Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)

Sam wanted to say he wasn’t. Not at all. But before he could figure out how to make that confession, Dellina was guiding Gladys away.

Taryn watched her expert maneuvering and smiled. “You found a good one with her, Samuel. Dellina takes care of you.”

“You know it’s not like that,” he said.

“You’re involved.” She watched Dellina chat with Gladys before the old lady left. “At some point you’re going to have to get over yourself.”

“Now you sound like Jack.”

“He can be insightful on occasion.” She looked around at the emptying room. “Nice job. You impressed our business neighbors. They’re going to love us even more.”

“I’m happy to share what I know.”

She linked arms with him. “I appreciate the distraction. Angel’s gone for a couple of days and it’s boring without him.”

“Where did he go?”

“He didn’t say. Mayor Marsha had a special project for him. Ford went along, too. He didn’t share details. I doubt it’s dangerous, but it’s possibly not legal.” She sighed. “He’s just so sexy.”

“Yeah, and could we not talk about that?”

Taryn laughed. “I’d accuse you of being jealous, but you have your own thing these days.” Her humor faded. She faced him. “Seriously, Sam, I had my reservations, knowing what you’d been through, but Dellina’s a sweet girl. Smart, funny, pretty. I know what you’ve been through. I know you don’t trust easily, but at some point you need to take a risk. I don’t want you old and alone.”

Two conversations about the same material in two days? What were the odds? Of course he knew his friends cared about him.

“Jack’s going to live over my garage if that happens. We’ll be bachelors together.”

Her violet-blue gaze never left his. “That’s not enough. I know what you want. You’re not going to be happy until you have a family and all the trappings that go with it. That will require you to believe in someone.”

He understood the words, but didn’t like being pushed. Sure, on the surface, all was well with Dellina. But what about the long-term? How could he know she wasn’t like all the others?

* * *

DELLINA GOT GLADYS out of the room, then returned to Sam’s side. Taryn waved and left.

“You did great,” Dellina told Sam. “Everyone was really impressed.”

“I was happy to help.”

He stared at her, as if seeing her the first time. She had the feeling he was looking for something, but she didn’t know what.

“You make numbers look sexy.”

He grinned. “Thanks. Then my work here is complete. Do you have time for lunch?”

“Sure.”

He took her hand in his and they walked out onto the sidewalk.

“Margaritaville?” he asked. “We could split nachos. You could get a salad and pretend it has no calories.”

Because she did that sometimes, she thought, nodding in agreement. “Sounds perfect.”

“Good.”

They headed toward the restaurant. Sam said something about the lecture. Nothing that required a response. Which was a good thing. Because out of the blue, with no warning at all, she knew.

Maybe she’d known for a while. Maybe she’d been hiding the truth from herself because, well, she wasn’t sure why. Or maybe she’d just figured it out this second.

She loved him. She loved his honor and sense of duty. She loved how he made her feel, how he protected those he cared about, and that even though stepping up in front of the town was his personal idea of hell, he would do it because the business lectures would help people. She loved that he was quiet and sexy and that he called when he said he was going to call. She loved how she felt when she was around him.

She loved Sam.

How totally ridiculous. She’d fallen for the one guy she knew who absolutely, positively, never, ever wanted to get involved in a serious relationship. Talk about stinky luck.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FAYRENE GLANCED ANXIOUSLY at the clock. Her guests were due to arrive at six. She’d just put in the bubbly feta and sweet pepper dip that she was going to serve as her appetizer, but they needed to be served immediately. Which meant if Montana and Simon Bradley were late, she was in trouble.

Exhaustion swept through her. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could do this. Convincing Ryan to propose had proved to be a lot more complicated than she’d realized. But she wasn’t going to give up. Tonight’s dinner guests were blissfully happy. Montana was also weeks away from giving birth. Fayrene hoped talk of babies and being in love would get the message across.

The back door opened and Ryan and Caramel came in.

“The barbecue is ready,” he said as he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the tray of marinated chicken pieces. Fayrene had gotten the recipe from Ana Raquel’s A Fool’s Gold Cookbook. The salad was ready, along with dessert. Ryan would grill corn with the chicken.