by G. Benson
That made Hayden pause. “I was?”
Sam had a wicked grin. “Yes, when you put your foot in your mouth and said you’d been told you’re loud? It’s true.” That grin was going to be the end of Hayden, even as she clued into what Sam was saying and felt heat crawling up her neck. “You really are.”
Hayden could almost disappear into the floor. Except that Sam looked like she kind of loved it. “Well, I did warn you.”
Sam turned to walk toward the stairs, and Hayden fell into step with her. She wrapped her fingers around the handle of the door to the stairs and held it open for Hayden. This was all something she could get used to. Especially when Sam paused one flight of stairs up, looked around and pushed Hayden against the wall. Hands clenched at Hayden’s scrub top and Sam ran her nose over Hayden’s before dipping her head and kissing her. Her lips were soft, gentle; the kiss chaste. When she pulled back, Hayden gave a breathy sigh that should have left her embarrassed.
“Hey,” Hayden whispered.
“Hello.” Sam smiled at her, her finger against Hayden’s chin. “You didn’t wake me up when you left this morning.”
“You looked so happy asleep.”
Sam hummed and kissed her again before she pulled away slowly, leaving Hayden against the wall and wishing they were at home.
“Coffee?” Sam asked, her voice full of innocence.
Hayden followed her up the next flight of stairs, and it would have been far nicer to tug her back onto the landing than to emerge out where there were people and light and Sam slipping her hands in her pockets.
Did she do that to stop herself from wanting to touch Hayden? Because Hayden’s fingers were itching to run down Sam’s arm and trace over the back of her hand. Maybe it was better when Sam wasn’t in her space, because it would seem Hayden turned useless when she was.
Not that she really cared.
In the line, their shoulders brushed and Hayden stepped closer, Sam’s lips turning up even as she didn’t look at her.
“Clemmie isn’t working today,” Sam said.
“Luce mentioned she had the day off. Luce has an early finish and they get to spend the afternoon together.”
Sam turned her head, their faces barely a foot apart. Hayden wanted to close the gap, right there. Sam’s gaze lingered on Hayden’s lips. “Lucky them.”
“Next!”
Good timing, because Hayden didn’t think she would have cared about much right then and would have kissed Sam exactly where they stood. Sam ordered for them both and got Hayden’s coffee order spot on. Maybe there was something to fake-dating your girlfriend before you actually started.
Girlfriend?
Right as they sat down at a table, Sam’s pager went off at her hip. Of course it did.
“Got to go?” Hayden asked.
Sam plucked it off her waistband and looked at it. “Yes.”
With a droll smile, Sam stood up, her coffee in hand. Hayden stared up at her. “Okay. I’ll see you tonight?” Hayden’s face fell. “Wait, tonight isn’t your turn on call, is it?”
“That’s tomorrow.”
“Good.”
They shared a smile and Sam hovered. “I really have to go.”
“Go, then.” Hayden shooed her with her hands. “Go save some lives.”
With a last look at her, Sam walked away and Hayden picked up her coffee, hoping her face didn’t look as dreamy as she felt.
That would just be humiliating.
The coffee was too hot, but she sipped it anyway. She only had about fifteen minutes before she had to go back down, her lunch a sandwich she’d eaten far too quickly while waiting for the coffee pot to drag through the grossness she’d been about to drink before Sam had appeared.
And then someone was slipping into the seat opposite her, the one Sam had barely vacated.
Hayden didn’t care as much about space as Sam, but she still didn’t exactly love it when hers was invaded. A quick glance around confirmed it: most other tables were empty. She looked back at the man who was smiling nonthreateningly at her. He was in his forties, a thick head of hair and eyebrows to match, brown eyes. The kind of guy she wouldn’t look twice at.
Yet he was staring straight at her like he knew her.
“Can I help you?” Hayden asked.
“Hayden Pérez?” The syllables rolled off his tongue perfectly.
