by Jove Belle
Olly’s eyes were dark and stormy, a moonless midnight sky that drew her in with the fathomless intensity of her gaze. Then, as if compelled by Sam’s inner thoughts, Olly leaned close enough to press her lips against Sam’s. With the hot breath of promise between them, Sam waited, eyes closed, head tipped back, and a sigh of happiness bubbled up inside her.
Instead of completing the kiss, Olly rested her forehead against Sam’s and said, “I really want to kiss you.”
“What are you waiting for?” Sam tried not to sound as though she was crumbling and on the verge of begging Olly to do just that. It didn’t work.
Olly gripped Sam’s biceps lightly and eased back until there was a heart-breaking amount of space between them.
“First, though, I need to know what we’re doing here. I can’t...” Olly’s mouth moved silently as she searched for the right words to continue the sentence. “I can’t...” She threw her hands in the air and gave Sam a helpless look. “I need more.”
“More?” Sam hadn’t let herself think about more. Olly was a drifter, destined to leave, so Sam had convinced herself that this moment, feeling Olly in her arms right now, would be enough. Anything more was too much to think about.
“More.” Olly stepped around Sam and moved to the other side of the room. “You stay there. I can’t think with you that close.”
Sam grinned and took a step toward Olly. “Really?”
Olly stepped back rapidly. “Really. Stop.”
The look on Olly’s face, as if she was on the verge of losing all control, enchanted Sam, and made her feelings come alive. She wanted to see what came next. So far, she’d seen Olly mildly annoyed, bemused, and confused (during their first meeting), and she’d seen her focused, intense, and determined (while working on the Queen), and she’d seen her excited, nostalgic, and brimming with energy (when touring the hotel in Missoula). She’d even seen her angry and ready to lash out (when she brought Beth home from the party). The expressive nature of her face, her eyes especially, made Sam want to see every other possible emotion flit across her face. Moreover, she wanted to be the cause of all of them.
Sam stared at Olly’s lips. They were so damn kissable, soft and smooth and barely parted. Olly would give in, she knew, if she pushed the issue, if she slipped her arms around her waist, her hands under her shirt, if she drew Olly tight against her and kissed her until the need to breathe burned in her lungs. Instead, with a force of will she hadn’t realized she possessed, she stopped herself and relaxed against the kitchen island.
“Okay, let’s talk.”
Olly took a deep, shaky breath and moved closer to Sam. “What is this?” She gestured between them. “To you? What do you think we’re doing?”
Way to start with a softball question. Forced to think about all the things she didn’t want to think about, Sam hesitated.
“I—I want...”
“Yes?” Olly moved closer still, her body leaning in as if what Sam said next would define her entire existence.
“I really want to take you in the bedroom and talk about all this later.”
“I want that, too,” Olly said. “But that’s a really bad idea.”
“Why? It sounds like the best idea ever.” Sam tried for flirty again, hoping Olly was more open to it now.
“Right now, it’s not,” Olly said. “Because I really like Bitterroot. For the first time in my life, I want to stay. I don’t know what that looks like. I’ve never done it. And what happens if we sleep together and it doesn’t work out? What if I want more from you than you want from me? Will I have to leave? What if you want just as much as I do and I can’t handle it? What happens then? If I drive away, will I come back? Will I keep going? Will you wait for me to figure my shit out? Or will you move on? You’re beautiful and smart and so fucking sexy and amazing. What in the world makes me think I’m special enough for someone like you? You are so far out of my league—”
Without thought, Sam moved closer and placed her fingertips on Olly’s lips.
“Shh. We have time. We don’t have to answer all those questions tonight.” Sam followed with a soft, sweet kiss, not aggressive enough to make Olly think she’d forgotten the earlier request to stop. Rather, it was a gentle caress meant to calm and soothe.
Olly relaxed incrementally. “Are you sure? Because my chest is about to explode, and it feels like the only way I can make it settle is by figuring this out right now.”
“Hey.” Sam took her hand. “Nobody knows those answers at the beginning of a relationship. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. I want to try. I want to take you to bed and wake up with you in the morning. I want to pause in the middle of the work day and kiss you just because you’re there and I can’t wait.”
