Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)

Everyone laughed. He took another drink.

The champagne was good, but the company better. They didn’t have as many times like this anymore, Sam thought. The four of them together. He wasn’t sure why. Was it because Taryn had Angel? Was she the one who pulled them all together? Which meant if either of his friends ever fell for someone, they’d drift even further apart.

He glanced at Kenny. The other man had a thousand reasons to never trust his heart. Or maybe just one. The biggest one possible. Losing a woman was one thing, but to lose a child. And the way it had happened... Sam shook his head. His friend was one strong guy. He’d kept going and managed to fool nearly everyone into thinking he was fine.

Jack, on the other hand, never let anyone get close. There was always a wall around his heart. Sam knew why and respected his friend’s reasons. Some things were never going to be okay. Some burdens were too big to survive. Jack did the best he could and faked the rest of it.

Sam’s gaze shifted to his only female partner. A few months ago he would have been comfortable explaining why she was alone. Only she’d found the right guy and he’d never seen her happier. Watching Taryn in love made him long for what he’d always wanted. A wife. Family. A traditional lifestyle in a place he liked surrounded by good people.

Fool’s Gold offered that. He wasn’t fitting in as quickly as Jack and Kenny, but he was okay with that. He was more reserved with his feelings. He knew he was welcome here. But that was only a piece of what he wanted. There was also the matter of the wife and kids. Of trusting a woman enough to give her his heart.

For a second he thought of Dellina. From what he could tell, she was exactly who she seemed. Warm, loving, honest. She didn’t play games and she wasn’t out to win. She’d given up her own dreams to take care of her sisters. He liked her. A lot. She was smart and funny and when they were in bed...

He took a sip of champagne to hide his satisfied smile.

But there was more to love than sex. There was trust and he didn’t think he had it in him. Not yet. Not after what had happened. How was he supposed to believe that she wouldn’t turn into God knew who in a few weeks or years. He would never have guessed Simone would write a tell-all. Or that his demure, soft-spoken girlfriend would sleep with each of his best friends. Or that the girl he’d fallen for in college would stalk him, slash his tires and end up moving across the country to avoid him. With his luck with women, his next one true love was going to be a hermaphrodite.

Better to be alone and be safe, he told himself. As he always had tried to do. But for once, the price of that safety seemed high. Maybe too high. Which left him with a difficult dilemma.

* * *

DELLINA HESITATED BEFORE walking into Jo’s Bar. She loved meeting her friends for lunch, and having the Score party behind her meant she had a lot to celebrate. What made her stop for a second before pulling open the door was her concern that everyone would take one look at her and know something had happened. Something amazing and wonderful and...

Even as she tried to get annoyed, she couldn’t help smiling. Aftershocks from her time with Sam continued to ripple through her. Just when she thought she had recovered from their incredible lovemaking, she got a little ping from somewhere deep in her belly. That sensation made her remember and remembering made her want to do it again.

She had loved being with him, she thought. Well, loved what they did together. She didn’t love the man. She was susceptible, not foolish. She wasn’t looking for love and Sam thought all relationships ended in disaster. What she meant was—

“Hey,” Larissa said, coming up behind her. “I heard you were a wild success. I’m sorry I missed the party.”

Dellina opened the door and stepped inside. “Me, too. I could have put you to work.”

Larissa laughed. “You say that like I should be scared, but I spent the weekend with my mother and sisters. Trust me, you have nothing on them. My mother’s campaign to get me married and pregnant continues.”

As always, Larissa was casually dressed in an oversize T-shirt and yoga pants. Her long blond hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and she had on athletic shoes. She was tall and lithe and moved with the grace of a natural athlete. As a kid, Dellina had preferred books to sports. As an adult, that hadn’t changed.

“Do you get along with your family?” she asked as they walked to the large table in the middle where Patience and Isabel already waited.

“I do,” Larissa told her. “Mostly. It’s not so horrible. It’s just I’m the oldest and my two younger sisters are already married.”

Dellina realized she was kind of in the same position. While Fayrene wasn’t married, she was settled with Ryan.