When they finally got settled in, it was nearly midnight. Tiffany had come to his room after she’d changed. She wore black yoga pants and a pink t-shirt. She’d scrubbed all the make-up off of her face and put her hair in a ponytail. He answered the door in shorts and a t-shirt, liking that they could be casual together.
She hesitated at the door. “I can’t stay long.” She looked around his room, and he could tell that she was nervous.
He was nervous too. He didn’t want to mess this up with her, but he tugged her into his arms, unable to do anything else. He’d found he needed her. To be with her. To hold her. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman. I promise.” Letting her go, he nodded to one of the double beds. “Why don’t we take different beds and talk…keep distance between us?”
“Okay.” Carefully, she moved to the bed and sat, still looking around a bit skittishly.
He sat on his bed, laying back onto the pillows and then turning sideways and propping his head into his hand. “So.” He couldn’t stop himself from grinning at being here with her.
Mimicking his body position, she lay down on her side. “So.”
He shot back up, not liking that the little table stand with the phone and the lamp was between them. He unplugged everything, picked it up, and moved it to the other side of the room.
She laughed. “What are you doing?”
Without responding, he moved to the other side of his bed and then pushed it closer to hers until it was touching. Then he jumped onto the bed, assuming the same position on his side with his head propped in his hand. Only now he was only three inches away from her not a foot and a half. Every part of him felt alive and awake. No, he definitely didn’t need sleep.
Her eyes creased and she reddened. “You’re an interesting man, Sam Dumont.”
He reached out and took her hand. “That’s better.”
Her blush deepened. “The way you look at me…” She broke off.
He was sure his own cheeks were a little red. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, for lack of better words at the moment.
Relaxing, she grabbed a pillow and positioned it under her head. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”
Holding himself back from moving closer to her, he settled for hand holding, happy to be with her. He scoffed. “There are no other girls.”
Her blue eyes, eyes that reminded him of the color of the waves in the early hours of the morning. She looked down. “So how many girls have there been?” Her voice was tentative.
He didn’t really want to discuss this. “I’ve only been with Sheena. Really been with…”
She frowned and studied him. “But what about all those girls splattered on the front of the Enquirer with you?”
He shrugged. “I took them out, but that was it.” He sighed. “I figured I could hardly keep myself sane. Not a great time to start a relationship.”
Compassion filled her face. She took her hand out of his and gently touched the side of his face. “Tell me more about the panic attacks and your shrink.”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk about it with her. Honestly, he didn’t mind, but he wasn’t really great at being vulnerable in front of anybody.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
Covering her hand, he rolled onto his back. “No, I want to tell you.”
She waited.
“I guess it’s the same sad tale. A guy falls in love, and a guy gets his heart broken.” His heart rate shot up a notch. He didn’t like talking about the past, but he knew he had to clear the air between them. “In high school and college, I dated a bit, but I was focused on football. I had to be.” He shrugged. “You know my dad was an alcoholic and ended up losing everything after my mother died. I…I went to live with my dad’s parents when I was seventeen. My life was uncertain. The only way I felt I could get control was through football. So I kept my head down and worked. I wish I could say I didn’t do a lot of stuff with women because it was a moral thing.” He thought of her, how good she was, and what she believed in. “But it wasn’t. I was in survival mode. And when I got a scholarship to Miami, I was running from my old life. Now that I think about it, the panic attacks actually started then, but I didn’t understand them. This kid on our team got hurt. It was a neck injury that took him out of the game for good. He recovered, but I never forgot how terrified I was. I mean, of course I knew the risks of football, but that made me realize I seriously needed to have a back up plan for my life if I didn’t want to be like my father.”
Her face remained unreadable, but Tiffany kept her hand in his.
He kissed the back of her hand. “I guess I’ve been running, in one way or another, ever since then. I finished my business degree at the top of my class. Then fate worked out, and I got drafted.”
Tiffany nodded, slowly. She scooted closer to him. Her hair fell onto his shoulder and he gingerly reached for it.
Their eyes met and his breath hitched.
“Sam Dumont, tortured soul, running from his demons.”
The way she said it, like she really got it, melted everything inside of him and made him want to hold her and never let go.
“What?” she asked.
How did he describe to her how amazing she was?
She hesitated. “Would you go back to Sheena, if you could?”
“What?” The question took him off guard.
“I know she left you.” Tiffany hesitated. “What if she came back for you?”
He had to level with her. “I’ve wondered about that this past year.”
She didn’t speak for a second.
“But I know I wouldn’t go back to her now.” He didn’t want to tell her the magnitude of how he was feeling toward her too soon. It might scare her away. She wasn’t like other girls—all needy and looking for a way to play him. So he simply picked up more of her hair.
“You like my hair.”
He petted the softness of it and closed his eyes, pulling some over to his face, smelling it, and running it softly against his skin. He chugged out a laugh. “Okay, you’re hair is like a religion to me. I’ll admit it.”
This made her laugh, and she inched closer to him, laying her head down on his shoulder.
He closed his eyes, relishing her so near to him.
Unsure how long they lay there, he didn’t know exactly when he’d fallen asleep.
All he knew, when he jerked awake, was he had to get up. He jolted up to a sitting position.
“What are you doing?”
Gently, he pushed her to a sitting position. “I’m going to walk you back to your room.”
She didn’t move for a second. Then she stood and rubbed her eyes. “Okay.”
When they got to her room, he gently kissed her cheek then her lips, lingering a bit longer. “Tiffany Chance, country music star, I’m going to do this right with you.”
The side of her lip tilted up. “I’ll let you.”
39
The next day Tiffany couldn’t deny that she had butterflies in her stomach as they left the hotel, and when Sam got onto the interstate toward Denver, she liked the fact he turned on the radio and then reached for her hand.
She wasn’t exactly sure what this was between them. Obviously, they were dating. But, it was more. Much more.
They didn’t talk much as they went from Boulder into the heart of Denver. It was lunchtime when they pulled into the outlet mall outside of Castle Rock. Sam made her stay as he got out and went around the car to open her door.
“Are we eating here?” She kept her hand in his as they walked toward the strip mall.
“Nope.” Sam pumped his eyebrows.