Sammy in Thailand (Single Wide Female Travels #6)

by Lillianna Blake

  This time as he chased me, I made sure to be caught by him.

  Chapter 20

  When we emerged from the bungalow and headed for the shops, the sun was just as bright. I glanced at Max with a frown.

  “You’re getting really red, Max.”

  “Shoot, I forgot to put sunscreen on before we went back in the water, and I forgot my hat in our room.”

  “I’m sure I have something you can use in here.” I rummaged through my bag and handed him a bottle.

  “Thanks.” He began to smear it on his face as we walked.

  I smoothed some down onto his neck for him.

  When we approached the shops, there was quite a crowd of people to get through. The two-story outdoor mall was flush with places to spend all our money.

  I stopped in the shoe store to buy some new shoes, while Max hung outside in an attempt to get a signal on his cell phone. As I perused my options, I giggled at the memory of buying the young woman’s shoes. I wondered how her reunion with her boyfriend had gone and whether they’d laughed about the wild barefoot woman in the airport. It didn’t embarrass me to think of it. I rather enjoyed the idea of the two sharing amusement over me.

  I picked out a pair of sandals and walked up to the counter to purchase them. As I dug out some cash, I noticed my fingers burning a little. Maybe I’d gotten them caught up in Max’s swimming trunks. Or maybe they were protesting my lack of writing.

  I vowed to get back to work that night, then joined Max outside with my new sandals.

  “Nice choice.” He nodded. “Don’t think this means I won’t scoop you up whenever I feel like it, though.”

  “Oh, please do.” I grinned.

  “Now—about the new bathing suit.” He smiled.

  “I think this time I’ll pick it out, okay?”

  “Can I watch you try them on?” He grinned and tugged at my hand.

  “I guess, but only if you promise to behave.”

  “You mean, don’t yank it off you in front of everyone?”

  “You’re not going to let me live that down, are you, Max?”

  “Not anytime soon, no.” We shared a quick kiss, then walked into a clothing shop.

  Since it was a tourist area there was a much wider selection of sizes. I didn’t want to spend too much time shopping, so I picked the first bathing suit I thought would fit me. It was covered in a design of multi-colored seashells. It was a little gaudy for my taste, but I didn’t care as long as it covered my bottom.

  I changed in the fitting room, then stepped out to show Max. But when I stepped out, Max wasn’t looking at me. He was staring intently at his own reflection in the mirror beside the fitting room.

  “Don’t worry, Max, you’re still gorgeous.”

  “Sammy, I think we have a problem. Did you happen to forget to throw something out?” He turned to face me.

  I gasped when I saw the big red splotches on his face. “Oh no! Max!”

  “Yes, oh no.” He grimaced and reached up to scratch his cheek. “It burns.”

  “Don’t scratch. All we have to do is get you that medicine that Kanda gave me.”

  “What was it?”

  “I don’t know! I just took what she gave me. Let me see if I can reach her.” I winced as I reached into my purse. Now I knew why my fingers were burning, and it had nothing to do with my slacking off on work.

  “Don’t bother, there’s no service here. I’m just going to have to find a pharmacy.”

  “But, Max, how will you know if the medicine is safe?”

  “I don’t know, but it will be safer than these splotches swelling up on my neck.” He rubbed his palm along the side of his neck.

  I swatted his hand. “No scratching, Max! I’m going to fix this for you. Come on, I think there’s a pharmacy across the courtyard.” I ran out of the store, tugging him right behind me.

  Luckily there was a pharmacy on the other side of the courtyard. I rushed Max over to it as he continued his transformation into a tomato. Just as Max made it through the door, someone slammed into me hard from behind. I splatted onto the floor and grunted.

  Max spun around and grabbed the man who’d tackled me.

  “Get off her!” He pried the man off me as I scrambled to my feet.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I shouted at him, too scared to think about the attention I was drawing.

  “You stole from my store!” The man tried to lunge out of Max’s grasp.

  The commotion attracted an officer who walked over to us.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “My husband needs medicine. He’s having an allergic reaction to lotion.”

  “She didn’t pay for that bathing suit!”

  Only then did I recall that I had indeed rushed out of the store without changing out of the bathing suit—or purchasing it.

  “Oh no, I forgot. Here, I have—” I stopped as I realized that, in my panic, I’d left my purse in the shop. “My money is back in the store.”

  “Okay, first things first. Let’s get this man some medicine.” The officer instructed Max to go inside the pharmacy.

  “Either she pays me for the swimsuit or she gives it back.”

  “Okay, if you just let me go back to the store I can get my money to pay for it.”

  “Let you go back to my store so you can steal more from it? No!” He huffed. “Give me back the bathing suit right this second.”

  “You can’t be serious.” I folded my arms.

  “I said now!”

  The officer crossed his arms and looked at me. “It’s not your property.”

  “Excuse me, I am not about to strip naked in the middle of a shopping mall. You’re being unreasonable.”

  “Perhaps some time in jail will show you how reasonable I am?” He rested his hand on his handcuffs.