“Uh, yeah?”
Her hackles were up, and she had no idea why.
“My name’s Nathan Ryan. I’m a private investigator.”
Hayden went cold.
“Your face tells me you know who I am.”
Hayden flicked at the lid of her coffee cup. “I do. You haven’t exactly been discreet.”
“Well, there wasn’t really any point.”
“I suppose not.” Hayden swallowed. She had no reason to be nervous. The trust paperwork was finalized. She straightened her shoulders. “Find anything interesting?”
He held his hands out and shrugged. “Nothing except a married couple. Though that’s not why I’m here to talk to you.”
What?
“Why else would you want to talk to me?”
“We both know why Samantha’s parents hired me. To find holes, proof that their daughter wasn’t really a lesbian.” He looked so comfortable, relaxed, and sure. “They wanted to prove it was a sham to get them back for what happened with her brother.”
“Why are you telling me all this? Surely this is some kind of violation of privacy.”
“It would be, usually, but they asked me to speak with you.”
That made no sense. “Me? Why me?”
“They have a proposition for you.”
“A proposition?”
“Yes.” He spoke blankly. “Leave Sam.”
Hayden reeled back as if she’d been slapped. “Excuse me?”
“Divorce Sam, and leave her. For good. Out of her life.”
Hayden stood up, her jaw clenched. “I think you should leave.”
He looked up at her, not even remotely surprised at the venom in her voice. “Leave her, and they will compensate you.”
Compensate. That word. Sam’s ad online.
“You think I would leave Sam for some money?”
“Not simply some money. They would like to offer you enough to look after your mother for as long as she’d need. To make sure your nephew can go to any school in the country. Your debts would be gone.”
Hayden fell back into the chair, her heart in her throat. “How do you know about my life?”
“It’s my job. All of that information was easy to find, if you know where to look.” He slipped a folded up piece of paper over the table and left it in front of her. Hayden just looked at it. “Here is a number you can contact them on, and the figure they’re speaking of.”
He stood up, and Hayden didn’t take her eye off the paper. “They expect an answer as soon as possible. They wish to give their daughter the help they know will set her right. Oh, and Hayden.” He looked down at her, his expression so benign. “Getting married after a month? It’s obvious this was a setup, even if I couldn’t prove it.”
And he left.
Hayden felt ill.
She picked up the paper and unfolded it with trembling fingers. A phone number was printed on it, as he’d said.
Then the figure.
One million US dollars.
Her mouth fell open.
She almost laughed. A million dollars? That wasn’t even a real figure.
Someone sat opposite her again, and Hayden jumped, looking up, half expecting the cool smoothness of the man who had just walked away. Instead, she was met with Luce giving her a concerned look.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Hayden cleared her throat and gave a shaky smile. “I’m fine.”
She shoved the paper into her pocket, down as far as it could go.
~ ~ ~
Frank was purring next to Hayden on the sofa, a contented ball. That piece of paper, le
ad in her pocket all day, now lay next to a glass of wine that had mostly been untouched.
What to do?
The door opened and Sam stepped through it, tugging her jacket off as soon as the door closed behind her and walking into the kitchen. Her movements were so fluid, so confident all the time. Sam put her jacket down and looked up from the counter.
“Hey.” Her face had warmed considerably at the sight of Hayden. “You beat me home.”
The paper on the table in front of her may as well have been covered in neon lights. “I did.”
Sam put her bag down on top of her jacket. “I was about to get a drink. Do you want anything?”
Hayden pointed at the glass. “I have something. Thanks.”
Rather than turn to the fridge, Sam paused and really looked at Hayden. “Are you okay?”
Hayden nodded. Then shook her head. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Oh.” Sam didn’t move. “Do I want my glass of wine before you do?”
“Probably.”
Sam moved around the kitchen, getting herself a glass of wine while Hayden tried to calm her heart rate down. She could actually feel her heart slamming away. When Sam sat next to her, she tucked a leg under the other and turned to face Hayden, her glass next to Hayden’s.
