like you ? You’re nothing more than a demolition expert who makes a decent living, but you will never be super-rich or famous. Like she is.
They reached the wet sand and he bent over and slipped his shoes off, watching as she did the same. He took her sandals from her and then held both pairs of shoes in his left hand, holding her hand with his right.
Darkness had already settled over the lake, with the moon shining down upon the water, and the stars sparkling overhead. The burbling sound of the waves in the background interrupted their silence. They walked for quite a while before he noticed the tension in her body ease off.
Stopping, he dropped their shoes to the sand and pulled her into his arms, almost drowning in the depth of her eyes. “Sammie, can we talk, please?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she insisted.
“Yes, there is. You know there is.” Grant searched her eyes, willing her to admit she had feelings for him. Their attraction to each other was like the proverbial elephant in the dining room and they couldn’t just pretend it didn’t exist. Not after their earlier kiss.
Samantha ducked her head and then she nodded, reluctantly.
“Look, it’s probably coming as a surprise to you, but I’ve had these emotions about you for years. One summer at the beach I recognized you’re not a little girl anymore, and since then I always wanted to be more than your friend.”
Samantha cleared her throat, but he put a finger on her lips and continued, “We were too young. You were too young. And then you grew up, and I wanted to confess my feelings for you, but you announced you were moving to New York City.”
“Your feelings?” Samantha asked.
“I love you.”
Her big blue eyes grew almost black and she squeezed his hand.
“It broke my heart to let you go. But I didn’t want to stand between you and your dream. And it almost killed me to see you with Craig.”
When she started sobbing, his gaze was as soft as a caress. “Sammie, what is wrong? What happened? What did I say?”
“I have no idea how I could have been deceived by his lies for such a long time. How can I ever trust a man again? How can I ever trust my judgment again?”
Grant held her close, making soothing sounds while she sobbed out her frustration and sadness.
“Craig discovered me when I first landed in New York and got me my first modeling jobs.”
She sobbed some more, but Grant didn’t try to stop her crying. She needed to get rid of the bad emotions before she could think about things clearly and move forward. So, he held her in his arms, keeping his body’s reaction to her at bay with sheer strength of will.
“I thought he loved me. But he’s been using me. Now in hindsight I can see all this. The more successful I was, the worse our relationship got. Craig grew jealous, and constantly undermined me behind the scenes.
“I was too naïve and trustful to notice what was occurring until the incident with Silueta. And my reaction probably ruined my career. Who will ever want to work with me again?”
Grant didn’t answer. He knew it was better to wait out her monolog.
A while later she stopped sobbing. “I will not let that slime bag ruin my career, I’ll show him and everyone else. I’m not yet finished with you, New York!”
“That’s my firecracker,” Grant said.
“You know, I’ve been trying to work on my temper for years, and I thought I had it under control until Craig pulled this latest deception on me.”
He had to give her credit. What her boyfriend had done was awful. He probably would have punched him in the face. The image of Samantha smashing her fist into Craig’s face made him chuckle – an action that earned him an angry stare from the woman in his arms.
Chapter 13
Samantha glared at him, not seeing the humor in the situation at all. What part of Craig playing me for a fool and ruining my career is humorous?
She lifted her head to give him a piece of her mind, feeling
They reached the wet sand and he bent over and slipped his shoes off, watching as she did the same. He took her sandals from her and then held both pairs of shoes in his left hand, holding her hand with his right.
Darkness had already settled over the lake, with the moon shining down upon the water, and the stars sparkling overhead. The burbling sound of the waves in the background interrupted their silence. They walked for quite a while before he noticed the tension in her body ease off.
Stopping, he dropped their shoes to the sand and pulled her into his arms, almost drowning in the depth of her eyes. “Sammie, can we talk, please?”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she insisted.
“Yes, there is. You know there is.” Grant searched her eyes, willing her to admit she had feelings for him. Their attraction to each other was like the proverbial elephant in the dining room and they couldn’t just pretend it didn’t exist. Not after their earlier kiss.
Samantha ducked her head and then she nodded, reluctantly.
“Look, it’s probably coming as a surprise to you, but I’ve had these emotions about you for years. One summer at the beach I recognized you’re not a little girl anymore, and since then I always wanted to be more than your friend.”
Samantha cleared her throat, but he put a finger on her lips and continued, “We were too young. You were too young. And then you grew up, and I wanted to confess my feelings for you, but you announced you were moving to New York City.”
“Your feelings?” Samantha asked.
“I love you.”
Her big blue eyes grew almost black and she squeezed his hand.
“It broke my heart to let you go. But I didn’t want to stand between you and your dream. And it almost killed me to see you with Craig.”
When she started sobbing, his gaze was as soft as a caress. “Sammie, what is wrong? What happened? What did I say?”
“I have no idea how I could have been deceived by his lies for such a long time. How can I ever trust a man again? How can I ever trust my judgment again?”
Grant held her close, making soothing sounds while she sobbed out her frustration and sadness.
“Craig discovered me when I first landed in New York and got me my first modeling jobs.”
She sobbed some more, but Grant didn’t try to stop her crying. She needed to get rid of the bad emotions before she could think about things clearly and move forward. So, he held her in his arms, keeping his body’s reaction to her at bay with sheer strength of will.
“I thought he loved me. But he’s been using me. Now in hindsight I can see all this. The more successful I was, the worse our relationship got. Craig grew jealous, and constantly undermined me behind the scenes.
“I was too naïve and trustful to notice what was occurring until the incident with Silueta. And my reaction probably ruined my career. Who will ever want to work with me again?”
Grant didn’t answer. He knew it was better to wait out her monolog.
A while later she stopped sobbing. “I will not let that slime bag ruin my career, I’ll show him and everyone else. I’m not yet finished with you, New York!”
“That’s my firecracker,” Grant said.
“You know, I’ve been trying to work on my temper for years, and I thought I had it under control until Craig pulled this latest deception on me.”
He had to give her credit. What her boyfriend had done was awful. He probably would have punched him in the face. The image of Samantha smashing her fist into Craig’s face made him chuckle – an action that earned him an angry stare from the woman in his arms.
Chapter 13
Samantha glared at him, not seeing the humor in the situation at all. What part of Craig playing me for a fool and ruining my career is humorous?
She lifted her head to give him a piece of her mind, feeling
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