“I really like you, too, Adam. But I need to be sure you’re not placing too much significance on me wearing your ring.”
“I’m not. Honest. But I think maybe viewing our engagement as sort of an audition will help ease your conscience.”
She nodded. “I guess it does a little.”
“Everything will be all right. As soon as we’re done with dessert, I’ll take you home so you can break the news to Dani and her father.”
“No, you’d better do that. I have a lousy poker face. And besides, I’m still not speaking to Nick.”
Adam smiled, relishing the opportunity for a little payback. “It’ll be my pleasure.”
~*~
While Dani was having dinner at Ryan’s house, Nick had planned to scour Sam’s files so he could work up an accurate production cost analysis for her Worry Pals. He’d hoped focusing on numbers all evening would keep him from dwelling on how sexy Sam had looked when Adam picked her up for dinner.
Unfortunately, when he’d climbed the stairs to her workroom moments after they left, he discovered she’d locked her filing cabinet. Consequently, he’d spent the last few hours organizing the garage and collecting the tools he would need for the renovation he planned. It was another job that needed doing. The only problem was, the manual labor left his mind free to wander.
It was bad enough Sam had obviously gone to a lot of extra trouble curling her hair and applying her make-up, but she’d also worn his favorite outfit with a spritz of the Dolce Gabbana perfume he’d sent her on her last birthday.
There was nothing overtly revealing about the sapphire blue cocktail dress she’d bought for one of Swann’s holiday parties. The silk sheath had always hugged her figure, but, now, with a few extra pounds squeezed into it, the dress fit like the skin on a ripe peach and accentuated her enticing bottom and lush cleavage.
Not that it really mattered what she wore. Sam looking her worst was still a knockout. It wouldn’t bother him if she’d gotten dolled up for her date simply to torture him. What worried him was she might have actually done it to seduce Dr. Adonis.
The matching four-inch stilettos she’d worn for Adam tonight had gotten Nick so worked up at the company party three years ago he’d lured Sam into a hotel conveniently unlocked supply closet.
At first, Sam was horrified by his lusty spontaneity, but after a few scorching kisses among the towels, she reluctantly allowed him to make love to her. Despite her reservations, her subsequent impatience told him she found it an incredible turn-on. Knowing at any time, some unsuspecting hotel employee might open the door—which could only be locked with a key from the outside—made it the hottest sex ever. Sam came so violently and so many times in the span of only a few minutes, she nearly suffocated herself, smothering her ecstatic cries of ecstasy in his shoulder.
Afterward, she was mortified by their utter depravity, as she phrased it, even though it was obviously the most intense experience she’d ever had. She made him swear never to tell a soul—not even Father Rossi in confession—or even to remind her of what happened that night. He’d kept his word, but he’d also replayed her extreme eagerness a thousand times in his mind.
Damn. All of his reminiscing had given him a raging hard-on.
As he headed back into the house, a horrible thought shoved all his thoughts of a hot, soapy shower out of his mind. What if Chase had taken her to his house for an intimate dinner instead of going to a restaurant?
Obscene images of the bastard seducing Sam in her stilettos flashed through Nick’s head, making his jaw clench almost hard enough to crack a molar. Nick couldn’t blame the other man. In the doctor’s shoes, he would do exactly that.
~*~
By ten-o’clock, Nick decided he’d tortured himself long enough and drove to the Flynn’s house to pick up Dani. He spent a half-hour chatting with Ryan’s mother, Mary, while waiting for his daughter to finish the game of Clue she was playing with Ryan, Cindy, and Bethany.
During the drive home, Dani griped for several minutes about being picked up so early, and once they arrived home, she bombarded him with questions about Sam.
“Mom’s still not back?” she asked as she preceded him through the back door. “What time did they leave?”
“A little after seven.”
“Shouldn’t they be back by now? It’s almost eleven o’clock.”
He tossed his keys and wallet on the counter. “A few minutes ago, you complained ten-thirty was too early to be going home.”
