We dance for a few more seconds, then he drops his forehead to mine and sings softly, “I don’t want you to go, so I’ll just keep on talking slow.”
“Sam.” I blink back tears that mix with the rain falling on my cheeks.
He wipes my face and says, “I used to listen to this when you were gone. It always made me think of you.” He rubs his thumb over my cheek and gazes at me through the rain that’s dripping from my hair and T-shirt. “You’re so beautiful like this.” He smiles and brings my chin up to his. “I love you.” He kisses me softly.
“You know, for somebody who beats people up for a living, you’re pretty sweet. And sensitive.”
“Shhh…don’t tell anyone.”
I smile and reach for the bottom of my T-shirt, and pull it off over my head.
Sam watches me take off my bra and panties with a satisfied smile on his face.
I throw them on the ground and wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my naked, wet body to his. I kiss him again and savor the feeling of his wide hands on my back and bottom. I drop down off my tiptoes and put my hands on my hips. “Well, come on, champ, it’s your turn.”
He grins and tugs his wet T-shirt off, then he pushes his shorts down while I watch. He stands beside me facing the pool and reaches for my hand. “Come on,” he says excitedly, and we jump into the warm water and sink beneath the quiet surface.
“Okay,” I say when we resurface, catching my breath. “There might be something to this.” I kiss him and we sink back down into the quiet water below, where there’s only us, tangled together. No noise, no worry…just peace.
I may never resurface again.
* * *
I lie back in one of the open cabana beds by the pool, gazing up at the twinkling stars that are shining in the dark, indigo sky—one of my favorite things to do here at night.
Sam joins me with a bottle of white wine, two long-stemmed glasses, and a smile. “Thought we should celebrate our last night here.” He sits down beside me and pours me a glass.
“How is it possible that three weeks have gone by already?” I ask, taking the glass from him. I sip the cool, crisp wine and a soft breeze raises goose bumps on my arms. “I’ve finally acclimated to the humidity and now we have to leave,” I pout, rubbing my arms.
“If we could stay here like this forever, I would.” He holds his glass up to mine and says, “Here’s to the most incredible three weeks of my life.”
“Mine too,” I say, clinking my glass with his.
He takes a sip and presses his wine-soaked lips to mine, and I try to etch the moment to memory—the warm, breezy air, the twinkling stars, the glow of the house, the rustling of the palm trees blowing against the night sky, the waves crashing on the salty shore in the distance, and Sam’s full, sweet lips pressed against mine.
He leans back against the pillows beside me and looks up at the sky I’ve been memorizing for the last twenty nights. “I just got off the phone with Miles.”
“Is he lost without you?”
He laughs and nods. “As soon as the doctor clears me, I’ve got to start training again.”
“I figured you would.”
“All this down time’s got me out of shape.”
I raise an eyebrow and glance at his very muscular arms.
“Seriously, I’m going to have to put in a lot of time with Tristan when we get back to get ready for the match in LA next month.”
“LA?”
He nods and looks at me with a hint of hesitance in his eyes. “I know it’s soon, but I really want you to go.”
I lower my wineglass and reach for his hand. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.” Especially after what happened in Quebec. It’s going to be hard to watch him fight, taking hits like he did with Beau Ackerman, but it would be agony to watch on TV, not knowing if he was okay.
He smiles and I kiss his hand, grateful that he’s back to good health now.
“I’m going to be pretty busy too,” I say, thinking about everything that’s waiting for me back home. “Sebastian’s been doing what he does best, but I still have a lot of loose ends to tie up at the studio.”
“Does one of them happened to be named Drew?”
A rock lands in the middle of my stomach, and I instantly grow angry at it for interrupting my last night in paradise with Sam. I may have made mistakes, but I ended things with Drew the right way. So why do I still feel so shitty about it? I make a mental note to take this up with Sebastian when I get back.
I sigh. “Yes, Drew. He still owns the studio.” I sip my wine and gaze up at the endless sea of stars above us. “I’m just grateful he hasn’t kicked us out yet. At least not as of yesterday when I talked to Sebastian. He’s been trying to get hold of Drew, but Drew hasn’t returned any of his calls. And he said he’s too scared to call Janice.” I laugh, but the truth is, I don’t blame him.
“Ah, she didn’t seem very scary to me.”
“Yes, well, she was quite smitten with you, but that was before you stole her future daughter-in-law.”
“I’m pretty sure you left willingly.”
“Even worse.” I sigh and say honestly, “I care about Janice. She was like a mother to me for the last couple of years. It’s weird to suddenly not have any contact with her.”
“Well, maybe you should try to call her,” he says, sipping his wine, and I can’t tell if he really wants me to or if he’s just trying to be supportive.
I look at him and admit, “I did call her, before we left Quebec.”
He raises his eyebrows curiously. “What did she say?”
“She didn’t answer. So I left her message to let her know where I’d be for the next few weeks. I just didn’t want her to worry,” I explain.
He nods, but I see the concern in his eyes. “No one is supposed to know we’re here, Luc.”
“She would never tell anyone. Besides, I only said we’d be in the Bahamas, I didn’t say where.”
“Did she ever call you back?”
“No. I’ve texted her a few times, but I think she’s pretty upset with me. I need to go see her when we get back. Hopefully I can mend things with her in person, or at least apologize.” I shrug. “What’s the worst that could happen? I’m probably going to lose my studio anyway.” I sigh dramatically. “What could be worse than that?”
“Lucy, I told you. I’ll buy you the studio. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Drew will never sell it to you,” I say surely. Not that I would let Sam buy it for me anyway. I drop my head to the side to look at him and link my pinky with his. “It’s okay. I knew what I was risking.” I smile softly and exhale a quiet breath. “You’re worth it.”
He puts his wineglass down and says tenaciously, “I’ll buy you a new studio, then. I’ll buy you anything, Lamb. Just name it and it’s yours.”
I put my glass down next to his and sit up. “Sam, I don’t need you to buy me things.”
“But I want to.”
“No. You’ve worked so hard for everything you have. For this.” I gesture at the house and the spectacular pool we’re sitting next to. “I’m so proud of you for all that you’ve accomplished, but I want to make something of myself too. I want to make my own way. It’s important to me…I think it’s what my mom would have wanted for me.”