River of Love

by Melissa Foster

After the call, Sam pushed away from his desk, thinking about Faith. She hadn’t responded to his text yet, but he knew she was probably focused on her patients, as she should be. Too keyed up to sit still, he headed outdoors and surveyed the crowd of twentysomethings who had appeared en mass over the last hour. There were already a dozen boats in the water, a typical summer afternoon at Rough Riders. Except for one detail. A week ago Sam would have been right in the thick of the bikini-wearing and crop-top-clad girls, eating up the attention they were currently lavishing on Tex. But his mind was immersed in thoughts of Faith. Her sweet voice, her enticing scent, and the trust she’d placed in his capable hands last night were all he could think about, and he wasn’t about to mess that up.

  He stood on the sandy shore watching women fawn over Tex. They ran their fingers over Tex’s arms and shoulders, oohing and aahing over the colorful ink and throwing out flirtatious giggles like scraps of meat to a hungry bear. As Sam watched, he realized he wasn’t checking out their bodies or wondering which one he might see later at a club, as he might have before Faith had agreed to go out with him. He was cataloging the number of customers to the number of available boats. He continued watching with intense curiosity and disbelief at how quickly his mind-set had changed. Tex draped an arm over a blonde’s shoulder and nodded at Sam with a big-ass smile on his face, pulling him from his thoughts. Tex had come to Rough Riders on the heels of his own adventure company disbanding. He was used to these types of perks of the business and obviously enjoyed them.

  Better you than me. The thought was so foreign, it gave Sam pause. Seconds later he thought it again, with more vehemence this time, and something inside him clicked into place, as if it hadn’t realized it was off-kilter until the thought jostled it free.

  With a satisfied smile, he turned to check on Patrick, who was helping a group of teenagers into kayaks. He had been tall and lanky when Sam had hired him last summer, with a shock of blond hair and youthful, unshaven cheeks. The last year had manned him up. He wore his hair closely cropped on the sides, a little longer on top. He’d broadened and filled out, gaining a manlier shape, patchy whiskers, and a set of car keys. Sixteen.

  At sixteen Sam had lost his virginity, fallen in lust, or infatuation, or both, with a girl in a neighboring town, and she’d broken his teenage heart. He rarely thought of that time of his life, but now that he was, he wondered if that breakup had more to do with the way he’d lived his life than he remembered.

  “Dude.” Ty’s hand landed heavily on Sam’s shoulder, pulling him from the memory. At twenty-six, dressed in board shorts and no shirt, with his long dark hair falling over his eyes, Ty fit right in with those carefree, flirty girls—as he should—magnifying for Sam that at almost thirty-one, with a burgeoning business and one woman feeding his heart, he’d turned a corner and he was finally on the right path.

  “Hey,” Sam said. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”

  “My stealth ninja skills.” Ty lifted his chin in the direction of the women dipping their toes in the water and giggling while Tex helped them with their life jackets. “Why aren’t you over there helping those lovely ladies into their life jackets? Every year they get hotter.”

  Thinking of Faith, he said, “She sure does.”

  “She?” Ty cocked a brow.

  Sam headed toward the boathouse with Ty on his heels. He grabbed one end of a rowboat. “I’m seeing Faith. Grab the other side of this, will ya?”

  They carried the boat out to the water, and as they headed back in, Ty said, “Seeing? Sammy, you’re going against Cole just to get laid? What’s wrong with you? He’ll have your ass the minute he gets home.”

  Sam’s muscles corded tight at the way he referenced Faith. He picked up another rowboat and motioned for Ty to get the other end. “It’s not like that.”

  “What’s not like that? Cole’s coming back next week, so if you’re making a move, you’d better be damn quick about it.”

  They carried the boat out and set it by the water. The boats didn’t need to be moved, but Sam needed the distraction. He’d had an incredible night with Faith, and by some miracle she’d agreed to go out with him—only him. They’d hung out on the roof for hours, and after she left they’d texted until nearly one o’clock in the morning. Sam was up half the night thinking about her, and he’d woken up with her right there in the forefront of his mind again. In a few hours, which felt like a lifetime, he’d see her again. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about the guy who’d warned him away from her.

