Page 134 of Mark my Words

My mouth snapped shut again at his raised eyebrow, but I wanted him to pull my hair again. Sam bossing me around had always made my pulse race.

“You really want to come to Chicago?”

“Yes,” I confessed, opening my mouth to talk again, but his narrowed eyes made me bite my lip to stop myself from continuing.

“To be with me?”

“No, to be with Kelly,” I delivered with a straight face, but he still rolled his eyes at me. “Of course, to be with you. I came here to tell you I loved you. Did you think I would do all this and return home?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but I touched his lips. “Point taken. Moving is going to be the only way we can be together. You’ve always made concessions in this relationship, and it’s time for me to make some. It makes sense for me to come to Chicago because there isn’t a reason like my family to stay in Boston.”

“But what about Nana?”

“That’s what vacation time is for. I can fly back to visit Nana whenever. I can even bring you to the Cape. I’m sure she’d love that. But I’m tired of making excuses about why we can’t make this work.”

“If you move out here, you won’t have anywhere to run.” His smile was nervous as he said that, and I reached up to smooth out the wrinkle between his eyebrows. I’d done a number on him.

“I don’t need anywhere to run. I’m sorry for making you doubt me, Sam. But I love you, and I want to make this work. Please let me have another chance?”

“On one condition,” he conceded, kissing me softly. “If you get scared again, you’ve got to let me in.”

“I will.” And I would, too. There was too much at stake here. Running away from my problems got us to this point, and continuing to do so would only break us for good. I knew what my life looked like without Sam. I wasn’t willing to go back to that.

“Where are you staying tonight?” he asked, brushing the hair away from my temple.

“Upstairs.” His eyes widened as I showed him my keycard. “Do you want to see my room?”

“Are you coming on to me?”

I laughed, loving the way he smiled at me in return. “Duh. I thought I clarified that part earlier when I told you that you had big dick energy. You think I go around randomly complimenting men’s junk for fun?”

“What am I going to do with you?”

Grasping his hand, I pulled him forward and leaned my head against his chest. “Hold me?”

Sam wrapped his arms around me and held me to his chest. The steady thump of his heart was comforting, and I knew this was where I was meant to be, with him.

“Do you want to get out of here now?”

I leaned back, resting my chin on his chest and looking up at him. “Did you need to talk to your family or go back home with them tonight, or...?”

“Or…” he laughed, interrupting me. “Are you going to throw a tantrum about having to share a hotel room again, or can I take you upstairs and peel this dress off you now?”

“I didn’t throw a tantrum,” I pouted. “Shouldn’t we talk more about this, or...?”

“Do I need to go over this again? I’m choosing or. We have plenty of time to work out the rest later. Much, much later. Once you’ve regained your voice.” He nipped at my ear, pulling me toward his chest and holding me tightly.

“Regained my...?” Oh...

“I’m sure. Let’s go upstairs,” he urged. “What happened to the brave girl who dragged me into my apartment a few months ago? She had no problem bossing me around and telling me to remove my pants.”

“Then get your ass upstairs, Langley,” I laughed, reaching down to grab his ass. “Let’s do this.”

“Finally, we’re on the same page. Yes, let’s,” he grinned, and I knew all the details we needed to figure out would be there later.

Mission accomplished. I’d come here to make a grand gesture and get my man. Now it was time to trust that we’d get it right this time. Finding the courage to make yourself vulnerable was utterly terrifying, but when you found the right person, it was easy to make the leap and trust that they’d catch you.

SAM

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