“I thought you were taking me back to your house, but now I’m lost,” Sam said, looking around her. After they had left the restaurant parking lot, Austin had driven the car on the country road. They’d been driving for half an hour already and the orchard was far behind them.
“We’re almost there,” Austin assured her as he leaned forward, not wanting to miss his turn. The dirt road was hard to see and it was now pitch black. The stars had started appearing already.
“There we go,” he said as he noticed the intersection where he had to turn. Slowly, a white-washed barn appeared and he knew he was in the right spot.
A minute later, he parked the car behind the old abandoned barn, far from any city lights. The sky was crystal clear and they could see all the stars they wanted.
“You brought me stargazing?” Sam asked as she looked outside her window.
“Not exactly,” Austin admitted. “Stay in here.”
“Why?”
“You’ll see,” he replied with a smile.
Opening his door, Austin slid out of the car. He turned the light of his phone on as he walked back to the road. Sam was now alone in the car, and definitely wondering what was happening. He was hoping he wasn’t scaring her too much while he was gone.
He came back a minute later, opening the passenger door.
“Now you can come out.”
Austin gave Sam his hand and she took it as she got out of the car. Still holding her hand, he led her toward the back of the truck. He jumped in and removed the blanket that was hiding a ton of pillows. As he helped Sam inside, he pointed behind her.
“Look,” he said as her head turned in the right direction. The barn, which had been white a few seconds ago, was now slowly lighting up. She could recognize the first scene of the movie she used to watch over and over again as a teenager: Notting Hill.
“Do you still like this film?” Austin asked as they both sat down in the back of the truck.
“Are you kidding? I love it!” Sam said with a smile. “But how did you do that?”
“The TV people lent me a projector and an audio system,” Austin admitted as he grabbed the remote in his pocket and turned the volume up. That was something he had always wanted to do―he had found this location years ago, but never had the necessary equipment to make it happen. Today, it had seemed like a good thing to try. He’d been here earlier today to set up everything, and he was glad it still worked and that nobody had stolen it.
Sam started relaxing as her head rested on his shoulder. Her eyes were on the back of the barn, where the movie was playing, while his were on her, the only thing he wanted to watch right now.
Sam was the only person he even wanted to impress and to make happy, and he felt like tonight was a success. She had a cute smile on her lips as she whispered the characters’ lines even before the characters were ready to say them.
“Austin? Austin…”
“Mmhm?” he whispered as he used all his strength to wake up.
“You fell asleep.” Sam’s voice was beautiful and sweet. He should probably have felt guilty for falling asleep on their first date, but her voice held no reproach.
“Did I?” he asked, knowing full well that he hadn’t watched much of the movie. But that wasn’t such a bad thing, since he’d seen it so many times already with Sam. He knew what it was all about.
“Ten minutes in and you were already snoring.”
“Sorry,” he said as he was finally able to open his eyes for more than three seconds at a time.
“It’s okay. It was cute.”
“You’re cute,” he heard himself say as he looked into Sam’s eyes. He saw a broad smile appear on her lips as he said the words. “Did I say that out loud? I guess I did…” The world around him was still a bit out of focus.
As things became less blurry, he felt drawn to Sam. It was the right time to do what he had always wanted to do. Slowly, she leaned in as he lifted himself up, their faces coming closer and closer every second. Austin felt his heart starting to race as Sam’s lips brushed his. The sweetness made him lose control as they sealed in a kiss. He didn’t want it to stop. He wanted to taste Sam’s lips forever. They felt so right against his.
He reached for her face as passion took over his body. He wanted Sam as close to him as possible. He wanted to touch every inch of her beautiful body.
Nothing would stand between him and his happiness, Austin decided. Nothing could make him leave Sam again. She was the one for him, he was already sure of that. Actually, he’d been certain of that for more than ten years, he just never wanted to acknowledge it. Now, he was ready to see it and act on it.
“Please, don’t leave me again,” Sam whispered between kisses. He could hear the despair in her voice and it made his heart clench.
“Never,” he promised.
Austin backed his truck out of the field. As he concentrated on his task, he could feel Sam’s eyes on him. It made him smile.
When they were finally back on the dirt road, he grabbed her hand on her thigh and started driving toward the town. He didn’t want this night to end, but he knew Sam had to work tomorrow.
He drove in silence, just enjoying Sam’s presence. His brain was too busy replaying their kiss to be able to maintain a conversation. Sam wasn’t talking, either, only glancing at him from time to time, but she was mainly looking outside at the stars. He looked at them too, and sometimes at her, wondering how he could be so lucky to have a second chance.
I don’t deserve it, he thought. After all that he had put her through, he couldn’t believe he was here with her. Now he knew one thing: he wouldn’t have another chance. He couldn’t screw this up.
Half an hour later, Austin’s truck was parked in front of Sam’s apartment again. It had gone a lot better than he had even planned. Everything had been perfect. He didn’t want to let Sam go, but he knew she would busy the next day.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked as they both got out of the car.
