“You were burned in a fire?”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
My stomach turned at the idea, acid creeping its way up my throat. “Why didn’t you call me?”
Her eyes filled again. “My roommate Aria, she was home and called an ambulance. There was so much pain I couldn’t stop crying and screaming. I told her to call you. Begged her actually.” Miriam took a deep breath. “I woke up in the hospital four days later. The pain had been so bad they kept me sedated enough that I didn’t know what was going on. My parents and Uri were there and I asked if you’d come to the hospital. Uri told me they couldn’t get a hold of you.”
“That’s bullshit. Nobody tried.”
“I know.” She nodded sadly. “He said that I’d had my phone next to the stove when the fire started which I don’t remember, but the entire thing melted. Like beyond recognition. They’d already decided I was coming home with them so they had the service turned off before I came out of sedation. There was no way to get anything from the phone itself. I didn’t back it up frequently enough and I couldn’t get my original number back. They said they don’t control what phone number I get for a new phone. I didn’t have your email address. All I knew was where you worked and lived.
“Before we got on the plane to come home that Saturday, the day I was released from the hospital because there’d been an infection, I sent Uri to look for you. He’d tried the day before. No one answered your door and your office said you didn’t work there anymore but couldn’t give out any information. So he tried again and the lady across the hall said you’d moved. Why did you leave so quickly?”
“Oh, Miriam.” I shook my head and wanted to kick my own ass right there on the doorstep.
If I hadn’t knee jerked a reaction I would have been there when Uri showed up that day. I told her I’d gone to her house but the blonde said she’d been out with her boyfriend Steve. I told her everything. About how fucked up I’d been over losing her, about going back to California. All of it.
“Uri packed my things.” She kept pushing forward. “They wanted me to come home to heal which was the best thing for me since I won’t be able to work anymore.”
“Why won’t you be able to work?” I knew I looked confused because I felt twenty degrees of confused.
“Sam…” Slowly, she undid the clasps on both of her arms and slid the silicon off. Underneath were red angry burn marks. The poor girl, it looked painful. “I might not be completely disfigured but I can’t model anymore.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t care about work. I never planned to do it forever. It was fun, I got to travel and it paid pretty well but I always knew I’d go to college eventually. That eventually is next fall, I guess.”
“I’m not talking about that,” I said shaking my head. “I’m sorry I let myself wallow in self-pity for two fucking weeks before trying to find you.”
“Did you think I just up and left you?”
Well, this would be the second uncomfortable part. Because I did think that, which said a whole lot about what I thought of her character. It wasn’t her. I’d have to convince her of it.
“Yeah. What else was I supposed to think?” I swallowed hard.
This pissed her off, a heated anger flared in her brown eyes but she reigned it in. I didn’t want to argue when I just found her.
“But I told you I love you.”
“Yeah. And it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that or believed in that shit.”
She nodded again, not asking what I meant.
“Sam…I…” She closed her eyes to take another breath. “I really want you to kiss me right now but—”
I cut that shit off right there. Taking her cheek in my hand, I brushed my lips across hers gently then went in for the kill only to be rewarded with a groan. It was a good groan and it came from her. Like she’d been wanting this moment.
Miriam wasted no time parting those deliciously plump lips so my tongue could seek hers. Which it did all on its own.
“Whoa,” her brother’s voice came out of nowhere.
I didn’t want to pull back but figured it bad manners not to. Still, my eyes never left Miriam’s.
“I was just coming to see how things were going. You good?” His question was directed at Miriam.
“I’m good,” she said with a tiny grin.
Chapter Twenty-One
We stayed on the couch in her living room. I leaned back and she tucked herself into my side. The evening had grown darker but there was one small lamp on behind my head that ensured I could see her well enough that I knew she was still there. We’d been quiet for a while, just enjoying being able to touch each other.
“Where did you go?” she asked quietly.
I asked for more information with an equally quiet “Hmm?”
“You quit your job and moved. Where did you go?”
“Oh. Here.” She pushed up to look me in the eye. “I moved home. I have a place here now and I work for my dad.”
“Really?” Her eyes glistened again. “You really live here?”
“Yeah. Really. I’d been wanting to leave California for a long time but then I met you and couldn’t. If you were there, I needed to be there.”
Her eyes closed and her body relaxed. “And now?”
“I’m here for good. This is where I’ve wanted to be. I have my family. I have a job that doesn’t suck and hopefully I have you.”
“You have me. You so totally have me.”
She leaned in for another kiss, this one harder and more demanding.
I responded in kind. The taste of her was something I’d yearned for, had needed. Now that I had it, nothing was going to make me lose it again.
This would fucking last.
The only thing that broke this apart was the front door opening and voices filling the entryway.
Miriam smiled, her brown eyes softening even more. “Ready to meet my parents?”
“Yup.”
I wasn’t getting out of meeting them and didn’t want to. One thing this experience taught me was that life is in the details. If either of us had another way of contacting each other this whole thing could have been avoided.
