Page 56 of Hot For You

“Hi, baby.” He grinned at her. “Surprise.”

She stumbled over her words. “How—what are you doing here?”

His blue eyes glinted with amusement. “May I come in?”

“Oh.” She brushed her hands down the blouse and jeans she had purchased yesterday before the laptop. She opened the door and stepped out of the way. “How did you find me?”

“Don’t I get a hug hello?” He was still grinning. He was five-ten with a runner’s physique. He had frequently run marathons before going into the Peace Corps.

“Of course.” She let him take her in his arms and hugged him back. “It’s good to see you, Sam.”

When they parted, he held her by the shoulders and looked her. His grin faded into a frown. “Something’s wrong. What is it, Cari?”

She didn’t want to explain why she was on edge. She didn’t need to worry him, too.

“I’m okay.” She tried for a smile but couldn’t make it. “What are you doing? How did you find me? Aren’t you supposed to be in the Peace Corps for a while?”

“Remember that Find My iPhone application that we installed back when we were dating?” he asked. “It led me right to you. As far as the Peace Corps, I signed up for a short-term technical assignment to get my feet wet. If I liked it I was going to sign up for a long-term assignment.”

She felt a stab of irritation that he’d tracked her down using a phone app they’d installed when they were dating. “You should have called.”

“I did. Twice.” He had the same perpetual air of cheerfulness as he almost always had. “I had to see you.”

She tried not to frown. “Why?”

He cupped her face in his hands. “I came back for you. I can’t bear to be parted from you any longer.”

She stared at him in shock. He caught her completely off guard as he brought her to him and pressed his mouth against hers. She tried to pull away, but he was so strong. She put her hands on his chest and pushed.

He stepped back, still holding her arms. “You haven’t forgiven me for leaving you.”

“That’s not it.” She held his gaze. “Let’s sit down.”

She stepped away from him and sat on one end of the mattress of the king-sized bed with its tangled sheets and bedspread. He sat several inches from her and they faced each other.

She reached out and took his hands in hers. “I’ve found someone else.”

He stared at her in astonishment, no longer looking happy. “You’re with another man?”

She gave a slow nod. “I met someone here, in Prescott.”

His forehead wrinkled as he frowned. “You haven’t been here very long, have you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Not long at all.”

“Then how do you know it’s real?” Sam gripped her hands. “What you and I had—we were together a long time and you know it was real. We were so good together.”

She tilted her head to the side. “You left me. I was hurt, but I got over it.”

“Did you really?” he asked as if he didn’t believe her. “What we had was special.”

She tried to remove her hand from his but he had a firm grip on it. “Yes, it was special,” she said quietly. “But you left, and I moved on.”

“Give me another chance.” He gave her a pleading look. “It can be good again.”

“I told you, Sam.” This time she was able to extract her hand. “I’m in love with someone else.”

He got to his feet, took both of her hands and pulled her to her feet. He gave her a hug. “I’ll always be here for you, Cari. If he hurts you in any way, I want you to call me.”

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