Chapter 38 Sam
SAM
From the shadows of the house, I round the hedge from Olivia’s driveway, and our eyes lock. For a moment, neither of us moves with Pete stuck between us just feet from the first step to the porch. The wind shifts, cold and clean.
At first, when I arrived from walking to the nearby grocery store, I’d meant to make my presence known, to clear my throat or maybe call her name. But as she started talking to Pete, I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t interrupt. I needed to hear her. And what I heard silenced every damn doubt that’s haunted me since that afternoon in her driveway when I’d nearly drove myself mad, wondering where the hell she was.
Her words—calm, certain, final—wash through me like a balm, easing the raw ache I didn’t even realize I’d been carrying.
She’s over him. Truly over him.
Even though she’d left Pete, demanded the divorce, first his text months ago and then the whole mess with Erin had cracked something in me. I’d wondered if maybe she’d filed for the wrong reasons—out of anger, out of hope that it would wake him up, that maybe he’d fight for her.
But listening to her now, I know. She’s done.
Pete spins on his heel, readying to leave, and stops short. His eyes are glassy, his shoulders slumped. For a second, we just stand there, two men bound by the same truth.
We both love Olivia.
He looks at me then, really looks. The pain scored into his features is unmistakable, yet there’s something else—acceptance.
“Sam, take care of her.” His words hang heavy in the cold air. There’s no bitterness in them, no fight left, just honesty. “Olivia is the best person I’ve ever met—the most amazing woman on the face of this earth. I fucked up. Don’t make my mistake.”
The raw vulnerability in his voice, the quiet resignation, cuts through me. For a long moment, I just nod. He’s not wrong. The weight of what he’s saying sinks deep.
“I won’t. And I couldn’t agree with you more. She is the best. Something rare. Something I don’t ever intend to lose. I’ll take care of her, every day.”
He studies me, his jaw tight, then gives a small nod, an unspoken truce between two men who have both loved and lost her in their own ways.
As he turns to go, I spin away from the porch to watch him leave. His faint footsteps echo down the drive until his engine starts and he’s gone.
I exhale slowly, gripping the grocery bags tighter, grounding myself in the simplicity of the act. Then I turn toward the house, toward her, still standing just in front of the door.
The porch light catches in her hair, and when she meets my gaze, everything in me settles. The chaos, the worry, the fucking insecurity. All of it.
She’s standing there waiting.
For me.
And this time, I don’t hesitate.
I go to her.
Olivia’s hands are clasped tight in front of her, and her teeth worry her bottom lip. She gives me a small, uncertain smile, soft and trembling at the edges, the kind that makes my chest ache.
As I climb the porch steps toward her, her gaze never leaves mine. Each tread closes the distance, and by the time I stop, two steps below, level with her, my pulse is hammering.
God, she’s beautiful.
Raw. Real. Mine.
Last night feels like a lifetime ago. Holding her while she slept, her body curved into mine, I should’ve said everything then, but I couldn’t.
We weren’t alone. Alec and Paige were there and the moment wasn’t right. Maybe I was afraid too. Afraid she still hadn’t figured out what she wanted. Afraid to push her and lose what we had.
But listening to her tell Pete she’d moved on, that she’d found someone else she loved…
I don’t need to question it anymore. I know. She’s here. With me.
I set the grocery bags down on the porch, my hands suddenly too restless to hold anything but her.
“You know what I realized?” My voice comes out low, rough, thick with everything I’ve been holding back.
She shakes her head, eyes wide, breath caught in her throat.
“When I’m not with you, everything hurts. Especially my heart. It sounds cheesy as hell, but it’s true. It’s the only way I can explain it.”
Her lips part, and her eyes shimmer in the porch light. “I know.”
Her fingers—cold from the night air—brush over my mouth, a fleeting touch that undoes me.
“Sam, I’ve been such an idiot.” Her voice quivers.
“I love you so much, and I should have told you long ago. I have no excuse other than I was scared—not of you or us, but of me. Of losing myself again. But I realize now…you and I aren’t Olivia and Pete.
