Foolish Notions Read online

  James brought his other arm around her and glanced at his watch.

  Samantha looked down at hers, too. “Do you want to go?”

  James shook his head and laughed. “Not at all. The last thing I want is for this evening to end.” He let his arm fall possessively against her. “I was just noticing we’ve been gone for an hour and forty-five minutes. My mom is probably doing a victory dance right now.”

  “Or running through the house naked.” Samantha rested her head against his chest. “She’s not subtle, is she?”

  “She never has been. But the sad thing is, she probably thinks she has outsmarted us.”

  “There’s only four more weeks to go. It will all be over soon.”

  He turned her around so she faced him. “You’re beautiful.” The words came out a soft whisper and were almost carried off by the breeze before they reached her ears. Cupping her face he pulled her close, raising her lips to within inches of his. He held the position for an instant. In her eyes he found the unspoken promise that she wanted this as much as he.

  The kiss, although gentle, held a year’s worth of longing, a year’s worth of waiting. While her lips trembled with excitement and anxiety against his, her hands remained steady when they sunk into his hair at the base of his neck. She shifted her weight slightly to get closer. She wanted to feel him. She wanted to feel all of him against her. She hadn’t been held or kissed in so long. Carnal instinct took over as she deepened the kiss. He tasted of wine. It was mild and sweet. An old familiarity filled her perfectly.

  James pulled her hair to the side and glided the tip of his tongue along the small of her neck, causing bumps to form in its wake. He nibbled softly as he moved slowly to the base and continued across the top of her shoulder. In the shallow hollow of her shoulder was where he found her need for him bubbling desperately trying to get out. He allowed her pulse to thud against his tongue before moving on. Covering her breast with his hand, he lifted its weight in his palm and began kneading it until a cry passed over her lips.

  His other hand was soothing as it roamed over her entire body, trying to feel all of it. God, he wanted to make love to her right here. He was seriously contemplating the thought when he heard his name being spoken, and it wasn’t Samantha’s heavy voice that found its way to his ears.

  “James?”

  James turned around, blocking Samantha from the intruders, giving her time to smooth out her hair and straighten her clothes.

  James recognized Ed and his wife in the pale light. James shook his hand. “Ed.” And then he reached for the woman’s hand. “Good evening, Barbara.”

  “Mr. Taylor, how have you been?”

  James nodded briskly and tried to keep the irritation out of his voice when he spoke. “I’m well, thank you.”

  “Samantha, is that you? By God, it is.” Ed slapped his thigh with the palm of his hand. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re the last person I expected—”

  Ed’s wife cut in. “Why don’t you introduce us, Ed?” The woman looked apologetically at Samantha.

  Ed shut his mouth immediately and then began introductions. “This is my wife Barbara. Barbara this is Samantha, James’s—uh—James’s—”

  James cleared his throat as he watched Ed stutter. “This is a good friend of mine, Samantha.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Samantha.”

  Samantha lifted her eyes just long enough to say, “Likewise.”

  Much to everyone’s relief, the waiter immediately ushered Ed and Barbara to a table in the far corner.

  Samantha moved toward their table. With a perfectly composed expression, she said, “I think I’m ready to go home.”

  “The waiter just brought the coffee.” James gestured to the cups on the table. He could feel the anger in him starting to rise and he did nothing to try and stifle it.

  She didn’t even look at the coffee. “I don’t feel like coffee anymore.”

  James would have thoroughly enjoyed placing his hands around Ed’s neck and slowly squeezing. He decided that sending him somewhere out of the country for several weeks would suffice. Ed not only hated long business trips, he also couldn’t stand to fly. James glared at the table across the room a final time, before turning his attention back to Samantha. He felt her anxiety as he watch her gather up her purse. “Sam—”

  “Please, James. I don’t know what just happened. It shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t want it to happen.” She pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead. “I can’t even think.” She looked up. “What I’m trying to say is, this is a mistake.”

  “What do you mean?” Realizing his voice was a little loud he instinctively lowered it. He was a private man who kept his personal life just that, personal. “What do you mean you don’t know what just happened? I’ll tell you what almost happened. We just about made love in a restaurant.” When she didn’t speak, he looked at her accusingly. “Are you going to deny it?” He leaned in closer. “We want each other like—”

  “Please, stop.” She kept her eyes averted. “I want to go home.”

  “Running from this isn’t going to make it go away.”

  “I’m not running from anything because there’s nothing to run from.” She took off his coat and handed it to him.

  James shoved it back at her. “Put the damn coat back on.”

  “I don’t need it anymore.”

  “Samantha.”

  She shrugged the coat back on. “There. Are you satisfied now?”

  “What is going to satisfy me is to hear you admit what just happened.”

  “A mistake just happened.”

  “Damn it, Samantha.”

  Samantha glanced over her shoulder at Ed and Barbara, who were trying their best to discreetly eavesdrop. “This isn’t the time or the place for this.”

  He raised his hands in the air, giving up. “Okay, fine.”

