“I want to know which ones are lying about their weaves,” Reesa said as she sidled up to the table. “I can eyeball most of them, but there are a few that are so good I can’t really tell.”
For a moment, Aubrey just sat there, too dumbfounded to speak.
How had this happened? When had she gone from being the subject of gossip to people wanting to gossip with her?
Not that she ever would. For one thing, she’d been so far removed from that scene that she didn’t know any juicy gossip, but even if she did, she wouldn’t talk behind other people’s backs. She knew what that was like; she wouldn’t subject anyone else to it. Yet, she couldn’t deny that it felt good to sit there in the midst of people she could see herself hanging out with—becoming friends with—and not feel the discomfort and shame of that video looming over her.
Maybe it truly was behind her. Maybe she could get used to just living life like a regular person who wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I don’t have any gossip on bad celebrity marriages, but I can tell you which ones are definitely in love,” she said.
“Oh, yes!”
“Tell us!”
A grin tilted her lips as she took in her attentive audience.
Yeah, she could get used to this.
* * *
Sam lost count of the number of times he rolled his eyes as Desmond Grant enlightened the men standing around the grill about the best way to trap a wild boar. Because, of course, he trapped wild boars on a regular basis.
“The key is making sure the boar knows you’re the one in charge,” Desmond said.
Bullshit.
The guys all turned Sam’s way. Damn, apparently he’d said that out loud.
“You don’t believe me?” Desmond asked. “I’ve got pictures.” He went for his phone, but Ian stopped him.
“We believe you,” Ian said. Sam managed to contain his snort, but just barely.
“Whatever,” Desmond said. He flipped them off and announced that he would go impress Reesa with his story, because it would bring him closer to “hitting that.”
“God, I hope Reesa is smart enough not to fall for his bullshit,” Ian said.
“She is,” Dale said. “He doesn’t have a chance with her.” He pointed his beer bottle at Sam. “You want to try being less of an asshole around Desmond? He’ll eventually be my brother-in-law.”
“He’ll be your brother-in-law, not mine. I don’t have to be nice to him.”
This time Dale was the one who flipped him off.
“Aw, look. The future brothers-in-law are already using the same hand gestures and everything,” Sam said, then stepped out of the way as Dale took a mock swing at him. “I’m just kidding, man.”
“Tell me this,” Ian said as he flipped a burger. “How long until Deanna Martin is calling you her brother-in-law?”
“Yeah,” Dale said. “What’s up with you and Aubrey?”
“Are we really going to stand here and gossip like a bunch of girls?” Sam asked.
“Don’t we always?”
His buddy had him there.
Sam rubbed the back of his head. “It’s only been a few weeks. It’s too soon to know what’s gonna come of this.”
“So there is a ‘this’?” Ian asked.
“Yeah, there’s a this.” Sam couldn’t help but grin. “It’s not as if we’ve been trying to hide it or anything, but neither of us wanted to broadcast it either. We’re just enjoying being together again.”
“Sweet,” Ian said.
“Yes. I approve,” Dale said.
“Like I care whether or not you approve,” Sam said with a snort.
But he did care, and both his friends knew it. What they thought was important to him. Not only when it came to Aubrey, but in just about every significant issue in his life. Ian and Dale had always been his two closest confidants. He could count on them to be sounding boards when he needed to work through something heavy. Hell, sometimes they had to be his conscience when his own decided to take a vacation. They were the two people he trusted most in the world.
So why hadn’t he talked with them about the other thing that had been weighing on his mind lately?
“Hey, can I ask you guys something?” Sam started.
Ian pushed the hamburger patties to the side to make room for the sausage links. “Sure man, what’s up?” he asked.
Sam looked over his shoulder to make sure no one else was within earshot. “Would the two of you be pissed if I moved?”
Dale’s forehead furrowed. “From your condo?”
“From Maplesville,” Sam said. “Actually, I’m considering moving out of Louisiana altogether.”
Ian and Dale both turned their full attention on him.
“Is this because of Aubrey?” Ian asked. “I thought you said things were going good? Why do you want to run now?”
“I don’t! I’m not running.” Sam ran his flattened palm down his face.
He told them about Noah’s offer, from the very first email he received just before Charlie’s diagnosis, to the call he and his old college buddy had just the other night.
“Wait a minute,” Dale said after Sam was done. “You’ve been sitting on this for two years and you’re just telling us about it now? What’s up with that, Sam?”
“Because for the past two years I hadn’t given it much thought. But now…” He shrugged. “Career opportunities like this don’t just fall into your lap, especially in a field as competitive as the one I’m in.”
“What about the job you already have?” Dale asked.
“Most of what I do now is done remotely anyway. I can continue to work with my clients here in Louisiana, and if they need me, it’s just a quick flight home. Hell, I don’t even have to fly commercial. Noah charters a Gulfstream for all business.”
“Damn, he’s rolling like that?” Ian asked.
Sam nodded. “I’m not saying I’ll be at that level any time soon, but who knows?” He looked over at his friends. “So?”
“So what?” Dale asked.
