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“Sit. Everything’s ready.”
She turned back to the stove, busying herself with plating the food, anything to keep her hands from touching the smooth skin of his abs or the tail of the sexy snake tattoo winding around his hips, then mysteriously disappearing into his low-slung jeans.
Lisbeth placed the plate in front of him, then filled two cups with coffee. She added cream to hers but left his black. Funny, little things like knowing how he liked his coffee stayed with her.
She sat opposite Samson at the table and sipped her coffee—heavenly and just what she needed to fortify her after a mere hour of sleep and the day that lay ahead.
“You’re not eating?” He bit off a piece of bacon, and how he made that look seductive wasn’t fair.
“I’m good.” Even under ideal circumstances, Lisbeth’s stomach betrayed her, so having this sinfully forbidden man sitting across her small bistro table gazing into her eyes, the best her tension-filled, churning stomach could handle was coffee.
“You always made the best coffee.” He nodded to his cup. “And you remembered I like it black.”
“As I said last night, some things are hard to forget.”
“Like your little apartment over that pizzeria. The whole place smelled of tomato sauce and pepperoni.”
“Could be worse. Although it did make me constantly crave pizza.” She laughed at the memory. “Remember how small it was? They called it a studio, but it was more like a broom closet with a bathroom.”
“All you could fit was a twin bed pushed up against the wall. I fell out on my ass more times than I want to remember.”
“One time, we fell out with me on top of you.”
Samson reached across the table and covered her hand. “We had some good memories.”
She smiled at him over her coffee cup. “We did.” She drew in a deep breath. “You always gave me confidence. Made me believe I could do whatever I wanted.”
“You’d close down sometimes and were hard to read, but deep down, you always had confidence but just didn’t know it.”
“I always admired you for never prying or asking hard questions.”
“I always sensed there was something different about you. You still had a sweetness like life hadn’t toughened you up.”
“More like life took me by surprise.”
“Hmmm, interesting. I’d been living rough on the streets for a while, and you weren’t that person, but I figured you’d tell me whatever was bugging you when you were ready. Then it all fell to shit, and I did what I thought was best for you even though it gutted me.”
“I see that now, but I think it’s important you know about my demons, too, especially if we want to move forward.”
“Babe, I’ll move in any direction you want as long as we’re together.”
Lisbeth waited for a few heartbeats to gather her emotional strength, then squared her shoulders. “After my father lost his umpteenth job and our house, reality hit me in the face. College wasn’t an option, and I had no skills, job experience, or money.”
Samson pulled a goofy face. “Why else would a girl like you end up at a dump like the Oasis.”
“I guess you could say I ran away from home. My mother went to live with her sister but was still in denial and making excuses for my father. I just wanted to get far away from Connecticut and any reminder of that life.” She drew a deep breath to prepare herself for her next revelation, a secret she’d kept from him and even Edward, only confiding in Evelyn once during a particularly low period.
As if sensing her conflict, he gripped her hand tighter. “You know, you can tell me anything.”
“My parents kept me in the dark for most of my growing-up years. My mother called my father a free spirit who couldn’t be locked into a nine-to-five job. I thought we had a fairytale life, but as I got older, I saw how he’d be gone for days, then return talking about a new get-rich-quick scheme, a sure thing, or the next big investment. Shortly after they lost the house, my father . . . my father committed suicide.” She mashed her lips together as the familiar surge of emotion engulfed her. It'd been over ten years, yet saying the words out loud still paralyzed her.
“Ahhh, babe.” Samson pushed out of his chair and drew her into his arms. “I’m so sorry.” He tilted her chin with his forefinger. “You were fighting your own demons, and I had no idea.” He stroked her hair, and she melted into the embrace of his strong arms.
“It’s not your fault. I wasn’t strong enough to talk about it at the time, and whether you knew it or not, being with you and working at the Oasis was a wonderful escape.”
“Until I acted like a bastard and pulled it all out from under you.”
“I’m not going to deny that what you did hurt like hell, but it also motivated me to move across the country and open a business that gives me so much joy.”
