How can one go undetected at breakfast if there’s only two people in the house? Not very easily, I can tell you. I wondered whether last night would even be remembered. I mean, there was the storm, the rain, the wind, the storm, the rain, the wind. Oh, and that moment where Sam’s intense stare coated my entire soul in glue, making movements on my behalf very challenging. Yet I whipped out the ol’ baton of rejection and clubbed him to death with it. Repeatedly.
“Good morning.”
Yikes. I jumped a little and turned around from the cereal cabinet. He crept around like a ghost at times. I got no sleep, by the way. Tossed and turned all the night long. Wondering what he was thinking. And now here he was. Standing in the doorway with a light-blue tee shirt, pair of jeans, and sporting those same eyes that had a way of whispering naughty things to my libido.
“Hey. Say, did you see my phone anywhere? I can’t seem to find it. I even checked the driveway, thinking it fell with all the dancing…” I heard my voice trail, not wanting to spotlight that whole thing again. I just needed my phone. There was no telling how many messages I was missing from that barbaric online dating site, as Sam would put it.
“No, but I can check my car. Maybe you dropped it after we left the restaurant.”
“Thanks.” I turned back around and grabbed for the box of Fruity Pebbles. Did he really have to look like that this morning? A baby-blue shirt? Really? It was no tux, but it was a baby-blue shirt. Who could concentrate on Fruity Pebbles with all that going on?
I sideways glanced at him pulling out the old filter in the coffee machine. How awkward was this. Ruined all by one night. Imagine if we kissed. It would’ve been totally weird. Thankfully we didn’t, thus making it only a mild weird. Like someone’s pants had fallen down during dinner and we just weren’t talking about it. Save them the embarrassment of reliving it.
“Sarah—”
“Sam, I just wanted to put you at ease and let you know that we don’t ever have to talk about last night. In fact, I’ve completely erased it from my life. It’s nowhere to be found. Anyway, you might’ve been drunk, and there’s no accounting for what one does when one’s mind is altered.” I suddenly became aware of my foot tapping out Morse code on the floor. I stopped it, hoping it hadn’t caught his attention.
“What! I wasn’t drunk. What made you say that?”
Kill me now. I sighed. “Okay, so you weren’t drunk, but we don’t need to say anything. With all that rain, and then there was my silly dancing, and then…” I pointed at something invisible. “Well, there’s really no need ever revisiting it.” I pursed my lips together and took a cleansing breath. Good Lord, that was awkward.
He grinned. “Okay, Sarah. We don’t have to mention it again. I only wanted to apologize if I did anything to make you uncomfortable. I never want to do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
“Absolutely not. All is well.” I poured my bowl of cereal and walked to the table. I wanted desperately to know what he was thinking, but there was no way I could look in his direction.
He poured the water in the coffee machine and grabbed a banana. I stuffed in another bite of sugary cereal, and waited for the weird tension to disappear.
“So, we’re still on for the beach, right?”
I bent over the bowl, trying not to leak milk on the table. When I finished chewing, I started, “I don’t think—”
“You agreed…you know…before… Well, I could really use your help. I’m bad at all that sunscreen stuff, and then you have to reapply if she gets in the water.” He shook his head. “She will likely not survive getting baked if you don’t join us.” He stared at me, waiting for what seemed like an argument for not going.
“Sure. I’ll go upstairs and search for Sophie’s bathing suit and sunscreen. We can go whenever.”
His smile spread wide. “Great. She’ll be so excited.”
Skin. Yep, he certainly had it. What did I think lurked below the surface of his clothes? Scales? My eyes burned from the sun I allowed to bore into them so I’d get those sunspots and I couldn’t focus on his skin.
Sophie was on cloud nine with her dad at the beach. A litter of puppies with cotton candy on their backs couldn’t tear her from the arms of Sam today. She was worn-out from jumping the waves and burying his feet in the sand. And Sam was so patient. He let her do anything she wanted. I tried not to think too much about holding her other hand while she stood between us, jumping the surf. She would sleep like a log tonight.
