Before he could reply, she turned and stomped away. Two steps and an ankle gave out. She stumbled, bent, and peeled off the shoes, tossing them into the pile in front of the couch then hurried past Sam, who now stood in front of the door to the bedroom or closet or whatever secret female space was at the end of the attic.
It was a space that scared the hell out of him.
Sam winced as the door slammed shut behind her. She’d changed from the slinky dress to her normal uniform of a T-shirt and baggy jeans. As sexy as she’d looked in the green number, he liked her even better this way. It left more to his imagination, which was on constant overdrive when it came to this woman.
“The kids at camp have a saying they love to use,” she drawled. “Climb in the oven because you just got roasted.” She gave a harsh laugh. “I think that describes the way she took you down.”
Trevor registered the truth of the words and that he’d deserved the tongue-lashing, but he did his best to ignore both as his panic transformed into something bitter.
“You let her do this?” He gestured to the discarded clothes like they were castoffs from a burlesque troupe on the Vegas strip.
“We played dress up,” she answered. “She had me take pictures so she could show you.”
“Do you know what happens if she posts the photos to social media?”
“Her friends get jealous?”
“She’s out there,” he argued. “It exposes her relationship to you.”
An emotion close to disappointment flashed in Sam’s eyes. “And that’s a bad thing?” she asked, her voice carefully neutral.
“This is not about you,” he answered.
The ghost of a smile fluttered at the corner of her mouth. “It isn’t about Grace, either.”
“What the—”
“Those pictures,” she said, walking forward until she was toe to toe with him, “are about a girl on the cusp of becoming a woman. She’s finding her place in the world. Part of that is discovering how she feels about herself and the way she looks. There’s nothing wrong with it, Trevor. Plenty of famous people have beautiful children, and Grace is my niece.” He watched her chest rise and fall as if she was struggling to maintain control. “Not my daughter,” she said quietly. “As much as I would like it to be different.” She lifted her hand and touched his cheek. “For so many reasons.”
“I wish that, too.” The words felt like a confession, a secret only to be shared because he needed absolution from the tangled mess he’d made of all of their lives.
“Grace and I talked about the photos before I agreed to take them. She promised not to share them with her friends.” Her thumb grazed the scruff of his jaw, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning into her softness. “She really wanted to show you, Trevor. She wants your approval so badly.”
He shook his head. “I can’t . . . damn it, this is about me.”
She nodded gently.
“It’s about me being the father who can’t let his daughter grow up. I’m holding on so tight that I’m going to end up pushing her away if I don’t stop.”
“You’re catching on. She’s young right now, but not as young as she once was, and it’s changing every day. She’s changing.”
“I’m not ready.”
“Ready or not, buddy.”
“What do I do?” he asked, lifting his hand to cover hers. “How do I protect her without pissing her off?”
“I don’t think that’s possible with a teenage girl, but a good starting place is for you to stop shutting her down. She’s too young to choose a career, but at least talk to her. Ask her why she wants it and explain your concerns. It’s a lot easier to keep the lines of communication open than to start over once those doors slam shut.”
“You’re going to make a good counselor.”
As soon as he spoke the words, she moved back a step, pulling her hand against her side as if it had been burned.
“You don’t have to say that.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Yeah, well . . .”
“You suck at taking a compliment, Samantha Carlton.”
She opened her mouth and then shut it again. “Thank you,” she muttered.
He heard a crash from inside the room where Grace had disappeared and eyed the closed door. “What is that place?”
She arched a brow. “My closet.”
“Holy Mother of . . .” He grimaced. “I’m going in and I’m going to talk clothes and makeup and . . . other stuff.”
“Just listen to her,” Sam answered, giving him a push toward the door. “She’s excited enough to do all the talking.”
