by Nadia S. Lee
“Lucky him,” Jack said.
“No kidding,” Molly said.
“Hey, I’m going to go grab some ice cream. Want anything out the frozen section?” he asked.
“Chocolate syrup. We’re low.”
“Not frozen. But I’ll get some.” He vanished down the aisle, leaving Lina alone with Molly.
“So how are you adjusting to small-town life?” Molly asked.
“Well. People are very kind.”
“Yeah. It’s like that here.” Molly let her gaze sweep over Lina, then a small smile curved her mouth. “Those look good on you.”
Lina looked down at her pink shirt and white slacks. “Thanks. They’re really comfy.”
“You should come over to the parents’ for another family dinner.”
“Oh, I don’t want to impose.” Lina knew Sam’s mother didn’t like her, and she didn’t want to upset the woman.
“It won’t be an imposition. Besides, I like you.”
“Well, thank you! The feeling’s mutual.”
“Is it true that Sam’s really avoiding you?” Molly asked, her voice lowered to a whisper.
“What do you mean?” How did you know?
“I heard from Emma, who heard from someone else, the identity of which is not all that important.”
“Uh…” Lina cleared her throat. “Sam’s been really busy with a case.”
“Yeah, right.” Molly smiled conspiratorially. “I think he likes you.”
“Oh?” You do? He does? How do you know? It took all of Lina’s willpower not to blurt out all the questions she wanted answers to.
“If Sam didn’t like you, you’d know. And if he was sort of neutral, he wouldn’t be avoiding you.”
“But people don’t avoid things they like.”
“Sure they do. If they want it but can’t have it, or if they know it’s bad for them. Unless, of course, they already decided they aren’t that into you…in which case none of that matters.” Molly sighed, her shoulders drooping for a moment. Her gaze hit the floor, and she bit her lower lip, as if she regretted saying so much. Suddenly she brightened. “There’s Jack with the ice cream and syrup. Gotta go. Bye!”
Molly dashed off. “Goodbye,” Lina said weakly. What was that about?
Lina paid for everything and left the store. On the way back to Sam’s house, she thought about what Molly had said. If she was right, Sam was avoiding Lina for one of two reasons.
Which one was it? She wished she was in the “want but can’t have” category, because it’d be easy to change his mind. They weren’t involved with anyone, they were young and of sound mind, and there was no reason they couldn’t date. But if it was the second…
She sighed. She could very well be in the “bad for Sam” category, although she couldn’t fathom why. But then, she didn’t know why she would be under “want but can’t have,” either.
Lina huffed out a breath, then mentally shook herself. Most likely Molly was mistaken. She’d heard from Emma who’d heard from somebody else. That was a lot of hearsay. You couldn’t try a case with that much unfounded…stuff.
By the time Lina was back, Sam’s Maserati was in the garage again. She parked her car next to his, then carried the two bags of groceries in.
“I’m home,” she called out.
Sam stuck his head out from the kitchen. “Hey. Where have you been?”
“The store. Wanted to get some things.”
She waited a beat, drinking him in with her eyes rather shamelessly. He was gorgeous, his hair slightly tousled, the gray Broncos shirt showing off his strong torso. She’d love to be able to reach over, kiss him on the mouth and rest her head on one of those great shoulders, but she knew better than that. A guy like Sam was out of her league. He’d likely date and marry some sweet, smart girl with big dreams and a dexterous touch with everything. After all, that was the least he deserved for all his awesomeness.
Suddenly Lina felt silly and shy. To hide it, she pasted on an extra-bright smile and said, “How was your day?”
“Nothing eventful. Went fishing.”
Her eyes rounded. “Really? Any luck?”
He shook his head. “Got nothing.”
“Oh great,” she blurted out, then flushed. “I mean…it’s really too bad, but at least we don’t have to clean any fish, and I just went to the store to get some beef”—she lifted the bag with the steak inside—“and wouldn’t you rather deal with dead cow meat than a dead, scaly trout…or whatever lives in the water around here?”
