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Sam pulled into the driveway of a small fishing cabin his family owed near the water. When we were kids, we would spend hours at the house, away from everything. It’s was where we had our first kiss. Also, the same place we slept together for the first time. It was also the place he told me he loved me for the first time.
“Brad won’t be a problem any longer.”
I squared my shoulders and stared Sam down. “You can’t walk into my life and take over. I deserve answers, and as long as he’s out there, he’s a problem.”
Sam sighed. “He messed with a dangerous mob boss. I highly doubt he will live to see tomorrow. As for answers to why he did this to you, I honestly don’t know. There was nothing in the file about his motives.”
He flung open the door to his truck and strode around to yank my side open. He held out his hand, and I didn’t hesitate to take it. The man had broken my heart years ago, but I trusted him not to hurt me physically. Who wouldn’t trust the hometown hero who had just saved me from a mob boss and my ex? I took a deep breath and followed him down the trail.
When we reached the water, he dragged me over to a small bench. The trickle of the stream was peaceful. I used to love sitting by the water working on homework while Sam did a million pushups and sit-ups. His workouts always distracted me. “So, this is what someone does after they watch a mob boss kill someone?”
He tilted his head to the side and removed the dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. “I had a feeling the goons were working against Louis. Antonio had a plan to call the mob boss after the meeting. His plan was to hold them or take them to him. Neither of us expected he would be in town. I sure as hell didn’t expect him to kill two people in broad daylight. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
I shrugged, not sure what else to say. Part of me wanted to pull away and give Sam the cold shoulder, as he’d done to me for years, but my other half wanted to tell him what happened all those years ago.
“Now what? I don’t understand what we are doing here, Sam.”
He reached out and twined his fingers with mine. I didn’t stop him because his touch grounded me. “For years I’ve come here to think about what-ifs. I’ve made a lot of poor decisions in my life. Some led to great things, but I still wonder about what would have happened if I talked to you and forgave you.”
I tugged my hand, but Sam didn’t release his grip. I wished I’d called him the moment I woke up in blood years ago. For a long time, I’d wondered if that would have changed everything. “The problem is you don’t have the full story.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Are you going to tell it to me? I might not deserve it after all this time, but I would like to hear what happened.”
I wanted to take this opportunity to set the record straight, even if we couldn’t undo the damage, at least we would have closure.
“The day before I went to the clinic, I woke up covered in my own blood.” A shiver ran down my body. “I had a miscarriage, and the only doctor I knew was one my mom had gone to. I called her, and she told me to come to the clinic the next day. Angie drove me. I never told her why I was going. I was so embarrassed I had a miscarriage. Back then, women didn’t talk about how common they were. Having a baby at eighteen would have been hard, but it was even harder dealing with the fact I’d lost my baby, and then, two days later, I lost the one person I could count on.”
Sam stiffened, and I worried he would now be mad at me about the miscarriage, but the books I’d read later taught me it wasn’t uncommon, and many women dealt with the hardship. I tried to pull back, but Sam kept his arm around me. He pressed his lips to the side of my head. Neither of us spoke as we clung to each other. Tears fell from my eyes as I rested my head against his shoulder.
Sam cleared his throat. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“We can’t go back and change the past. I didn’t tell you this to make you upset. Who knows if we would have lasted with you heading to the military. We could have fallen out of love in a million different ways. Maybe now we know we can move forward as friends, at least.”
“Stay here,” he said, standing. He left me and jogged back down the trail.
Across the creek were a momma deer and her baby, who I watched as I waited. A few minutes later.
Sam rushed back, and the fawn took off. He stopped a foot away from me.
“Ivy, I believed Angie all those years ago. I’m not sure why I slept with her after basic training, but when she said she was pregnant, I married her out of obligation. I never loved her, and she didn’t love me. She loved the idea of me, and partially I think she was jealous of you, and I was something she won. None of that matters. As you said, we can’t change the past or how I acted. It hurts me to know you went through that alone, but we don’t have to go through the rest of our lives alone. This might sound completely crazy, but I love you, Ivy. I’ve watched you for years. When you came home married to Brad, I was jealous. Then I waited for the dust to settle from your divorce. I’ve made every excuse to come to the clinic. I was still mad, but I wanted you at the same time. Years ago, I told you we fit perfectly, and I wasn’t lying.” He dropped to one knee, and in his hand was a faded black box. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
He cracked the box open, and inside was a small white diamond with a gold band. I was speechless as I stared at the ring. I knew his mom had worn the same one. He’d told me it would be mine one day.
My tears made it hard to see his face, but his lips turned down, and he closed the box.
“I know I sprang this on you, and I understand if you don’t feel the same way. Just know, Ivy, you are the only woman who has ever held the key to my heart, and I’ll spend the rest of my days proving to you I’m worthy of you.”
I shook my head. “Happy tears. I love you too, Sam. You stunned me, and I didn’t know what to say. Marriage wasn’t something I thought I would ever consider again because you were the only man I ever loved. So the answer is yes.”
Sam wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his arms. I felt like I was in my thirties again as he pressed his lips to mine. His kiss was like coming home.
Sam slowly backed me up until I was pressed against a tree. His hard cock lay against my stomach, and I wanted to drop to my knees and wrap my mouth around him.
His phone rang in his pocket, pulling me from the intense kiss. I pushed at his chest until he pulled back.
“Your phone has gone off three times. Something could be wrong.” My thoughts went to my son. “And I need to get a hold of Benji. He could show up at the clinic, and it’s closed. I never close without telling him what’s going on.”
Sam placed a quick kiss on my lips. “Kat and Antonio are at the clinic. I spoke with Justin earlier. Everything else can wait because I want you now and not distracted.”