  “Thank you.”

  Slowly, James rubbed the back of his hand against her cheek. “You will come to me, Samantha. And when you do you won’t deny how much you want me.” He placed his hand in the small of her back and guided her through the dining area to the car.

  Chapter Fourteen

  James walked into his mom’s room. The early morning light revealed she was resting on her side, her back toward him. He could see her body rise and fall in the rhythm of sleep. This round of chemo hit her hard, the worst part happening around two this morning.

  The commotion had woken him from a dead sleep. By the time he had gotten to his mom’s room Samantha was already there. She had moved about the room with efficient speed, taking care of everything, while he stood against the wall like a helpless fool. He couldn’t even figure out what was going on, so many things were happening at once. It wasn’t until Samantha had run into him twice that she finally shooed him out.

  A large green bowl still rested a few feet from Marie’s head, a sign of just how weak she was. He swallowed hard. He wanted to talk to her. He needed to touch her. But he knew she needed her rest more than his words and support right now. Besides, didn’t he really just want to reassure himself that she was okay? That was part of it, but he also felt like he had to let her know that she was going to be fine.

  He cringed inside. How was he going to let her know that she was going to be all right? He was completely helpless to her. Hell, Samantha was more assistance to her right now than he was. He turned his head away and forced himself to leave the room.

  He moved down the hall, and stood at Samantha’s door for several moments before he opened it. She, too, was sleeping with her back to him. He moved into the room, quietly closing the space between them.

  He took his time as he watched her. The peak of her golden shoulder was exposed, revealing a swatch of the white cotton tank top she wore. Her hair tumbled around her, covering skin and pillow in a haphazard fashion. He wanted to bury himself in the chaotic mess and never find his way out again.

  He took a seat next to her. His weight on the mattress
caused her to roll onto her back. Even as she slept, he could see lines of exhaustion across her face. Eyelashes, thick and dark, rested against her cheeks like delicate, miniature fans. Her lips were parted ever so slightly. He divided his attention between her face and the curvy gray outline of her body.

  He had been so lonely without her. From the outside, it appeared as if he had everything, but inside he couldn’t have been emptier. Over the last year his approach to life had become so callous. His steely nature was once reserved purely for work, but it had somehow crept into his personal life, too. He didn’t like the man he was becoming. He needed her to balance him, to love him, to tie his two worlds together. He wasn’t complete unless he had her by his side.

  Samantha’s heavy lashes lifted to expose weariness in her eyes. “James?”

  His hand moved to her head where he fingered her hair. “Yes.” He whispered the word as he leaned down toward her.

  “Is Marie all right?” She licked her lips. “Does she need me?”

  I need you. “She’s sleeping,” he said in a calming voice. “She’s fine. I just checked on her.”

  Grogginess drenched her voice when she spoke in a hushed tone. “I didn’t think I’d ever get her settled.”

  He kept stroking her hair. “I know. It was a long night.”

  Her eyes dropped, then slowly lifted. “She was so sick. I knew the pain must have been unbearable.”

  He nodded, but wasn’t sure she could see him in the dim light. He left her hair and touched her face affectionately.

  “I finally had to give her a sleeping pill.” She pressed her face against the palm of his hand and snuggled into the pillow. “You’re warm.” Her eyes drifted closed. “She didn’t want to take it. I forced her.”

  “She needed it,” he countered. To his touch, her skin was incredibly soft and tender. His thumb began deliberate lazy strokes. The motion was feathery light and the meager contact was amazingly intimate. He fought the urge to lie down next to her and pull her close to him.

  “I think I yelled at her . . . did you hear?”

  A smile touched his lips. “No, you didn’t yell.” Samantha very rarely raised her voice. She was a little more resourceful than that. Last night she had cut to the chase. She had threatened his mother into taking the pill.

  “What did I say?” She yawned. “I don’t even remember.”

  “You told her that you’d never have dinner with me again if she didn’t swallow the damn pill.” He added, “And of course, I’m quoting you.”

  She eyed him through mere slits. “Well, it worked.”

  “I’m not saying anything,” he said defensively. He was all for whatever got the job done. He had used threats more than once in his line of work, too.

  “You’ll say something, you always do.” She pulled her legs up close. “She was so fatigued—”

  Using his finger, he hushed her. “You did the right thing. Rest is vital right now. We both know that. She knows that. Mom just has a phobia about taking pills of any kind.” He pulled his hand from the warmth of her cheek and kissed her on the forehead. Her skin was warm against his lips. “You need to rest too.”

  “It’s hard for me to see her like this.” She paused, then added, “Even though I’m a nurse, it hurts.”

  Her eyes remained closed. He wanted to place a kiss on each of them and then work his way down to her lips. It would feel so good if he could just kiss her. “I know it does.”

  She nestled deeper into the bed. “I love her.” She sighed. “I’ve missed seeing her.”

  James pulled the blanket up around her, efficiently tucking her in. She looked safe and warm. “She’s missed you too.”

