Page 61 of The Hermit on the Hill

I watched until her car had disappeared down the driveway.

Marcus whistled. "You have got it bad, my friend."

"Yeah." I turned to him. "Unfortunately, I'm the villain in this story."

"Man, today you are the villain in all the stories. You know how many times I've tried to call you? Everything is falling apart all at once."

I sighed. "Come on inside and fill me in."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jenna

"I'm home," I called as I let myself into Sam's house.

When there was no answer, I shut the door and walked the rest of the way inside. After living in the house for over two weeks, I still felt weird about walking around like it was my home.

Sam would be upset if he knew how I felt, but I hadn't had a chance to tell him much of anything. We'd both been busy the past two weeks and I couldn't help feeling like he'd been avoiding me. Even though I woke up in his arms every morning and he never stopped touching me when we were in the same room together, it seemed like he was holding back. There was still so much I didn't know about him, and he'd been way too busy for a man handling the affairs of just one restaurant.

Not to mention that his 'friend' Marcus showed up at all hours of the day and always wanted to be alone with Sam. I didn't think they were physical, but it definitely seemed like there was something more than just friendship going on, and I'd been feeling something I'd never felt before: jealousy.

I hung my bag on the coat rack and went to the kitchen for a snack. It had been the worst day, and all I wanted was a huge cinnamon bun like the ones from the bakery I used to live above. I'd been too lazy to stop there while I was in town.

I sighed as I stared into the fridge, seeing only fruits and veggies and leftovers. I shouldn't complain. Sam had been amazing. He'd cooked for me every night and he couldn't seem to get enough of kissing me. The sex was the best I'd ever had.

The only thing missing was an actual relationship or promise of a future together. Because for all Sam's talk of trying things out, we hadn't gone on any actual dates or spent much time together outside of the bedroom.

I grabbed a yogurt, the sweetest thing in the fridge, and carried it to the table. My stack of books, one for parenting, the other for folklore, were right where I'd left them. Except Sam had swapped another parenting book. He was making his best effort to read them all. He'd take one from the stack and replace it with the book he'd finished.

I grabbed a book, this one about baby's first months, and read as I ate, taking notes in the notebook I'd set aside. Sam had added some notes of his own.

I smiled and rubbed a hand over my belly. Sam was arguing with me via notes, saying I was being too strict on one issue and not strict enough on another.

It didn't bother me.

He had a right to his opinion and the very fact he had an opinion was more than I'd ever dared to hope for. It meant he was already an involved father, and I had a feeling he'd be an amazing one.

The sound of voices reached me and I froze, pen poised over paper, straining to hear. Masculine laughter meant it wasn't our resident ghost. Sam's truck wasn't out front, so there shouldn't be anyone in the house but me.

I grabbed the steak knife from the kitchen and crept toward where I thought the sound was coming from. I was three feet from the back door when the screen door swung outward and two men stomped into the house. Two men who froze in place when they saw me with a giant knife in my hand.

"Hey, Jenna," Sam said. "I do something to piss you off I don't know about?"

I lowered the knife and gave a weak smile to both him and Marcus. "Your truck isn't out front."

"Brit has it. She dropped me and Marcus here before taking it back to town. Her rental car's in the shop."

"Okay." Once again, I felt like I didn't belong in this enormous house in the middle of the woods. That I didn't belong in Sam's life.

Sam's expression softened, like he could read my mind. "I'm sorry we scared you. Marcus was helping me with the car."

Marcus smirked. "More like I watched him work on the car while I drank his beer."

"Car?" I'd been living with this man for almost three weeks. How the hell did I not know what he was talking about?

Marcus' frown felt like a judgment.

"It's a classic car I'm restoring," Sam said. "I'll show it to you later. Right now, I have something much better to show you."

---