Heaven and Hell (Heaven and Hell #1)(79)

“You’re standin’ on a sidewalk goin’ at it, girl,” she returned and I blinked.

Oh God.

Oh shit!

Tilda had followed us and taken pictures!

What a stalker bitch!

Shit! Sam was going to be pissed!

“Uh…”

“And then there are others, you two sittin’ at a table, all cozy, him way up in your space,” I heard the mouse button clicking in the background, “you got your elbow on the table and you are way up in his space right back. Holy crap. Holy shit. I cannot believe my eyes.” More clicks. “Ohmigod!” she shouted. “He’s smiling at you in this one! Ohmigod! I’m going to have an orgasm just looking at it.”

“Paula –”

“Holy crap.”

“Paula –”

“Holy freaking shit.”

“Paula!” I shouted.

“What?” she shouted back.

“How many pictures are there?” I asked.

“Like, about, two dozen.”

Oh my God.

She went on, “Most of them are you and him sitting at a table talking or drinking wine but others are of you at the same table, snuggled close talking and not drinking wine then there are three of you going at it on the sidewalk.”

Apparently, Tilda had been taking pictures of us not only after her husband came to chat but before then after Sam had given her her picture with him.

What a greedy cow. Sam had taken his time to be cool and she’d followed us.

“That greedy cow,” I griped, totally pissed and also totally forgetting Paula was just learning this mind-boggling news. “Sam was so cool with her, taking a photo with her and her husband for their son and then she followed us, took our picture while we were necking and posted them for all the world to see.”

“Uh… babe,” Paula put in, “you wanna tell me how in the hell you’re necking at all with Sampson Cooper?”

“I told you, we met and hooked up. He’s here now with me, in Crete. And he’s not Sampson Cooper, he’s Sam.”

Silence (finally).

Then, softly, “He’s there with you now?”

“Yeah.”

Then, sounding hurt, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Oh man.

“Paula –”

“I find out on a gossip site. What’s that about?”

“I… well, honey,” I sucked in breath then I let it out and explained, “Things, in Lake Como, I… I met him and he likes me, sweetie, like, a lot and just when we met, things started to hit me, things I couldn’t push to the back of my mind anymore and, well, they started to come out and he was there and he’s…” my voice dipped, “he’s amazing, Paula, everything you can imagine Sampson Cooper to be, Sam is better. He’s been wonderful to me.”

Another moment of silence then, “Have you slept with him?”

Oh man.

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Ohmigod,” she breathed.

“Paula –”

“Is he good?” she asked.

“I… you know, I’d rather not talk about that. For Sam. He’s… women in his past… well, that’s between Sam and me, okay?”

“He’s good,” she whispered her correct guess.

I changed the subject.

“He’s coming home with me, we’re going to deal with stuff, get Memphis then I’m going to North Carolina with him.”

“Ohmigod.”

I made no response.

Then Paula said, “He’s into you.”

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“Like, a lot.”

My belly started to get warm and I whispered, “Yeah.”

“Ohmigod, this is so… cool.”

I grinned. “Oh yeah.”

“Wow. I cannot wait to meet him. This is so cool. Rudy is already stinking flipping. I’m still at home, I showed him the pictures. He loves Coop. You know that. And Teri is gonna fah-REEK!”

“Yeah, I know and Paula, I’m going to call her and Missy just now but, just to say, I’ll be home soon, with Sam, and you guys all have to be cool about that. He is who he is to the world but he’s something else in real life and this is real life, not TV, not the internet and you all have to be cool.”

“I can be cool,” she assured me.

“No freaking out. No asking for autographs. No asking for photos. This is just Sam.”

“I can do just Sam. So can Rudy.”

We would see.

“Okay,” I said.

A pause then, “You’re happy.”

Outside the hit called on me, absolutely.

I didn’t say this; I just said a soft, “Yeah.”

“Oh honey, babe, oh God,” I heard tears in her voice, “oh my God, I love this for you. I love it. I told you your luck had changed.”

She was right and wrong about that, both in big ways.

She let out a sobbing hiccough.

“Paula, sweetie,” I whispered.

“I love this for you. I love this for you,” she said through her tears.

“And I just love you,” I replied.

Another sobbing hiccough.