Page 7 of Tell Me Again
She shook her head.
“Why?”
The intensity with which he spoke the word confused her. “I’m a senior citizen when it comes to modeling,” she lied.
“You’re thirty-one.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Trevor, I know my age. I retired a few years ago. That’s when I moved to Colorado. I’m too old.” That was only a kernel of the truth, but it was as much of it as she was willing to give.
“Bullshit,” he shot back. “You’re more beautiful now than...”
Her breath hitched, and she watched Trevor’s face go stony. Clearly an admission neither of them had been expecting.
“Dad is a contractor,” Grace said, returning to the room with her backpack. “He can fix your cabins. He can build anything.”
“No,” Sam and Trevor answered at the same time.
“Why not?” Grace studied the two of them. “It’s the perfect solution. I can spend time with Sam after school and Dad will be there to chaperone.”
“I build custom homes,” Trevor told Sam, saying the words slowly as if it was difficult to share any part of himself. “Things are busy right now.”
“You could make it work,” Grace argued.
“It’s fine,” Sam offered quickly. She had no trouble believing Trevor could fix anything, but the thought of having him at her camp—being so near to him—for any period of time made her skin flush and her knees go weak. Not a good combination. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Dad, seriously, you need to do this.” Grace bent to give Frank a rub between the ears. He lifted his head then dropped it back to the hardwood floor. It was way past her dog’s bedtime, Sam thought, and then Grace stifled a yawn. Frank wasn’t the only one who should’ve been asleep at this hour.”
“We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” Trevor said. “We’re heading home now.”
“It was... um... nice to meet you.” Grace offered her hand, her expression suddenly shy and looking so young.
Sam pulled the girl in for a hug and felt her breathe out a long sigh. “I’m glad you found me,” she whispered.
Grace’s smile returned. “Me, too. I’m sorry that your sister... my mom...”
“She would have loved you,” Sam told her, and Grace’s wide smile was an exact copy of Bryce’s.
Trevor opened the door and handed Grace the keys. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
With a small wave at Sam, Grace headed down the back steps.
Sam blew out a breath and, without thinking, reached for Trevor’s hand. His fingers felt rough and warm against hers, and it was as if all the energy radiating through the room coalesced at the point where they touched. She drew back and wiped her hand against her jeans as if she could rub off the imprint of his skin on hers. After clearing her throat she said, “We’ll figure this out.”
He stared down at his own hand, as if he wasn’t sure it belonged to his body. But when he lifted his gaze to hers, his eyes had gone hard again. “There’s nowe, Sam, that involves you. I wasn’t kidding when I said this will happen on my terms. I know my daughter—my daughter—well enough to know she won’t let it be now that she’s met you. But if you do anything to hurt her—”
So much for their truce. “Go to hell, Trevor,” she spit out before she could tamp down her temper. “You’re the one who’s hurt her by not telling her the truth. I don’t owe you any loyalty in this.”
He flashed a smile so bitter it made chills break out across the back of her neck. “Your loyalty has only ever been to yourself, Samantha. Why would that change now?”
And with that parting shot, he walked out.
Sam pressed a hand to her stomach and realized she was trembling all over. All of the emotions she’d held in tonight—hell, since the moment she’d left her past behind in the rearview mirror so many years ago—came crashing down on her. The weight of them finally brought her to her knees.
Frank ambled over and flopped against her, and she held onto him, the steady rhythm of his breathing the only thing anchoring her.
“Oh, God, Bryce,” she whispered into the silence. “What have you done?”