“Come here,” she said as she grabbed his hand, pulling him closer to her. Austin didn’t resist, as he saw a spark of playfulness in Sam’s eyes. Putting her arms around his waist, she leaned in to kiss him. Austin kissed her back, reaching for her face, his thumb tracing an imaginary line on her cheek. Looking into her eyes, he wanted her to understand how crazy he was about her.
She seemed to understand, as she kissed him a second time, which lasted a lot longer than the first one. Austin was out of breath when Sam took a step back. “Do you want to come over?”
Austin wasn’t ready to end this night. He looked into Sam’s eyes, searching for any sign of hesitation. He didn’t find any, which made him smile. He nodded, pulling Sam closer to him again, pressing his lips against hers with all the passion that had been locked in him for so many years.
With a wicked grin on her face, Sam led him into her building, up the stairs, and into her tiny apartment.
Austin didn’t even try to register what was going on around him. He only had eyes for Sam. Of all the women he had seen in his life, she was the prettiest. There was something about her that was so natural, so real, and that was what gave her her beauty. She didn’t need makeup to turn heads—she merely needed to be herself.
He followed her to the bedroom slowly, kissing her on her lips, her forehead, her cheeks, her neck. He wouldn’t stop kissing her for anything. Her skin was so soft, he also couldn’t help his hands from wandering around her body. Before they arrived in the bedroom, he lifted her up, taking her to the bed and kicking the door closed at the same time.
Chapter Twelve
Sam
When Sam opened her eyes the next morning, she smiled at seeing Austin still sleeping by her side. On his belly, his hand under the pillow, he seemed a lot more peaceful than she’d ever seen him before. Sam could still remember when they’d met in the liquor store, how lonely he seemed to be. Now that he was asleep beside her, Sam could almost see a smile on his lips.
Pushing the
blanket away, she got out of bed and put an old t-shirt on. She had to be at the bakery in less than thirty minutes, even if she didn’t want to. She could have called in sick, but nobody else could take over her shift except her mother, and she didn’t want to wake her up this early.
When she looked outside her kitchen window, Sam could see the sun rising. She was going to have a rough day at work today, since she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, but that wasn’t going to stop her. After all, she had a smile on her lips that she wasn’t able to erase. She just wanted to be done as soon as possible so she could keep fooling around with Austin.
She poured herself some cereal as she remembered what had happened the previous night. She’d had such a great time with him. She had felt like he cared about her more than anybody ever had, and that simply made her love him more.
Was she in love with him already? It was hard to tell, but if she wasn’t there already, she would be soon. Her life seemed much more exciting now that Austin was a part of it.
But he would have to go back to New York, eventually. She tried not to think about it, but even if Austin had promised not to leave her, she knew he would have to. How could they be together if his life was on the other side of the continent?
Sam dismissed the thought as she started eating. She wasn’t ready to ask herself so many questions. She just wanted to enjoy her week with Austin. Spending time with him made her feel more alive than she’d felt in years.
She finished her breakfast and put a pair of black pants on and one of the white t-shirts she always wore to work. She was about to put her hair up in a ponytail when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Maybe she could leave her hair down today? She could still feel Austin’s hand playing with her blonde strands and remembered how good it felt. She touched the wild lock that always fell across her face, putting it behind her ear the way he’d done. A shiver ran through her, and she realized she was going to be late if she didn’t leave now.
Grabbing a piece of paper, she scribbled a few lines on it and left it on the bedside table where Austin would see it when he woke up. She stopped for a few seconds, taking one last look at the peaceful man sleeping in her bed.
Her feelings for Austin were definitely back. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so hard to leave him just to go to work. Leaning down, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek before leaving the room.
“Well, you look happy!” April said as she walked into the bakery. Sam was leaning against the wall, letting the concrete cool her down. She’d been working by the oven for an hour already, but now it was time for her morning break with April. They both sat down as Sam pushed a cup of coffee in front of her friend. “Come on, tell me what happened!”
“After we talked Friday, I… I went to Austin’s orchard. I knew I’d find him there.”
“You didn’t!” April gasped with a wide smile on her face.
“I did,” Sam whispered, laughing. It had taken her a lot of courage to go there, but she would have regretted it far more if she hadn’t.
“What happened then?”
Sam told her all about the box that she had brought there, how she had ended up facing a camera and admitting things to Austin that she hadn’t planned to tell him. She fast forwarded to their date last night and where she and Austin had been.
“He was so cute, you know. He fell asleep while we were watching the movie and his head dropped on my shoulder. He was so innocent.”
“So he didn’t turn into a shark when he became a businessman?”
“Not at all,” Sam admitted. She’d been scared of that too, but after seeing all the things that Austin had prepared for her on their date, she couldn’t imagine him running a company worth several billion dollars. “He’s the same man who left for college that one day. Except that now, he’s got more money. But he still has the same big heart. Oh, and he has a bit more confidence, too, but I like that.”
