Just The Way You Are(45)

Tessa looked him straight in the eye, irritated by his defensiveness where Alli was concerned. He'd never been like this before. He'd always agreed with her on the subject of Alli. And now, with Alli kicking him out of his house, keeping him away from his daughter, his defense of her just didn't make sense.

"Why do you stick up for her, Sam?"

"Maybe because you seem intent on picking on her."

"Do you stand up for me when she rips me apart?"

Sam sighed. "I wish the two of you could figure out a way to get along."

"That's never going to happen." She took a breath. "Why are you doing this with us, Sam? Whose side are you on?"

"I'm here for your grandmother," he said sharply. "She asked me to help, and I owe that woman more than I could ever repay. As for sides, do we have to have sides?"

"We've always had sides. Since we were kids we had sides, and you used to be on mine."

"Looks like you already have someone on your side," he said pointedly. "Is Duggan your boyfriend?"

"He's a photographer. We have an assignment to do together. And you're avoiding my question. Why are you here, Sam? You could have made an excuse. Grams would have understood. She knows it's awkward for the three of us."

"She wants us to do this together, Tessa."

"I just don't understand what is going on with you and Alli. You say you're getting a divorce and yet you're with her every other second." Sam stared at her, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his dark sunglasses. "Well?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know—something. We used to be able to talk, to finish each other's sentences. Now it feels awkward all the time. I don't know who you are anymore."

"I don't know who you are either."

"Do you want to find out?" she challenged. Almost instantly she had second thoughts, but she couldn't take it back, wouldn't take it back. Ever since Alli had told her Sam was still in love with her, ever since she'd realized that if she was going to have a second chance with Sam in her life it would probably be now or never, Tessa had been unable to think of anything else.

"Why don't we spend some time together tomorrow?" she suggested.

Sam tipped his head in Jimmy's direction. "Your friend won't mind?"

"I'm asking you, not him. Jimmy came here on his own. I'm not planning my life around him. But if you don't want to…"

Sam hesitated for a long moment. "I want to," he said finally.

"Where?"

"Let's take that sail I promised you. If we go anywhere in town, we'll be the topic of conversation at every dinner table in Tucker's Landing. I'd rather be alone with you."#p#分页标题#e#

"A sail sounds perfect," she said, feeling an unexpected thrill run down her spine, another sign of a long-ago attraction that was starting to smolder again. She didn't know if she should throw a log on the flames or try to douse the sparks before they caught fire. Loving Sam could hurt. She knew that firsthand. And she certainly didn't want to go through that pain again.

Tessa looked over at Alli and wondered if the connection between Alli and Sam was truly broken. Before she could ask, the boat came to a halt at the far end of the bay, next to a long line of black buoys. In between the buoys oysters hung in bags off the lines that held them less then two feet under the surface of the water. Tessa moved to one side so Timothy O'Meara could pull up one of the yellow nylon lines.

"How come they're so shallow?" Jimmy asked her, drawing away from Alli for the first time since they'd boarded the boat.

"The oysters grow faster in warmer water," Tessa replied. "Plus, they can access the oysters at any time of the day. At some of the other oyster farms, you have to wait until low tide to wade in and scoop them off the bottom."

"Are we going to do that, too?"

"Depends on whether or not you're feeling lucky today."

He flashed her his patented smile. "I'm always feeling lucky, babe."

"Then it's a good thing we brought you along."

"Really? I thought you'd forgotten all about me," he murmured. "You seemed in rather deep conversation with Sam."

"We have some things to work out," she said evasively.

"I'll bet."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing," he said innocently. "But…" His smile disappeared. "I hope you work it out."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you care?"

"Because something has been holding you back all these years, and I think I just figured out what, or should I say who, it was."