Finding you, p.20
Finding You, page 20
Later, they sat next to the Christmas tree, listening to Giovanni’s talent fill the room with classical carols. They opened all their gifts, none of which were any great surprise to her. She’d found and steamed open most of the packages earlier in the week and was careful to tape them back exactly as she’d found them.
“Oh, wait! There’s one more I forgot to bring in.” Michael grinned in the face of her shock. “What? You missed one in all your digging?”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, Sammy Darlin’, I can read you like a book. Be right back.”
He came in, pretending to struggle with a large gift-wrapped box.
“Where were you hiding that?” she asked. She’d made a thorough search of the garage the night before, and she’d have sworn under oath there wasn’t a stone left unturned, or in their case, a bin left unsearched.
Michael dropped the box as if it weighed two hundred pounds, panting and wiping non-existent sweat from his brow. “This little thing?” he questioned.
“Yes, that little thing, you nerdy butt,” Sammy retorted with a smile for his ridiculous antics.
“Well, I had James bring it over this morning while we were otherwise occupied.”
“No way! You had absolutely no idea our fight this morning was going to happen,” she protested. “Besides, I would have heard the garage door.”
Michael’s delighted grin widened. It turned into full-fledged laughter as she blushed. Okay, he had a point. She never would have heard the door.
The suspense of the gift was killing her, and she decided to go for the prize. She tore at the wrapping paper, not unlike a kid expecting to find Santa had brought her favorite toy. As she opened the plain cardboard box, she was astonished to find another gift-wrapped package inside. This went on for at least five more. By the time she got to the bottom, not just a little frustrated, she got down to a small jewelry-sized box. Holding her breath, she opened the lid, unsure what to expect. Resting there against the black velvet was a pair of exquisite earrings.
“Michael, you shouldn’t have. We really can’t afford these.”
She felt a catch in her throat as he focused on her stunned face. He loved her so much. It was obvious in his every look and touch. The sheer force of his adoring gaze made her want to weep.
“Aren’t you going to try them on?” he asked with a husky catch to his voice.
She readily complied.
“Stand up,” he commanded.
Again, she complied.
“Hmm, something’s not quite right.”
His frown gave her the impression there must be some flaw in one of the beautiful ruby stones. Her hand came up to touch one of the earrings.
“I know.” He snapped his fingers, stood, and closed the distance between them. “They don’t match your blue robe.”
Tugging at the knot holding it in place, he untied her robe. Gentle hands pushed the material down her shoulders, letting it pool on the ground at her feet. His honey eyes hypnotized her.
Sammy stood trembling, exposed.
“Much better. Much, much better.”
The deep, husky timbre of his voice left little doubt of his desire. It ignited a fire low in Sammy’s belly. It blazed out of control as it raced to her lady parts. Her breasts tightened with want.
“Oh, Michael.”
* * *
A second knock jerked Sammy from her memories.
“Samantha?”
Sammy looked from the door to the diamond and ruby earrings. How could she move forward when it was so beautiful in the past? With a deep sigh, she let Stephen into her room.
“I’m sorry, Stephen. Just one more second.”
She fastened the jewelry to her lobes. With a smile for Stephen, she scooped up her clutch and wrap from the bed. When she would have passed him to go to the door, Stephen grabbed her shoulders from behind.
“Samantha, wait.”
Tension locked her in place.
“Your zipper is not quite all the way up,” he told her stiffly.
He pulled it up the remaining distance and closed the clasp at the back of her dress.
Shame coursed through her. Clearly, she’d insulted him with her withdrawal. His touch, however innocent, had come too close on the heels of her memories of Michael’s lovemaking.
“Thank you.” She rose up to kiss his cheek.
During the ride to the restaurant, Sammy’s thoughts drifted to Michael again and again. Maybe it was the earrings. Or maybe it was Dallas. He lingered at the forefront of her mind and made it impossible for her to concentrate on the tale with which Stephen tried to amuse her.
After the cab stopped, she got out and offered him her arm so he could escort her inside. She paused in the foyer to wait for him to check their reservation and to admire the sheer beauty of the room. This was the fanciest place she’d ever been to in her entire life.
The marble floor was a rich chocolate espresso, almost black in color. The shine was so great, the room looked twice as crowded from the reflection of its patrons. Grecian-styled columns were topped with busts of Plato, Caesar, and other historical greats, each tastefully displayed throughout the foyer without seeming ostentatious.
As she watched, couples continued to enter the restaurant, young and old alike. They all seemed to be happy, without a care in the world. As she was about to turn away, another couple entering the restaurant captured her attention.
From behind, there was something almost familiar about the way the man moved. Perhaps without the limp he would have had a smoother gait. As it was, he reminded her of a wounded lion. Part grace, part awkwardness. He captivated her. It was there in how he stood, holding the hand of the woman he was with, tilting his head to listen to her. Smiling. Dimples flashing.
The object of her attention cast a glance in her direction as if he sensed her regard.
Her heart seized. Shock washed through her entire body. When her lungs refused to go another moment without air, she took huge gulping breaths.
