by Josie Leigh
“That was amazing, Missy,” Garrett said, trying to catch his breath as he settled into the bed beside her. She suppressed a sound of disappointment when he didn’t move to pull her against his body. They never wanted to cuddle with her. She knew she was just a placeholder until they found the girl they wanted to share their body heat with after sex. The thought left her cold.
Chester had always gathered her in his arms and let out a contented sigh as she settled against him whenever he came to bed, regardless of whether it led anywhere sexual. They’d really been in love, but she’d fucked it up, just like everything else she tried to do that was good. She wasn’t built for the kind of happiness; she only knew how to destroy it.
“I needed that after the day I’ve had,” Garrett said, locking his fingers behind his head and laying back against the pillow again as he stared at the ceiling.
“What happened?” Missy asked, trying to sound interested, but she knew she was failing. Luckily, Garrett loved the sound of his own voice too much to care.
“Samantha kneed me in the junk today over that asshole, Wright,” he ground out, obviously seething beside her.
“She did?” Missy couldn’t hide her surprise that her former best friend had been so aggressive with Garrett. “Why?”
“I kissed her,” he replied, as if it were no big deal. Missy cringed inside, because, honestly, she’d hoped that he’d refuse to help her with Jamie’s plan. That he’d say she was all he needed. The fact that he’d not only agreed, but spent the last month seething after every interaction in her office and the way she’d ignored his advances, made Missy hate Samantha just that much more. It wasn’t fair that everyone fell all over themselves to get that bitch and Missy had to work so hard to find someone who wanted to spend more than one night with her.
“Wright’s got her wrapped up tight again, I know it,” Garrett continued, the anger now emanating from him in waves. “Even though she denies it. She said you are wrong about him trying to take advantage, but I know you aren’t. That’s just the kind of guy Jason is. He’s always swooping in when she’s most vulnerable and taking control of her life. It makes me sick. She can do so much better.”
Missy rolled onto her side to look at Garrett’s red face. “They aren’t sleeping together, yet. Apparently Jamie is wrong and she’s more like her mother than her father. I always knew she was going to end up a frigid ice queen, but Jamie insisted that she might end up a whore like her father, and her son deserved better.”
“What are you talking about? “ Garrett’s eyes shifted from anger to confusion at Missy’s words. “I thought you said you still thought of her like a sister? Samantha is the warmest person I’ve ever met. She didn’t even sever our business relationship today after I kissed her,” Garrett disclosed. “Honestly, I think it’s because she still wants me, but isn’t willing to admit it.
“I do think of Samantha as a sister,” Missy said through gritted teeth, “but I don’t think she deserves another chance with Jason after how she drove him away last time. I want Jason to be with me,” she pouted.
“That works out for both of us, Miss,” Garrett grinned, running his hand down her arm and settling around her naked waist. “I thought you just wanted to save Samantha from Jason, I didn’t know you wanted him for yourself,” his grin turned from pleasant to maniacal with his words. “We just need to combine forces and we’ll have them apart and with us in no time.”
“Oh?” Missy asked, letting a smug smile settle across her lips as he continued his caress of her body. She could feel the effects their plotting was having on him as his erection began to poke her in the belly.
“I’m so glad I didn’t let the fact that you were Chester’s stop me, Miss,” he said, pulling her closer. “If I had, I might not be on the verge of getting everything I’d wanted since we were fifteen,” he sighed, yanking her on top of him and impaling her again, then letting out a grunt she knew was his way of exerting his dominance from the bottom position. At the mention of her soon-to-be ex-husband’s name, a renewed pain sliced through her body. One moment of weakness had ruined everything she thought would be hers forever, but she was left to wonder if she’d ever deserved the sliver of happiness she’d had to begin with.