  “This is ridiculous! My husband can pay you for the bathing suit. Max?” I poked my head inside the pharmacy to find Max sprawled out on the floor.

  Chapter 21

  “Max!” I rushed toward him, with the officer and the shop owner rushing after me.

  The pharmacist shooed me away from Max. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. We just have to let the medicine work. It’s best if you don’t touch or jostle him.”

  “Are you sure he’s going to be okay?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  “Okay, then maybe I’ll just take his wallet out of his shorts.” I reached into his pocket.

  “Look at this, she’s robbing him!” The shop owner put his hands on his hips and looked at the officer. “Are you going to just let her steal his wallet?”

  “He’s my husband. I’m not stealing.”

  “She’s probably the one who poisoned him!”

  I cringed, as that part was actually true. “Everyone just calm down.” I pulled some money out of Max’s wallet. “This should cover the bathing suit. I will need my purse back, though.”

  “I’ll bring it to you.” The officer nodded.

  Max began to stir on the floor. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and blinked. “Sammy?”

  “Max, I’m so glad that you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay.” He rubbed one eye. “I think.”

  The pharmacist smiled. “You’ll be just fine.”

  The officer returned with my purse.

  “You’re not going to jail, are you, Sammy?” Max stood up.

  “No, I don’t think so.” I smiled at the officer as I took my purse and clothes from him. “But we might be better off having lunch back at the resort.”

  “That sounds like a good plan.” He rubbed his cheek.

  “No scratching.” I swatted his hand.

  “No hitting.” The officer crossed his arms.

  “Oops, sorry.” I smiled at him and ushered Max past him. “Seriously, we need to get out of here before I do end up in handcuffs.”

  We headed back to the resort as fast as possible.

  Max sprawled out on the sofa while I
flopped down in a chair and closed my eyes.

  “Well, that was disastrous.”

  “Adventurous.”

  “If you say so.” I rubbed a hand across my forehead. “I suppose any day is a good day when I can say that I’m not in jail.”

  “A very good day. Plus, I’m alive.”

  “That’s the best part.”

  “I think so too.”

  I opened my eyes in time to see him grin. “I love you, Max.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He threw the pillow from the sofa at me. “Of course I am.”

  “Good, because I’m exhausted, and I don’t want to even think about going anywhere for dinner.”

  “Why don’t you take a nap and we’ll figure out dinner later?”

  “Very good idea.” I shifted from the chair to the bed and let sweet sleep take over.

  When I woke a few hours later it was to the flicker of candlelight and the pop of a wine bottle. I pushed myself up in bed and looked over to see Max in the small kitchenette. He poured two glasses of wine and set them on the table.

  “I know I woke you, but I didn’t want the food to get cold.”

  “Max, how did you manage all this?” I stood up and walked over to the table.

  He pulled a chair out for me to sit in. “I have my ways.”

  “But there’s barely a kitchen here.”

  “Dinner.” He set the plate down in front of me and smiled. “Do you like it?”

  “Yes, I do.” I smiled as he sat down across from me. “It smells delicious.”

  “Good, because I’m starving.” He picked up his fork and began to eat.

  I followed suit. For a few minutes all that filled the room was the sound of chewing and subtle groans of pleasure. The food was so good that I closed my eyes and took another bite.

  “This is the best food I’ve tasted since we got here. Where did you get it?”

  “I have my sources.”

  “Oh? Like who?”

  “I’ll never tell.”

  I quirked an eyebrow. “I have my ways of making you talk.”

  “Ha. Wait, that’s actually true.” He frowned. “What is that you are planning to do to me?”

  “Trust me, it’ll be better for you if you just talk.”

  “Okay, okay. Anthony and Michelle might have had their anniversary dinner catered and might have had some leftovers that Michelle might have brought over.”

  “Because she feels sorry for me for making such an idiot out of myself today!” I rolled my eyes and sighed.

  “You? You’re not the one that let it all hang out for the whole beach to see.”

  “No, but that was my fault.”

  “Not really—I probably would have done the same thing if you hadn’t done it first.”

  “Really?”

  “You try having a fish in your swimsuit and find out how much you care about your unmentionables.”

  “Good point. Anyway, no matter why she brought it over, it was very sweet of her. We’ll have to make sure we get a chance to buy them a drink.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  After we finished our dinner Max took my hand. “Will you walk on the beach with me?”

  “I’d love to.” I stood up from the table with him and paused to blow out the candles.

  On our way out the door I grabbed a towel for us to sit on. The only drawback in staying at a resort was that the beach was still quite populated even in the evening.

  Chapter 22

  Max and I walked for some time before we came across an empty patch of sand. I spread the towel out and we settled on it.

  “I have to say that this view is the best dessert.” I reached for Max’s hand.

  “I agree. It’s strange how calm I can feel here. Do you feel it too?”

  “Yes. Even though everything’s been a little chaotic, I still have this sense of peace.”

  “What would life be if it wasn’t a little chaotic?” Max smiled at me.

  “Calm.”

  “Boring. Who wants a boring life?”

  “Maybe people who’ve had too much chaos.” I smiled and gazed up at the moon. “I imagine there are plenty of people out there that would trade everything for one night of this. Here we are.”

