Jan_Irving_ _Sam's

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words and& me.
Joe Danvers, Sam Masterson, I d like you to meet my sister, Erin, Tall said.
Trevor s new friends. She smiled at me and Joe. She was shorter and sturdier than her
brother. Her gaze sharpened when she looked at me, so I was aware I was in the presence of
someone who would look out for Tall.
I held out my hand. Hey, your brother is pretty fantastic.
Her blonde hair swung as she bent closer; she had a nice grip as she accepted my hand-
shake, looking me in the eye with a familiar brand of frankness. He is. And he s been talking
about you.
I looked up at Tall to see some color had heated his cheeks.
Erin.
The charcoal suit is a nice color on you; it sets off your dark hair, Erin said, cocking her
head. Did you just get it?
I nodded, flushing myself. My nephew, Joe, here helped me. He s very fastidious. We d
had to visit four men s stores before Joe had been satisfied, but I d enjoyed taking him to the
mall rather than the hospital for a change.
Erin also shook Joe s hand, and then we all made some rather stilted small talk. I was
finding it hard to carry the ball when my gaze kept latching on to my date for the evening.
I m reading your first book, Erin said.
I blinked, and my hands tightened on the wheels of my chair. It was the last thing I d ex-
pected to hear from Tall s sister.
His book? Tall asked.
I found it, Erin said, pulling out a Kindle from her bag. It s called Dark Captive. From
what I ve read so far, it s about this farmer who s kidnapped and made into a slave by some
warlord dude. She raised her brows at me. You have some very contradictory reviews,
Sam.
Tall snatched it from her.
Hey! She glared at her brother.
His hands clenched on the reader. He didn t surrender it to her.
Well, since my brother is acting like a warlord himself, do you mind if I get a picture of the
three of you? Erin asked. I keep a diary online, and I always like to snap Trevor s men
friends.
Erin. Tall s eyes were a frigid blue as he chided his sister.
Men friends. I d known he d had them. As Erin raised her camera, I tried to shrug the
thought off, focusing on Tall standing next to me. We weren t touching, but I was very aware
of him. His coat really made his blond hair look& blonder. Joe huffed out an impatient sound; I
knew he hated getting his picture taken, but he allowed it probably those good manners that
Audra had drilled into the kid.
Your host tonight would love to date you, Trev, Erin said, obviously wanting to underline
to me just how popular her brother was.
Oh yeah? Who is that? I asked, rising to her bait.
Daniel Stevenson. Do you know him? Her eyes said she knew I didn t. He s the owner
of Troubadour Towers.
* * *
The coast is clear, I swear, Tall said when I showed up at his condo that evening at five
sharp. The place was a penthouse with a marble foyer and what looked like original art
hanging on the walls.
I rolled inside, conscious, as I hadn t been with him for a while, that I was in a chair.
But then he did his thing again, distracting me. You look& Oh, man. I guess you thought
it totally dorky when my sis snapped a picture of us, but I transferred it onto my phone after
we saw you.
Um. It was nice meeting her at last.
She behaved like a brat, but like she said, I ve been talking about you.
You don t do that with your men? I played with the arm of my chair, avoiding his eyes.
I don t have a male harem, Tall said. But I think Erin has probably always felt there was
safety in numbers.
I huffed out a breath. She doesn t want to share you.
She hasn t had to, Tall said. Until now.
I listened to the floor creaking under the slightly shifting weight of my wheels. The package
on my lap crackled, and I remembered what I d brought with me.
Okay, take it, I said, handing him my gift. And if the fugly thing dies before the holi-
days&
Tall reached out and took the sad little Santa tree I d bought him, along with one for Joe
and for Audra. Wow. It looks like some of my houseplants. I don t have a green thumb. He
studied my expression and cracked up. Don t worry, Sam, he added in an extra-gentle
voice.
I cleared my throat, feeling weird that I d brought him a gift. I d never done that for anyone
but Audra. Joe thought you d like it. But I hadn t been that hard to sell on the idea, even with
the kid teasing me.
I ll water it before we leave. Tall raised the little tree for a closer look. And, um, maybe
some fertilizer. I have some for orchids, so maybe that will work. Thank you.
As I followed him tentatively down the hallway, it was like we were doing some kind of ritu-
al where I paused, wanting to take in my surroundings not that I had words for all the blown
glass and vivid paintings and bowls placed at jutting angles so you had this urge to pick them
up.
He didn t speak, just let me take my time, but his gaze locked with mine at regular beats
so I could feel the electricity arcing between us.
He was waiting for me to touch him.
Have you slept with Daniel Stevenson? I blurted out a question I was fairly sure his polite
friends wouldn t ask him. But I needed to know.
I don t normally kiss and tell, Tall said, face a little cool.
Yeah, I m sure. You remind me of that clay bowl. I nodded to something white and so
finely made that the light came through it like a seashell.
Porcelain. His lips quirked. I m a little tougher than that.
I got that when we& I shrugged, suddenly weirdly shy, even though we d done it.
Tall put his hands in his pockets. No, I ve never slept with him.
I swallowed and said, very softly, I don t like the idea of him touching you.
Tall knelt by my chair easily, without so much as a knee cracking. Then he won t, he
said. I promise.
* * *
I ve been waiting all day to invite you in here, Tall said as I rolled into his bedroom. He
closed the door behind us, leaning against it. You took me so good, it s all I ve been able to
think about.
Yeah. I m not so sure I know who took who, I told him honestly. I feel like once you got
me alone, it was a done deal.
You re not like other men I ve dated.
Oh yeah? I wiped my damp palms on my trousers, feeling strange and stiff in my suit.
What are they like?
Bank presidents, financial consultants, floral designers. He nodded to white orchids with
some kind of painted rocks shoved in around them so they looked vaguely Japanese.
Right, I said blankly. I m barely keeping up with running a building and a yarn shop. And
I m not on this year s committee for the community garden.
He narrowed one eye. But you have something I haven t found with all those men, and
some of them were very nice, by the way.
I m sure.
You get into gear when someone needs your help. I can see that with Joe. I can see that
with the people in your building.
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to ease the tension from this conversation. I re-
membered where I d been only a few short weeks ago. What would he think of me if he knew
everything I d been reduced to? I m kind of like a lightbulb, I figure, I told him. In the right
place I shine. People needing me. That s what I did in the Marines.
Tall knelt beside my chair. I need you, he said. God, Sam.
Chapter Ten
Despite what Tall had promised, I still found Daniel Stevenson on my mind, the powerful
mover and shaker who had reached out into my neighborhood to build a condo on ground
made cheap by hard times. If this had been one of my novels, the guy would be the villain.
I almost rolled my eyes. Get a grip, Masterson.
What are you thinking? Tall prodded.
That I m a marine; that I have a can-do attitude.
Oh yeah? I think I saw that the first day we met, although you looked pretty uncomfort- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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