He shifted to let his date follow the hostess.
Sammy bolted across the room and latched onto his arm. “Michael!”
He frowned down at her as if he’d never seen her before. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”
While his look was polite, as if he were addressing a stranger, the underlying curiosity he exhibited kept her going. Made her push for some response.
“I… y-you…” Sammy stuttered to a halt.
She’d finally found him. But in all the scenarios she’d created in her mind, his polite indifference had not been one of them. She stared, speechless. Helpless. With her focus intent on Michael, she ignored Stephen’s approach and the ashen expression on the face of the young woman who clutched Michael’s opposite arm.
“Joe, who is this woman?”
* * *
Joe shook his head as if awakening from a dream. His gaze shifted between each person in their group. The small, dark-haired woman who’d approached him seemed familiar. The nagging sensation that he knew her grew in intensity. Where from? How? His mind would not let him recall. Trying to recover the situation, he smiled at his date.
“Beth, I would like you to meet…” He paused for the dark-haired woman to fill in her name. His gaze lingered on her, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away a second time.
Wide blue eyes flew to his. She stared at him as if he were an angel sent from heaven. Her look of adoration bothered him. Not because he didn’t like the admiration of a beautiful woman, but because she seemed to think he was someone he wasn’t. His next words unintentionally erased the delight from her face.
“Please tell me where we know each other from.”
She’d started to reach up to touch his face, but jerked as if he’d struck her.
Unease curled in his chest, and the desire to apologize and recall his words nearly overwhelmed him. As he watched, the light died from those stunning eyes and tears shimmered in their depths. His urge to comfort this stranger was stronger than anything he’d experienced to date.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. His throat felt scratchy. His own eyes stung, and he rubbed his hand along the back of his neck to ease his building tension.
* * *
Sammy realized what had been nagging at her. His face. It was different than she remembered. A scar ran from his temple to his jaw. Also, his nose looked as if it had been broken at some point. Even the cut and style of his hair differed from what she remembered. But his lips, his general face shape, even his eyes resembled Michael’s.
A doppelgänger? Everyone supposedly had one. But she’d been so sure.
She placed her hand on his sleeve, an apology of sorts.
As she touched him, she opened her mind to receive whatever vision might come but shut it right back down an instant later. The future didn’t matter now. The man she knew was gone. What an idiot she’d been to come all this way for nothing!
Panic and sorrow welled up inside her, so strong as to cause the air to stop flowing to her lungs. She struggled to inhale the oxygen she so desperately needed.
“No! No!” pounded in her brain. She whispered it repeatedly until Stephen gripped her shoulders and gave her a little shake.
“Samantha!” The forcefulness of his tone did the trick.
The heat of embarrassment swept up from her toes to her hairline. She had to be as red as her damned dress.
“I’m sorry,” Sammy choked out. Pulling away, she rushed for the door and for the freedom escaping these people would afford.
“Samantha! Wait!” Stephen hollered.
But she couldn’t wait. If she didn’t get away, she would disgrace herself.
“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” played like a recording through her brain as she rushed away in mindless flight. It was imperative she keep moving. She didn’t care where as long as it was away from here.
A cab paused to distribute a man and woman on the sidewalk outside of the restaurant. Sammy took advantage and jumped inside.
“Drive,” she barked.
“Where to, lady?”
“Anywhere. Please, just drive,” she begged, desperate to be gone.
The door was jerked open, and Joe jumped inside, startling them both and eliciting a scream from Sammy.
“Drive,” he commanded.
This time the cab driver did as he was told.
“Dude, seriously?” she leaned forward to hiss at the cabbie. “You listened to him but not to me? What the fuck?”
“Ignore her,” Joe ordered the driver before he shifted to face her. “Now, how about you tell me where you know me from?”
“Driver, stop the car, this man needs to get out,” she commanded.
Once again, the cabbie ignored her. It might have had something to do with Joe’s “Don’t you dare.” His dark tone brooked no argument.
“Man, I am so not paying your fare!” she muttered.
The cabbie glanced back at Joe from the rearview mirror. Joe nodded to indicate he had it covered.
“Where’s Stephen?” Sammy searched through the back window.
“The guy you were with? Yeah, I’m afraid he was detained.”
* * *
Joe wasn’t about to tell her that while he held the lead in the race to follow her, he’d shoved a trash can in front of Stephen, effectively slowing the other guy down. It had allowed Joe the advantage of reaching her first.
With gentle fingers, he clasped her chin and turned her face to his. “Samantha, right? Samantha, please. I want to know, how do you know me?”
In her apparent embarrassment and misery, Samantha missed the urgency and slight hint of desperation in his voice. She also missed the too familiar way he touched her. A touch no stranger should have taken liberties to perform. Joe was grateful for her distraction. He didn’t want her to question his motives.
“Why? Why did you follow me?” She closed her eyes and thunked her head back against the headrest. “I’ve made such a fool of myself. I just wanted to leave you to enjoy dinner with your beautiful girlfriend.”