“I’m just saying....it shouldn’t take four hours to have dinner. Where do you think Dr. Chase took her?”
“I have no idea.”
Dani hoisted herself up to sit on the kitchen island. “Do you think they might’ve gone to his house after dinner?”
He sure hoped not. “I don’t know. In any case, what your mother or I choose to do on our own time isn’t any of your business. Why don’t you go up and get ready for bed.”
“Don’t you care if—”
“Dani, enough with the inquisition. You’re not still playing Clue.” Not only were her questions too much like the ones he’d been asking himself all evening, he was starting to feel like Colonel Mustard about to be caught red-handed with the candlestick in the library.
“I’m just saying—” His daughter’s mouth snapped shut at the sound of the front door opening.
Two seconds later Sam strolled into the family room holding Adam’s hand. “Good, you’re still up.”
“How come you’re so late?” Dani asked. “I thought you were just going out to dinner.”
“We would’ve been back forty minutes ago,” Adam told them, “but there was a huge pile-up on Rt. 202 that jammed traffic up.”
As Sam placed her evening bag on the island, Dani grabbed her mother’s wrist and slid off the counter. “Oh-my-gosh! Where did you get that? Is it real?”
Nick stared at the huge rock on Sam’s hand, and part of the PB&J sandwich he’d eaten for dinner climbed halfway up his throat. He swallowed hard, praying he wouldn’t puke.
“I gave it to her.” Adam smiled, sliding his arm around Sam’s waist. “And of course, it’s real. I wouldn’t give her a counterfeit engagement ring.”
Dani’s mouth dropped open for a split second as she turned to Sam. “So you’re engaged?”
Sam held her hand out. “Isn’t the ring beautiful? It belonged to Dr. Chase’s great-grandmother.”
Dani glared at Adam. “Yeah, sure. It’s real nice.” She turned her pleading gaze toward Nick. “Da-ad? Aren’t you gonna say anything?”
What could he say other than, Congratulations, you wife-poaching sonovabitch. You win? “Will you be moving to Adam’s after you’re married, or are you planning to stay in our house?”
When Sam didn’t say anything, Adam answered for her. “We haven’t really thought that far ahead yet.”
“Well, I hope you’ll be deciding soon. It’s ridiculous for me to add an apartment over the garage if Sam’s moving out. Naturally, Dani can stay here with me. I’m sure you lovebirds will want lots of time alone.”
“Wait.” Dani held her hand up. “This is happening way too fast. When’s the wedding, Mom?”
Sam chewed on her lower lip, refusing to make eye-contact with Nick. “Umm, uhhh, since we haven’t been going out for very long, we, uhhh....”
Listening to Sam hem and haw, he narrowed his gaze. Something wasn’t right.
“....we plan to wait a while before we, umm, think about setting a date.”
“It doesn’t sound like the two of you have thought about much,” Nick said.
Adam hugged Sam to his side. “If I have my way, the wedding will be sooner rather than later.”
“It’ll be at least another year.” She turned to Adam and smiled. “So Nick may as well build his damn addition.” Her feet shifted several times as if she wanted to bolt from the room before she said something she regretted.
In the twenty-plus years Nick had known Samantha, she’d ne
ver been able to keep anything from him. If his Spidey-sense was as fine-tuned to her as he liked to think it was, he suspected her financial situation and the asinine way he’d behaved the previous Saturday had pushed her into accepting Chase’s proposal rather than any great passion.
“I guess I’d better get going,” Adam said. “I’ve got office hours tomorrow morning.”
“Wait.” Sam smiled up at Adam, linking her arm with his. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
Nick gritted his teeth as they strolled out to the front porch, no doubt to kiss each other goodnight.
Then again, there was always the distinct possibility she would actually marry the bastard to spite him. If she did, Nick would have his insane jealousy to blame.
Dani released a loud huff. “Dad, do something?”
“What would you like me to do, Princesa?” He’d already unwittingly shoved Sam into this premature engagement.
