Page 35 of I'm Yours

And asleep.I roll my eyes and fill a baggie with some crackers. Sam’s hand lands on top of mine, halting my movements.

His eyes so much like my own bore into me and he licks his lips, blowing out a breath. “Look, I know you. Talk to me, okay? You seem to forget that I was the one who rubbed your back while you were crying after he left. And who was there after he got married? After his daughter was born? After his wife died and you ached for his losses because you couldn’t be there to comfort him?”

“You make me sound a little obsessed and crazy.”

“You aren’t either of those things. But you know as well as I do that the feelings you had for Reed never even faded.”

“You don’t know shit, Sammy. And it’s a shitty thing for you to keep throwing him in my face.”

“That’s so much bullshit, Sadie. I never throw him in your face.”

“You just did!”

“No. I spoke the truth and you didn’t want to hear it. Why are you still single?”

“I don’t know? Why are you?”

“Because I like being single. I don’t want to answer to anyone and definitely don’t want to share my special brand of DNA with anyone.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that’s the same reason I have.”

“I’ll repeat. That’s bullshit and you know it.”

I jerk my hand away and spin on my heels, heading down the hall to my bathroom. I slam the door and lean over the sink, taking a hard look in the mirror. My face is splotchy from holding back the tears that are threatening to take over. None of what Sam told me is wrong. I’ll never forget when I heard that Katherine died and the feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed me. I wanted to be there for Reed, comfort him. Not because of being in love with him, but because I knew he’d be hurting and I needed to know that he would somehow be okay. I also knew that I was the last person on earth he’d want around him during that time. And that was the hardest truth to handle.

A soft knock has me turning my head to the door. I open it to see Sam leaning against the frame, a knowing look on his face. It softens my heart but pisses me off.

“I need you to pretend.”

His eyebrows kiss his hairline.

“Pretend what?”

“That Reed is just a dad of one of my students and there’s no history between us. That there’s never been anything between us. Oh! And that he’s not even better looking than I remember. That part is super important. Remind me that he’s ugly.”

He barks out a laugh and gives an okay sign with his fingers and laughs while saying, “Okay. That plan should work out great.”

“I’m serious, Sam. I need your help here. He’s a widow and a dad. And… well…”

“Let’s just stop right there because I really don’t need to hear how you want Reed to…” he trails off, shuddering.

“Good. Let’s just remember that you don’t want to talk about him and neither do I.”

“So this person we’re not supposed to talk about? Did you see him yet?”

I narrow my eyes because I can tell that he’s lying. He knows something.

“What did you hear?”

He raises his hands. “Nothing. Well. Not nothing. I mean, I heard that he came in and signed up his daughter for classes. And then you two talked at your spot.”

“Lindsay has a big mouth,” I grumble. Not only did Alan and Lindsay take me under their wing, they did the same with Sam. I can’t take all the credit for his success or for how awesome and well-adjusted he is as an adult. They treated Sam like their own son and gave him the parental guidance he needed. Helped him to feel wanted and loved where our own parents were lacking. Not that our mom didn’t do her best. She really did. She just… couldn’t.

He grins. “Mama L just likes to keep me updated. She said that Reed was pretty quiet about it all when he got home from talking with you in the field.”

I can tell by the expression on his face that he’s reading way more into this than I’m comfortable with. “Listen, Reed’s back. The only thing that means is that he’s living here again.”

“Mm hmm. Keep telling yourself that.”

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