Was this the right thing to do? Hayden really had no idea.
“What’s going on?” Sam tilted her head. “What’s happened?”
“I—” Hayden had no idea where to start. Or even if she should. “Someone visited me at work today, right after you left to answer your page.”
“Okay?”
“It was Nathan Ryan.”
Sam’s face instantly darkened. She knew his name. “He offered you something?”
Hayden snapped her mouth shut. “How did you know that?”
Reaching for her wine, Sam said, “Well, the trust is done. There’d be no undoing it, and they really wouldn’t have been able to before, anyway.” She took a sip, her eyes bright over the rim, her gaze glued on Hayden’s. She lowered the glass slowly. “So that’s the only option.”
“Well, you’re correct.”
“How much did they offer you?” This time, Hayden’s mouth dropped open. “I imagine they wanted you to leave me. They either still think it’s not real, or they think if you leave, they can ‘fix’ me.”
Sam’s voice was monotone.
“One million dollars,” Hayden blurted out. Sam’s head twitched back. Hayden grabbed the paper and handed it to Sam. “That’s how much to leave you and never come back.”
“That’s a lot.” But Sam didn’t take her eyes off the paper she’d opened, so Hayden couldn’t see her expression.
“I didn’t know what to do.” Sam didn’t look up, so Hayden waited a second. Still nothing, so she kept going. “I didn’t know if I should even tell you they did it. I thought maybe it was better not to, but then I couldn’t keep that from you, so—”
Sam looked up sharply. “That’s what you didn’t know?”
“What?”
“You didn’t know if you should tell me they’d done this?”
“Not telling you wasn’t a serious thought, but I just—I didn’t want you to be hurt even more. It wasn’t that I wanted to lie to you—why are you smiling?”
“Hayden.” Sam sounded disbelieving. “You weren’t conflicted about whether or not to take the money? You were conflicted about telling me what they’d done? Because you didn’t wish to see me hurt?”
“Well, yeah?”
Sam dropped the paper next to her, put her glass down and pitched forward, colliding with Hayden almost painfully. Her arms wrapped around her, and she kissed her once, twice. In shock, Hayden let herself fall against the back of the sofa. Sam’s lips parted, and her tongue brushed over Hayden’s in the best kind of kiss, full of emotion. But it all sunk in, and Hayden pulled back.
“Wait? You thought I’d accept that gross offer?”
It seemed to take a moment for Sam to catch up with the sudden movement and the question. “I didn’t really think much at all.” She was looking at Hayden’s lips and it was very distracting, even as Hayden wanted to feel indignant. “But it sounded that way.” Her eyes flicked back up to Hayden’s, genuine. “And I, well—my entire family thinks about money first. And that was a lot of money.”
Hayden shook her head, her fingers grazing Sam’s cheek before she cupped it in her palm. “You’re an idiot. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
Sam’s grin unfurled, slow and delicious. “That’s agreeable.”
She ducked her head to kiss Hayden again, but Hayden pulled back, and Sam made a sound that was almost a growl. “Wait.” She chuckled at the frustrated look on Sam’s face. “Sam. He knew stuff about my family. My mom. My debt. Everything. It was creepy.”
How quickly Sam’s expression changed was amazing, her look clouding. “I’m sorry. He was clearly told to find whatever he could to manipulate this.”
“So, should I just message them a very friendly ‘fuck off’?”
Sam smiled, in spite of herself. “How is that friendly?”
“I can put a smiley face before and after.”
“As tempting as that is, I think I have a better idea.” Sam’s expression went distant. “Hand me your phone.”
Hayden stared at her.
Clearing her throat, Sam said, “I meant, can I have your phone?”
“Still not what I was looking for. What are you planning?”
“Something more satisfying than a simple text message.”
Eyeing her, Hayden grabbed her phone blindly and held it out.