He nodded and moved forward, ready to take on the world of teenage girls and fashion and whatever else he had to battle to make his daughter happy.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“I have aches where I didn’t even know I had muscles.” It was after ten on the night before Kendall’s wedding, and Sam pulled out two beers from the refrigerator in the camp kitchen and handed one to Trevor. “But everything is perfect and ready for tomorrow.”
He took the bottle from her, sparks zipping across her skin as his fingers brushed hers. She should be too tired for sparks right now, but somehow Trevor still managed to coax a reaction from her weary body.
“You’ve done an amazing job with the wedding preparations,” he told her.
“It wasn’t only—” She stopped when he leveled a look at her. It had become his habit to notice when someone gave her a compliment and she dismissed it. Apparently she did suck at accepting a compliment. Her child psychology professor would say it was because she’d spent much of her childhood trying to make herself smaller, but right now she was more concerned with changing than analyzing the root of the issue.
“Thank you,” she answered instead. “My repaired kitchen and bunkhouse look great, too. I can’t believe you finished everything in time for tomorrow.”
“It helps to have a full crew,” he said and took a long pull of beer.
“Are you going to get in trouble for moving the guys off the house to work here?”
He gave her a lazy smile and winked. “Sweetheart, I’m the boss. I don’t get in trouble.”
“You can drop your vowels and throw on that good-ol’-boy attitude all you want, I know it’s an act.” She pointed at him. “Remember, I know you, Trevor Kincaid. You committed to that house and it must have killed you to stop the progress to finish over here.”
“You know me so well,” he said with a chuckle, but didn’t deny the accusation. “I explained the situation to Jolene and we’re going to work a couple of weekends to get caught up. We’ll be fine.”
He moved closer, into her space, crowding her against the kitchen counter. “You and I will be more than fine,” he whispered and gave her a kiss that curled her toes.
She set her beer on the granite countertop and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her legs wound around his hips as he lifted her onto the counter, deepening the kiss until the taste and feel of him were the only things in her world.
He put his beer next to hers and slid his hands under the hem of her shirt, his fingers cool from the chilled bottle. She gasped as his hands dipped again, skimming under the waistband of her yoga pants. She couldn’t get enough of him and was quickly becoming addicted to the feel of his body against hers.
Maybe this was how her sister felt when she’d chased the high the drugs provided. In this moment, Sam had a greater understanding of why Bryce hadn’t been able to quit. The thought of letting go of Trevor made her whole body scream in protest.
“Where’d you go, sweetheart?” He tipped back his head to study her.
“I’m here,” she whispered and kissed him again, banishing her worries for another day. Tonight she simply wanted him. Since that day at her house, they’d forged a deeper connection. He was beginning to rely on her guidance in managing Grace through the rough waters of teenage angst and drama.
She loved playing a bigger role in both their l
ives. But between that and the guys working with him at camp, the only time she saw Trevor alone was . . . well, never. Sometimes they stole a few minutes late at night, like now, but normally they were at his house. They’d both agreed things couldn’t get out of control with Grace sleeping upstairs.
The girl seemed to accept Sam and Trevor together, even teasing them about going on “old people” dates to the hardware and appliance stores. But as much as Sam’s heart was in deep, she didn’t want to push too fast or too hard. Grace was still the priority, because both Sam and Trevor understood the damage it could do when kids felt pushed aside for the whims of the adults in their lives.
Other than a couple of hot and heavy make-out sessions on his couch and hiding in a utility closet—an actual closet—at camp, she hadn’t been with Trevor in far too long. She missed him, the way he made her body sing the hallelujah chorus with just a simple touch.
Like this late-night tryst. She gave a soft moan as his thumbs grazed her nipples. “Are we christening the new kitchen?” she asked against his mouth, pulling his Henley up and over his head.
“I’m ready to christen every inch of this camp,” he said, stepping back and unfastening his jeans. “Take off those clothes, Sam. I need to see you now.”
She loved the way he said need, as if his next breath depended on getting her naked. She loved how his gaze heated as he watched her and how he made her feel beautiful in a way that had nothing to do with her famous face.