“Sam, you really didn’t have to get me a phone.” I pulled it from my bag and checked the time on it.
Sam had stopped at the phone store on his way to pick up Sophie, and purchased me a brand-new one. Better than I usually buy myself. It was a bundle deal, he claimed.
“You can’t do without a phone. And I’m not sure if yours will turn up.”
“It couldn’t have evaporated. I even called Tony at the diner and he couldn’t find it.”
“Don’t forget to call my phone so I can input your new number.”
“Why again couldn’t they give me my old number?”
“The salesman said this was easier.”
“Well, I’ll pay you. This is way better than my old phone. Look, I even recognize the brand.” I smiled and held up the oversized screen. I might even be able to read books on this one without using the magnification button.
Sophie was moving slowly. She sat in a towel on Sam’s lap, letting him untangle her hair.
“Don’t think about it. It’s a perk for working for me. I get them all the time for my valued employees.” He winked.
I should’ve told him winking was now not allowed either. No dancing, no wearing workout clothes, seeming overheated, and no winking. Oh, and no more beach trips. I was tired of looking at all that sand getting caught up in his leg hair, imagining him in the shower and getting it all rinsed off.
Sure he got everyone a phone. “Thank you.”
“How about lasagna tonight? I can open a bottle of wine, and—”
“Sam, I have a date.”
“What?” His hand stopped moving, as he looked up at me. “Who with?”
“Someone I met on Match. He wants to meet me for dinner and drinks. I normally do coffee the first date, but he has potential. He sells insurance.”
“Well then, there has to be dessert for this guy, too. Insurance, did you say? Hell, bring him by to meet us. I can have my secretary recommend a band to play at your wedding.”
I cut him a look. “Seeing as I usually end up with waiters, students, and pretend architects, an insurance salesman is a fine profession. Anyway, who dreams up selling insurance? He must be legit.”
“Are you being serious right now? He could be a killer, Sarah. He might be thinking that very same thing. Who would lie about selling insurance? You don’t even exactly print the truth on your profile. Lest you forget, I remember everything.”
“Okay, Dad. I stalked his Facebook page. I’m sure he could’ve thought of something better if he wanted to lie. Maybe an astronaut? A tightrope walker? He has a cute picture of him and a puppy.”
Sophie’s eyes were heavy as she lay against Sam. “Sarah…a puppy?”
I waited for the tirade about what pictures with puppies signified to him, but instead he nudged Sophie to stand. He wrapped a towel around her and put all the buckets and shovels in a bag.
“Sam, I’m sorry I won’t be there for dinner.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just be safe.” He never looked me in the eye.
We rode home in silence. Sophie helped aid in the tension by being asleep. Just when you need a noisy toddler to bebop and shake it up with all the whys and how comes. Silence permeated the car and I found it particularly disturbing. Disturbing that I felt bad for going out. The guy I was going out with checked off some major pros on my list: dark hair, killer smile, and he didn’t require too much texting. Some guys want you to check in every hour with them. I felt tonight would be my lucky date. It gave me something f
or my mind to drift to instead of replaying Sam’s shift closer to me the night before.
Lucky? Did I think the word lucky two hours ago? I’m sitting here, staring at this guy, wondering what was so good about insurance. Didn’t his profile say he was twenty-seven? Where was all his hair? And why not just cut off the rest? One hundred red hairs, all going in multiple directions, varying in length was doing him no good. And what was with the beard? There was no beard in any of his pictures. Had he been hiding in a cave since the last photo shoot? At one point, a piece of meat actually got hung up in it. I calmly gestured for him to remove it. When he didn’t get that hint, I calmly told him audibly. Yes, that was the pivotal point: the moment, five minutes after me doing sign language it was stuck, that he pulled it out and ate it, plucking his teeth with his fingers after it caught in one of his teeth. Check please.
