Page 44 of Tell Me Again
One side of his mouth curved and he took the spoon from the ice cream, putting the lid onto the dripping carton and shoving it into the freezer as he licked the spoon clean.
“Tastes better on your lips,” he whispered, then dropped the spoon into the sink and walked out of her kitchen. She stared at the granite counter until she heard the front door shut with a click. Her knees gave way and she sank to the hardwood floor, bending forward to wrap her arms around Frank’s thick neck. The dog let himself be tugged into her lap.
“I’m in trouble, Frankie,” she whispered to the animal. “Big trouble.”
“You’re in trouble,” Jenny told her the next day.
Sam sat between Jenny and Chloe on the velvet couch outside the bridal shop dressing room. It was the last wedding dress fitting before the ceremony, and the three of them were waiting to see Kendall’s gown reveal.
Sam slid a glance toward Jenny. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re eating real chocolate,” the redhead fired back, gesturing to the small pile of foil wrappers on Sam’s lap. “You don’t eat real food.”
“I eat only real food,” Sam said around a mouthful of candy. She swiped the back of her hand across her lips.
“I don’t mean real ‘rabbit’ food,” Jenny clarified. “I mean the yummy stuff with sugar and cream and lots of crap in it.”
The saleswoman who was straightening a nearby rack of bridesmaid dresses sniffed. “I beg your pardon, but we don’t offer our clients crap.”
“No need to beg,” Jenny said sweetly. “I meant it as a compliment.”
“It’s very good,” Chloe told the woman with a bright smile. “I like that you support a local candy maker.”
Sam coughed to hide her laugh as Jenny rolled her eyes. All of it was true, though. The chocolates were from a candy shop a block away from the toy store Chloe owned in the Highlands neighborhood west of downtown. They were delicious and full of ingredients Sam normally wouldn’t eat.
After so many years of abusing herself, when Sam hit rock bottom she’d made the commitment to honor her body and what she put into it.
She grabbed the wrappers and stuffed them into her purse.
“What happened?” Jenny asked when the saleswoman moved away.
Sam sighed. “He made me feel special.”
It felt stupid to say those words, even though they were true. She could deal with judgment from Trevor. She’d worked hard to leave behind the woman she used to be, but the thought that he believed she was different felt uncomfortable and irritating, like a rock in her shoe.
“Of course you’re special,” Chloe said gently, moving closer on the couch and taking Sam’s hand. “We know it, and it’s about time you let a man see that side of you.”
Sam tried to smile but her mouth wouldn’t move. “I sound like an idiot,” she muttered. “Forget I said anything.”
“Did you screw up?” Jenny bit the edge of her thumbnail.
Chloe squeezed Sam’s hand more tightly.
Sam sighed. “Not unless you count tripping over the dog and falling on my butt, then shrieking at Trevor while splayed across the kitchen floor. He must think I’m a lunatic.”
Jenny rolled her eyes. “The annoying thing is you probably made crazy look gorgeous. Really, Cover Girl, your face sometimes gets in the way.”
Chloe let out a little groan but Sam only laughed. “Tell me about it.”
“Don’t worry,” Jenny answered. “I will.”
When Kendall had first introduced Jenny to their group, Sam thought the redhead was all snark. She soon realized that Jenny’s mask was even more firmly in place than her own. All that brashness hid the heart of a sensitive woman. While Chloe and Kendall were sometimes shocked by Jenny’s outrageous comments, Sam never minded them.
“Don’t screw it up,” Jenny told her now, and Sam saw the pain in the woman’s eyes before she hid it. Shortly after Kendall and Ty met, Jenny had also found her perfect man. So perfect, in fact, that she’d sabotaged their relationship even though he truly cared about her.
“I don’t want anything from Trevor,” Sam lied. “We’re only together because... well, this is about Grace.”
“This is about how much that man hurt you,” Jenny countered. “Even though you were the one who left.”
