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He was grinning like a kid, hurrying toward me. He scooped me under his arm and swept me into a kiss.

When he let me go, he said four words I felt all the way down to my toes.

“Now you’re all mine.”





24





Facts and Figures





Sam

Val’s hand in mine was victory.

Her smile was my triumph.

Her lips against mine were my elation.

The light changed, and we crossed the street, Val’s arm around my waist. Our pace was not a patient one.

Two blocks.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked as we crossed the street.

“Anything.”

“When did you realize it? How you felt about me.”

“Five minutes before I got to the restaurant.”

A soft laugh.

“But you know something? I think I’ve always known. Since the very first day you subbed.”

She chuckled as we stepped onto the curb. “Me too. I wasn’t sure you even saw me.”

“You ran into a music stand and took down three more like a chain of dominoes. Really loud metal dominoes. Everyone in the pit saw you.”

She buried her face in my chest. “Oh God.”

I laughed, tightening my grip on her.

“Why me, Sam?” she asked quietly.

“Why not you?” I asked her back.

I swear I heard her roll her eyes. “I won’t state the obvious, but past all that…after all that time we spent together, you never made a move. I mean, I had to beg you to kiss me. You never told me how you felt.”

“Neither did you.”

She sighed, but she didn’t answer, and for a handful of footsteps, neither did I. I didn’t know how to explain.

“There are so many reasons why it’s you, Val. Almost too many to count. Your smile. Your honesty. The way you say exactly what you think when you think it. Your laugh. But more than anything, it’s how you make me feel. You make me want more than I have. You make me want to be more than I am.” I paused. “Did you know I have a rule?”

“What kind of rule?”

“I’ve never hooked up with anyone I worked with. It was just easier, cleaner, not to mix business with pleasure. You know how much drama there is in theater. This way, I could avoid any hard feelings. I never broke the rule. And then I met you.”

She didn’t say anything, just nuzzled closer.

“If we’d met anywhere else, I would have asked you out a long time ago. But I’m glad I didn’t.”

“You are?” Two disappointed syllables.

“I am. Because I wouldn’t have let myself get this close to you. And if I hadn’t gotten this close to you, I wouldn’t have understood what I was missing. I’ve never met someone I wanted to date. I’ve never met someone I had to have. The thought of you with Adam made me so crazy, I ran three blocks to bust it up before he could kiss you, just so I could kiss you myself. There wasn’t a choice to be made, Val. You and I have become a fact. We were long before tonight.”

One block.

“I’m just glad you didn’t say no,” I continued. “I don’t know what I would have done with myself if you had.” Phantom loss slipped over me. I pulled her closer to ward off the chill.

But she laughed, a happy, hearty sound. “Me? Say no? To you? That’s…” She burst out laughing again.

I smiled and kissed her curly crown of hair. “That’s how I feel about you. I just feel like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.”

I spotted the entrance to my building and picked up my pace.

“I’m glad you realized it at all.”

“Me too,” I admitted, my relief complete.

We hurried inside and up the stairs and into my apartment. I clicked on a light and dimmed it. The room was golden, as if it were bathed in candlelight. And in the center was Val.

Her chestnut hair spilled over her shoulders in wild curls, framing the shape of her face. It was a heart, her narrow chin and small mouth at the tip, up the soft curves of her cheeks and to her eyes, big and wide, dark and deep. She was sweet innocence, a diamond found in the dark. And with fierceness that washed over me like a wave, I knew I’d do anything to protect her, to shelter her. To keep her safe.

This chance I had was a gift. God knew I wasn’t enough.

You’re going to disappoint her.

Maybe, I answered that voice in my mind. I might not know what I’m doing, but I’ll be damned if I fail. I won’t fail.

Another surge of relief filled me from boot to breastbone. Because nothing could keep me down. Beyond all comprehension, I’d found a girl who made me so happy, I’d taken a risk I’d never considered before. And she wanted me, too. She’d said yes.

I’d gotten the girl.

She was mine.

And now I would claim her.



Val

One second, I was caught in his stare, lost. And before I could breathe, I was in his arms, the space between us gone. Our breath mingled, our lips a seam. His hands searching my face, my hair, my body, guiding my thigh up the length of his. Over my ass and under.

He picked me up like I was nothing, but he held me like I was everything.

My legs wound around his waist, and my arms hooked around his neck, our hips locked and our lips never parting as he carried me to his bedroom.