Size Matters

by Alison Bliss

  Sam opened one eye and glared at him. “No, I didn’t go to lunch today. I had to get up really early to take my parents to the airport, and now I have too much work to catch up on.”

  “Really? Because it looks like you’re taking a nap.”

  Sam chuckled. “Yeah, trying to. What’s up?”

  “Just clocking back in, boss. So where were you this past weekend? I went by your apartment every single day, and you were gone each time.”

  “I went out of town.”

  Max’s brow rose. “Really? With who?”

  “A…friend.”

  A sinister grin lifted the corners of Max’s mouth. “Does this friend have boobs?”

  “Does it matter?”

  Max’s smile stretched wider. “Thought you were done with women.”

  Sam rolled his eyes. “I was just taking a short break.”

  “And now your break is over? Or are you still going to try to convince me that there’s nothing going on between you and Leah? Because, at this point, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one whose head you’re fucking with here.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not fucking with anyone’s head.”

  “Oh yeah? Did you tell Leah how you feel about her?”

  His eyes narrowed, and his jaw tightened. “I already told you—”

  “Right. Nothing’s going on. I’ve heard it all before, buddy. And you’re full of shit, you know that?”

  Sam had had about enough of Max butting his nose in where it didn’t belong. What the hell did that asshole know about relationships anyway? The idiot rarely ever made it past more than one night with a woman as it was. And the last thing Sam was going to do was sit around discussing his feelings like he and Max were a couple of teenage girls.

  This was a construction site, damn it. Not a girls’ bathroom. If he had the power to do so, Sam would have revoked Max’s man card on the spot.

  Besides, Sam couldn’t talk about something he didn’t fully understand himself. And his feelings for Leah were definitely at the top of that list.

  After everything that had happened between them, being just friends was no longer an option. It would never work. He wanted her too damn much to allow any opportunity for another guy to come into the picture. The very thought of another man putting his grubby hands on her body made Sam want to take out a hammer and break someone’s fingers.

  That wasn’t love though. If you asked him, it sounded more like a male dog marking his territory. But since when had Leah become his territory?

  Probably since the night you announced her as your fiancée, dumbass.

  But what did any of it mean? He liked being around Leah. Hell, he actually liked everything about her. And that damn sure included having sex with her. Was it possible he had fallen in love with her?

  Hell if I know.

  Apparently, he’d never been in love before. Not truly. Because if he had, he should be able to recognize the symptoms. And right now he was clueless.

  Either way, the only person he wanted to discuss his feelings with was Leah. He needed to see her, which he planned to do the moment he got off work. Until then, he wanted Max to shut the hell up and leave him alone. “Can you stop keeping on about Leah already? I’ve had about enough of your shit. I said we are just friends, and I meant it. Now drop it.”

  “Getting awfully defensive for a guy who is trying to convince me you don’t have anything going with her.”

  “What do you want me to do—recite a fucking love poem for you? Look, I did you a favor that first night. You asked me to be your wingman so you could hook up with her friend—a feat you failed at, dickhead. But I did my job as your friend. So now do yours and leave it the fuck alone already.”

  A thump came from outside the door.

  “What the hell?” Max asked, getting up to check out the noise. He shoved open the trailer door, glanced around, then closed it again. “Maybe a bird flew into the door.”

  Sam sighed heavily. “Okay, if you’re done harassing me, you can get back to work now. We have to finish this job within the week or heads are going to roll. And it will be yours, not mine.”

  “All right, fine. I’m going.” Max punched his time clock on the wall. “But I’m just saying, if you’re done with Leah, I know a few guys who might be interested in tapping that.”

  Fire blazed through Sam, and his hands fisted on the desk. “Careful,” he warned, his threatening tone filling the small space around them.

  Max grinned, raising his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. Damn. A little territorial for a guy who says he isn’t into the girl.”

  “Get the fuck out of my office before I fire your ass.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Leah couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid.

  After last night’s embarrassing disaster, she’d done exactly as Val had suggested and gone to talk to Sam about their “relationship.” She’d even brought him a box of chocolate éclairs from the bakery to use as an ice breaker. But when she’d heard Max’s voice inside the construction trailer, she decided to wait for him to leave before entering. All because she hadn’t wanted to make him uncomfortable by putting him in the middle of an awkward situation between her and Sam…That bastard.

  She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on their private conversation. But the moment her name had popped out of his mouth, she couldn’t stop her ears from perking up and tuning in. It had hurt to hear Sam say he wasn’t into her, especially after he’d spent the other night with her convincing her otherwise. His callous words had taken her breath away and stopped her heart from beating as if he’d reached inside and tore it from her chest.

  He took one for the fucking team. That was basically what he’d said, after all.

  Leah had been so shocked to learn that Sam had strung her along from the beginning for his buddy’s sake that she’d accidentally dropped the box of pastries onto the ground outside the trailer door. The loud thump had drawn their attention, but she managed to swipe the box off the ground and hide out on the side of the trailer before Max had thrown open the door.