To say that appearance is everything in my world would not be accurate. So what if his picture listed was taken ten years ago, with a trick lens, in a darker part of the cave? It didn’t make up for the fact that he was so into himself that I didn’t even need to be at the table. He was in love with talking about himself, what he’d accomplished, what he was headed for, and what type of girl I needed to be to stand beside him on the journey. Knowing different insurance policies was optional, but would aid in cutting down on backstories when he’d discuss his day.
“Well, I had a great time, Chuck.”
“You can be expecting a call from me tomorrow, Sarah. This went well, I feel.”
“About that call. Umm, I didn’t want to mention it before, but I think my insurance has lapsed, and I’m feeling it was a waste of money in the first place.”
His poor jaw hung so low I could see his back molars. “You’ve done what?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Chuck. I just don’t think this is going to work out. But I had a lovely time.”
I bolted for the door before he could see what I drove. I needed to get home and change a few details on my status on Match. Just until Chuck was safely past my criteria.
Sam was in his study when I got home. Sophie was in the living room, brushing her dollies’ hair. I kissed her forehead before I went to talk with her dad.
He glanced up from his desk. “I see you’re home early. Did your date turn into a pumpkin if he stayed out past nine?”
“Let’s hope he did. That way I will never have to run into him again.”
Sam laid down the paper he was reading. I spent the next thirty minutes recounting the horrible experience. He seemed amused at my expense, particularly liking when I told him how Chuck rubbed his belly clockwise for a solid ten minutes, waiting for the dessert to come. I wasn’t sure whether he was either winding up for the third course, or merely rubbing a hole through his polyester shirt for fun.
“Well, it’s been a long day, Sam. I’m going to tuck Sophie in. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay. Tell her I’m coming up in a couple minutes to read her a book. And sleep well, Sarah.”
I turned to look at him before I walked out. He was such a good guy. Home on a Saturday night, cooking for his little girl, and working late. Was I crazy? No, I told myself. And anyway, he was fresh off the dumped wagon. No one who was coming off years with someone exclusive could ever be into anything more than a rebound for the first six months. Just watch an episode of Divorce Court. I usually binge-watched hours of it after one of my relationships tanked. Just to keep it real. No, Sam was completely and utterly not an option. Get that straight.
I had gone to the store early that morning to buy ingredients for the dinner I would prepare that evening. I wanted it to be pretty spectacular. Not that I was going to be there, but I wanted Sam to eat well and not think about where I would be. Two dates in a row made me feel I was a little needy, slutty, or not a very good example for his little girl. But before I went to bed, I got the best message from a guy I’d been interested in a few months ago. Timing sucked then because I was dating Rob, but coming off a horrible night with Mr. Insurance, I needed something good to happen. It was like having eaten a crappy meal and needing to erase it with a nice piece of chocolate cake to counteract the cyanide. Andrew Boster might just be that chocolate. There was potential in the air, I could smell it.
Sam didn’t come around me much that day, especially after I told him I was going out again. He finished lunch, threw everything away, and disappeared to his office. Sophie colored at the counter with me until I needed to do prep for dinner. Then she seemed to escape to the playroom, where she served up tea to five of her favorite fluffy barn animals. I took her in a few cookies to serve along with the beverage. She thanked me with a kiss.
I was shoving my loaves of bread in the oven when I heard the door knocker strike the wood of the front door. I called out to Sam. After all, it was his house, not mine.
He came around the corner, folding up his sleeves. “I have no idea who that could be.”
I finished cutting the vegetables for the entrée and added salt to the boiling water for Sophie’s macaroni and cheese. Sam’s voice could be heard over the sizzling bacon I had frying in the Dutch oven. I could make out it was someone who surprised him by being there. I distinctively heard Sam say, “It’s been forever, man.” Before too much time had passed, he showed up in my personal space…again…just like the night before. Very, very close, as if he were one of those dental workers.
I drew back to see into his eyes. “Hey.” I moved away to stroll over to stir the water with a wooden spoon. “Who was it?”
“Um, it’s my brother.” He followed me to the stove, still mere inches between us.