Sam took it, a glint in her eye.
“You look a little scary right now.” And by scary, Hayden meant hot.
“Good.”
~ ~ ~
An hour later, they sat at a table that faced the entrance of the small café they’d chosen, and Hayden tried not to bounce her knee.
“Relax, Hayden.”
And failed, apparently. “Sorry.”
Sam’s hand slid over her knee under the table, her fingers squeezing enough that Hayden calmed down. Being touched by Sam was one of her favorite things. Now they were actually together, their PDA had calmed down, especially as they weren’t trying to prove anything to anyone. The few and far between moments Sam reached out when not at home left Hayden lightheaded.
She turned. “I thought you hated affection in public.”
Sam squeezed so that Hayden’s ticklish leg jumped. “I would hardly call these simple touches excessively affectionate.”
Hayden bumped their shoulders together. “Still, it’s more than you made out that you liked to do in the beginning.”
Pink spread over Sam’s cheeks, and she was very interested in looking anywhere but Hayden’s face. “Maybe I started to enjoy it a bit—with you.”
Hayden tried to smother her smile but was probably failing miserably. “Oh. Is that so?”
Sam looked at her, her eyes clear, and she gave a nod.
Hayden dropped a kiss on Sam’s shoulder. “Right back at you.”
The door opened, a bell tinkling, and they both jerked their heads to look at it.
Just a young couple.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Hayden asked.
“Yes.”
Well, that was definitive. Not that Sam did things any other way.
“Okay. And you’re not nervous?”
Sam sighed. “No. Mostly, I’m angry. I’ve spent a year working up toward all of this. I thought, maybe, they would change their mind when they realized they were losing both their children and would want to speak to us. But this?” Sam pressed her lips together. “I’m done.”
Before Hayden could say anything else, the door opened again, and this time, Hayden could feel Sam straighten in her chair, though her hand stayed where it was.
George had spotted them from the doorway, based on the hard look on his face. When he started to walk over, Sam didn’t stand
up. He stopped at their table, his glance flicking over to Sam, and back to Hayden to address her. “I had assumed from your text message that we were to meet alone.”
Hayden shrugged. “You assumed wrong.”
“Am I right to assume, then, that you’re saying no to my offer?”
He definitely nailed the ass part of assume.
Hayden waved a hand airily. “I’m actually a multibillionaire. Your offer was a pittance, really. Sorry. Not even worth thinking over.”
In the future, Hayden thought, she should maybe think more about what she said. But it had been satisfying to watch his eyes widen ever so slightly before he took another look at Sam. He didn’t even flinch under the stony look that made most interns almost wet their pants on sight.
“Samantha.”
“Dad.”
He sat down.
“Where’s Mom?” Sam asked.
He sat ramrod straight, his suit and posture not fitting well into the eclectic, relaxed café’s ambience. “She only wishes to be a part of this mess when it is straightened out.”
It was so tempting to make a joke about only one third of the people at the table apparently being straight, but for once Hayden told herself that now really wasn’t the time.
“Lovely,” was all Sam said, voice steel.
“Sam.” He wasn’t even remotely looking at Hayden now. “Stop this whole homosexual nonsense. Your brother has refused, multiple times, the help we’ve offered him. We know you’re not really like this. And if this, this marriage was for real, we know people who can help you. There are many people that have had success with therapy.”
Hayden scoffed with disgust, but he wasn’t interested in her anymore.
“Dad.” Sam’s voice was completely measured. “I did not come here to have a long conversation. I know, now especially, that this is who you and Mom are. That you will never think any differently. I came here—” if her voice had been steel before, now it was ice “—to tell you to stay the hell away from Hayden. You do not contact her or pry into her life. You leave her alone. By extension, you leave us alone.”
She stood up, and Hayden followed suit. Something was ballooning in her chest. She felt breathless, light at Sam’s words. Sam’s hand slipped into hers.
