Love Makes the Difference (Sully Point Book 1)

by Nicole Smith

  Anna laughed and liked the way her laugh and Sam's mingled in the little car. Being in the roadster was like being in their own world, where nothing from outside could touch them.

  Impulsively, she said, "I'd love a road trip in this car with you. The seats are totally comfortable and the car just zooms along. It's like we're all alone in our own fantasy."

  Sam's face was filled with astonishment as he briefly glanced from the road to her. "A suggestion for future activities? I must be doing something right tonight."

  She felt herself blush. "I can't believe I just said that."

  "The Aston-Martin roadster does seem to have qualities I've never appreciated until this moment."

  They pulled into the driveway of his house, and walked in and through the house without putting any lights on. The light from a full moon was shining off the edges of curling waves, giving the night a glow. Anna felt Sam take her hand in his and she realized that she was happy. That moment looking out at the ocean, feeling the strength of his hand around hers, sensing his nearness, was filled with more than she'd ever expected from life. She felt happiness and surprise mingling together. They began to walk down the beach.

  "You're quiet all of a sudden," Sam said softly.

  "I'm happy. Those moments don't come often in life. You have to experience them when they do."

  "I want to give you more moments of happiness, Anna."

  They stopped walking and turned to each other. He gathered her up in his arms and met her lips gently at first. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, the kiss deepened and became full of mutual desire and passion.

  After what seemed like a lifetime, Anna pulled away and said, "Sam--"

  At the same time he said, "Anna--" They laughed and then he said, "I want you, tonight, now."

  She gazed up into his eyes, darkened in the night but shining in the moonlight. "That's what I was going to say."

  He looked startled. "You were?"

  She grinned at him. "Yes. Let's go back to your house."

  "Absolutely!"

  They walked with his arm around her shoulders and hers about his waist. As they made the curve along the edge of the beach, the house came into view. It was glowing. The house was on fire.

  * * * *

  Neither Sam nor Anna had their cell phones on them, but a passing motorist had already called the fire department. Even as they ran up the beach to get to the house, they heard sirens in the distance.

  Once they were close, Sam said, "It looks like it's more in the front of the house. I want to get my laptop if I can, and my wallet. They're both at the back part of the house."

  Anna shivered even as she felt the heat coming off the burning building. "I don't think that's such a great idea, going in there."

  Sam looked back at her and then called out, "I'll be right back," as he dashed into the house. She could barely make him out through the smoke as he ran, bent over to avoid the thicker smoke above.

  Anna remembered that her new evening bag was in there with all her identification, driver's license and credit cards. Not worth going into that to retrieve.

  About the time she started to really worry about Sam, he came out, coughing, one arm cradling the laptop and the other carrying the painting.

  She rushed to him. "Are you okay?"

  He stumbled over to the picnic table and set down the items from the house, gently propping the painting on the bench. "I'll be fine once I get some water." He coughed some more. "I tried to save the goldfish but..."

  Anna glanced down at the table and saw his laptop, wallet, keys, a leather folder with a clasp, and...her evening bag. "Sam...you shouldn't have bothered to get my bag. But that was really very sweet of you."

  He smiled, coughed, and gave her a hug. "I hope the painting isn't too badly damaged."

  "Can't tell much in this light."

  They heard the firemen and saw one coming around the building. After waving him over, they learned the fire had been purposely set. It wasn't some kind of electrical accident as Sam had thought.

  Anna looked into Sam's troubled eyes. "Could Patrice have done this?"

  The fire chief came closer. "Do you know who set the fire?"

  Sam nodded his head. "Possibly. There is a woman who is very angry with me and very vengeful. She threatened us tonight. She could have done it."

  As Sam gave information about Patrice to the fire chief, Anna walked a few feet away and stared at the burning building. It was going to be a complete loss. That old wood went up fast. Sam was lucky he'd made it out of there.

