Page 34 of Crying Shame
He gazed at me quizzically. “No. I bought it for you. It’s in your name.”
We walked to the front door, and a silver 3 Series sedan was parked in front of the house. It was also tied with a blue bow. I shook my head. “I can’t accept that.”
He walked toward it, and I followed. “You’re Sam’s mom. I need you cruising in style.”
I closed my eyes. He probably needed to make sure I looked the part of his guest.
Accepting the BMW would help our son, though. I nodded and joined him at the car. When I peered in the front window, my heart melted a little. “What’s inside?”
He opened the door. “You probably don’t remember.”
He reached in then handed me my old teddy bear—or the perfect replica of it. The original had lost an eye at one point and was thinner than this one, but something about the teddy bear seemed familiar.
My eyes widened. “Is this the real Mr. Snuggles?”
He rocked on his feet as if he was nervous. “It was all I had of you. You’d left him in your dorm, and I snatched him when your parents were cleaning out your room.”
Tears formed in my eyes as I held what had been my favorite toy as a girl. We walked toward the house as I said, “I… realized I'd left him behind when I was on the bus, but it was too late to go back.”
He opened the front door then closed it behind us. “Let’s go to bed, as tomorrow we’ll head to Virgin Cove.”
Tomorrow, we'd face his family. My parents were no longer at the Virgin Cove house, but I’d not think about them right now. I held my teddy bear tighter. “Thanks, Elon.”
We walked up the stairs. “I’m glad that you got him back and that you’re happy.”
“I… didn’t expect any of this.” I gazed at his lips—I wanted to kiss him.
However, I sucked in my lips and turned away. Soon, I’d have to tell him everything that had happened in my life after I’d left college. I hoped he'd understand.
He walked me to my bedroom door, and my lips still tingled. I ducked inside before I followed through on my impulse to kiss him good night. Elon had grown into almost the perfect guy, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that.
12
Clarissa
The next morning, in preparation for the trip to Virgin Cove, I picked out cream pants and a matching cream shirt and added a thin, teal sweater for a pop of color. I also continued to wring my hands.
Sam popped in and out of my room all morning, and I kept imagining that Elon’s parents, who'd always been wonderful to me, might not be so nice to me now.
I’d hidden away their grandson, and the Norouzis were big on family.
Done with primping, something I’d never thought I would do, I headed downstairs. Sam was with Elon, who looked deliciously hot in his simple gray pants and light-blue polo shirt. I joined them, and Elon placed his hand on my back as we headed out of the house and toward the helicopter.
The pilot was waiting for us, and my heart thumped. My life was different and yet familiar, as I’d once been like a member of the helicopter crew, living in the Norouzi sphere.
We hopped into the helicopter and were served breakfast snacks. I sipped my coffee and thought I was handling the trip well until the beach house, a two-story building that looked almost like a castle, came into view. It felt like I was coming home. My heart raced, and I took a deep breath. As we started the descent, I took Elon’s hand. “You’re sure my parents are gone?”
“Yes.”
My heart still pounded. I swallowed. “I’m still nervous one of the staff might be friendly with them and let them know about our visit.”
He squeezed my hand. “Your parents can’t hurt you.”
My stomach twisted. I put down my coffee, since caffeine was the opposite of what I needed.
Elon’s calm-but-confident demeanor floored me. I'd missed him. For so many years, it had just been Sam and me.
We stayed silent during landing, but I kept gazing at Elon's profile. If I had told him about Sam years ago, I would have saved Sam from so much pain.