  “Ty, I’m not out to get laid with Faith, so don’t say that again. I like her a hell of a lot, and you know what it means to hear me say that. I’m not going to fuck that up, much less let Cole fuck it up.”

  His brother scrubbed a hand down his face and blinked a few times, as if he’d seen a ghost. “You’re serious? I mean Faith’s hot, but she’s not your usual type.”

  “Dead serious, and exactly. She’s nothing like the girls I usually hook up with, because I’m not hooking up, Ty. I’m seeing only Faith, and I’ll deal with Cole when he gets back from his honeymoon.” Sam heard his name and looked over at the girls getting in the boats. He sort of recognized the brunette waving at him. He couldn’t remember her name, but he’d partied with her a time or two. He waved and turned his attention back to his brother.

  “Anything else?” Sam crossed his arms, feeling edgy and protective of Faith.

  Ty paced for a minute, shaking his head. “So you’re what? Out of the game completely? Sam, think about this. I’m sure Faith’s great, but how are you going to go from a different meal every night to the same one day after day? Aren’t you worried you’ll get bored?”

  Sam clenched his teeth. “Bored? Hell no. I can’t explain it, but something happens when I’m with her. And when I’m not? Like right now? I’m carrying freaking boats around because I can’t sit still. I can’t wait to see her. When have I ever felt like that?”

  “Never that I know of. Shit, Sam. First Nate, then Cole, now you? Y’all dropped like flies.”

  “I didn’t drop like anything. Look, I know this comes as a shock. It does to me, too, but what I feel for her is…” He searched his brain for the right word—huge? powerful? all-consuming?—and finally went with something he knew Ty would understand. “You know that feeling of reaching the peak when you climb?”

  Ty nodded, his dark eyes skeptical.

  “Indescribable, right? But too powerful to ignore. And, Ty, I don’t want to ignore it.” He smiled, thinking of the time he told Nate to get his ass in gear and go after Jewel. At that point Sam couldn’t ever imagine being on the other side of the fence. Now there was no place else he’d rather be.

  **

  FAITH WAS RUNNING on too little sleep, too much adrenaline, and still reeling from Sam’s early-morning text—Good morning, beautiful—which he’d followed up with, Miss your sweet smile. Even his texts made her heart go wild. She knew she had to be cautious and try to keep her head on straight about Sam, given his history with women, but that wasn’t easy when everything he did and said turned her inside out. She’d been blown away by his confessions and his determination to win her over, but it was her own emotions that bowled her over. Just thinking about the way her body had sparked so hot she feared she’d combust when they were together got her hot and bothered again.

  Work was insanely busy again, but at least Brandy had scheduled a lunch break for her today and had offered to order food to be brought in so she could do some research for WAC.

  “Brandy,” she said into the intercom. “I’ll be in the break room if you need me.”

  Faith set her laptop on the table, pulled out her notebook, and began poring over the list of women’s organizations she’d jotted down.

  “There’s my sweet girlfriend.”

  Her head snapped up at the sound of Sam’s voice and his use of the word girlfriend, which made her stomach flutter. “Sam? What are you doing here?” He came around the table with a bag from Jazzy Joe�
��s Café and a smile on his luscious lips. Oh, how she loved his lips!

  She’d heard girls say that one kiss could move heaven and earth, but in all her kisses, until Sam, no one had ever come close. He kissed like he did everything. He was confident and commanding with a little finesse and a whole lot of seduction.

  “Having lunch with you.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Mm. I missed your kisses.”

  I missed your everything. “Sam,” she whispered. “We can’t make out at my work.” No matter how much I want to. She’d relived their kisses so many times she was sure she was grinning like a lovesick fool, and because of that she’d avoided Jon as much as she could. That man had a romance radar. He’d known one of their billing clerks was in love before she did, and she wanted no part of trying to explain that she was seeing Cole’s brother. She was worried enough about how Cole might react when he found out. Either way, kissing Sam in the break room was definitely pushing the envelope.