  When he went back inside and shut the door behind him, Leah had hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible, stopping only long enough to toss the crushed bakery box into a nearby Dumpster. Then she’d climbed behind the wheel of her car and sped out of the parking lot. She wanted to put as much distance as she could between her and the hurtful words that had fallen from Sam’s lips. Between Gavin and her mother, she’d already heard enough of them to last her a lifetime.

  Damn it, Sam. Not you too.

  She shook her head as she swiped away a fat teardrop that landed on her puffy cheek. She’d been nothing more than a third wheel for Valerie and Max the night they had all met, and Sam had only entertained Leah to keep her busy while his friend had tried to hook up with her friend.

  And she’d fallen for it. God, I’m so stupid.

  The asshole had actually been honest with her from the get-go. Well, sort of. He’d told her the truth when he’d said she wasn’t his type, he wasn’t interested, and he didn’t want a relationship. So why the hell hadn’t she listened to him?

  Friends with benefits. Christ. He’d all but told her everything she needed to know by that statement. And if she had taken what he’d said at face value, then she wouldn’t be driving back to the bakery with tears in her eyes and a heart as crushed as those damn chocolate éclairs.

  Sam hadn’t made any public declaration to Max about what had taken place between them. And there had never been any mention of him having feelings for her either. In fact, it was just the opposite. He’d adamantly denied it all.

  And that was just fine. Because the last thing she wanted to do was get involved with another asshole who didn’t appreciate what she had to offer.

  * * *

  After getting off work later than he’d expected, Sam ran home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. He could have used the sink to wash the dried wood glue off his hands, but his sw
eat-soaked shirt and varnish-stained jeans were not suitable attire when a man was planning on telling the woman in his life that he wants to pursue whatever the hell this thing was between them and see if they had a future together.

  It was well past closing time when he arrived at Sweets n’ Treats. Locked up tight, the bakery was dark, and it appeared no one was home. Sam walked around the building to the back entrance and banged on the door as well, but there was still no answer. Leah’s car wasn’t there, and she wasn’t answering her phone either.

  Where the hell is she?

  He’d texted her and said he would be coming over, but since she hadn’t replied, he wasn’t even sure if she had seen the message. Sam drove out to her parents’ house, which only took him about fifteen minutes. Their inside lights were on, but Sam didn’t bother to stop since Leah’s car wasn’t in the driveway.

  He wondered where else he could look for her but didn’t have an idea where she would be at this time of night. Valerie’s house, maybe…but he didn’t know where she lived so he couldn’t go beat down her door. Too bad he didn’t have her phone—

  Sam grinned. He didn’t have Valerie’s phone number, but he would bet his life that Max did. Or would at least know where she lived. Pulling over on the side of the road, Sam fished his phone out of his pocket and tapped Max’s name.

  The phone rang only twice before someone picked up and loud country music blared in the background. Max had to raise his voice to talk over it. “Hey, buddy. Good timing. I was just about to give you a call.”

  Sam groaned. “If you were going to call and harass me some more about my relationship with Leah, then you can go fuck yourself,” he said playfully to his friend.

  Max chuckled. “Nope, that wasn’t it. But you can deny it all you want, that’s fine by me. I was just going to call you and let you know that the girl you have no feelings for whatsoever is here at Rusty’s Bucket…and she’s not alone.”

  “Leah’s there? With who…Valerie?”

  “Nope. She’s with some guy. And they’re looking pretty damn cozy, if you know what I mean.”

  Fuck.

  Hot rage swept over him, and he contemplated stopping off at the job site to pick up his hammer. Because if that guy laid a finger on Leah, he would have no problem getting kicked out of Rusty’s a second time. “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Sam said, ending the call abruptly.

  He held the steering wheel in a death grip as he swung the truck around in a wide, illegal U-turn, then stomped the gas pedal to the floor. Sam didn’t know what the hell was going on or why the fuck Leah was out with another guy, but he was damn sure about to find out.

  Sam made it there in six minutes flat.

  It was just past dark, and Rusty’s Bucket was lit up from one end to the other with flashing neon lights. Old beer signs sat in the dirty windows of the rickety old bar. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, but more than he’d expected for a Thursday night.

  The only one he cared about though was the red sedan—Leah’s car—sitting front and center. How the hell had he not seen it when he’d passed by there on the way to her parents’ house?

  He entered through the side door and glanced around the room until his gaze landed on Leah sitting alone. Thank God.

  As he started for her, she leaned over the table, reaching for a bar napkin, and her snug jeans stretched tight across her lush ass. Sam’s dick twitched at the sight, but he also couldn’t help but notice that his eyes weren’t the only ones watching her. Several men lounging at a table in front of her had craned their necks to glance in Leah’s direction.

  But the moment he stopped behind her and she settled back in her chair, Sam understood why the men’s eyes had been glued to her. The low-cut blouse she wore barely kept her ample breasts contained, and the deep amounts of cleavage she showed off had given the other men an eyeful of what he’d spent a whole night playing with.

  He didn’t know which pissed him off more.

  Sam moved around to her side, where she could see him standing next to her. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  Unimpressed, Leah straightened in her chair and pushed her hair off her right shoulder. “Well, you found me.”