“So, what do you two have to say about this? Will it…I don’t know…break up the friendship if I leave?”
Just saying those words filled his stomach with a sickening feeling.
“You’re talking about L.A., not Siberia,” Ian said. “You really think we’d be upset at you for wanting to make a big career move?”
“You’re not?”
“Dude, come on,” Dale said. “This sounds like a chance of a lifetime. What we have to say shouldn’t even matter.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Sam said. “When has any of us made a huge decision without talking it over with each other first? Well, except for this one getting hitched in Vegas last year, but we knew it would happen eventually anyway.”
“You have to take that job,” Ian said. “I can understand you not wanting to leave while Charlie was sick, but now that you’re no longer helping your mom to take care of him, you have to go.”
“It’s not that easy,” Sam said.
“Why not?” Ian asked, and then grimaced as he answered his own question. “Shit. Aubrey.”
“Yeah.” Sam nodded. He released a gruff laugh. “You couldn’t get me to step foot in California the entire time she was there. Now, the thought of her here while I’m in L.A. is keeping me up at night. I don’t want to leave her.”
Dale shook his head. “Forget what I said before. Your luck sucks.”
“Thanks a lot,” Sam said with another snort.
“Anytime, my man.” He clamped a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Anytime.”
“What are you going to do?” Ian asked.
Sam looked over at the patio where Aubrey sat with Nyree and the rest of the women from the salon. Sonny walked up to the table where they were all gathered, and set a tray of some kind of fancy dessert concoction she probably whipped up in her sleep, and all the women broke out into applause. Aubrey’s smile was as bright as Sam had seen it since her re
turn to Maplesville.
There was no doubt about it. Walking away from that smile would kill him.
But missing out on this opportunity with Noah would probably do the same.
Yeah, his luck sucked all right. It sucked a hell of a lot.
Chapter 7
Aubrey hopped several inches off the ground as a car horn honked behind her, sending her heartbeat into a near frenzy. She whipped her head around to find Sam behind the wheel, his devilish grin visible through the windshield.
She plopped her hands on her hips, giving him the evil eye as he got out of the car. “Was that necessary?”
“What? You were in my way,” he said with mock innocence, which was completely obliterated when his wicked smile returned, stretching wider than before.
“You’re horrible,” she said with a laugh.
He bent over and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. “Just doing my part to help raise money for the musical,” he said. He tilted his head to the right. “You see the line of cars we have here? Get to work.”
He gave her a light tap on the butt, earning him another scathing glare. But then Aubrey messed it up when she burst out laughing.
She’d done that a lot lately, and not just when Sam was teasing her. Even when they weren’t together—which was unfortunately the case for most of this week with several of Sam’s work projects taking up his time during the day and his work on the props for the musical stealing away his evenings. Not to mention the two weddings she’d performed at last night. Still, Aubrey found herself smiling at thoughts of the precious time they had spent with each other.
The day after the Fourth of July picnic, she’d joined him in Charlie’s old workshop behind his parents’ house while he worked on the wooden pier where several scenes would take place in the second act. The moment she walked through the doors of the shop, she’d been bombarded with memories of those times she and Sam would sneak away to make out, often while his parents and sister were right next door. Back then, the danger of getting caught only added to the excitement.
They’d matured in the ten years since they last made love among the dusty wood shavings and half-built cabinets. This time, she and Sam had managed to hold out a full half hour before he had his mouth on her neck and his hands down her pants, but once again Aubrey stopped him before they went too far.
Something continued to hold her back. Something deep inside her that feared taking this next step with Sam would make her too vulnerable to being hurt by him again.
Aubrey picked up her washing mitt and began scrubbing the vintage Cutlass Supreme that belonged to her old science teacher, Mr. Fields. There had been a steady stream of cars, trucks and SUVs since the fundraiser began this morning in the teacher’s parking lot at the high school. The car wash was a last-minute effort to help raise money for better audio equipment. Up until now the community theater had used five overhead microphones that were suspended from the ceiling, but during this past week’s practice, Taylor declared that this production was going to be too good to settle for such an old-school sound system. The goal was to raise enough money to afford two sets of wireless lavalier microphones that would be able to clip onto each performer’s collar. Taylor wanted them before the start of the full dress rehearsal, which was just one week away.
It was all hands on deck. While some washed cars, others stood at the intersection with cans, collecting donations from passersby who didn’t have time for a car wash. Several parents—including Deanna—manned a table where baked goods, sweet tea, and hot dogs were being sold. The cupcakes Sonny donated to the sale sold out in a matter of minutes.
The best part of the morning had been the performances. Throughout the morning, cast members would break into song, treating everyone to various numbers from the upcoming show. Aubrey’s pride swelled when she noted how many of the young singers were now staying on pitch and singing from their diaphragm. In just the few weeks since she’d started working with the kids at the community theater, she could see an improvement.
She might not have had what it took to make it to the big time as a singer, but she was a damn good vocal coach.
“I know you’re not used to this kind of manual labor, but put some lead in it,” Sam called out to her from the hood of the car.
“For your information, I worked as a parking valet for several hotels in L.A.”
