Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)(91)

So much for expecting compliments. “Those sort of mean the same thing.”

“Yeah, which is my point. Get that stick out of your ass and go tell her you love her back. Marry her and make beautiful babies together.”

Was it as simple as that? Did he just decide to trust? Did he believe in Dellina because...because...

“I’m in love with her.”

Taryn rolled her eyes. “Hallelujah.”

He stared at her. “You knew?”

“Yes. I knew. You escaped to her house when your parents were in town. You were upset when you missed the cat rescue and you’ve never cared much about Larissa’s causes before. Dear God, Sam, you’re helping local businesses on purpose. It’s all Dellina.” She patted his cheek. “Don’t worry. Men are emotionally simple. You can’t help it.”

He grabbed her by her upper arms. “You don’t understand. She told me she loved me and I walked away. How do I make that right? How do I fix it?”

Taryn sighed. “Wow. That was really stupid. You’re going to have to go all out to make it up to her.”

“Is it fixable?”

She smiled. “Of course it is. Angel did the same thing to me and I forgave him. Dellina loves you, you idiot. She’s not going to lose you now. But we’re going to need a plan.”

* * *

DELLINA SMILED AS she walked through the crowd. Faking normalcy wasn’t too difficult. As long as she didn’t think about Sam or missing him or how they were never going to be together, she could fake it pretty well.

She’d decided to make an appearance at the Book Festival so that no one would suspect she was breaking on the inside. Two hours, she’d told herself. Just two hours. Then she would retreat to her small house and sit with her cats and wait for her heart to stop hurting so much.

She crossed the street and headed for the park. There were booths everywhere—as there were at most festivals. Usually she indulged in something yummy, but these days she couldn’t eat. Instead she concentrated on smiling and calling out greetings.

There were signs announcing various author signings all day today and tomorrow. She saw Larissa’s booth right by the park. The big adopt a cat sign made the purpose clear. For those from out of town, an application with references was required. Even so, there was a line of people interested in talking about adopting one of the rescue kitties.

Dellina figured she was going to have to make a decision about her two. If she was keeping them, she needed to let Larissa know. Otherwise, they would be whisked away.

She saw Taryn and waved. The other woman walked over to her.

“How’s it going?”

“Well,” Dellina lied. “I have an actual Saturday off. It’s exciting.”

“I’ll bet. Angel and I are going to have to decide what we want to do. I don’t know. A big wedding sounds like a pain in the ass.”

“Not if you let me handle it. Plus, think about the killer dress you could wear.”

Taryn grinned. “I do love a killer dress.” She glanced at her watch. “Come on. There’s going to be a band onstage.”

The stage in the park, Dellina thought, not really in the mood for music. “Thanks, but I need to be going.”

“No, you don’t. You’re coming with me.”

Taryn sounded serious.

“Okay. Just for a few minutes.” Because she could feel herself starting to fall apart. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of Taryn. The other woman would want to know why and Dellina didn’t want to tell her what had happened.

Taryn led the way to the stage and stopped right in front of it. “Wait here,” she said.

“Wait for what?”

“You’ll see.”

A couple of minutes later, Mayor Marsha walked onto the stage.

“Welcome to our annual Book Festival,” she said. “I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves. We have an amazing lineup of authors with us this year.”

People around them cheered.

“Good. Have a safe and happy weekend here in Fool’s Gold. In case you haven’t heard, we have a new town motto. The Destination for Romance. I have a few announcements before the afternoon program starts.”

She went on to talk about the cats and the adoption booth. How there was no parking inside the festival zone and that the evening concert would start promptly at seven.

Dellina turned to Taryn. “You said there was a band this afternoon.”

“Did I?” Taryn shrugged. “I must have been mistaken.”

“My name is Sam Ridge.”

Dellina spun back to face the stage and saw Sam had taken the microphone. Seeing him was the best and worst part of her day. She longed to feel his arms around her and, at the same time, wanted to run away and hide.

“What is he doing up there?” she asked.

“I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.”

“My business partners and I moved here last fall. We relocated our company, bought homes and settled into life here.” His dark gaze scanned the crowd, then he found her. “We made friends and some of us fell in love.”

What? Did he mean him or her? Was he talking about himself? She found herself inching forward.

“A few weeks ago I was talking to a woman who had a great boyfriend. She wanted him to propose but rather than tell him that, she was trying to subtly show him what he should do.”