Hers(11)

Opening the driver’s door she got in, shut it, and sat in the driver seat. She couldn’t even reach the pedals with the seat so far back.

Brock chuckled. “You’ll need to use the lever under the seat on the left hand side to push the seat forward.”

Turning to him she leaned over and kissed him. She gripped him tight and let herself go for a moment before she pulled away. “Thank you. I really appreciate this. I can’t believe you put plate holders on your new car.”

“It’s nothing, really.” He winked at her. “Come on. Stop stalling.”

Sammy grinned at him and turned back to the steering wheel and leaned forward and moved the seat forward.

****

Slater sat out the front of Sammy’s house waiting for her and Brock to get back from her driving lesson. He’d spoken to his parents this morning, and they were eager to meet Sammy. His brothers were even going to take time out of their busy schedules to attend a dinner. His older brother, Kayon, was a lawyer and a part owner of a huge shifter firm. His younger brother, Jordan, was a doctor, a family doctor. His father was head of the shifter council, and his mother called herself a professional spender. She was a great mother, nothing like Brock’s mother or Jake’s.

Brock’s black Commodore pulled into Sammy’s driveway. As soon as the car stopped Sammy got out and ran to his car. He opened the door, and Sammy squealed.

“Brock is so good. I just had an hour lesson. I drove a car for an hour.” Sammy bounced up and down.

Slater looked over at Brock. He looked ragged. Slater could see his eyes were flashing bear, and his hair looked messier than usual like he’d been running his hands through it or pulling it out. Brock was breathing deeply and clenching and unclenching his fists. Slater couldn’t help laughing as he hugged the excited Sammy.

“You okay?” Slater patted Brock on the back.

Brock shot a glare his way as he walked by with an excited Sammy. “Argh, yeah, but you can take her tomorrow.” He pulled Sammy from him and kissed her. “I’ve called Kegon to come pick me up. He’ll be here any minute. The Commodore can stay here.”

“You’re not going to come in?”

“No. Go have a late lunch with Slater. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sandy beamed up at Brock, and Slater thought that whatever Brock had just gone through would be worth the smile she was bestowing on him. Kegon’s car pulled up, and Brock got in, leaving Slater alone with Sammy.

Sammy waved Brock off then turned to him. “Let me go to the bathroom and freshen up, and then we’ll go out for lunch.”

“Sounds good.”

He walked in, and the first thing he noticed was the big picture of her and a woman who must be her mother as they looked so alike, and a photo of a younger Sammy with Susie, Jane, and Sandy. The photos hadn’t been there the last time he’d been into the house.

Slater studied the photo of the older woman and Sammy. He could see the love that shone from the woman’s eyes as she hugged her daughter. He stared at the picture of Sammy with her friends. She was laughing and had her arms around Jane and Susie. Sammy looked carefree. He wanted to see that look on her again.

“That’s a pic of a girls’ weekend we had away before my mum got sick.”

Slater turned to see Sammy with her hair in a braid and light makeup on. She had her handbag on her shoulder. “Are you ready to go?” he asked. “Do you have any idea where you want to go for lunch?”

“Yeah, I’m ready. I’d love to check out Glaser. I hear it good, and it’s one of yours, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. Are you sure you want to go?”

“Yes. Do you not want me to see one of your restaurants? Or do you not want to go to work?”

Slater stroked her cheek. “Of course I want you to see my restaurant. I just thought you might want to go somewhere different. Everyone is eager to meet you.”

Sammy beamed up at him and held his hand as she walked to the door. “Well let’s go see this restaurant everyone raves about.”

The drive to his restaurant was uneventful. Sammy talked about the driving lesson and everything they did. Slater told her he would be teaching her tomorrow. He walked through the front doors of his restaurant instead of the back employee entry he always took, so Sammy could get a look at his top restaurant.

Anna, his maître d’, greeted them with a smile. “Hi, boss. You like work so much you can’t stay away.”

“Hi, Anna, I’ve come to show my mate my restaurant.”

Sammy stood forward. “Hello, Anna. I’m Samantha.”

“Hello, Samantha. We are eager to meet you. Slater talks about you quite a lot.”