  “Who’s making out? I was kissing you hello. It’s a common greeting among people who are dating.” He sat beside her, unwrapped a sandwich, and set it in front of her, as if he hadn’t just thrown the most enticing loop into her chaotic day.

  “What about Jon?” Her mind spun in too many directions to make sense of Sam, at her work, having lunch.

  “Butterscotch? I just saw him in the hall.” He reached for her hand. “Are you worried about him finding out that we’re going out? That we’re dating? Because I dare anyone to stand in our way.”

  God, she loved that arrogant side of him in ways she probably shouldn’t.

  “Sam, this is my job.”

  “I’m kidding. Jon’s cool. It’s not like we’re having sex on the lunch table.” His eyes went volcanic. “Unless you’re into that.”

  She covered her face with her hands and let out a breathy, “Ohmygod.” Heat spread up her chest at the thought of having sex right there on the table. With Sam! How could she ever look at that table the same after this?

  “What’s the big deal? Should I have called you first? I’m not very good at this dating stuff yet, but I’ll get there.” He sat back and his eyes went serious.

  “Actually, you’re very good at this dating stuff. I’m just a little uptight about work. I love my job, and I don’t want anything to ruin that. I’m sure it’s fine. Or at least I hope it’s fine. Jon knows I wouldn’t do anything like…what you said.”

  At least not when other people are in the office. Sam definitely had a magical power that made her mind go places it never had.

  His lips quirked up in a devilish smile. “Whatever you’re thinking about, keep going.” He moved closer, bringing her legs between his. His hands moved up her thighs, as he touched his cheek to hers and said in a gravelly, seductive voice, “You look so hot right now. I’d like to tear those scrubs off of you and feast on your body.”

  Melting. Melting. Melting. She gripped the edge of the chair, hoping she wouldn’t slither to the floor in a hot and bothered mess.

  “Oh, wait,” he whispered. “We’re behaving ourselves.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then sat back and picked up his sandwich while she tried to remember how to function.

  “You should eat. You only have”—he looked at the clock on the wall—“another forty-five minutes.”

  “Right.” Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat, and Sam handed her the drink he’d brought. “Thank you.” Three big gulps later she was breathing normally again, but her mind was still playing over what he’d said. Would she ever get used to this? To him?

  “What’s all this?” He pointed to her notebook and laptop.

  Another big drink, and she forced those dirty thoughts to the side enough to speak like someone other than a horny mess. “Remember I mentioned that I wanted to find resources for the WAC members? I’ve been putting together a list of women’s organizations that have therapists, career advisers, even legal resources.” She flipped the page and showed him another list. “These are therapy practices that work with charitable organizations throughout Maryland.”

  “Is WAC a nonprofit?”

  “No. When I set up the forum, I never anticipated we would be doing anything other than hosting the forums.” She pulled up the website on her laptop and showed him the monitor. “It’s free to join, and we get a handful of donations. Nothing like yours, just enough to cover some of the hosting costs. We’ve only recently begun holding in-person events like the car wash. I haven’t had time to think it all through, since the idea of doing more really just hit last weekend, but I feel good about trying to offer more for our members.”

  “It looks like you’ve already made great progress. If it’s not a nonprofit, is it an LLC?”

  She nibbled on her lip and shook her head. “I haven’t even gotten that far.”

  “So you bought the domain and hosting, but you never registered WAC as a business?”

  She shook her head, cringing inwardly.

  “Well, there are things you need to do to protect yourself from being sued. Do you have a business attorney?” He suddenly sounded very businesslike, very unlike the sexy seducer who was looking at her like she was lunch a minute ago.

  And she liked this side of him very much.

  “No, not yet. But now it’s on my list.” She picked up a pen and scribbled business attorney.