“What about—”
“What?” Sam smiled. Olly was so cute and shy about some things and overflowing with swagger at others.
“Karen, for one. I’ve seen you with her. You seem... close.” Olly averted her gaze, her eyelashes sweeping down to block Sam’s view of those beautiful, expressive eyes. “It’s not my place to ask what’s going on, but I don’t want to get in the middle of anything.”
“We’ve been friends for a long time.” Sam maintained a careful smile. She wasn’t sure what Olly was asking and didn’t want to respond until she was.
“Is that all?”
“It’s—Karen and I are friends. Really good friends who have shared some benefits. A very short-lived period of benefits. And we won’t be returning to the benefits regardless of what happens next with you. It added a layer of complication that neither of us wanted.” That was the simplified version of things and bringing Karen into the conversation dropped a whole bucket of cold water on Sam. She needed to talk to Karen. Even though they weren’t actually dating, she’d grown attached to Sam in a way that surpassed friendship. She owed it to all three of them to clarify the boundaries before going further with Olly. But damn, that was going to be hard to do.
Olly’s frown slowly transformed into a smile. “Yeah? That’s awesome.”
“You’re unbelievable.” In Sam’s experience, most people wanted to know about Beth and how she would impact any possible relationship. Single moms were treated differently than single women without kids.
“What? Why?”
“You’re not worried about Beth?”
“No. I like Beth. She’s a good kid.”
“But you know she’s pregnant.” Sam said it out loud without puking. That was a good sign. “That’s kind of a big deal.”
“Yeah, but until she knows what she’s going to do, it’s more questions than answers. Either way, I want to try with you, Sam Marconi.”
“That,” Sam’s eyes brimmed with tears, hardly the sexy vamp she had been trying for moments ago. “That answer is just about perfect.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The website for the Bitterroot Queen was a straightforward affair, showing the property, the rooms and rates, and information about the town of Bitterroot. Sam had launched it over the weekend, earlier than she should have, really, but the Queen was ready. Almost.
The featured photos focused exclusively on the areas Olly had declared finished, plus shots of the river from their back patio. If that didn’t encourage visitors, nothing would.
Sam settled into her office chair with an oversized mug of fresh coffee. As she jiggled the mouse to wake up the machine, she took a sip and then promptly cursed herself for not waiting for it to cool.
The monitor blinked to life, and she set the coffee aside. Not expecting anything, but hoping for everything, Sam accessed the reservation system for the site. The page loaded, and there, in lettering so small it downplayed the significance of the words, were two new reservations awaiting her approval. Sam blinked. And then blinked again, frozen for a moment with excitement.
Then, with a loud whoop, she opened the first entry. One room for seven nights, starting next Thursday. Sam did some quick calculations about the work still needed a
nd then gave up trying to figure out how long it would take to finish up. Olly could finish it, she was certain. Not because she truly understood the scope of the work, but because Olly had given her the target date to start accepting reservations. If Olly said she’d have it done, she would. On faith, Sam clicked the button to approve the reservation.
“What’s going on?” Beth ran in from her bedroom with Rachel two steps behind her, looking decidedly more rumpled than when she’d arrived. Beth reached for Rachel’s hand and asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is better than okay. Look.” Sam pointed at the screen. “We have two reservations.” As she spoke, she opened the second reservation and accepted it as well.
“Wow. Really? We’re not ready.”
“But we will be.” Olly entered from the lobby, newly arrived for another day of work. She smiled at Sam, easy and affectionate, with just a little teasing.
Sam rushed to Olly and stopped just short of throwing herself onto her like an overly affectionate howler monkey. Instead, she pulled her into a quick, celebratory kiss. Then, because it felt so good, she kissed her again. A floaty giddiness swelled in her chest and threatened to bubble over.
“Holy shit,” Beth said, “when did that happen?”
Olly broke the kiss with a laugh that sounded as ridiculously happy as Sam felt. She slipped her arm around Sam’s waist, allowing her to tuck herself into Olly’s side. Sam melted into it. Being here, standing next to Olly with her arm around her, this was as right as Sam had ever felt.
