Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)(66)

Caramel yawned and settled more comfortably in Fayrene’s arms, then closed her eyes. Fayrene told herself to accept the blessings she already had. A career she loved with a business that was growing. A great guy who only wanted to make her happy. Family, a town that took care of her. She had everything. All that was missing was a ring on her finger. And the truth of that situation was, she only had herself to blame.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SAM FOLLOWED JACK into Taryn’s suite. Kenny was already there, opening a bottle of champagne. Taryn had kicked off her heels and was barefoot. She tucked her feet under her and accepted the first glass of champagne. Kenny handed them out to everyone else, then raised his in a toast.

“To a hell of a weekend,” he said. “Dellina pulled it off.”

“She sure did.” Jack winked at Sam. “To Dellina.”

Sam had no problem toasting the woman who had made the Score client weekend such a success. Thankfully he would have felt exactly the same this time yesterday, so there was no reason to worry that his pride in her achievement was in any way influenced by what they’d done together the previous night.

Taryn sipped. “Does anyone else think it’s strange we didn’t invite Dellina here to be celebrated in person?”

“I asked,” Kenny told her. “She’s debriefing the hotel staff, then will be going through all the guest rooms personally to make sure no one left anything behind. She’ll get the bell staff to load her car. After that, she said she plans to go home and sleep for three days. She told me she’s open to being celebrated on Wednesday.”

Sam listened attentively and did his best not to look guilty. Dellina had been working hard on the weekend and would have started the event already tired. But last night hadn’t helped her get any rest. They’d stayed awake until nearly two simply talking and touching. As if what they’d been through had required continued connection.

This morning he’d sensed her every time she was near him. Not in a possessive way—more because they’d shared something so unique, they could never be completely separate again.

Insanity, he told himself. And he had his mother to blame. Although her pressure points sure took things to the next sexual level. It was balance, he told himself. There was always the bad to counteract the good.

Everyone settled onto the sofa and chairs in Taryn’s suite. Conversation flowed.

Taryn glanced at him. “By the way, Sam, you’re giving a lecture on finances to the local business community.”

He was grateful he wasn’t swallowing. “What?”

“You helped Dellina. She mentioned it to a couple of her friends and they approached me. I said you’d love it.”

Jack toasted him. “Way to give back.”

Sam ignored that. His instinct was to say no. Or, hell, no. But then he remembered how he wanted to connect more with the community. He wasn’t like Jack or Kenny, but he understood finances.

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll do it.”

Kenny raised his eyebrows. “That’s a surprise.”

“I can’t help being brilliant, bro.”

Everyone laughed. He took another drink.

The champagne was good, but the company better. They didn’t have as many times like this anymore, Sam thought. The four of them together. He wasn’t sure why. Was it because Taryn had Angel? Was she the one who pulled them all together? Which meant if either of his friends ever fell for someone, they’d drift even further apart.

He glanced at Kenny. The other man had a thousand reasons to never trust his heart. Or maybe just one. The biggest one possible. Losing a woman was one thing, but to lose a child. And the way it had happened... Sam shook his head. His friend was one strong guy. He’d kept going and managed to fool nearly everyone into thinking he was fine.

Jack, on the other hand, never let anyone get close. There was always a wall around his heart. Sam knew why and respected his friend’s reasons. Some things were never going to be okay. Some burdens were too big to survive. Jack did the best he could and faked the rest of it.

Sam’s gaze shifted to his only female partner. A few months ago he would have been comfortable explaining why she was alone. Only she’d found the right guy and he’d never seen her happier. Watching Taryn in love made him long for what he’d always wanted. A wife. Family. A traditional lifestyle in a place he liked surrounded by good people.

Fool’s Gold offered that. He wasn’t fitting in as quickly as Jack and Kenny, but he was okay with that. He was more reserved with his feelings. He knew he was welcome here. But that was only a piece of what he wanted. There was also the matter of the wife and kids. Of trusting a woman enough to give her his heart.

For a second he thought of Dellina. From what he could tell, she was exactly who she seemed. Warm, loving, honest. She didn’t play games and she wasn’t out to win. She’d given up her own dreams to take care of her sisters. He liked her. A lot. She was smart and funny and when they were in bed...

He took a sip of champagne to hide his satisfied smile.

But there was more to love than sex. There was trust and he didn’t think he had it in him. Not yet. Not after what had happened. How was he supposed to believe that she wouldn’t turn into God knew who in a few weeks or years. He would never have guessed Simone would write a tell-all. Or that his demure, soft-spoken girlfriend would sleep with each of his best friends. Or that the girl he’d fallen for in college would stalk him, slash his tires and end up moving across the country to avoid him. With his luck with women, his next one true love was going to be a hermaphrodite.