you’ve
said.”
“ Trust me, I know what I’m
talking about. You don’t want to wake up one morning and realize
that everything you’ve done in your life has been to please someone
else. That you’ve let yourself be railroaded along the
way.”
Sam’s grin dimmed a little,
then returned. “Funny, but I don’t seem to be doing what I want to
do—I’m doing what you want to do and I’m just along for the ride.”
Lou paused at that. “What do you want to do?
What would be your ultimate adventure?”
For a minute, Sam’s mouth appeared to shape
the words to tell her and, though she hadn’t moved an inch, Lou
felt like she was on the edge of her seat. She wanted to know his
dreams. His thoughts. His goals. What things were important to Sam?
What made him tick? What had made him the man he was today?
“ Uh, my adventure would be
lame compared to yours,” Sam told her. He evidently meant the
statement as a joke, but Lou felt the sting of hurt nonetheless.
She hadn’t really expected her to tell him, so it shouldn’t bother
her if he kept it to himself.
“ I can’t imagine that you
would do anything lame,” Lou replied, striving for their earlier
camaraderie. “Besides, so long a as you do what you want to do,
what do you care if it’s lame? It wouldn’t be lame to
you.”
“ True,” Sam conceded,
nodding thoughtfully.
Lou heaved a dramatic sigh, ready to put a
humorous spin back on their conversation. She loved to listen to
Sam laugh and she sensed he needed to do it more often. “Well, not
everyone can be as adventurous as me,” she teased.
Sam chuckled, the sound a deep baritone that
hummed through her, making her smile. “Hey, for what your adventure
lacks in stamina, it certainly makes up for it in dramatics…and
stress.”
Lou put her shades on and got comfortable in
her seat. “Yeah, right,” she told him. “Let’s get a move on. I’m
ready to get drunk.”
Sam’s shoulders tensed and he closed his eyes
as though summoning patience from a higher power. A reluctant grin
tested his lips and he exhaled with a mighty whoosh. “Yeah. Me,
too.”
Chapter Ten
Lou pushed her grilled shrimp around her
plate and cupped her chin in her palm. A woebegone sigh slipped
passed her lips.
Eating alone sucked.
She and Sam had arrived at their hotel in Key
West by six. They’d kept up a lively conversation all the way down
the coast, each of them sharing stories about their childhoods,
likes and dislikes.
Lou had learned that Sam had
taken his first dare at six, when another child had bet him a
quarter to eat a dead grasshopper. That his favorite movie
was The Shawshank
Redemption , and that he hated English peas.
Trivial little things, things that shouldn’t have made any
difference about the way she felt about him…but did. Because all of
them gave her insight into Sam and endeared him to her all the
more.
Admittedly, Lou had been drawn to Sam from
the beginning. From the first second she’d stepped into his office
and gazed into those stormy gray eyes, she’d been inexplicably
pulled nearer by the sheer force of his magnetism. Sam held some
sort of power over her, more than any mere attraction. That initial
arc of awareness had done something to her. Lou didn’t know what,
but she did understand that knowing Sam meant her life would never
be the same.
And she wanted him more than anything. Her
passionate feelings of desire were new and wholly unexpected; and,
despite her lack of experience, Lou nevertheless knew that Sam
inspired much more than mere physical attraction. More than
lust.
Sam had told her that with another kiss, he
wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. The temptation, the simple
knowledge that she could have him with only a kiss, ate at Lou’s
soul and intensified her desire.
But no matter how much she wanted him, Lou
wouldn’t take him on a dare.
If she and Sam were to be together, it would
be because they both wanted it to happen. Because they both
said.”
“ Trust me, I know what I’m
talking about. You don’t want to wake up one morning and realize
that everything you’ve done in your life has been to please someone
else. That you’ve let yourself be railroaded along the
way.”
Sam’s grin dimmed a little,
then returned. “Funny, but I don’t seem to be doing what I want to
do—I’m doing what you want to do and I’m just along for the ride.”
Lou paused at that. “What do you want to do?
What would be your ultimate adventure?”
For a minute, Sam’s mouth appeared to shape
the words to tell her and, though she hadn’t moved an inch, Lou
felt like she was on the edge of her seat. She wanted to know his
dreams. His thoughts. His goals. What things were important to Sam?
What made him tick? What had made him the man he was today?
“ Uh, my adventure would be
lame compared to yours,” Sam told her. He evidently meant the
statement as a joke, but Lou felt the sting of hurt nonetheless.
She hadn’t really expected her to tell him, so it shouldn’t bother
her if he kept it to himself.
“ I can’t imagine that you
would do anything lame,” Lou replied, striving for their earlier
camaraderie. “Besides, so long a as you do what you want to do,
what do you care if it’s lame? It wouldn’t be lame to
you.”
“ True,” Sam conceded,
nodding thoughtfully.
Lou heaved a dramatic sigh, ready to put a
humorous spin back on their conversation. She loved to listen to
Sam laugh and she sensed he needed to do it more often. “Well, not
everyone can be as adventurous as me,” she teased.
Sam chuckled, the sound a deep baritone that
hummed through her, making her smile. “Hey, for what your adventure
lacks in stamina, it certainly makes up for it in dramatics…and
stress.”
Lou put her shades on and got comfortable in
her seat. “Yeah, right,” she told him. “Let’s get a move on. I’m
ready to get drunk.”
Sam’s shoulders tensed and he closed his eyes
as though summoning patience from a higher power. A reluctant grin
tested his lips and he exhaled with a mighty whoosh. “Yeah. Me,
too.”
Chapter Ten
Lou pushed her grilled shrimp around her
plate and cupped her chin in her palm. A woebegone sigh slipped
passed her lips.
Eating alone sucked.
She and Sam had arrived at their hotel in Key
West by six. They’d kept up a lively conversation all the way down
the coast, each of them sharing stories about their childhoods,
likes and dislikes.
Lou had learned that Sam had
taken his first dare at six, when another child had bet him a
quarter to eat a dead grasshopper. That his favorite movie
was The Shawshank
Redemption , and that he hated English peas.
Trivial little things, things that shouldn’t have made any
difference about the way she felt about him…but did. Because all of
them gave her insight into Sam and endeared him to her all the
more.
Admittedly, Lou had been drawn to Sam from
the beginning. From the first second she’d stepped into his office
and gazed into those stormy gray eyes, she’d been inexplicably
pulled nearer by the sheer force of his magnetism. Sam held some
sort of power over her, more than any mere attraction. That initial
arc of awareness had done something to her. Lou didn’t know what,
but she did understand that knowing Sam meant her life would never
be the same.
And she wanted him more than anything. Her
passionate feelings of desire were new and wholly unexpected; and,
despite her lack of experience, Lou nevertheless knew that Sam
inspired much more than mere physical attraction. More than
lust.
Sam had told her that with another kiss, he
wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. The temptation, the simple
knowledge that she could have him with only a kiss, ate at Lou’s
soul and intensified her desire.
But no matter how much she wanted him, Lou
wouldn’t take him on a dare.
If she and Sam were to be together, it would
be because they both wanted it to happen. Because they both
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