We never were. You’re different. You make me different.
Every day, you make me a better person than I was the day before. ”
Something inside me fractures and reforms all at once. The last of the doubt, the lingering ache, the worry, they all fade under the weight of her words.
I step up the final two stairs, cupping her face in my palms. “I love you too.” My forehead presses against hers. “And I swear to you, Liv, you’ll never lose yourself with me. You’ll only ever find more of who you already are.”
Unable to leave it at that, I need her to know it all, to feel it.
“And we may be in different cities right now,”—I brush a loose strand of hair from her face—“but you know what? My career, my restaurants, they’re important, yeah.
Though none of it means a damn thing without you and your kids.
If I don’t have you, none of it matters.
My grandparents, Bas, Alec, they taught me that family’s everything.
It’s the only thing that counts. And, Olivia…
” I swallow, the emotion thick in my throat. “You are my family.”
Her eyes glisten, her lips trembling with a smile that hits me like sunrise. “And you’re mine.”
Her breath catches as I kiss her, slow and deep, the kind of kiss that says everything. The kind that seals a promise.
Her hands slide up into my hair, pulling me closer, and when I break away, it’s only to look at her, really look at her. The woman who’s seen me through grief, who’s given me a second chance at something I didn’t think I’d ever have again.
Then she kisses me, slow and deep, and every thought I had about restraint goes out the window. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I grip her tighter, losing myself in her warmth.
She rocks against me, her heat searing through the thin layers between us. My hands slide down, cupping the perfect curve of her ass, pulling her closer, needing her closer.
“Fuck,” I groan into her mouth, barely managing to form the words, “Alec and Paige are inside waiting for me to make dinner.”
She pulls back slightly, her forehead resting against mine, her breath shaky. Her lashes lift, revealing eyes dark and molten with desire. “When are they expecting you back?”
“Soon.” I catch her bottom lip between my teeth. “But I could be…another twenty minutes or so.”
Her grin is wicked, her gaze darting to the side door. “How do you feel about the garage? It’ll be chilly, but I bet I could warm you up real quick.”
My cock twitches and lengthens at her seductive grin. “I thought you’d never ask.”
She pulls me into the dark, cold space, and the moment the door shuts, she lunges at me.
We’re all lips, teeth, tongues, arms, and legs as I pull her pants down and bend her over the workbench.
Her luscious ass is up and out for me, begging to be palmed and squeezed as I ram my cock hard and deep into her.
Livvy’s on the pill, and I’m clear. We’ve already had the talk, but fuck, to be honest, I would be over the moon if I knocked her up.
We haven’t talked about kids, and it’s not a deal-breaker for me, but this woman is my everything. The love of my life. My heart and soul. If I could add mother of my children to that list, I’d crow like a cock.
By the dim light, I watch my dick move in and out of her sweet pussy, her beautiful ass matching my rhythm. Bending over her, I roll her taut nipple with my thumb and forefinger through the fabric of her clothes, gently tugging as my other hand mercilessly rubs her clit.
She struggles to keep her whimpers quiet, and as much as I love having her come apart, it’s best to keep this on the down low. The last thing we need is Alec or Paige coming out to investigate the noise.
Talk about a serious mood killer.
She clenches and spasms around my cock, climaxing, and my release is upon me. My body tenses, every nerve ending alive. My orgasm rips through me at the same time Olivia wails my name. Fortunately, I have enough mental function to clamp my hand over her mouth before anyone hears her.
We cling to each other, her body pressed against mine, and I revel in how good it is to have her in my arms. She bestows heavy, languid kisses on me, and we murmur words of love and promises of a future.
“Sam.” Paige shifts on the sofa.
“Hmm,” I answer absently, eyes glued to my laptop screen, scrolling through the documents Bas’s lawyer emailed earlier.
We’d waited to read the will—too long, probably—but neither Alec nor I had been ready. Not ready to face the finality of it. The quiet permanence of knowing Bas was really gone. But last week, something shifted. Maybe time did what it always does—forced us forward.