  “Yes, here we are.” He leaned closer to me. “Living our dreams.”

  “I love that we can share this.”

  “Me too.” His lips nestled against the slope of my neck.

  “Oh, here are the lovebirds!” A booming voice made me jump a few inches away from Max. I looked up to see Anthony right behind me.

  “You found us.” I grinned.

  “I told him we shouldn’t interrupt.” Michelle rolled her eyes.

  “It’s okay. After that dinner you gave us, we owe you both a thank you.” Max shifted over on the large towel. “Do you want to join us?”

  “Thought you’d never ask.” Anthony dropped down beside us.

  Michelle sat down beside me and sighed. “It’s so pretty, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is. I bet it’s a trip of a lifetime for you two.”

  “It is. Though we do travel a lot. In fact, when we leave here, we might plan another trip. Maybe to Italy or Ireland.”

  “We travel a lot too.”

  “I know.” Michelle bit into her bottom lip. “I looked you up. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that you were an author.”

  “If I don’t get any work done soon I might have to give up the title.” I laughed.

  “Hey, you’re here to play, not work, right?”

  “Yes, that’s true.”

  “So how long have you two been married?”

  “Not too long, but we’ve been best friends for years—long before we started dating.”

  “Wow, what a true romance. I can see how much you care about one another—the way you look at each other.”

  “I can see that with you and Anthony too. It’s very sweet. How do you keep your spark so bright?” I asked.

  “Oh, it’s pretty easy to do that. We always keep things exciting and of course, no kids for us.”

  “No?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “We decided before we got married that we wanted our lives to always be light and fun. Kids are great and everything, but just not what we wanted. Could you imagine being chained to a stroller or having to save a year’s salary for kindergarten?”

  “A year?” My eyes widened.

  “If you want your kid to have a decent education, sure. I mean, it’s just a lot to deal with and we’ve been perfectly satisfied avoiding it.”

  I glanced over at Max but he was engrossed in conversation with Anthony. At least he hadn’t overheard. I didn’t think he had, anyway.

  “See what I brought?” Michelle held up a bottle of wine. “No glasses, so we’ll have to share.” She offered the bottle to me.

  I shrugged and took a sip, then handed the bottle over to Max. He took a swig and passed it on to Anthony.

  “See, I told you, Michelle. They’re real laid back,” said Anthony.

  “You’re right.” Michelle nodded.

  “You should see me when I get nervous, though.” I shook my head. “I have to find ways to calm my nerves.”

  “I have ways to calm my nerves too.” Michelle grinned. “Anthony can be a lot of help with that.” She rested her hand on top of mine and looked into my eyes.

  Suddenly the wine really hit me and my stomach did a somersault. Was Michelle just being friendly? Did I imagine that glint in her eye? I looked over at Max in time to see Max shift his weight on the blanket away from Anthony and toward me.

  “I think you two might have the wrong idea.” He frowned.

  “Oh, are you sure?” Michelle pouted. “We like you both so much. I thought maybe you were open to trying something different.”

  “I do like to keep an open mind, but when it comes to my marriage, I prefer it to be closed.” I looked over at Max. “Don’t you
?”

  “Locked up tight.” He nodded. “No offense, but we’re just not into that lifestyle.”

  “Well, one day you will be.” Anthony chuckled. “Anything to keep the marriage lively.”

  “You keep the wine.” Michelle left it beside me. “And have a wonderful night.”

  As the two walked away I looked over at Max with wide eyes. “Did you suspect that’s why they were being friendly to us?”

  “No. Not for a second.” Max shook his head. “I had no idea until Anthony started asking me some rather personal questions about you.”

  “Michelle tried to hold my hand.”

  “Did she?” Max scowled. “Maybe I should have a talk with her.”

  “Relax.” I grinned. “They just had the wrong idea. Maybe us being half-naked on the beach—”

  “Or in my case, all the way naked.”

  “Right—all the way naked. Maybe that gave them the wrong idea.”

  “I think so. They’re still nice people, though.”

  “Maybe. But it changes my whole view of them. I thought they were happy and still in love after ten years of marriage.”

  “Yeah, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

  “Or maybe it is. I mean, just because we wouldn’t want to go outside our marriage doesn’t mean that there aren’t people who can’t make it work.”

  “Maybe there are, but I can tell you right now, it will never be us. I only want to be with you, Sammy. No one else. You feel the same way, right?”

  “I do. No question. I know that won’t ever change.”

  He drew my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Always, Sammy.”

  I smiled as he met my eyes. But a kernel of doubt had already been planted in my mind.

  If a couple like Anthony and Michelle needed something to spice up their love lives, what would it really be like for us in ten years?

  Chapter 23

  Max and I spent the next few days mostly in the water and in the bungalow. It was a gloriously lazy experience that left me with fantasies about one day moving to Thailand so I would never have to leave Koh Samui. However, the day drew closer when we needed to be headed back to the mainland for the next book signing. It was at the other branch of Kanda’s shop, which was in Chiang Mai.