“Your brother?” I couldn’t recall—now why I didn’t think he had one? “Is he still here?” I looked over Sam’s shoulder to see.
“Yeah.” He rested his knuckles on his chin and seemed to be deliberating something. I could smell his aftershave. The steam from the boiling water must’ve been drawing it out into the air. “You see, I haven’t seen him in nine or ten years.”
“What!” My eyes popped open. “How come? Where does he live? Is this huge that he’s here? Where is he exactly? Why did you leave him to come in here?” I checked behind him again.
“He’s in the other room. He’s been in California. Before that, he lived on some island.” He shrugged and spoke in a low voice.
“Some island? What kind of island? Has he been living with the Professor, Maryann, and Gilligan?” I put my hand on my hip and waited for him to answer.
Sam sneered. “Smarty. No. He pretty much lives off the land, couch surfs, whatever he feels like doing. We’re not too terribly close. I have almost nothing in common with him.”
“Okay. Couch surfer? That sounds either very pre-college, or mid-life.” I pulled the bacon from the pot and wiped down the chicken that sat on a platter nearby. “Would you like to have him stay for dinner? I’ve made enough. Do you think he remembers how to hold a fork? Is he wearing clothes, or do I have to find some while his grass skirt gets cleaned?”
Sam crooked his head.
“Okay, seriously.” I held up my hand, as if to take an oath. “I’ll knock it off. It’s just bizarre that you have a brother. And he’s an island dweller. That’s all. But I’ll stop. Promise.” I crossed my heart. “Is he going to be freaked out we have inside plumbing?”
“Sarah.”
“Okay, okay.”
“I’m not sure what his plans are, but I was hoping…that is, I was going to ask you…” He twisted his lips. “I don’t want to go into everything with Richard. You know, who is who, and what is what. He’s probably going to be here for all of a few hours, and it would be so much easier to just say that we’re in a relationship. You know, that you live here. With me. As whatever. Just not a nanny. And Sophie can be ours. It’s just easier. It would be a big favor to me if you could go along with it.” He raised his brow. “What ya say? Just make it easy? You can still go on your date. We never have to explain anything. No time of our lives with details?”
/>
My eyes darted from the counter to the window, to the raw chicken lying on the plate waiting for me to brown it. “So he doesn’t know what happened to your niece? His niece?” I felt my eyes go narrow. “Shouldn’t he?”
“He’s not the type who can handle things like that. He’s a drinker, and I’d hate to give him something to drink about, if you know what I mean. He could go off on a binge, and that wouldn’t be good. I don’t think he’s the most stable of people, you know?”
I scrunched my nose. “Okay. I suppose.” I set my hand on the counter, trying to make heads or tails of what was going on. “But don’t expect Sophie to call me Mom or anything. For goodness’ sakes, Sam, she’s three.”
“It’ll be fine. Really, he’s going to be gone back to some Caribbean island before you know it, and it just doesn’t matter.”
“But—”
“Thank you, Sarah.” He touched my hand and walked out.
I was scraping the vegetables in the pot when they walked back into the kitchen together. “Sarah, this is Richard.”
I looked up as I grabbed for the wooden spoon. Whoa. He looked nothing like Sam. And that option about pre-college? Not a chance. His salted gray hair was headed in every direction, as if combs and brushes were as useful in his life as a permanent address and bed. His unkempt beard covered what a leathery tan didn’t, and the only thing missing from the tropical shirt and flip-flop ensemble was a pair of binoculars.
“Hi. I’m sorry. I’d shake your hand but I’m elbow-deep in Coq Au Vin.” I smiled at the older gentleman, who had hazel eyes like his younger brother, and hoped he couldn’t read my mind.
“Coq Au Vin? Please tell me I’ve died and gone to heaven.” His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he grabbed for his chest. “Only one of my favorite meals that I never get to eat. What sort of cook are you? Truly good, or a weekend wannabe? Don’t tell me. I don’t care. Just give me a fork and I’ll draw my own conclusions.”
Searching For Sarah (The Sarah Series Book 1) Page 10