“I don’t know. Stop her. You can’t let her marry him. You just came home. She hasn’t even given you a chance.”
“Your mother is an adult. This is her decision.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be. She’s acting totally stupid.” Dani stomped up the back staircase, muttering over her shoulder, “She doesn’t want him. She wants you.”
Yeah, he liked to think that was the case. But what if Dani and he were both wrong? What if it was merely wishful thinking?
Shit! He slammed his fist down on the granite countertop. His daughter was right. He couldn’t sit back and let his wife be stolen from him. Even if Sam didn’t want him, he doubted she would be considering marriage to Chase if she were financially independent.
More than ever, he needed to make sure her business succeeded in a big way. Not just to prove how much he cared, but to also prevent her from making a huge mistake by marrying a man she not only didn’t love but clearly felt no great desire for, either.
~*~
After dropping his daughter and Haley off at the Swann’s estate to babysit on Sunday afternoon, Nick took Chewie for a long run. When he stopped to ask Steve to join them, his neighbor declined, offering a music-to-Nick’s-ears excuse.
Steve was much too busy working on Sam’s comic book to spare the time.
Unfortunately, with only his dog for company, Nick had the solitude to do some deep soul-searching, and he didn’t like what he realized.
During their marriage, he’d always insisted it was his responsibility to take care of his family. But, since their argument last week, he’d begun to suspect his insecurity was the real reason he’d subconsciously encouraged Sam’s dependence on him. What an asshole.
Jogging back to the house, Nick noticed his brother’s pick-up truck parked behind Sam’s car. “Come on, Chewie. Maybe Justin brought some plans for me to look at.”
He raced the dog across the lawn and let him in the back door. As Nick stepped into the kitchen, he froze, staring at his brother wrapped in Sam’s embrace.
Evidently there really were still some unresolved feelings between them. So much for her engagement to Dani’s doctor.
The green-eyed monster feasted on Nick’s gut, but it had already compelled his wife to accept another man’s ring. He wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
“I guess this settles any question about you being gay.”
Justin recoiled from Sam as if she’d given him a high-voltage shock.
“I thought you were here to bring me preliminary plans for the garage’s renovation. I’m sorry if I interrupted something.” Nick headed for the back stairs. “Although, you might want to ask her about that engagement ring she’s wearing.”
“Wait. It’s not the way it looks.” Justin clutched Nick’s arm to stop him.
He turned and suddenly noticed his brother’s eyes were red. He glanced at Sam’s tear-streaked face. What the hell?
“We were right to be worried about Marc.” Sam sniffed and wiped her eyes with a napkin, speaking directly to Nick for the first time in over a week. “When we had dinner, I made him promise to see a doctor and—”
“He has extensive small cell lung cancer.” Justin’s chest shuddered as he drew in a breath. “It’s metastasized.”
Nick knew from their father’s illness that small cell was the most aggressive variety of lung cancer and common to construction workers frequently exposed to asbestos. “So there’s nothing they can do for him?”
“No. Marc doesn’t even have as long as Papi had. Maybe six months. All they can do is make him comfortable.”
He and Marc had been friends mostly through their wives’ friendship and Justin. Memories of barbecues and vacations with the Simmons family bombarded Nick’s mind with images of them fishing with their daughters and riding roller coasters together.
“What about Haley?” Sam asked. “Has he told her yet?”
“Marc needs some time to deal with his diagnosis before he can try to comfort her. He’s hoping to wait until after the holidays. Once his illness advances, we’ll have hospice come in, and I’ll move in to look after Haley.”
Oh, God. Nick squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t imagine what this would do to Dani’s friend, losing both of her parents a year apart. He’d always been consumed by fear that his daughter or Sam might die, but aside from carrying a hefty life insurance policy and naming Lindsey and Marc as guardians in the wills he and Sam had prepared several years ago, he’d never considered how it would affect Dani if he passed away—or worse, if Sam did, too.