Suddenly she clicked her teeth, shutting off the stream of verbal nonsense. That alone would put her in the “bad for Sam” category.
Sam laughed. “Not a fan of cleaning fish?”
Her cheeks grew hotter. “Not really, but if you caught some for dinner, I’d have to, right?”
“Oh, I’d insist if it were Molly…but not with you.”
Something shifted in the air between them. Lina felt it with a kind of animal instinct, like there was a potential danger in the vicinity. Her heart hammered, and her breathing grew shallow.
“Lina—”
“Sam, I—”
They stopped and stared at each other. Sam’s eyes were so clear yet so dark that she felt like she was being sucked into them, starting with her soul.
Ever the gentleman, Sam gestured. “Go ahead.”
She couldn’t remember what she was about to say, so she said the first thing that popped into her head. “I need to put the stuff in the fridge.”
Smooth. Real smooth, Lina.
“Uh…” Sam seemed torn somehow. “Okay. Do you need help?”
“No. I got it.” She didn’t want him to see all the other stuff she’d bought to make a special dinner—steak with all the fixings, baby greens tossed in a vinaigrette dressing, mashed potatoes and a pre-made apple pie. Baking it herself would’ve been more impressive, but men weren’t the only ones who needed to know their limitations. She cleared her throat. “Why don’t you go to the living room and watch TV or something while I get dinner ready?”
“You don’t have to cook.” His dark eyebrows pinched together. “I was going to take you out.”
She tilted her head. “Really?”
“There’s a nice Italian bistro in town. A lot of locals and tourists go there, and it’s pretty good. Home-style cooking…” Sam shifted his weight. Then, as though he’d just noticed what he was doing, he stopped, equally distributing his weight on both feet, spread shoulder-width apart.
“Maybe tomorrow?” she said, unsure what this was about. If it had been anybody but Sam, she would’ve thought he was asking her out, but she didn’t want to presume and make a fool of herself. “Unless you really want Italian. Like, right now?”
Chapter Thirteen
Anyone else and Sam would’ve said, “Let’s go out.” But with Lina, things were different. He felt like a law student fumbling around in his first mock trial. Actually, that wasn’t quite true, since he’d never bumbled his way through anything in law school. He’d killed all his mock trials.
The problem was that dealing with Lina was harder than facing a tough-as-nails opposing counsel. At least then Sam had ideas about legal maneuverings and how they’d make their case. Dealing with Lina was new territory—an unknown country—and there were no precedents, no rules and certainly no predefined or tested strategies.
Not even Jolie had left him this unbalanced during the first and most intense few months of their relationship. But she almost always flat-out said what she wanted in no uncertain terms, because that was her baseline game plan for life.
And he had a feeling if he did insist on taking her out, Lina might be disappointed.
“No, Italian can wait. We can do whatever you want,” he said.
“Let’s do the steak, then. We can have Italian tomorrow.”
“Okay. Need me to help with anything?”
“Not really.”
Lina stuck her phone into a speaker set, and Adele’s husky
voice filled the kitchen as she sorted the groceries into two piles.
Sam left, since it was abundantly clear he was unwanted at the moment. He called the restaurant, got the owner and explained the situation. “Come on in tomorrow, then,” he said in his jovial voice. “If you get here by seven, I can get you seated right away.”
“Thanks, Tony.” Sam hung up, and two minutes later a text from Jack popped up on his screen. Heard you canceled your date. Good for me, since I got the table Tony was saving for you, but sucks for Aunt Patty. I know she’s dying for you to produce some grandchildren she can bounce on her knee.
Sam almost sputtered, then typed, She wants grandnephews and nieces too. Work faster, then hit send.
Haha. Lame, Harvard, lame. Grandnephews and nieces can’t compare to grandchildren.
He narrowed his eyes, then conceded that Jack was right. That was a lame comeback, but the idea of children had thrown him off.