When we finally sat in that lawyer’s office, I expected the usual—a few keepsakes, maybe a shared inheritance with Alec. Instead, I learned that with the exception of the house Bas and Alec shared, he’d left everything to me.
Everything.
I stared at the papers, stunned and confused, words blurring on the page as I protested. Alec had simply placed a hand on my shoulder, steady and calm, telling me he’d known all along. That it was exactly what Bas wanted.
“I don’t need things to remember him,” Alec had said quietly. “I carry him with me every day. He wanted you to have this, to keep building, to keep living.” His voice had cracked on that last word, and I’d understood.
Now, as I reread the letter Bas had tucked in with the will—his scrawl, bold and uneven, still so familiar—the same gut punch of gratitude and grief hits me. His gift didn’t just change my life; it freed me.
Because of him, I no longer need an investor. No more silent partners, no more compromise. Thibault’s out. Bas gave me the means to build my dream my way, and I can already picture the smile he’d flash hearing me say it.
That’s the good news I’d shared with Olivia last night, once the house had gone quiet, Paige tucked into bed, Alec asleep in the guest room. Her eyes had filled with pride and something else—love, I think. The kind that settles deep in your bones.
“I like you.” Her small voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
Looking up, I find Paige curled under a blanket, her face scrunched in a frown that doesn’t match her words. Her eyes—dark and deep like her mother’s—are clouded with worry.
I close my laptop and set it aside. “I like you too. What’s up?”
Her gaze drops to the frayed edge of the blanket. “I just wanted you to know that,” she says softly. “You make my mom happy. Really happy. Happier than I’ve ever seen her and…” Her voice breaks.
Before I can think, I’m off the chair and next to her, gingerly pulling her into a hug. She’s so small, her frame light as air in my arms. I perch awkwardly on the edge of the couch, gently holding her.
“Hey, I love hearing that. I want to make your mom happy, and you and Drew too. What’s got you so serious? You want me to make her miserable for a while? I can probably pull that off.”
She lets out a laugh through her sniffles, her face brightening. “Nah, I do a pretty good job of that on my own.”
“True.” This earns another giggle.
Her expression softens again, thoughtful. “I thought my dad was supposed to make her happy. I thought he did…but now I see he didn’t. Maybe he did before, but not anymore.”
Pain flickers in her eyes, the kind that’s too heavy for someone her age.
“I’m sure he did at one point.” The words are hard to say, but they’re true. “Your dad gave her you and Drew, and that makes her fucking happier than anything.”
She sniffles again, trying to smile. I reach out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Also,” I add, lowering my voice conspiratorially, “if your mom heard me swearing like this, she’d have my balls. Let’s keep that between us, yeah?”
She bursts into laughter, wiping her eyes. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Good.” I grin.
“Thanks, Sam… I guess I just didn’t understand why my mom left my dad.”
She hesitates, glancing toward the doorway, and I follow her gaze.
Olivia stands there, quiet and still, leaning against the frame. Her eyes glisten in the soft light, love and ache written all over her face. Paige takes a breath, then continues, her words meant for both of us now.
“I love my dad. I was afraid she’d move on.
Not just from him, but from us too. That she’d…
forget us somehow. But she didn’t. She won’t.
She loves us, and we’re part of her life, no matter what.
Even after meeting you.” Her voice trembles, but she finishes strong.
“She brought you into our lives. She didn’t leave us for you. ”
The tears come then, fast and unguarded. Olivia crosses the room in seconds, nearly tripping over the edge of the rug as she rushes to her daughter. She doesn’t hesitate, just sits right on my lap, wrapping her arms around Paige and holding her close.
I slide mine around both of them, pressing my chin against Olivia’s shoulder, the three of us tangled together in a messy, perfect knot of love and forgiveness.
My chest swells, full to the brim with something that might just be peace.
This—right here—is everything Bas ever tried to teach me.
Family.
Love.
Home.
And somehow, without realizing it, I’ve found all three.