Miriam’s parents smiled warmly as she introduced me. Her mother teared up so I decided then and there that the crying thing was inherited. Instead of shaking my hand, her mother pulled me in for a big hug. Reminded me of how Flannery hugged. Far stronger than someone her size should have been able to manage.
“Now you know he’s a real person,” Miriam teased.
She hadn’t let her arms drop from my waist.
I wanted to hold her hand as I spoke to them but wasn’t sure if I could or if I’d hurt her so I just left my arm lay down her back with my hand holding one hip tightly.
It was Friday night and getting late, but Miriam didn’t want me to go. she asked if I could stay a little while longer. Since it was nearing midnight and I didn’t want to be rude to her folks I said I should go. They were going to be part of my life now.
However, the first thing I did, was ask for a piece of paper and pen, which she grabbed out of an end table and I wrote every fucking way to get a hold of me. My phone number, email, work number, longitude and latitude to send homing pigeons or a fucking owl if necessary. As well as my parents’ names and phone numbers, and everything from my phone on Cain, Flannery, Kendra and Adam. This would never happen again. She giggled the entire time I scribbled on the paper. It took a few minutes.
When I kissed her goodnight, it was just a goodnight. Not a goodbye but an, “I will definitely see you tomorrow.”
Before I got back to my truck, my phone dinged. I didn’t have the number programmed into my phone so I knew it was her. Opening the text, I found the same info I’d offered up only for her. Her mother, father and brother were all listed as well as the litany of addresses. I could only laugh.
But I quickly shot a text telling her she should call Flannery and Kendra. And no,
it wasn’t too late.
I had to pass Cain and Flannery’s apartment on the way to mine. As I made the trip this time, I didn’t expect this tiny light brown haired force of nature to catapult from their door and slam into me like a freaking wrecking ball.
“You found her.” Flannery’s voice muffled against my chest as I wrapped my arms around her more to make sure we both remained upright but also, she was squeezing so tightly that it felt wrong not to hug her back. “How’d she look?”
I had to glance down because I could feel Flannery’s eyes on me. Cain stood just inside the door, a shoulder leaning on the jamb his arms and legs crossed watching us. I knew he’d have his own set of questions but I was fucking exhausted.
“Tired.”
“She said there was a fire?” Her eyebrows squeezed together.
“Let the man get some sleep,” Cain piped up saving me from getting into everything. Surprisingly Flannery sighed in resignation.
“Fine.” She pushed away from me. “Will you be bringing her over tomorrow?”
“I don’t know anything, Flannery.”
As much as I could see that she hated it, she still accepted my answer then slinked back into her own apartment. Cain gave me a smile that said everything and shut the door.
My friends were pushy (the girls), nosey (the girls), and not remotely happy unless they were in the know on everything (again, the girls), but fuck, they were my family and I loved the hell out of them.
For the first time in weeks I slept hard and long. It was actually past ten when I got up Saturday morning without a clue as to what the day would bring. I knew it would include Miriam because now that I found her, every day would include her.
She beat me to it though. As soon as I dragged my ass from bed, I already had a text message waiting. Miriam wanted me to know she was up so I could call whenever. So I did.
“Sleepy this morning?” She answered with a smile.
I’d missed the sound of her voice. Even when she was frustrated with me, angry like when I hadn’t answered her calls, she still had kindness in there.
“Haven’t slept well the last couple of weeks.” That was putting it mildly.
“Me either. And that’s very sweet by the way.”
My spine straightened and I rubbed a hand across my bare stomach just to have something else to focus on. “I’m not sweet.”
“Puh-lease, Sam Allen, you’re all kinds of sweet.”
I couldn’t help that it brought a smile to my face.
“Get any more rest last night?” I asked because while I wanted to be talking to her, I wasn’t completely sure what to say. Were we back to where we were before our time apart? I guessed that was a question we were going to have to discuss.
“Not really but I’m used to it.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
She sighed quietly the way she did when she absolutely did not want to answer something.
“My hands still hurt a lot,” she said quietly. “Sometimes the meds help, sometimes they don’t.”
I really didn’t have a response. My body responded because I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I’d burned myself before, I’m pretty sure everyone has, while cooking. But I’d never burned myself over such a large area and never so badly. Miriam said they were full thickness second degree burns and yeah, I’d Googled it to see what exactly that meant for her when I got home. Those burns went from roughly her knuckles to an inch or so past her wrists wrapping around underneath on the left hand. And they looked fucking painful.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Not really. I have an appointment on Monday. Uri’s taking me because I can’t drive yet. We’ll see what the doctor says.”
“I can take you.” No idea where those words came from yet I knew I meant them without thinking about it. That’s my girl. I wanted to be there.
“You don’t have to do that. You have work, right?”
“I want to. What time?”
Miriam told me her appointment was at eleven which worked because I’d just take an early lunch. And since it was Saturday I told her I was coming to pick her up. There were several things on my mind. The first being that I needed to be near her. Almost like I needed to convince myself I’d really found her. Next, if I didn’t bring her over to Flannery, I was pretty sure I might be murdered in my sleep. And lastly, we needed to have a nice long talk.