“You’re a good man, Trevor,” she whispered.
His pale blue eyes darkened, and he reached for her again, tangling his fingers in her hair as he claimed her mouth for a kiss that drove her crazy with desire. She was pretty sure they broke a land speed record as they undressed, with Trevor pulling a condom packet from his wallet before tossing the leather billfold into the growing pile of clothes on the hardwood floor. Then he was buried deep inside her, and she cried out from the pleasure and from the pressure building in her body that matched the feelings in her heart.
It was too much and not enough. She wanted everything from this man. She’d spent her whole life taking bits and pieces of what life offered, stingy portions that she always feared would be snatched away from her at any moment.
Trevor was the whole world in a tall, strong, big-hearted, overprotective package and she craved the safety of his arms and the feeling of who she was with him. As they moved, he pulled back enough to stare into her eyes, his gaze telling her everything he hadn’t said out loud.
Then he spoke, and the words absolutely wrecked her.
“You are mine,” he whispered, and to her ears it sounded like a prayer.
“Yes.”
“You belong to me, Sam.” He leaned forward and nipped at her jaw. “Before. Now. Forever.”
“Yes, yes, yes.” It was the forever that broke her completely. Her body shattered, the last crumbling pieces of the walls around her heart disintegrated.
She loved this man, and while she wasn’t ready to say the words, she held on to him and hoped he could read in her eyes everything she wasn’t able to put into words. Talk was cheap, her mother had always said, so she trusted their bodies to secure the bond between them.
She’d finally allowed herself to trust a man and was grateful for this second chance. This moment of pure joy that she intended to be the start of so many others.
“Seriously, I can’t believe Kendall convinced me to be a part of this,” Jenny whispered, giving Sam a hard poke to the ribs. “Almost as much as I can’t believe I’m wearing this stupid dress. It’s pink. Redheads don’t wear pink.”
“You look lovely,” Chloe said, leaning around Sam to pat Jenny’s arm. “It’s a perfect shade for your complexion.”
The three of them stood outside the girls’ sleeping cabin, waiting for Kendall to appear. It was a gorgeous spring day, with the bright blue sky meeting the craggy peaks of the mountains. The sun warmed the forest so much that the rich scent of pine wafted through the trees.
Through the branches of the towering firs, she could see the arbor Trevor and his team had constructed in the grassy open space between the main cabin and the lake. This morning she, Chloe, and Jenny had draped vines and flowers over it, making it look like something from a fairy wonderland.
Thirty of Kendall and Ty’s close friends and family members sat in the rows of white folding chairs facing the water and the mountains that framed the lake.
Kendall’s mother and father had asked for a few private minutes with her before the ceremony, which was why the merry trio of bridesmaids was now cooling their heels on the porch.
“Why couldn’t I have been one of the groomsmen with Ty?” Jenny continued as if Chloe hadn’t spoken. “I look good in khaki pants, and I could rock a tie.”
“Chloe’s right,” Sam told her. “You are beautiful. Yes, you grew up with Ty, but Kendall needs her girlfriends at her back today. This is about true love overcoming the odds and two people who never thought they deserved happiness getting to celebrate that they’ve found a soul mate in the huge ocean of the world.”
Jenny snorted. “What has gotten into you? You sound like a greeting card.”
Sam raised a brow. “I do not sound like a greeting card. I sound like a bridesmaid.”
“You sound like a greeting card or, even worse, someone in love.” She shifted so she was facing Sam. “Oh. My. God. You’ve not only knocked boots with Trevor, you’ve fallen in love with him.”
Chloe made a shushing noise. “Inside voice, Jenny,” she commanded.
“We’re not inside.”
“You know what I mean.” Then Chloe turned so she was also facing Sam. “Is it true? Are you in love with Trevor?”
“Both of you can shut it,” Sam snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. “I say one nice thing about Kendall and you jump to all kinds of conclusions.”
