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His attention was trapped on the puckered scar—it was the only blemish on her smooth olive skin. Without thinking, he lowered his lips and gently kissed the evidence of her survival, of what she had endured.
His lips touched the warm skin, and he heard her gasp. Slowing, he raised his head to look at her shocked face. Her green eyes held his, but she wasn’t upset or angry at what he had done; instead, her eyes showed surprise and something he couldn’t describe. Dropping her arm, he carefully took her jaw in his hands and brushed his lips across her cheek, murmuring, “The scars mean you’re alive. They only heal when you survive what you have endured.”
Her newly freed hands ran up his chest to rest on his beating heart. Gently, he rained kisses across her cheeks and her nose. His mouth was moving toward hers when a car honked nearby, causing them to both jump away from each other.
Once apart, Sam didn’t dare look over at Natalie because he knew he had gone too far. It seemed one touch would lead to another and another. Though she took his hand in hers to walk back to the car, neither spoke. Was she thinking about what would have happened if they had kissed? He was.
Back on the road, the conversation turned to the landscapes and the passing cars. He cursed himself for almost kissing her. What was he thinking? She almost got married yesterday. But only almost.
She finally looked over at him and asked, “What do your parents do?”
“My dad is a teacher also, and Mom stayed at home with us kids.”
“How many kids?” she asked in surprise.
“Three. My two brothers work together in real estate. Both are married with kids,” he told her.
“Where are you? Oldest? Youngest? What are their names?” She turned her body toward him.
“I’m the baby. They’re Seth and Steven,” he said with a smile.
“Your mom had a theme. I like that.”
Did she wish she had siblings? “Are you going to have a theme when you have kids?” he asked, wondering if his mom actually had a theme or just ended up with a theme.
“No, I’m not having kids.” Her voice went flat as she turned to look out the passenger window.
Reaching over, he took her hand in his. “You would be a great mom. You could teach them all your basketball moves.”
She laughed at his words and squeezed his hand. “It’s not that I don’t want them, Sam. I want to adopt one day.”
“The accident?” he asked, knowing her decision was based on that day. Most of her life either stopped or started on that day.
“Yes, too much internal stuff. I won’t go into the gory details, but it is close to impossible for me to get pregnant or stay that way. I have had to accept it, and I do. When I find that someone, I plan to start the adoption process right away.” He could tell by her answer that though she was sad at giving up her dream of not having her own kids, she was excited about raising a baby that needed a family, like her parents had.
Turning off the main road, he drove through the weaving road the led to his parent’s cabin. When he had called his mom this morning, they had been here, but she said they were leaving to go home today. As the trees gave way to the house, he saw that their car was still there. Of course, his mom wouldn’t leave if she knew he was bringing a woman here, even though he had explained they were just friends. That they were in no way dating.
“This is it. And my parents arestillhere.” He tried not to sound annoyed but knew he had failed.
She was looking out the windshield at his parents’ dream house and said, “I was envisioning something smaller. Wow, this is nice.”
The older couple had saved for years to afford the cabin, so it was big enough to host the entire family without it feeling crowded. In the daytime, it also had amazing views of the lake from floor-to-ceiling windows and decks.
“I know. They bought it about ten years ago.” Stopping the car, he got out and grabbed their suitcases out of the back end.
Just as Natalie was getting out stiffly—he could tell her back was bothering her again—his parents walked out the front door. He could tell just by looking at them that they were planning the wedding as he and Natalie had been driving here. They had been waiting for him to find someone, and they would latch on to anyone he brought around.
“Mom and Dad, this is Natalie Beckett. Natalie, these are my parents, Sue and Steve Sullivan.” He watched them shake hands, and then his mother gave Natalie a hug. Like a woman desperate for another daughter-in-law.
“I’m so glad Sammy brought you to visit us.” His mother, who was considered tall for a woman, was still a few inches shorter than Natalie. The older woman kept her arm around Natalie as she ushered her into the house. Not letting her go, as if when she did, the woman would disappear.
Steve watched them go, and when Sam got close enough, he said, “She’s exactly what you need, son.”
“Dad, you barely know her. And she almost got married yesterday,” he reminded him. His parents were not interested in facts, it seemed. Just a warm-blooded woman for him.
“Almost, Sam, almost. She didn’t get away.” Steve chuckled and slapped him on the back as they entered the cabin.
Sam took the suitcases to two of the spare rooms upstairs and went back down to save Natalie from his parents. Maybe he hadn’t brought home a woman in years, but was that any reason to smother the one he did bring home? If anything, it would make him not want to ever bring home anyone else.