**
Samantha drug herself out of bed the next morning feeling hung over. The picnic was supposed to help her relax, but Jason’s words left her feeling tenser than ever. Slowly, she made her way to her bathroom, contemplating going in late so she could take a long soak in her tub. When her eyes caught sight of the clock, she sighed when she saw that even with a shower, she’d be late.
‘When did this become my life?’ she wondered to herself. How had she become the woman who left work early and came in late? Granted, she owned the company, and employed brilliant people to pick up the slack, but she’d always prided herself on her work ethic. Lately, she wasn’t being a very good example for her staff, and that needed to change. After one more longing look at her whirlpool tub, she went back to her closet and started dressing for the day.
“Sam!” Kelly called to her as she entered the kitchen.
“Hey, mom!” Samantha smiled, taking the proffered cup of coffee from her mother as she scoured her kitchen for something quick to grab for breakfast. “I forgot it was going to be you today.”
“Yeah, Jason’s working the rest of the week, so you’ve got me today, and Jess tomorrow and Friday,” her mother explained. “You should really thank your sister for spending the last few days of her spring break helping with Corigan.”
“Believe me, I will!” Samantha readily agreed. “I absolutely appreciate it.”
“Why are you running so late this morning, Sam?” Kelly asked, halting Samantha’s progressions.
“Stayed up late thinking about Jason’s birthday,” she answered, going for nonchalant and emphasizing it with a shrug.
“Oh?” she sounded surprised at her words.
“Yeah, we were talking about it yesterday, and he wants to go back to Vashon,” Samantha sighed, admitting the issue to her mother.
“Um,” Kelly bit her lip in thought, seemingly trying to decipher his reasoning the same way she had. “Maybe he’s trying to wipe the slate of your past? Create a new memory?”
“I’ve got a good memory of the last time we were there, mom,” Samantha shook her head.
“Yes, but your engagement didn’t have the most satisfactory ending, yes? Meaning, it didn’t end in marriage,” her mother spelled out. “Maybe he wants to create a memory that ends with an amicable parting between lifelong friends?”
“That actually make sense!” Samantha said, letting the pieces click together in her head. “It makes me want to say yes, in fact!” she finished, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the island and polishing off the last of her coffee, feeling an enormous amount of pressure being lifted from her shoulders.
“When do you want to go?” Kelly asked, looking at the calendar hanging next to the stainless steel refrigerator.
“His birthday is April 13, but I want to go the weekend before his birthday instead of the weekend after,” she explained. “So I’m thinking the weekend of the 8?” Samantha pointed to the weekend in question on the calendar.
“Sara is out of town that weekend for her anniversary and I’m headed with Jess to that art show on Whidbey,” she informed.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“In case he doesn’t want Corigan to tag along?” Kelly offered.
“He didn’t mention anything about her not coming with us, although, I did bolt before we made a definite plan…” she glided out of the kitchen toward the door, knowing that she was already failing in her attempt to become a better example to her employees.
“Well, if he does want it to be just the two of you, maybe you should have Mary on reserve?” her mother nudged.
“I will!” Samantha agreed, thinking Corigan spending some extra time with Caleb’s parents might be a good plan regardless of Jason’s birth
day. “I’ll set them up as a back up today so they keep the date free. I know how they usually have a myriad of events on the weekends. Thanks, mom!” she said, flying out the door. “See you when I get home.”
“Okay, Sam! Have a great day!” her mother called after her from the doorway. As she drove to work, the thought of spending Jason’s birthday dinner as just the two of them sounded more and more appealing. However, she knew she couldn’t be presumptuous and assume he wanted dinner to be just the two of them. Now that everything had been settled, she couldn’t wait to start making their plans. It felt like it had been ages since she’d done anything fun.
Chapter 14
She was impressed with the plans he’d made to make his twentieth birthday special. He’d insisted on making all the arrangements, even though she’d offered to help. He repeatedly thanked her, but told her that he had a surprise in mind for both of them. Reluctantly, she agreed, but decided she needed to arrange a surprise of her own.