“I’m really happy for you,” April said as she grabbed Sam’s hand across the table.
“Thanks,” Sam replied. “Maybe he can introduce you to one of his wealthy friends?” She winked at April and they both started laughing.
April looked at her phone, checking the time. Sam knew she had to go soon, but she was really enjoying her friend’s company.
“Time to go?”
“Yeah,” April replied. “Please keep that smile on your face. It looks so good on you.”
“I will.”
“And tell Austin that if he breaks your heart again, I’ll break his legs.”
Sam started laughing as she looked at April’s serious expression. “I’ll tell him.”
“You better!”
They both stood up, and Sam threw her arms around April’s neck.
“Have fun today. I’ll see you later,” she said to her friend, hugging her tightly. She knew April wasn’t so lucky when it came to her love life, so if Sam was going to be in a relationship, she wanted her friend to feel loved too. There was nothing that would come between them.
“Thanks, hon! You too,” April replied.
They both loosened their embrace and Sam watched April leave. She was alone again, with ten minutes before she had to open her store. And all she could think about was Austin.
When Sam looked at the clock in her office, it was already past ten. Her eyes were closing slowly as she wrote up orders. This was her Monday morning task, but it was taking her so much more time today. She only wanted to go back home and cuddle in bed with Austin, but she had things to do.
She tried to concentrate on her order forms again when someone knocked on her door. Usually, nobody even knew that she in there until she came out for lunch.
“Come in,”
The door opened and her mother appeared. “Someone wants to see you,” she said. Sam noticed that the smile she had on her lips was unusual. “A nice-looking young man.”
Austin was there. Sam stood up from her chair so quickly it almost fell over. This was the distraction she needed. Her mother looked at her funny when she passed her to get to the front of the bakery as soon as possible, but she didn’t care. Spending some time with Austin, even if it was just a ten-minute break, was better than staying in her dark office.
When she arrived at the front, she saw him sitting with a chocolate croissant and a cup of coffee. He had apparently taken a shower, as Sam deduced from his wet hair. She blushed as she imagined him naked in the shower, wondering how his body looked with all that water running over it. She tried to think of something else as her cheek became hotter, but there was nothing else that came to her mind.
“Good morning,” Sam said as she sat down beside him. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like a baby,” he replied with a smile. “It would have been even better if I could have woken up by your side, but you were gone already.”
“I’m so sorry about that, but I had to―”
“Don’t worry, I get it,” Austin said, stopping her. “Here, I brought you these. I thought you’d like them.” Reaching to the chair next to him, he handed her flowers.
“They’re beautiful,” Sam said as she smelled them. “Wait, where did you get them?” There was only was flower shop in town, and it was the one owned by April.
“Just across the street. Why? The woman who sold them to me was a bit awkward, I have to admit. I don’t think she said a full sentence to me.”
Sam laughed as she imagined her best friend trying to talk to Austin, but being too intimidated by the man to be able to speak properly.
“Thank you. They’re great,” she added. “I’ll put them in my office. They can brighten it up.”
“You took over in your dad’s office?”
“My mother isn’t that great with paperwork, so I have the office, yeah.”
“Can I see it again? I haven’t been in the place in years.”
“Sure,” Sam replied with a smile. The bakery wasn’t very big, but as kids, it was the greatest place for them to play. Not much had changed since Austin ha
d left, except maybe his perception of it. But Sam didn’t mind giving him a tour again. It was a good distraction.
“Come on.” She grabbed his hand on the table and pulled him behind the counter. The office was to the right, the ovens on the left. Sam decided to show him the ovens first, letting him explore as she stood in the doorway.
“What’s this?” Austin asked as he reached for the jar on top of a shelf. “Is it―”
“My savings to go to Italy, yes.”
“You don’t even have a hundred dollars in there,” he said, counting the bills and coins.
“It’s difficult to save after I have to pay for my car and my apartment.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore, because I’m taking you there,” Austin said as he walked closer to Sam. As he neared, she took a step back but hit the wall behind her.
“Austin…” she whispered as she glanced around to see if there was anybody coming. Her mother was back behind the register, which meant she wouldn’t be able to see anything.
He was still getting closer. She could feel his warm breath on her face, his lips so close to hers. He was teasing her, staying just far enough that they weren’t kissing yet. Sam’s body was on fire, her heart pumping her blood way too fast.
She couldn’t resist anymore and pressed her lips against his, kissing him with all the passion he had built up inside of her. There was something about Austin that she couldn’t resist. She wanted his arms around her, his lips on hers, his hands in her hair.
He pressed against her while she dropped her flowers to explore his body with both hands. She could feel herself getting dizzy as he kissed her back with an intensity she didn’t know he had.
Soon, they were both out of breath. Grabbing his hand, Sam pulled him to the other side of the building, where her tiny office was hiding. Once he was in, she closed the door behind them, making sure to lock it. When she looked back at Austin, she loved the sparks she saw in his eyes. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.