Wordlessly, he studied her lovely, closed face.
How could he tell her about the accident that had cost his memory? How did he explain the fear associated with not knowing who he was? And how could he stress his need to uncover the past to a complete stranger?
Joe remained silent. What he did do was give in to the impulse he’d had since first seeing her across the crowded room, remote and alone in her sexy red dress. He kissed her. Hesitantly at first. A mere whisper of his lips brushing against hers, like a prince waking Sleeping Beauty. As he felt her mouth relax, deepening, devouring, and tasting became his only goal.
She latched onto him like a drowning woman. Her fingers laced through his hair, clutching his head in a death grip.
He took advantage of her acquiescence and drew her onto his lap to straddle him. His hand caressed her stocking-clad thigh, reaching up under her dress in exploration. He died a little as he came in contact with the garter belt. Holy shit! Was anything hotter?
She shifted her hips and rubbed against his building erection. He would have taken her right then and there if the embarrassed cough of the cab driver hadn’t finally penetrated. It brought Joe crashing back to reality.
Good God! He felt as if he would burn to a cinder at any moment. An image of her in nothing but those damn lacy undergarments was going to haunt him the rest of the night.
Samantha took a while longer to come back to the present.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, her voice low and soft.
Her eyes bored into his, willing him to… What? He didn’t know. The deep emotion he witnessed alarmed him and made his pulse hammer harder than it already was.
“I don’t know,” he responded, equally as soft. He tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. Her left earring caught and held his attention. An image of her wearing nothing but these earrings came to him. He shoved it away. Wishful thinking on his part, he was sure. “I couldn’t not do it.”
She nodded and shifted back to her seat. After straightening the skirt of her dress, she stared into the dark night outside the window. Joe got the distinct impression he’d disappointed her.
After a brief time, whatever problem she’d been working out in her mind resolved itself. Samantha came to a decision with a swift, short nod. He was left to wonder what it was, until she finally spoke. “I think we better find Stephen and…”
“Elizabeth,” he finished for her.
“Yes, Elizabeth.”
“Are you hungry?” Joe stalled for time.
“Aren’t you at all concerned you left your girlfriend alone to run after another woman? One you don’t even rem… know?”
“No. She can be pretty resilient.” He cringed inside. Beth was going to read him the riot act when next she saw him. “Are you hungry?”
“A little.”
“Let’s go find somewhere we can talk.”
At her reluctant nod, he directed the cab driver to an Italian mom-and-pop restaurant on the outskirts of town.
Chapter 25
Samantha and Joe kept their conversation light and shelved any serious discussion until the food was ordered and served. Once the dishes had been placed on the table, Joe broached the subject at hand.
“Why did you approach me earlier? What was it about me that you thought you recognized?”
“You remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. The resemblance is remarkable.”
“Who?”
Joe didn’t want to acknowledge, even to himself, how important her response was. He refused to get his hopes up that she might have the answers he searched for.
“His name was Michael, and he… he…” She cleared her throat. “He is supposed to have died in an accident two years ago.”
Joe’s stomach dropped to somewhere around his big toe, but he showed no outward signs of his unease. He experienced the actual physical sensation of a large, invisible fist grabbing his heart and squeezing. His rapid pulse made him wonder if a bursting heart was imminent.
“What was he to you? Fiancé? Husband?”
“Boyfriend.”
“But you don’t believe he died,” he stated flatly, knowing she didn’t before she even answered.
“No.”
“Please, explain.”
She paused to draw in a deep, calming breath and exhaled audibly. “I’m not sure I can, or at least not without sounding crazy.”
“Try.”
Samantha set down her utensils and folded her hands in her lap. He wanted to squirm under her steady regard. Finally, she shrugged and took a sip of water.
“A few years back, I began having nightmares. Premonitions of a sort. They started a few weeks before my boyfriend was supposed to leave for a business trip.” Her lips twisted in a bitter little smile. “I didn’t want him to go, because I knew he wouldn’t return home. He was adamant because his company had already made the arrangements for him to go.”
Was she saying she was psychic? He didn’t buy it. “If you suspected something was going to happen, why didn’t you stop him?”
“I tried,” she snapped. “He wouldn’t listen. He thought I was being unreasonable. By the time he realized what I was experiencing was real, it was too late.”
“What do you mean too late?”
“Exactly that. Too late.” Samantha flung up her hands as if exasperated with the whole subject. Impatient to be done with this whole conversation. “I’m exhausted, and I want to head back to my hotel. Meeting you…” Her lips tightened and looked anywhere but at him. “I’m sorry I interrupted your evening.”
She collected her purse and scooted to the edge of the seat.
Panic seized him. He had the sneaking suspicion if she left, he’d never find the truth to his own situation.
“What if you weren’t? Wrong, that is. What if you weren’t wrong?” he blurted.
Samantha cast him a sharp glance. He shifted and looked away, avoiding her probing gaze. He planned to keep his inner demons to himself as long as he could.
Joe risked another look her way.