  It made her feel...scared to think that Patrice set the fire. But who else could it be? Sam had no enemies in town. If Patrice did this, she might do anything. What if she tried to harm Sam? Anna whirled around and looked at him. Tall and handsome even with soot smudged on his face, Anna knew that she had crossed a line with him tonight. She'd been ready to cross a few more lines, actually, before the fire. Suddenly, she realized he had no place to go. His home had just burned up.

  An idea crossed her mind. An insidious, treacherous idea cloaked in virtue. There was her loft...soon to be her home, to live in. Nothing said Sam couldn't spend the night there. Or more than one night. If she happened to stay with him...the couch did fold out into a bed. And her new bed was being delivered in two days.

  The fire chief walked away, folding up a notebook and shoving it into his back pocket. Anna came close and took Sam's hand in hers. He looked surprised and pleased at the same time. "Did he believe you?"

  "He said he'd check with the sheriff, but yes, I think he did. He didn't seem impressed with the Bettencourt name--Patrice's family is rich and well-known in the city--which is good." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Ugh. I need a shower. And some clothes. Plus a place to stay. I should get checked into a hotel."

  Anna cleared her throat. "Hmm. Even though I know Maelynne would have kittens if you checked into her motel, I may have a better idea."

  "Yeah?" Sam said in a distracted tone. He was opening up his laptop.

  "Yeah. How about my loft? You could stay there...with me."

  He was suddenly very alertly paying attention to her. "Is there a bed in the loft that I didn't see?"

  "No, but the couch folds out into one. It's not the best bed, but--"

  "I'll take it. Come on, let's gather this stuff up and drive to some place still open to get me some clothes and then..." His voice trailed off.

  "What? What is it?"

  "The car. You don't think she torched my car do you?" He began to run around the house to the front.

  Anna followed more slowly. She was betting that, of course, Patrice had torched the car. She opened her evening bag and pulled out her cell phone. "Holly? Can you and Dad bring me my car? What? No, nothing's wrong, not like that. It looks like Patrice burned down Sam's house and his car..."

  She heard Sam's voice raised as he yelled about Patrice. She also heard Holly loudly through the phone. "Calm down Holly. And yes, she torched the car too. So we need transportation...You will? Great. Thanks, Holly."

  The car was still burning in places. Anna sighed, remembering the fantasy ride. She was glad she had enjoyed the moment.

  Chapter 7

  After picking up some clothes at the local discount store, which stayed open late, Sam and Anna drove her car to the loft. Rather, Anna drove and Sam sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed.

  "Are you okay?" she asked him as she shifted gears. She noticed his hand was clenched on the dashboard.

  "I'm terrified. This car could literally fall apart at any moment. How old is this thing?"

  "Thing? I've had this car since I started driving. My dad gave it to me--said he knew it would never let me down and that it was built like a German tank. And he was right, it's been a great car."

  "Haven't you had to replace anything on it?"

  "Only the brakes and the clutch. Dad says I ride the clutch too much, and I did wear out the brakes."

  Sam opened one eye and loo
ked at her. "You're a scary woman sometimes." He closed the eye and leaned back in his seat.

  Anna shrugged. She knew her driving wasn't the best. Mainly, she thought it was due to the fact that she lost focus. An idea would come into her mind about her painting or a new recipe, and then all of a sudden she'd remember she was still driving. She decided it was probably best that she not mention that to Sam.

  "We're here." Anna reached into the back seat and pulled out the weekender bag that Holly had given to her years ago. It was a very nice navy leather bag and inside it were some clothes Holly had brought over for her.

  She walked to the door of the building and unlocked it. When Sam came in she motioned to the elevator. "Might as well take the easy way up, since our arms are full."

  Sam looked cautiously at the elevator cage for a moment, then shrugged and stepped into it. It bounced. "Uh, Anna, I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

  "No problem. It works great." She punched the button and the elevator began rising--slowly. "Okay, so it takes a while, but it's nice when you have too much stuff to carry on the stairs. I bring in large canvases this way."