“It’s happening right now, kid,” Olly said easily.
“Yeah?” Beth’s voice was filled with equal measures of disbelief and hope.
“Yeah.” Sam left Olly’s embrace to pull Beth into a hug. “No promises, but it’s definitely happening,” she whispered in Beth’s ear.
“What about Karen?” Beth asked.
“We talked yesterday and everything is fine. We’re still friends.” That was the over-simplified description of a far more complicated conversation. Ultimately, though, Karen had admitted that her feelings for Sam had more to do with wanting an easy solution to being lonely rather than actual romantic affection. “I promise.”
“Good.” Beth nodded once, decisively.
“I have one more surprise for you when you’re ready,” Olly said.
Sam, Beth, and Rachel turned to Olly at once, and Sam smiled hard, unable to contain herself. “What did you do?”
“This is actually Beth’s surprise, not mine, and we need to go out front to see it.” Olly jerked her thumb toward the door.
Beth grabbed Sam’s hand and tugged her toward the exit. “Is it what I think it is?”
Olly nodded. Beth smiled even wider. Sam let herself be drawn along, clueless and excited.
Rachel followed, shaking her head. “You guys are all nuts.”
Out front, a group of people, along with a small crane, worked to unload a large metal disk from the back of a truck. A woman with long, straight, dark hair that she wore down along with a skullcap that Sam generally associated with bikers, supervised the endeavor. Olly greeted the woman with a handshake and then promptly returned to Sam’s side.
“That’s Quinn. She’s a metalworker who we contracted to bring Beth’s design to life.”
“Beth’s design?” Sam turned to her daughter. “What does she mean?”
“I wanted our sign to be special and unique, so I came up with this.” Beth pulled a folded paper from her pocket and handed it to Sam.
Sam opened it slowly, careful of the worn-thin creases where it had been folded and unfolded over and over. The drawing was smudged, but the image was still clear enough to easily make out. It showed a rough sketch of the exterior lobby wall, complete with a circular sign with “Bitterroot Queen” etched into the surface. Light poured out through the openings made by the letters and from around the edges. Sam stared at it for a moment longer, tears threatening to spill over. She was so damn happy, and this gesture pushed her dangerously close to the sappy, soppy edge.
“You did this?” Sam ran a finger delicately over the drawing, as if to bring the image to life in her mind.
“Do you like it?” Beth asked, uncertain and timid.
“Oh, Beth. I love it.” Sam carefully folded the paper and slipped it into her own pocket. Later, she would have it properly framed and hung behind the reception desk. She pulled Beth into a hug and held her long enough for Beth to start squirming to get away.
This new life they were building was full of bumps and bruises and promised to stay that way for a while, but it had already supplied her with so much more than she’d dared to hope for. Beth had opened up and no longer seemed to think Sam was an evil demon mother. Her pregnancy certainly wasn’t ideal, but they’d figure it out. The Bitterroot Queen, in total disrepair when she’d arrived in town, no longer filled her with an overwhelming sense of dread and hopelessness. It was coming together, thanks in large part to Olly.
Olly...her feelings for Olly caught Sam by surprise almost as much as Beth being pregnant. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, certainly not one as potentially complicated as one with Olly promised to be, but she’d tripped her way into it nonetheless.
On cue, as if somehow aware that Sam’s thoughts had turned in her direction, Olly moved to Sam’s side, slipped her arm around her waist as she had earlier, and pressed a gentle kiss to Sam’s temple. “You okay in there?”
Sam nodded, unable to form actual words because her throat was drawn tight with emotion. How could she properly explain what she was feeling? Everything was so new and exposure made her feel shiny and raw and a little vulnerable. But she wouldn’t trade it for the life she used to have. “Mmm-hmm. So okay.”
The road ahead was uncertain at best, but she was eager to meet it. Life, it seemed, was on the precipice of giving her the happily ever after she’d never quite dared to hope for. In this moment, everything was so much better than okay.
It was perfect.
THE END
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