Earlier that morning, they’d checked into a bed and breakfast on the north side of Vashon Island. He’d even taken care to rent one of their cottages with a whirlpool tub, so they would be able to enjoy all the comforts and privacy the place had to offer. They’d spent the afternoon exploring the gardens and talking to the innkeepers, before borrowing a couple of bikes to explore the area nearby.
After returning, they’d showered and dressed for dinner. He wouldn’t tell her where they were going, only to dress nice. When she emerged from the bathroom in a green empire waist cocktail length dress that matched her eyes and black wedge-heeled sandals, he stopped to stare at her. She’d left her brown hair flowing down her back with only the sides pinned back by pearl combs because she knew it was his favorite. As he looked at her, desire flashing through his blue eyes, she took the time to take in his tailored charcoal suit and soft gray button down shirt. The top two buttons were undone, and he held a tie that matched her dress in his hands.
“Do you think I should wear this?” he asked, holding up the tie for her inspection.
“Nah, I think you’d look fine without it. Besides, the tie matches my dress and we are going to dinner, not the prom,” she told him.
“I agree,” he breathed out a small sigh of relief. “Are you ready?” he asked, but the words seemed slightly loaded.
“Let’s go,” she answered and she let him lead her toward his truck.
She was, again, left impressed at the restaurant he’d picked, but she couldn’t help the overwhelming feeling that it wasn’t really ‘their’ type of place. It was nice and the food was incredible, but Jason didn’t seem to be able to relax at all now that they were out of their room.
His knee bounced under the table and he seemed to clutch his wine glass as if it were a lifeline. Though she was happy he was only on his second glass when they wrapped up dessert. Neither of them was of drinking age, but the restaurant had not carded them. Usually, Jason took full advantage of the situation and left her to designated driver duty. This had become far more frequent than she cared to think about lately.
“I’m glad to see you’ve decided not to go crazy tonight,” she chuckled, nodding at the nearly empty glass in his hand. “I mean, I know it’s your birthday and all, but…”
“Of course,” he smiled, softly, taking her hand. Realizing how cold and clammy it felt to the touch, her eyes flew to his and finally saw nervousness, not unease, visible behind them. “We have one more stop to make before we head back to our room,” he said, his thumb skating across her knuckles. “Shall we go?”
“Absolutely,” she smiled and stood to follow him.
After a short drive to the northeast side of the island, he parked in front of a sign that announced they were at Wingehaven. Confusion set in as they walked down a set of stone steps toward a public beach. As the sun set behind them, she saw the incredible glow of Mt. Rainier in the distance, and clarity returned to her.
“It’s beautiful,” she remarked.
“I’m so glad it’s still out for the day. I’d hate to do this without her in the background,” he smiled, nodding toward the mountain.
“Do what?” she asked, ripping her eyes away from the view to see him sinking to one knee. Her heart leapt into her throat at the motion. “Jason,” she whispered, “what are you doing?”
“Sammy Rose,” he began, his voice trembling as he grabbed her hands. “When we were fifteen, I told you I loved you and that I knew it would always be you. I told you I wanted everything from you, and, today, I want to make good on that promise.”
Samantha let out a small gasp at his words and felt wetness on her cheeks as he pulled a small, white leather box from his pocket. When it opened, she couldn’t help the grin that took over her face. It was perfect! The ring he’d picked for her was a band made of white gold, dotted with a row of tiny diamonds. It was simple and elegant, and exactly the ring she’d pictured every time she thought of this moment.
“Samantha Rose Castle, will you marry me?” he asked, his voice still shaking with nerves.
“Of course, Jason,” she squealed with excitement as he took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger, before sweeping her into a kiss. “How could you doubt what my answer would be?” she asked when they separated, but her arms were still looped around his shoulders.
“I was afraid you’d say we were too young,” Jason said, grasping at her waist.
“Well, now that you’ve put it that way,” she said, starting to pull away from him, before he pulled her back.