  The elevator jerked to a halt and they exited, Sam with a sigh of relief. When they walked into the loft, Anna exclaimed softly. "It's beautiful!" She hadn't been to the loft in a couple of days. It looked like Cody and her father had finished it.

  She and Sam set down the things they were carrying. Sam put the painting on the easel so that they could check it for damage. Anna examined it up close and touched a finger to the painting. It came away with soot on the fingertip. "Well that's not good. I'm going to have to do some research about the best way to clean off the smoke residue without damaging the painting underneath. How'd your laptop make out?"

  Sam had the laptop open on the coffee table. "I think it's about dead or will be soon. That sooty stuff had to get on the components inside. It's all right--I had sent a copy of the most recent file to my email. It should be sitting there. I also have it on a flash drive I keep in my pocket. I always keep multiple forms of backup when I'm working. I guess I didn't really need to bring it out of the house. Tomorrow I'll need to buy one."

  Anna walked around the loft, ending up in the kitchen. The red-painted appliances looked good. There was a counter now with barstools and a new microwave sat on one end. She opened the fridge and found a bottle of champagne, some beer, and two kinds of cheese. On top of the fridge were two varieties of crackers to eat with the cheese. "You have a choice," she called to Sam. "Champagne or beer."

  His voice came closer as he walked into the kitchen. "Your first night in the new place...shouldn't we have champagne?"

  "Sounds good to me. Here, you open it." She started to hand the bottle to him, then stopped and looked at him. He was covered in soot from the fire. "Okay, wait. Time to see if the shower is working. Let's hold off on this champagne until you have a chance to clean up."

  They headed for the bathroom. Anna was pleased to see that the work on the new bathroom was complete. The shower, she noticed, was big enough for two, tiled in large sandy-colored squares. There was a narrow row of smaller jade green tiles that ran around the shower at eye level.

  "Nice shower! I never got to see the tiling," Sam said as he leaned in and ran a hand over the tiles. "Feel like joining me?"

  She looked into his eyes and thought of that kiss they'd shared on the beach. "You start and I'll be with you in a minute."

  She giggled at the surprised look on his face and walked out of the room.

  * * * *

  Sam was still standing by the shower staring after Anna when she tossed the bag with his new clothes into the bathroom. If he had anything to say about it, clothing would not be necessary for the rest of the night. He started the shower and got undressed. The smoky smell went all through his clothes.

  He began to scrub up in the shower and had just finished rinsing shampoo out of his hair when he felt soft hands running up and down his back. He didn't turn around as he said, "I'll admit I was stunned when you said you'd come in here with me."

  "We have some unfinished business from out on the beach. I'm not saying I want to finish it in here--in fact, I just opened up the bed and put sheets on it."

  "Excellent," Sam said, turning to face her. She was luscious to look at, all curves and soft skin. He bent his head to kiss her, even as his hands began to move.

  * * * *

  Morning light shone through the windows of the loft and into Anna's just-opened eyes. She shut them immediately and turned onto her side facing away from the light--and found Sam's body right next to hers. Thank goodness it wasn't a dream!

  She traced the muscles of his abdomen with her fingertips, lightly touching him. They'd had a long night of passion and she was surprised to find herself awake. Sunlight. Waking up in sunlight. Oh no!

  She scrambled out of bed muttering curses. Finding her cell phone and seeing that the time was already six a.m. she gave a muted scream and ran into the bathroom.

  "What is it, love?" Sam rolled onto one side and was watching her interestedly when she came out wearing only underwear and looking everywhere for a uniform.

  "I'm an hour late at the bakery. Holly is going to kill me. Maybe she won't find out...no, she's here in town, she'll hear about it. No way are the rolls and other bread going to be ready for when we open. Plus, I've got to drive over to the house to get a uniform."

  Sam said, "Wait a minute. Didn't you tell me last night over dinner that the pastel polyester uniforms are a thing of the past?"

