“No buts,” he said.
“Sam.” Smiling, she wound her arms around his neck and he guided her legs around his waist. “I’m not easy.”
“No shit.” He kissed her again.
“I’m also jaded.”
He kissed her again, still smiling. “Good thing I’m patient.”
“If you hurt me, I’ll castrate you.”
“Baby, if I hurt you, then I deserve it.”
Faith couldn’t resist kissing him again, and as their mouths came together, she felt buffered from the world, safe and special in the eye of a hurricane.
Chapter Ten
SAM AWOKE TUESDAY morning feeling like he could tackle anything, which was a good thing, considering the workload on his desk. He texted Faith, then spent the morning getting his arms around his work at Rough Riders. Feeling more in control of his life than he had in years, he made a solid dent in no time and then Skyped with Lira to bring her up to speed.
“The annual Rough Riders barbecue is a major event for us. Corporate sponsors provide equipment for our high-adventure tours. Sometimes they provide lodging, too, depending on where we’re going, with hopes that our clients will purchase their equipment in the future. We invite previous, current, and potential sponsors to the barbecue to secure their business. I guess it’s like wining and dining in the business world, but for outdoorsmen. We invite everyone. Just as we do with sponsors, we invite previous and current clients, as well as potential corporate clients we hope to reel in,” Sam explained. “It’s also a great opportunity for community building. So hopefully, if this all works out and you don’t quit before the event, you can come and meet the people you’ll be speaking with.”
“Oh, I’m not going to quit,” Lira said. “I’m excited to get started. But I have to admit, I didn’t realize there was such a big market for this type of thing in the corporate world.”
“Corporations are doing everything they can to keep their executives on board, and lavishing them with high-end adventures is quickly becoming a go-to bonus. We want Rough Riders to be the only company that comes to mind when they’re ready,” Sam explained. “You’ll be contacting previous and potential sponsors and clients who haven’t yet responded to the invitation to the event, as well as coordinating the mess of financial work I’ve left undone.”
Lira’s dark eyes widened with excitement. “I can’t wait to dive in. I looked over the documents you sent last night, and I’ve got a few good ideas of how to better organize the finances. I’ll put my thoughts on paper and send them over and get started on contacting people right away.”
“You sound as excited as I am to hand all this off.”
“I am. Thank you so much for this opportunity, Sam. And for allowing me to work from home for now. You can’t imagine how much this means to me. I won’t let you down.”
Based on her references, he had a feeling she was right.
After the call, Sam pushed away from his desk, thinking about Faith. She hadn’t responded to his text yet, but he knew she was probably focused on her patients, as she should be. Too keyed up to sit still, he headed outdoors and surveyed the crowd of twentysomethings who had appeared en mass over the last hour. There were already a dozen boats in the water, a typical summer afternoon at Rough Riders. Except for one detail. A week ago Sam would have been right in the thick of the bikini-wearing and crop-top-clad girls, eating up the attention they were currently lavishing on Tex. But his mind was immersed in thoughts of Faith. Her sweet voice, her enticing scent, and the trust she’d placed in his capable hands last night were all he could think about, and he wasn’t about to mess that up.
He stood on the sandy shore watching women fawn over Tex. They ran their fingers over Tex’s arms and shoulders, oohing and aahing over the colorful ink and throwing out flirtatious giggles like scraps of meat to a hungry bear. As Sam watched, he realized he wasn’t checking out their bodies or wondering which one he might see later at a club, as he might have before Faith had agreed to go out with him. He was cataloging the number of customers to the number of available boats. He continued watching with intense curiosity and disbelief at how quickly his mind-set had changed. Tex draped an arm over a blonde’s shoulder and nodded at Sam with a big-ass smile on his face, pulling him from his thoughts. Tex had come to Rough Riders on the heels of his own adventure company disbanding. He was used to these types of perks of the business and obviously enjoyed them.
Better you than me. The thought was so foreign, it gave Sam pause. Seconds later he thought it again, with more vehemence this time, and something inside him clicked into place, as if it hadn’t realized it was off-kilter until the thought jostled it free.