  His brows furrowed at her distant tone.

  “Did you want something else?” she asked, her voice as remote as her eyes.

  He wasn’t sure why she was being so cool with him, but he damn sure wanted to figure it out. “We need to talk.”

  “Okay, I’ll try to give you a call tomorrow.”

  Sam’s hand balled into a fist. “It’s important, Leah.”

  She turned to face him and hooked her arm around the back of the chair. “Okay, then shoot. What did you need?”

  He glanced around and sighed. “Maybe we could go talk somewhere a little more private.”

  “Sorry, I can’t right now. I’m here with someone.”

  Sam gritted his teeth. “Yeah. So I heard. What the hell is this all about, Leah?”

  Before she could answer, someone approached from behind him and said, “Excuse me, pal.”

  A young guy stood there with two beers, one in each hand. He maneuvered around Sam and plopped down in the chair next to Leah, pushing a drink her way. “Here ya go, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks, Jason.”

  When Sam continued to stand there, the man glanced up at him and then back to Leah. “Who’s he?” he asked.

  Sam grinned. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on this jackass’s face when Leah told him Sam was her fiancé.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Leah said, waving her hand through the air. “I guess I forgot my manners. This is Sam Cooper. He’s just a friend of mine.”

  Friend? Not fucking hardly. The last time he checked, friends didn’t go down on each other and spend the rest of the night seeing who could give each other the most orgasms.

  “Nice to meet you,” Jason muttered, offering his hand.

  But Sam ignored him. He was too busy eyeing Leah and trying to understand what the hell was going on in that mind of hers. He didn’t know why she was sitting with this clown after the two of them had been sleeping together, but he’d damn well had enough of the games.

  “Excuse us for a moment,” he said, grasping Leah by the arm and dragging her from her chair before she could protest. He pulled her toward the front door of the bar, hoping to get her into the parking lot before she stopped him, but she jerked her arm free in the middle of the bar.

  “What the fuck do you want from me, Sam?”

  He glanced around at all the faces staring at them and spotted Max standing off to one side. Then he turned his attention back onto Leah. “I want to know why you’re giving me the cold shoulder. What the hell’s wrong with you tonight?”

  She crossed her arms and glared at him. “That’s just the thing, Sam. There’s not a damn thing wrong with me. It may have taken me some time to realize it, but I’m not the problem here. Men like you are.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about your inability to see me for who I am, rather than a number on a scale. You may not know this, but my worth is not measured by my hip size.”

  “You know damn well I’m not that kind of guy, Leah.”

  “Yeah right, Sam. You don’t have to pretend anymore,” she said sharply. “I get it. You were just doing Max a favor by being his wingman.” She glanced up toward the ceiling, as if she was thinking, and then held up one finger. “Actually, I believe you called it your job. Isn’t that what you said?”

  Sam recognized his words immediately and put together the sequence of events that led to this very moment. Fuck me. His heart sank in his chest, and his stomach twisted. She’d obviously overheard the conversation he’d had with Max, and he cringed as he recalled exactly what he’d said. “Leah, if you’ll just let me explain—”

  “Oh, I’ve heard enough already, don’t you think? Enough to know exactly where I stand with you. And that’s fine, but
I wish you’d had the balls to tell me yourself instead of embarrassing me like you did.”

  “Damn it. Leah, what I said to Max, it wasn’t about you. It was more about me not wanting to tell Max about us and the way he kept on pushing—”

  “I don’t care. I’m not interested in hearing anything else you have to say. You have some nerve sleeping with a girl, screwing with her head, and then talking shit about her behind her back.”

  “God, it wasn’t like that, I swear. Damn it, Leah, I care about you.”

  She shook her head in disbelief. “I heard how much you cared for me. You were too embarrassed to even tell Max that you had gone away with me for the weekend, much less that you slept with me.”

  “Leah, listen to me. I didn’t want to tell Max about us because I was waiting until I talked to you first. I would have eventually said something to him.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s too late. I’m not interested in only being with someone behind closed doors. I don’t want or need a secret admirer, and I refuse to be your dirty little secret.”

  “Goddamnit, stop it and listen. It wasn’t like that, and you know it.”

  “I don’t know any such thing. As far as I’m concerned, that’s exactly what it was like. But this is who I am, Sam. And I’m happy with myself…even if you don’t like it. I don’t want your pity—and definitely don’t need another sympathy fuck. You can keep it. I’ll wait around for someone who is proud to be with me, fat or not. Sure, I’ll probably lose weight eventually, but it won’t be for you, Gavin, or any other guy, and it sure the hell won’t be for my mom. It’ll be for me.”

  Sam’s stomach soured, and the acidity bubbled up into his throat. “Leah, please.”

  “What? You can’t handle being rejected by the fat chick? Afraid your friends will have an opinion on that too?” She shook her head, disgust showing clearly on her tight lips. “You know, I may be bigger than some girls out there, but that only means I have an even bigger heart. And it won’t be wasted on a shallow asshole like you.”