“She loves him,” Jenny said with a devious chuckle.
“Uh huh,” Chloe agreed with a huge smile. “That’s wonderful. Put your arms down, honey. You’re going to wrinkle the fabric.”
Sam adjusted the pale pink silk of her strapless bridesmaid’s dress. She, Chloe, and Jenny wore variations on the same shade in different dress styles that flattered each of them. “It’s not wonderful.” It had seemed wonderful the night before when Trevor was buried deep inside her, but this morning it felt terrifying as hell. “I’m going to screw it up. I always screw it up when I really love someone.” She elbowed Jenny. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“Maybe you’re smarter than me,” Jenny allowed then wrinkled her nose. “Doubtful, but maybe.”
Sam groaned, and Chloe took her hand. “You can handle this. You’re a different person than you used to be, and so is Trevor. You’ll be careful with each other because it’s important for Grace that you are.”
There was a rustling behind the door and all three of them turned as Kendall’s mother came out, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue.
“Girls, I’m a blubbering mess,” she said, offering them a watery smile. “But I’m just so dang happy for our girl. She’s marrying a wonderful man and has the best friends in the world to stand by her side on her big day.”
A different kind of longing squeezed Sam’s heart. Kendall’s parents were simple people, content to live their lives in the small Kansas town that Kendall left behind. Yet even though their only daughter was different from who they were, the love and acceptance they gave her shined through. It’s what Sam had craved from both her mother and her twin sister but never received. Might never receive because she was alone in the world.
Her introspection was short-lived as Kendall appeared on her father’s arm. “Mom, you’re going to make me cry before the ceremony even starts.”
Sam gasped. “You’re a vision.”
“Ty is going to lose his mind,” Jenny said and whistled under her breath.
Kendall laughed. “You three just saw me a few minutes ago.”
“It’s d
ifferent with the veil,” Chloe whispered and stepped forward to adjust the delicate lace pinned to the back of Kendall’s head. Her hair was done up in a sophisticated knot at the nape of her neck with gentle tendrils curling on either side of her face. The dress fit perfectly and made her seem like a mix of an angel and a sexy screen siren.
When Sam had first met Kendall, the spunky journalist was wound tight as a drum. Falling in love had given Kendall a sense of contentment that was obvious from the joy on her face.
“You’re a bride,” Sam whispered.
“You’re marrying my best friend.” Even Jenny was astonished. She swiped under her eyes. “And now you’re my best friend, too.”
“I love you girls,” Kendall murmured.
Her father clapped his hands. “You ladies are pretty but a little too sappy right now.” He squeezed Kendall’s fingers. “You have a great guy waitin’ for you, baby girl. Are you going to stand here yappin’ all afternoon with your girlfriends?”
“No, Daddy,” Kendall said, and gave her father a hug. “I’m going to get married.”
“Let’s get on with it then.”
The string quartet began to play Pachelbel’s Canon in D as Chloe, Sam, and Jenny made their way up the aisle. Grace gave Sam a little wave as she walked by the row where her niece sat with Trevor. As Sam met his gaze, one side of his mouth curved up and her heart stuttered in response.
How could something be wonderful and terrifying at the same time? That’s how she felt about falling in love. He’d told her he wanted more, right? Love was definitely more.
She took her place between Chloe and Jenny in front of the arbor as Kendall and her dad appeared at the end of the aisle. Sam watched Ty, who was grinning from ear to ear as his bride approached. Her breath caught in her throat at the expression on his face, so much love and adoration written across his features. She’d only been to a few weddings but had made the habit of studying the groom as the bride joined him for the ceremony. She could tell a lot from those few minutes, and it was clear that Ty Bishop was head over heels for the woman who was about to become his wife.
The ceremony was beautiful, with Kendall and Ty reciting vows they’d each written for the other. Sam’s insistence that she didn’t cry long forgotten, she was glad when Chloe discreetly passed her a tissue.
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