He wasn’t some clichéd Hollywood romantic comedy guy who’d vowed to be a bachelor for life. He wanted family of his own—including children, the final number to be negotiated with his wife, although he preferred at least two. But when Jack mentioned grandchildren for his mother, Sam hadn’t thought about some abstract concept of children he would have one day. He imagined a couple of cherubic kids with hair as dark as his and eyes as blue as Lina’s.
And he liked that. A little too much.
“Molly told me you have a grill in the back,” Lina said as she came out of the kitchen. “Can you show me where you keep the charcoal?”
“My parents took all of it a few weeks ago, and I forgot to buy more,” Sam said. “We can just use the cast iron skillet I have. Let me grab it for you.”
Before she could say a word, he got up and went to the kitchen, glad to have something to occupy himself with after that fantasy of having a family with Lina. The skillet was something he’d inherited from his maternal grandmother. His mom had kept it for him while he was busy lawyering in Manhattan, then given it to him after he moved back home and bought the house. He put some oil in it and heated it up.
Lina watched him. “Are you planning to make me dinner?”
“Why not, unless you object?”
“I don’t, but I was hoping to do something nice for you.”
He grinned. “Enjoying the meal I make will do.”
“I’ll get the salad, then. I’m already done mashing the potatoes.”
“Yum, my favorite.”
She blushed becomingly, and he couldn’t help but flick the tip of her nose.
“How do you like your steak?” he asked.
“Medium rare, please.”
They cooked in companionable silence, although preparing the meal didn’t take long. Still, Sam enjoyed the domestic chores with her, watching her rinsing cherry tomatoes and adding slices of cucumbers and colorful bell peppers to the prewashed greens. She whipped up a vinaigrette dressing just as he pulled the steaks off the pan.
Sam transferred the steaks to plates set with small mounds of mashed potatoes. Lina took the salad and dressing to the table, and he followed her with the real food.
“What are you in the mood for drinking?” He placed the dinner on the table along with utensils.
“Coke’s fine. I bought a bottle.”
“Perfect.” He grabbed that and two glasses full of ice.
They started eating. The food was excellent, the company even better. Sam couldn’t remember a time he’d been so content to dine with someone. He also enjoyed that Lina didn’t talk endlessly about legal tactics and strategies. As much as he loved that whole thing, he also wanted to enjoy life outside the American legal system, and it was lovely to share a home-cooked meal with someone he really liked.
“So. The last few days pretty hectic?” Lina said as she cut off a piece of beef.
“So so.”
“Then why were you working so many hours? I hardly saw you this week.”
He hesitated. It wasn’t a rebuke, per se, but it made him feel slightly bad. The only reason she hadn’t seen him was because he was avoiding her while trying to sort out his own emotions. That fragile longing he’d felt while she’d dozed off against him during the movie had him going in circles, and he wasn’t used to a puzzle he couldn’t solve easily.
She gazed at him steadily across the table. “I haven’t done anything to upset you, have I?”
“No. It has nothing to do—” He stopped before he said with you, because that’d be a lie. “I had to think and make a decision.”
She frowned. “About going back?”
“Back?”
“You know, to New York. As nice as Silver Springs is, if you want to make a name for yourself…”
He regarded her thoughtfully. “Do you want me to?”
“Me? It’s your life, so if you want to, you should.”
“What would you do if you were me?”
“I can’t say, since I’m not. But your family loves you and you love them too. Being that far away might be difficult for both of you.”
He couldn’t get a reading on her, except that she also liked his family. At least that was something. Jolie didn’t care for his family, not even his dad, because she couldn’t understand why people would choose to live in a small town like Silver Springs when they didn’t have to.
“I was actually trying to decide if I was brave enough to ask you out,” he said.
Lina’s eyes widened.
“You’re working at our firm now, and the living situation is”—he gestured upstairs—“what it is, plus you just had a nasty breakup. I didn’t want to pressure you when you’re vulnerable…and I sure don’t want to be a rebound. I want you to be with me because that’s what you really want.”
