vulnerable and taking the only kind of risk Jill Davis didn’t take. But now that she’d watched Carly settle into marital bliss with a baby and a hunk, all without sacrificing her career, Jill had hopes it could be done. And maybe she wanted that, too, someday.
In the meantime... Sam.
Was Wildfire Ridge still just a stop for him? Maybe after they got the park running smoothly and just when she would have come to depend on him, body, mind and heart he’d be on to the next big thing that challenged him. She wanted him to stick around for a while. There was an honor and goodness to him that she sensed and saw. Small parts broke through occasionally. A man who had a big heart and liked to help others. She’d seen a hint of that today.
He’d tried to encourage her when she’d needed a little pick-me-up. She’d had to be her own cheerleader for so many years that she’d almost forgotten what it was like to have someone be supportive instead of constantly worried. He appreciated what she’d done, what she’d tried to do for veterans. Sam had said that good intentions didn’t always match up with good results. He was only trying to be helpful but he’d aroused more questions about his past. Did Sam feel that he’d failed even with the best of intentions?
And who exactly had he failed? His fellow Marines? His parents? Did he carry pain or guilt over making his choice or was he really okay with never having anything more to do with them? The cold hard reality remained that this was probably something he’d never talk about. Because the odds were great that his was a war story, and she knew from personal experience that those stories weren’t shared with people on the outside.
Even Ryan wouldn’t talk to her. He simply found comfort in working with soldiers through Wounded Warriors and other organizations he supported. She was grateful he could talk to someone about what he’d been through.
Everyone needed that. She hoped Sam had someone to talk to. But even if he did, she wondered if he’d take them up on it.
For now Jill had Shakira. Mostly. She took her bunny out of the cage and snuggled with her on the couch. But Shak wasn’t much into snuggling. Her little nose twitched and she hopped off the couch, headed toward her favorite place in the house: under the kitchen table.
“You’re not very social, are you?”
Jill really wanted a dog or a cat but when Shakira needed a home, she volunteered because she agreed she wasn’t quite ready for the time commitment of a dog. Still, their eyes brimmed with intelligence as though they were almost human. Cats were independent and word out on the street was that they liked to snuggle. She could use a snuggle.
Jill poured a glass of wine and settled on her couch with her laptop. A stack of résumés sat on the corner of her coffee table. If she had already hired a general manager and split the load, maybe she could have assigned them this research and she could relax for a change. She could start to have a life again. No time for that now. Instead, tonight she would research California wildflowers. Size, shape and color, so that she’d be ready at the next council meeting. But as Shak sat under the table possibly planning her escape at daylight, Jill got pissy, wondering why Zoey didn’t think Jill was ready for a dog.
Initially she’d thought Shakira would be the perfect pet. She was an adorable ball of soft fur and she’d been excited to give her a home. But Shakira didn’t seem to notice the difference in whether Jill was home or not. Which might be the point of owning her according to Zoey. But surely after a year of being Shak’s fur mommy she was ready to graduate to a pet that liked her, at least.
She picked up her cell. Zoey had barely said hello before Jill pounced. “Why do you think I shouldn’t have a real pet, again?”
“Jill! She needed you.” Zoey practically gasped. “Don’t you like Shakira?”
“She doesn’t like me.”
“Of course she does. Bunnies just show their love in different ways.”
More than One Night Page 11