“You?” he asked with a grin as he rounded the front bumper. “The same girl who wrecked my dad’s old Buick the first time I let you drive it?”
“I got better over the years,” Aubrey responded with a cheeky grin.
Sam came over to where she was trying to scrub a stubborn smudge from the windshield and whispered in her ear. “Maybe I’ll let you take the wheel when we go out tonight. I want to see how much you’ve learned.”
Tendrils of excitement skirted down Aubrey’s spine at his mention of their date tonight. She’d been buzzing with anticipation ever since he mentioned going over to Gauthier. It would be their first real date since the night Sam broke up with her, the summer of their high school graduation.
Her emotions were all over the place. Anxious, excited, unsettled. She continuously had to remind herself that she and Sam were both different people now. She should just enjoy this new friendship they’d found. Although with the hot and heavy kisses they’d shared over the past two weeks, it felt like a lot more than just friendship.
It felt like old times.
Mrs. Johnson, who used to sell homemade sweets from her house in the summertime, pulled up in the light blue Cadillac she’d been driving for as long as Aubrey could remember. The car looked as if it had just left the showroom floor.
“I’m almost afraid to touch it,” Aubrey told Sam. “What if I scratch it?”
“Don’t worry. Nothing can hurt this car. It’s had so many paint jobs that you’d have to chip away for a year before you touch metal.”
Aubrey thought about the personal armor she’d built up over the years. She didn’t think anything could pierce it, but in only two weeks’ time Sam had begun to chip away at the walls she’d erected to protect her heart. It was something she never would have predicted when she made the tough decision to move back to Maplesville.
As they washed Mrs. Johnson’s Caddy, several kids from the production broke out into a rendition of “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” Aubrey could pick out Felicity’s voice from the chorus, which was not a good thing when it came to this particular number.
“Just listen to her showing off,” Aubrey said.
“Are you talking about Felicity?” Sam asked. “I can’t say I blame her. That’s one powerful set of pipes your niece has on her.”
“I know,” Aubrey said with a grin. “She’s gotten even better since I’ve been home, if I do say so myself. But she needs to tone it down for this song. She’s louder than the lead.”
“Good luck with that. If she’s anything like her Aunt Aubrey she’ll do her best to upstage the rest of the cast,” Sam said with a laugh. Aubrey frowned and he laughed harder. “Don’t even try it,” he teased, closing the distance between them. “You had to be the star of every play and talent show, and rightfully so. No one else could compete when it came to your voice. I’ll bet that’s still the case.”
Sam brushed his lips against her temple. “Maybe I’ll get you to sing something just for me later,” he whispered in her ear.
Desire rippled through her bloodstream.
“Um, excuse me.”
Aubrey jumped at the interruption. She turned to find Taylor standing several feet back, as if she was afraid to get too close.
Taylor held up her phone. “The guy from the A/V company called. He wants to schedule a sound check. I was hoping you could join us since you have some experience with this type of thing.”
“Sure. Of course,” Aubrey said.
“Thanks,” Taylor answered with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked back and forth between Sam and Aubrey, and her expression turned to one of l
onging and regret. “I should get back,” she said, pointing to the area where kids were vacuuming the interiors of several cars.
Aubrey’s shoulders slumped. She looked over at Sam. “I’m guessing Taylor didn’t know that we were a couple in high school.”
Sam shook his head. “No.”
“I never asked you about that kiss between you two the first day I saw you in the auditorium, but I assumed you were dating.”
“No, that was me being an asshole,” Sam said. He started to rub his hand down his face, then stopped when he noticed the grime from washing the cars. Instead, he rubbed the back of his head. “I kissed Taylor with the sole purpose of making you jealous.”
“Sam—”
“I know,” he said. “I know it was wrong and I apologized to her. I’m sorry if she’s been nasty to you because of it.”
“She hasn’t been nasty,” Aubrey said. “She hasn’t been anything. That’s the problem. Taylor is sweet, and she loves music and theater. I thought the two of us could be friends, but now I don’t think so.”
“I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I can talk to her if you want me to.”
“No,” Aubrey said. “I’ll talk to her.” She picked up the washer mitt again and threw it at him. “Now get back to work.”
As the morning drifted into afternoon, the earlier clouds began to lift, bringing in even more people willing to have their cars washed now that the threat of rain had lessened. Aubrey lifted up on her tiptoes, trying her hardest to reach the top of the SUV that had driven up a few minutes ago. It was hopeless.
Suddenly, a towering figure closed in on her, cradling her between a warm, solid body and the Chevy Tahoe.
“Looks as if you can use a little help,” Sam whispered into her ear. His chest rubbed against her back as he easily reached the top of the SUV.
Aubrey’s entire body hummed with awareness as his heat engulfed her. Her skin tingled, little sparks of arousal lighting her up from the inside out. Her breasts grew heavier with each second that he remained so close, her nipples tightening with a pleasurable ache.
She’d tried to ignore her body’s reaction to him, but her body was having none of that. It knew exactly what it wanted, and it was Sam. She wanted Sam so damn bad.
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