Chapter 17
The knock on her door at 6:59 sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been nervous for a date. Perhaps because most of her dates in college consisted of the boys picking her up and taking her to the local bar for a few drinks and a burger. Not that she didn’t love a beer and a game of pool, but all of the boys she had gone out with acted exactly like what they were - boys. But opening up her front door, she was greeted by nothing but a man.
Sam stood before her carrying a bouquet of tulips (her favorite), looking every bit the powerful male. He wore all black, from his dress shirt down to his shoes, with a sport coat draped over his broad shoulders. He was clearly fresh from the shower, but had a bit more scruff than when she had kissed him the previous night. Her throat went dry and her pulse started to pound. When she looked into his bright green eyes, she only saw one thing. Hunger.
Without even thinking, she stepped towards him, placed her palm to his cheek and saw his eyes flutter closed instantly. Realizing the effect she had on him made her toes curl inside her high heels. Lifting up on her toes, she kissed him so softly, it felt like a whisper on his lips. She pulled away breathily. “Hi.”
“Hi. You look incredible.”
And holy shit. She did.
He let his eyes roam up and down her body as he took in the sight of her slowly. Starting from her white polished toes that were peeking out from the sparkly black heels that now put her petite frame a few inches closer to his face. Her skintight jeans hugged her in all the right places and left little to the imagination, and yet he still found himself imagining what those tan, naked legs would feel like wrapped around his body. She wore a tight black tank top that pushed her breasts up to be the star of the show. But Olivia was all class, and had paired it with a hot pink blazer that draped over her protectively, almost as if what was underneath was being saved just for Sam.
But the final piece of the look that made him groan underneath his breath was her hair. It hung down in its usual waves, but looked as if it had been roughly tousled thanks to a romp in the sheets. Just the thought of being the one to run his fingers through those golden waves as she lay naked beside him made him instantly stiffen. He had to physically shake his head to get the picture out of his mind before he decided to forgo dinner, push her against the door and kiss her until they ran out of air.
“Thank you. And thank you for the flowers. My favorite. You remembered,” she brought the flowers to her nose and smiled sweetly.
“Liv, I remember everything about you.”
Seeing her cheeks flush crimson, he extended his hand for her to take and led her down the steps to his truck. Sam opened the passenger door for her, meeting her eyes as she slipped into the front seat. A seductive heat trickled through her, her heart rate exploded as she watched Sam duck into the driver’s side in one fluid motion, his immediate presence creating a layer of thick, electric tension.
As Sam started the truck she studied his profile. His strong jaw, defined chin, his dark ebony hair almost touching the collar of his dress shirt sent a shiver down her spine. As Sam pulled onto the road that led into town, he bit down on his bottom lip in an unconscious sensual gesture. Every movement of his body seemed to exude masculinity without even trying, and she wondered what it would feel like to have that powerful body move against hers. Pushing her lust aside, she gave him a soft smile as they continued the drive into town.
They spent the drive to the restaurant in easy conversation, mostly Olivia filling him in on all the things she was juggling with the resort. But even as she was rattling off all of her responsibilities, she lit up anytime she talked about her work. She had wanted to run the resort for as long as Sam had known her, and if anyone could handle the responsibility, it was her. She had always been someone who once she put her mind to something, she would do her damndest to achieve it.
But perhaps her most special quality was the way she could see people. She had the uncanny ability to understand how a person was feeling, even if she had never felt that particular way herself. It was her way of making those around her feel accepted, as if who they were was enough. It was incredible to hear about how she was pouring that special part of herself into the resort and its guests, making them feel as if Keller Campground could be their home away from home, just as it had been for him in the past.
They pulled up to the old brick building with a blue awning. Sam cut the engine and exited the truck, walking around to the other side to help Olivia down from the tall cab. They strolled hand in hand into the restaurant, and it felt as if they had been on a multitude of dates together in their lifetime, the ease and comfort between them as easy as breathing.
Once they were seated and had ordered a bottle of wine, Olivia laughed under her breath as she placed her napkin in her lap.
“What?” Sam asked in response, raising his eyebrows innocently.
“I find it funny that you took me to the sushi restaurant in the middle of the forest. Which I most definitely scoffed at on the day you first invited me to lunch. Should I be afraid you’re trying to poison me?” Her eyes sparkled as she leaned her chin in her propped hand.
“Oh, I’m sure they get the freshest fish and it hasn’t been sitting back in the kitchen for at least a week,” he said sarcastically. “Don’t hold it against me, they had great Yelp reviews,” he mumbled under his breath.