  Sam took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. “Faith, you definitely need to establish WAC as a business entity, not only because you take donations, but you’re probably liable for all sorts of things under the eyes of the law. I don’t know if you can get in any legal trouble giving out online advice, or referrals to other services you haven’t personally vetted, but we need to make sure you’re protected.”

  His use of we made her stomach flutter and her heart do a little happy dance. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought about the legal side of things. It made sense to form a business entity, especially since Sam had donated so much money. Usually donations came in increments of a few dollars. His donation was beyond generous and would go a long way, especially now that there were going to be legal costs involved. But what he was doing, making sure she was legally protected, meant even more to her.

  “I’ll hook you up with my buddy Brent Holloway. We grew up together and his office is right in town.” He held up his finger as he called. “Hey, Brent, it’s Sam.” He paused. “Yeah, I got that paperwork, thanks. I’m a little behind, but I’ll get right on it. I need a favor. My girlfriend’s got an online forum…”

  As he explained Faith’s position to Brent, Faith reveled in how easily he said girlfriend again.

  “That’s great. Hold on.” Sam moved the phone to his side and asked quietly, “He can fit us in Thursday at six thirty. Will that work?”

  Us? “Yes, absolutely. Thank you.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her. With a tease in his eyes he whispered, “Girlfriend,” then tugged her into another quick kiss before turning back to the call.

  After he ended the call he said, “You’re all set. Why don’t I pick you up after work Thursday, and we’ll go over together. You’ll love Brent. He’s a great guy.”

  “Sounds good. Thank you.”

  “No problem. You need business insurance, too. We’ll talk to Brent about that. Our buddy Phil D’Amato can make sure you get whatever coverage you need at a fair rate.” He searched her eyes, which were probably wide as hard-boiled eggs. “Are you okay? Am I being too pushy?”

  “Pushy? No. Sam, you’re a force to be reckoned with, but in the very best way. You brought me lunch, and in twenty minutes you’ve got my business going in the right direction. I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t think of all of this myself. I’m usually so good at making sure every box is checked and evaluated, and then you walk in and in mere minutes see that I’ve dropped the ball.”

  He smiled and touched her face. “You didn’t drop the ball. You’re focused on the aspects you should be focused on, helping others. I have a lot of exp
erience with businesses and the liabilities you face as an owner. Rough Riders is a different type of business, but the framework of every business begins with certain elements.”

  “You should be my business manager.” She was only half kidding.

  “This is all you, baby. Your business, your forum, your ideas. I’m just giving you a helping hand.”

  “I just can’t believe how much you’re helping me.” She leaned in closer, feeling too far away.

  He slid forward on his chair, so close she could kiss him if she leaned in an inch.

  “Believe it, Faith. I’ve wanted to be close to you for so long, and once that barrier came down, it opened the floodgates. You’re stuck with all of me now, and if I overstep my bounds”—his eyes darkened seductively—“you’ll have to restrain me.”

  His nearness, his words, and his piercing stare sent a rush of passion through her. He leaned so close she could see gold flecks in the center of his eyes. She would never make it through the rest of the day until their date later without one more kiss to hold her over. Her heart was pounding, her mind was begging, Kiss me, and her employee brain was losing the battle to remain in control. Sam’s tongue slicked over his lower lip, and she heard an embarrassingly needy sound stream from her lungs. What happened to the levelheaded woman she’d always been? She felt like an addict, wanting more of her best addiction.

  “Kiss me quick, Sam, before someone comes i—”

  Her last word was smothered as his mouth pressed roughly against hers, fierce and urgent. She clutched his shirt and held on for the scintillating ride. Just when she thought, This is so worth getting in trouble for, Sam slowed them down to a series of languid, mind-numbing kisses. She touched his scruffy cheek and pushed her fingers into his hair as they drew apart. She was dazed, her lips still tingling, like the rest of her overheated body.

  “Sorry,” she said, slipping her hands from his hair. “I love your hair and I’ve wanted to do that for so long. I couldn’t help myself.”

  He was looking at her as no one else ever had, as he seemed to do so often. Like he wanted to fall into her. Breathe, breathe, breathe.