“Sorry, I can’t wait any longer,” he laughed. “Besides, you’ve already agreed, and you know there are no take backs,” he scolded, bringing up the rule from their childhood.
“I suppose you’re right,” she answered, coyly, giggling before pulling him in for a slow, smoldering kiss. “But I think you should get us back to our room before we start celebrating right here and get arrested for indecent exposure,” she whispered, huskily.
“Absolutely,” he agreed, echoing her earlier words. Grabbing her hand, he, practically, dragged her back up the stairs to the car. When they reached the door, he pulled her to him again in a kiss that had her reaching for the button to his pants. Although they didn’t get arrested, it was another forty-five minutes before the truck was back on the road to the inn.
The weeks leading up to Jason’s 27 birthday seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Samantha was appreciative of the fact that Garrett had kept his distance when he needed to be in the office to talk to Joe about new ideas. Sometimes he would shoot her an apologetic smile that Samantha felt was entirely sincere. However, she did wonder what he’d told Missy after the plan to ‘save’ her failed.
“What’s got you so deep in thought tonight?” Jason asked, spearing a leaf of his Caesar salad on his fork.
“Oh,” she cleared her throat. “Garrett had to come in today,” Samantha answered, pushing her own salad around the plate, absently. “He needed to look over a release he wanted to run in a paper in Spokane and Joe is readying an ad for some trade magazines for him,” she looked up from her food, with a thoughtful sigh, “He just looked so damn contrite, I wanted to hug him.” A small frown settled across her features at her words.
“Just be careful,” Jason warned. “He and Missy might’ve regrouped and are trying to deploy a new tactic.”
“Yeah, probably,” Samantha said, taking a bite of her salad. “This chicken is delicious, by the way.”
“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Jason asked, looking excited.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she whined, suppressing her smile. “I thought I’d spend the day resting. It’s been such a long week! Nothing important is going on, is it?” she asked, trying to keep her face as straight as possible.
“Um,” his face fell slightly and she couldn’t keep up her deception as a peal of laughter erupted from her lips.
“Like I’d forget your birthday, Jason! Give me a little credit!” her grin faltered slightly at his smug smirk.
“I suppose not,” she pouted. “Anyway, I was thinking we could take Corigan to the aquarium, have lunch on the pier, then grab the ferry to Vashon to have dinner, sound good?”
“Yeah, but, um,” he leaned back again, looking nervous, “is there any way that dinner can just be us? I mean, just you and me?” Jason’s blue eyes shone with a hope that made Samantha feel a little uncomfortable.
“That might be okay,” she started, carefully, “as long as you aren’t trying to recreate a moment,” she warned, giving him a side long glance, though she was no longer nervous about his intentions.
“I promise,” he held up two fingers like a Boy Scout. “Besides, you didn’t make a reservation as the same restaurant, I trust?”
“Good, of course not, I was planning on taking Corigan with us, and that place isn’t exactly toddler friendly,” she shot him another pointed look. “I’ll have Caleb’s mom meet us on the pier to pick Corigan up after lunch. They have a condo in the U district and they’ve been begging me for an overnight.”
“Sounds perfect,” Jason said, but his voice sounded uncertain with the plans.
“What?” Samantha asked, her voice deeper with the question.
“Are Caleb’s parents going to be okay…” he trailed off.
“With me having dinner with a friend on his birthday?” she asked, raising her eyebrow at him. “Of course,” Samantha dismissed. “Besides, they know who you are and are happy you are there for Corigan.”
“Okay,” he agreed, but still sounded skeptical.
“I promise, it is fine,” she pressed, pointing her fork at him.
“I believe you,” he held his hand up in defeat.
“Good,” she said, returning to her food.
**
Even though everything had been perfect so far, Jason didn’t find himself relaxing the following day until he watched the tail lights of Caleb’s mother’s car disappear in the distance.