Letting out a laugh she picked up her wine and took a long sip. “You looked up the Yelp reviews? Callahan, it’s me we”re talking about. I scarfed down a bag of cheetos for lunch today. I don’t have any standards when it comes to food.”
“It’s been so long since I’ve lived here, I wanted to make sure I took you somewhere nice.” She lifted her eyebrow in response as she set her wine glass down. “Besides, we’re long overdue for a proper date.”
“Yelp reviews and ‘proper dates.’ Sam Callahan, I’m getting a little worried you’re turning sophisticated on me. What happened to the boy who wore his backwards cap and ate a snack shack hot dog in the lifeguard tower every day?”
His eyes danced at the memory then suddenly turned serious as he reached for her hand across the table. “Liv. I’m still that guy. But there is a lot more to me now too. New parts of me that I hope you’ll come to admire and respect.”
Gripping his hand tighter, she leaned towards him. “Tell me.”
Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his wine, hoping it would loosen the knots he felt in his stomach. He was trying not to remind himself that he had spent years striving to be worthy of her, and spilling his guts to her about his life flat out terrified him. But the fear of him shedding his armor with the small chance she could accept the man he had become outweighed everything else. But if she didn’t accept him, he was pretty sure it would kill him.
Sensing his hesitancy, she gave his hand a squeeze as reassurance and encouraged him to continue. “Sam, I know I gave you shit when you first came back. But I hope you know that you can tell me anything.”
This made him smile to himself. She wouldn’t be Olivia if she didn’t put up a fight, and he was grateful for her small bit of levity in a conversation that held so much weight. But she was right, he always had been able to tell her anything, and she had always accepted him. He prayed this was no different.
“There is so much to tell you, but I think I want to start with where I’ve been the past few years.” He looked at her with eyes searching for approval.
“I would love to hear,” she sat back in her chair gracefully, her arms crossed over her chest, her wine glass gently grasped in hand. She looked so relaxed, it instantly put Sam at ease. The way she didn’t look at him with any expectations or judgment, but with pure interest and curiosity, made him remember the sweet ten year old girl who asked the lonely son of a jailbird to sit next to her in the lunchroom without a second thought.
“After I graduated, I did leave the day I turned eighteen, and I headed straight back here to you and the lodge. But after some unexpected circumstances, I had to make the impossible decision to turn around. After I did, I spent a couple days driving to nowhere, before stopping to crash at a hotel right outside Las Vegas. I wandered to a local restaurant and pub and ended up meeting Jensen. He commented that I looked like shit, and I told him I must look better than I felt. His uncle owned the place and he snuck me a beer, even though I was under age. He said he had never seen a man who needed to drown his sorrows in a bottle more than me. So after seven or eight, I lost count after four, Jensen and I decided to go into business together.”
Raising her eyebrow in interest, Olivia took a sip of her wine. “Let me guess, beer distributors?”
“Very funny. No, we actually decided to open a youth center for kids with troubled home lives.” At this admission, Olivia set her wine glass on the table and reached out for his hand.
Taking it and holding it tightly, he continued.
“Turns out, Jensen’s parents took off when he was four, dumped him at his uncles and never came back. You could say we bonded over beer and shitty parents. So after our buzz had turned into full blown intoxication, we decided we should open a safe place for kids to go to. To give them a place to be able to escape to rather than them having a place they had to escape from. It took us four years to get it up and running; loans, investors, licensing, permits, staffing, all that stuff. We’ve been open for the past six years and are now looking to expand and open more non-profit centers in other cities. Expand our reach.”
Olivia’s eyes hadn’t left Sam’s for the entirety of his admission. When he finally got the courage to look directly into them, the look she was giving him made his fingers curl into his palm in a tight fist. There were so many emotions swimming around in them; shock, acceptance, pride. Between what Ray had said to him earlier on the basketball court, and the look she was giving him now, Sam thought his heart might explode.
Finally letting go of the breath she was holding, she let out a low whistle. “Wow. Sam. I have to be honest with you, that was not what I was expecting. I have so many questions, and I want to hear all about it and the kids that come to you. I want to hear it all. But first, I have to tell you, so that you know. You are doing amazing work. Important work. I never had any doubt in you that you would.”
Sam felt as if she were holding his heart in her hands and was the one causing it to beat. “There is so much more I want to tell you. Not just about the center, but about everything else. The real reason I didn’t come back. I want to tell you everything,” he said, tightening the grip on their interlocked fingers.
“You will. We have nothing but time. But right now, I want to take you somewhere.” There was no mistaking the lust in her eyes and without a second of hesitation, he raised his hand to the nearest waiter.
“Check please.”