  Anna stopped running around the loft and smiled at him. "Yes! It's jeans and a nice t-shirt."

  Sam threw off the sheet that had covered him and ambled into the bathroom for the bag of new clothes. Anna watched him and shook her head. He really couldn't walk around without any clothes or she'd never get to work. Hurrying she pulled on an outfit that she hoped Holly would approve of and then hunted up her keys.

  She ran a brush through her hair and called through the bathroom door to Sam. "I'm leaving."

  The door opened and she stepped back. Sam was dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt and had on cheap sandals. "Take me with you, and then if I could borrow your car for a while this morning, I'd appreciate it."

  "Okay, okay, let's just get out of here." As she whirled away to head for the door, he grabbed her by the waist.

  "Hang on. One good morning kiss. I demand it after last night."

  She turned in his arms and kissed him fervently. "Last night was great," she said with a big smile.

  He grinned at her. "Last night was unbelievable."

  "We really have to go now."

  They raced out of the loft and down the stairs, and then Sam ran back up to grab his cell phone, flash drive and wallet.

  Anna had the car revved up when he got in. "There's only a few things you need to know about this car. First, if it says you have a quarter tank of gas, you really don't. Get to the gas station as soon as possible. Second, the clutch sticks sometimes, so be careful. And also, when you shift into third gear, well, it might be difficult to get it there at first."

  Sam shook his head. "There's no way I'm going to go fast enough in this heap to ever need third gear."

  "Heap! This trusty machine has served me well."

  "I think it was made when they first built the model. It's time, Anna. Time for a new car."

  "I'll think about it." She pulled up in the back of the bakery and said, "Damn. Holly's here." Sighing she parked the car and got out. Handing the keys to Sam, she said, "Time to face the music. Have a good morning. I'll save you something good."

  He reached out and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back for more."

  She laughed and walked into the kitchen of the bakery. Holly was punching down bread dough on the final batch of the morning. Anna grimaced.

  Holly looked up and saw her standing there. "Well come on, sleepyhead. There are donuts to make and cheese Danish to ice."

  "You're not mad?"
/>
  "Why do you think I'm here? I had a feeling last night...so I set my alarm. I won a bet with myself when you didn't show up. Now get your apron on and then tell me everything."

  Anna grinned at her sister. "No way am I telling you everything...but maybe a little." They both laughed.

  * * * *

  Sam drove cautiously down Main Street and headed out to the car dealership on the edge of town before realizing nobody would be there yet. Which was fine with him--he needed some time to think.

  He pulled into the lot at the dealership and parked. Last night had been amazing. He'd had plenty of sex before this. But nothing to compare to the feelings last night generated in him. Obviously, being in love with Anna makes the difference. There was an air of innocence about her but also a healthy, earthy, sexuality. Being with her gave him a feeling of completeness he'd never known.

  The only thing missing was that she had never said she loved him, during that whole night of loving. Funny how he wanted, needed, to hear that from her. Patience, he decided, was highly overrated.

  He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and called Norm.

  "Whoever this is, I will hunt you down and shoot you," growled a sleepy Norman.

  "It's me. I have news. First, Patrice showed up here, tried to ruin my date with Anna and then proceeded to burn down my car and my house. Second, I'm in love with Anna. Thought you should know."

  "What? You--what? Are you--burned down--in love--Patrice--who the hell is Anna?"

  "Maybe I should let you wake up some before we get into all this."

  "No, no, I'm out of bed and headed for my coffee machine. Tell me about Patrice and the fire. You're okay?"

  "Yeah, but my computer is toast. I'm going to pick another one up today, as well as a new car. Fortunately I have all my backups so the book is safe." Sam continued on, telling Norm about the events of the night before with Patrice.

  "So you can't be sure it was her?"

  "Who else would it be? Do I have any stalker mail sitting around lately?"

  "No, nothing like that. The usual love letters. And speaking of love..."