Now that he’d laid down all his cards, he waited, his gaze intent on her. There was every chance she might not agree—or that she was thinking about going home soon. As the seconds ticked by, his chest tightened. He’d been rejected before. He’d experienced losses in the courtroom, but this… This felt worse somehow. So much more personal.
“Okay.”
“Right. I respect tha—” He stopped. “Did you just say okay?”
She nodded with a smile. “I like you, Sam. And I appreciate your thoughtfulness and consideration, but I’m stronger than I look, and I know what I want. If I don’t take this chance with you…I think I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
He reached over and linked his fingers with hers. She tightened the hold. “We’re exclusively definitely dating, then,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Today is Sam and Lina’s Day One.” She smiled shyly, her cheeks flushed, her eyes shining.
Elation shot through him, catapulting him to heights greater than when he’d passed the bar. And he vowed that he’d do whatever it took to turn this one day into years and decades…in fact, an entire lifetime.
Chapter Fourteen
If anybody had told her she’d giggle like a silly teenager when she was twenty-six—and all because of a guy—Lina would’ve told them in no uncertain terms that Bambi Adelina Vogel did not giggle over men. Nor was she inclined to swoon.
But then, no one had ever made her heart flutter, or her belly flip, or made her feel like she was walking on clouds. It wasn’t because her previous boyfriends had been duds. They were good enough guys, with above-average IQs and looks. But they simply paled next to Sam.
Since she and Sam were going on their first official date, she spent an hour in the bathroom, straightening her hair and putting on a cute white dress with feminine lace trim that showed off her slender calves. Lina might not have inherited her parents’ super legal brains, but she did have her mother’s fantastic legs.
Lina put on pretty matching sandals and checked her makeup. The mascara and light contouring brought out her eyes and cheekbones. Since she’d read that men found red lips irresistible, she dragged a deep coral shade over her mouth.
Finally satisfied with how she looke
d, she grabbed a light shawl and purse and went downstairs. Sam was waiting for her in a light silver gray shirt that deepened his eyes to the color of a wintry sky, and dark slacks that molded to his long, strong legs. Her mouth dried, and she took a moment to drink him in. He was absolutely gorgeous, but knowing that she was free to hold hands and cuddle and do all the things that couples did made him even more alluring.
This amazing man is mine.
She felt her lips spreading into a wide grin. She didn’t want to be so obviously pleased, but it was impossible to hide.
His face split into a smile. “Hello, beautiful.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles like in a movie.
Except it was a hundred times better than a movie. Movies never made her pulse race.
“So we’re doing Italian?” she asked.
He took a pale pink shawl from her arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, his fingers grazing her skin as he did so. “Yep.”
“That sounds absolutely perfect.”
Sam drove them to a small Italian bistro with outdoor seating. The place wasn’t that fancy by New York standards, but she loved the charming décor of dark wood, framed prints of old Italian masterpieces and vintage opera posters. Recessed lights around the signs glowed, and every table had a small lit candle. The music selection consisted of lovely Italian songs, not the operatic arias many of her parents’ favorite Italian restaurants played.
The host came out. “Hey, Sam, you made it!” The beefy man slapped him on the back. “Welcome. Introduce me to your beautiful date.”
“Lina, meet Tony. He owns this place.”
She smiled. “Hello.”
“A pleasure. You’re the new legal secretary, right?”
She nodded. “Looks like everyone knows who I am.”
“Not everyone, but a lot of us.” He winked. “Got you our best table outside. The weather’s been fantastic this month, so you should be comfortable.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
“Hey, anytime. Just so you know, pizzas are going to be slow tonight because we’re slammed with takeout orders.”
Tony led them through a crowd of diners to an intimate table for two outside by the garden. Lina couldn’t see well in the dark, but there had to be an herb garden, because she could smell fresh rosemary, thyme and basil. The center of the table had a miniature candle and a fresh daisy floating in a small crystal bowl.