Samantha had no family, and his mother’s rheumatoid arthritis had forced her to retire early to Arizona where the drier climate was less likely to cause her pain. So who would take care of their daughter if something happened to both Sam and him? His bachelor brother?
Nick could suggest he and Samantha assume custody of Marc’s daughter. But considering their unstable relationship, Marc would be a fool to entrust his child to them. “What happens to Haley once Marc’s gone?”
“She doesn’t have any relatives except for Lindsey’s dad, and he’s in his seventies.” Justin shrugged. “So Marc asked me to be her guardian. I’m sorry, but with all of this going on, I haven’t had a chance to start the plans I promised you.”
“No problem. I know how close you are to Marc. This has to hurt like hell.” It also explained why Haley had overheard his brother declaring his love for her father.
“Sometimes life sucks.” Justin jerked his head toward the back door. “Anyway, the numbers I gave you for the renovation the other night were off the cuff. I need to check the garage’s dimensions and loft’s clearance before I begin designing anything. You can hold the end of the tape measure for me.”
“Sure.” He followed his brother out the back door toward the detached three-car garage. “Sam has always hated going out in bad weather to get into the car, and she loves plants, so I was thinking we could build a solarium to connect the house to the garage and include a set of stairs up to the apartment inside it.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Listen.” Nick grabbed his brother’s shoulder as he stepped into the garage before him. “I’m sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusions about you and Sammy.”
“Hey, I don’t blame you.” Justin shrugged off his hand. “It didn’t look good. By the way, what were you saying about an engagement ring?”
“The handsome doctor proposed to her last night and gave her a rock the size of a gumball.”
Justin did a double take, betraying his shock. “Hey, man, I’m sorry. I know you still have it bad for her.”
“So bad I want to stuff the bastard in a box and mail him to Afghanistan.”
“I can understand that. If I loved a woman like Sam, I’d be jealous, too.”
“You would, huh?” Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “Last night, Dani asked if the reason you don’t date much is because you’re still in love with her mother. I didn’t know what to tell her.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Justin laughed. “It’s been fifteen years
, hermano. Besides, I don’t think I was ever really in love with Sam. I suspect my crush was more about beating you to the punch.”
“What do you mean?” Nick frowned.
“Anyone with eyes could see you had a soft spot for her. I was just your snot-nosed little brother who could never keep up with you. I liked Sam and thought she was hot, but I think the main reason I asked her out was to keep you from dating her.”
“Nice.”
“When she told me what happened the night she got pregnant, I was actually relieved. I’d been thinking about breaking up with her, but I didn’t want to hurt her.”
“It would’ve helped if you’d told me this back then.” Maybe then he wouldn’t have spent fifteen years feeling guilty about poaching his brother’s girl.
“What can I say?” Justin grinned and removed the tape measure clipped to his belt. “I always envied you because you were older and got to do everything before I did. It felt good to have our positions reversed for a change.”
Nick had always been a reminder to his mother of her mistake, so for her precious Justin to have been jealous of him was baffling. His younger brother was a good-looking, successful architect who drew women to him like a chocolate bar at an overeaters’ support meeting. He had no reason to envy any man.
“So if you like women—which, incidentally, Dani had sincere doubts about recently—why haven’t you gotten seriously involved with anyone?”
“My niece thinks I’m gay?” Justin tossed his hands up. “Wonderful. I guess I’d better start bringing a date to our family get-togethers.”
“You’re evading my question.”
Justin stared past him, wearing a faraway look in his eyes. “I was in love once.” He released a soft cynical snort as he focused back on Nick. “Just not with your wife.”
CHAPTER 12
Monday morning, Dani’s homeroom teacher told her to report to the guidance office at nine o’clock. All the way to the appointment, her stomach did somersaults. She arrived a few minutes early, so the receptionist asked her to wait. Eventually, Ms. Carlson’s door opened, and a woman Dani had never met stepped out and called, “Dani?”
The Great Bedroom War Page 18