With a satisfied smile, he turned to check on Patrick, who was helping a group of teenagers into kayaks. He had been tall and lanky when Sam had hired him last summer, with a shock of blond hair and youthful, unshaven cheeks. The last year had manned him up. He wore his hair closely cropped on the sides, a little longer on top. He’d broadened and filled out, gaining a manlier shape, patchy whiskers, and a set of car keys. Sixteen.
At sixteen Sam had lost his virginity, fallen in lust, or infatuation, or both, with a girl in a neighboring town, and she’d broken his teenage heart. He rarely thought of that time of his life, but now that he was, he wondered if that breakup had more to do with the way he’d lived his life than he remembered.
“Dude.” Ty’s hand landed heavily on Sam’s shoulder, pulling him from the memory. At twenty-six, dressed in board shorts and no shirt, with his long dark hair falling over his eyes, Ty fit right in with those carefree, flirty girls—as he should—magnifying for Sam that at almost thirty-one, with a burgeoning business and one woman feeding his heart, he’d turned a corner and he was finally on the right path.
“Hey,” Sam said. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
“My stealth ninja skills.” Ty lifted his chin in the direction of the women dipping their toes in the water and giggling while Tex helped them with their life jackets. “Why aren’t you over there helping those lovely ladies into their life jackets? Every year they get hotter.”
Thinking of Faith, he said, “She sure does.”
“She?” Ty cocked a brow.
Sam headed toward the boathouse with Ty on his heels. He grabbed one end of a rowboat. “I’m seeing Faith. Grab the other side of this, will ya?”
They carried the boat out to the water, and as they headed back in, Ty said, “Seeing? Sammy, you’re going against Cole just to get laid? What’s wrong with you? He’ll have your ass the minute he gets home.”
Sam’s muscles corded tight at the way he referenced Faith. He picked up another rowboat and motioned for Ty to get the other end. “It’s not like that.”
“What’s not like that? Cole’s coming back next week, so if you’re making a move, you’d better be damn quick about it.”
They carried the boat out and set it by the water. The boats didn’t need to be moved, but Sam needed the distraction. He’d had an incredible night with Faith, and by some miracle she’d agreed to go out with him—only him. They’d hung out on the roof for hours, and after she left they’d texted until nearly one o’clock in the morning. Sam was up half the night thinking about her, and he’d woken up with her right there in the forefront of his mind again. In a few hours, which felt like a lifetime, he’d see her again. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about the guy who’d warned him away from her.
“Ty, I’m not out to get laid with Faith, so don’t say that again. I like her a hell of a lot, and you know what it means to hear me say that. I’m not going to fuck that up, much less let Cole fuck it up.”
His brother scrubbed a hand down his face and blinked a few times, as if he’d seen a ghost. “You’re serious? I mean Faith’s hot, but she’s not your usual type.”
“Dead serious, and exactly. She’s nothing like the girls I usually hook up with, because I’m not hooking up, Ty. I’m seeing only Faith, and I’ll deal with Cole when he gets back from his honeymoon.” Sam heard his name and looked over at the girls getting in the boats. He sort of recognized the brunette waving at him. He couldn’t remember her name, but he’d partied with her a time or two. He waved and turned his attention back to his brother.
“Anything else?” Sam crossed his arms, feeling edgy and protective of Faith.
Ty paced for a minute, shaking his head. “So you’re what? Out of the game completely? Sam, think about this. I’m sure Faith’s great, but how are you going to go from a different meal every night to the same one day after day? Aren’t you worried you’ll get bored?”
Sam clenched his teeth. “Bored? Hell no. I can’t explain it, but something happens when I’m with her. And when I’m not? Like right now? I’m carrying freaking boats around because I can’t sit still. I can’t wait to see her. When have I ever felt like that?”
“Never that I know of. Shit, Sam. First Nate, then Cole, now you? Y’all dropped like flies.”