Yes, we were apart for three weeks but not by choice so in my mind we should pick back up right where we left off, taking into consideration everything Miriam had been through of course.
After we hung up, I headed to the shower but thought I should give Flannery a heads up and barely sent the text before I got her response that said “SQUEEEE.” I seriously didn’t get girls. Yet it was better than when she and Kendra actually made that sound with their mouths. You can’t unhear that shit.
On my way back to get dressed there was another text waiting from Flannery saying Kendra and Adam would be over around one.
I’d give Flannery the afternoon, but Miriam and I were eating dinner, alone, at my place and talking. That was happening.
Miriam hadn’t been inside my truck until this moment because in California I had a leased car. She laughed, saying she didn’t expect this. I’d told her I had a truck but apparently she hadn’t visualized this huge white mass of metal and yet she said it somehow fit me.
“Flannery and Kendra insist we hang out with them this afternoon, but I was thinking dinner alone at my place.”
Her face fell. “Are they mad?”
“About what?”
“This whole thing. That clearly I was ignoring them as well.”
“You weren’t ignoring any of us.” For some reason I couldn’t imagine why she worried about this. We made amends last night.
“Yes I know but did you tell them what happened? They’re not mad at me?”
“Baby, no. I explained everything to Flannery, and I’m sure she told Kendra. They’re just excited to see you. Flannery was really worried.”
A giant smile spread across her face.
Kendra and Adam hadn’t arrived yet when we got there. Miriam was clearly impressed with the building. It’s nice, nothing over the top but beautiful.
However, Flannery was there, and I only got one knock in before the door was thrown open. The girls were hugging and laughing and talking at a pitch that I’m pretty sure only dogs could hear. Thankfully though, Flannery was careful with Miriam’s hands. She had them covered in the black sheath that felt like gel. Miriam tried to explain everything to Flannery the best she could but all I cared was that it made her heal and feel better. The air still stung when the burns were uncovered, she said.
That whole scenario played again when Kendra and Adam got there. Us guys could only hang back and let the girls wear themselves out.
Finally, about three hours later, after I’d taken a seat in the large chair next to the couch and pulled Miriam onto my lap, they all seemed pretty talked out. She leaned into my ear and said, “I’m hungry.” Her lips brushed my ear, and her breath made me shiver.
When she pulled back, I had to question which kind of hungry she was because her eyes burned as if she didn’t mean food. I hadn’t planned on being with her intimately, at least until after her doctor’s appointment because I didn’t want to hurt her. Yeah, I knew she was physically fine but it didn’t matter. And we still needed to talk. Which was more important right then.
“We’re going to go have dinner,” I said standing, making sure Miriam’s feet hit the ground before I let her go.
“Why don’t we order in?” Flannery offered.
“Great idea.” I smiled at her. “But no.”
I wasn’t about to give any further explanation and honestly, they didn’t need it if the girls paid any attention to the way Cain and Adam chuckled low in their chests.
Instead, I wrapped an arm around my girl’s shoulder and led her out the door to my apartment. Usually I would have gra
bbed her hand but I was hyper aware of what a terrible idea that was. I didn’t want to hurt her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The first thing I did back in my apartment was order dinner. We’d eaten at Cain and Flannery’s hours ago, and I had to keep Miriam fed. I don’t know what it is about feeding someone to make them feel better but I’d noticed she’d lost a little weight since I last saw her, whether from injury or heartbreak, I didn’t know. So I ordered the most hearty meal I could think of from the little Italian place I loved. Pasta would stick to her ribs.
Downside, I had to go pick it up. It only took fifteen minutes but I hated leaving her there alone. When I got back she was comfortable on the couch watching TV like she belonged there. I loved the fuck out of that feeling. And I told her to stay put while I got plates out and served everything up.
“I can move to the table,” she said when I handed her a plate and sat a glass of water in front of her.
“I know you can, but I don’t want you to.”
She gave me the look that said she thought I was nuts.
“You look comfortable and in one minute I’ll be comfortable next to you.”
Miriam smiled and didn’t put up a fight about it.
We chatted while we ate. I asked some more questions about her injuries, and she wanted me to fill her in on pretty much everything my little group had been up to while we were apart. Which I did for the most part, although she didn’t need to hear some of my darker moments.
At last we were both done so before she could move, I took our plates to the sink, rinsed them off and left them there. I could deal with that shit later.
Back on the couch, I noticed right away that she pushed a breath mint around her mouth. Mostly because I was hard pressed to keep my eyes off those lips.
I stuck my hand out which made her smile then give me one too. There actually hadn’t been much garlic in what I’d ordered but it was there.
“So,” she sighed.
“So.” A smile played on my lips, but I had to man up and get this train moving. “We have some things to talk about.”
Up for Everything (Up for Grabs #3) Page 18