  “I’m so tired.” She burrowed down, taking advantage of his efforts. “You should be sleeping. It’s too early to be up.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t sleep. If I thought sleeping was hard before you came, it’s impossible now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re two goddamn feet down the hall from me.”

  “It feels that close doesn’t it?”

  “Closer,” he grumbled.

  “Will you stay? Just sit here until I go back to sleep.”

  Her simple request packed a punch. He couldn’t have left her side even if he had wanted to. She had been endlessly giving herself to the both of them. It was her turn to need someone and he would remain with her for as long as she wanted. It was the least he could do after all she had done for them. “Of course, I’ll stay.”

  He watched her as she drifted away into the cloudy realm of sleep.

  “I liked going to dinner with you,” she said absently. “And your kisses . . . your lips . . . I liked your lips against mine.” She took one long breath and was fast asleep.

  He sat and watched her until the clear early morning light broke through the gray dawn. As those first rays of sunshine filled the room he took her fingers in his. He did nothing more but stare at them for the longest time.

  * * * * *

  As James sat at his desk in his home office, he spoke softly into the phone, because Samantha and his mom were still sleeping. “Shelly, I’m going to be working from home today.” He shook his head. “No, don’t cancel the meeting. I’ll just have it here.” He took a sip of the steaming cup of coffee. “That’s with Jerry Hancock, right?” Jerry was a specialist in the field of corporate social responsibility. He’d hired the consulting firm two months ago to help the company become more active in the community.

  James not only wanted his company to be financially successful but also well liked. The relationship between a company and the community in which it operated was very important. Companies like his were expected to get involved with the community, to make a contribution, and not just through providing employment and paying taxes.

  “Yes, it’s with Jerry Hancock,” Shelly confirmed. “I’ll call over to his office after we get off the phone.”

  “What else is on the agenda today?” James listened quietly as Shelly gave him a rundown of the schedule. She also read off all phone messages and any new mail he had received. “Fax that over to me, I’d like to look over it.”

  “Will do, Mr. Taylor. How is your mom doing?”

  “It was a difficult night, but she’s hanging in there.” He took another sip. “If anything comes up, just call.”

  Over the next three hours James worked steadily. He held a meeting over the phone that lasted a grueling forty minutes. He reviewed the minutes, which Shelly had faxed over, from the Seattle meeting that he didn’t attend. He also went over two proposals that were supposed to go out tomorrow. He spent twenty minutes adding two more items for inclusion for one of them.

  Samantha was sleepy-eyed, but showered and dressed, when she stood in the doorway. “I didn’t think you’d be home.”

  “Good morning.” He looked at his watch and grinned. “Or should I say, good afternoon.”

  “That was a rough night.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  He pushed away from his desk and moved to her. As he approached her, he caught the scent of fresh morning rain, clean and sweet. The heat of the shower caused her skin to glow a soft rosy pink. Just the ends of her hair were damp. She had allowed it to dry naturally, just how he liked it. A little tousled, not styled to perfection. She wore the comfortable, faded, frayed jeans that drove him to distraction. And there were those perfect red toes, peeking from underneath. This time they didn’t twitch. “How are you feeling?”

  Her expression was humorless. “Like I haven’t slept.”

  James’s lips thinned into a grim line; he knew the feeling. He extended his arms out. And when she walked to him without a moment’s consideration, he drew her in close. When she sank against him, he could feel her exhaustion and depletion, all of which should be expected after being up the entire night taking care of an extremely sick person. However, he knew that it wasn’t just his mom’s condition that was wearing her out; it was also what was happening between them
. Emotionally, it was sucking her dry.

  Samantha rested her head against his chest. “I feel like I’m burnt out.”

  “You’ve been going nonstop for the last few weeks,” he whispered as his hand ran the length of her back.

  “I’m used to going nonstop.” She had done it for the last year.

  “You’re not used to working around the clock for someone you love dearly. It puts a completely different spin on it when it’s someone you care about.” He would find something relaxing for them to do to restore her energy, he told himself. She needed a break. He rested his chin on the top of her head. “You’re not used to having me around, either.” He hadn’t been making her job any easier for her. He’d only been adding more weight to her already heavy load.

  She pinched his ribs. “Yes, you are a thorn in my side.”

  He kissed her hair, squeezing her gently to him. “I’ll try not to be from now on.”

  They stayed this way for a moment before Samantha spoke.

  “What are you doing home?”

  He released her but kept an arm around her shoulders. “I decided to work from home today.”

  “You don’t need to stay.”

  “I want to.”

  “I can handle anything that comes up.”

  “I know you can.” Her capabilities were clearly not in question. Her skills, without a doubt, were impeccable. Not that there was any, but if there had been hesitation, last night would have resolved all uncertainty. She was amazing and he was simply in awe of how she had handled everything.

  “Last night was hard on you,” she said softly.

  “I think it was hard on all of us. I just needed to be here.” He couldn’t explain why, so he didn’t even try.

  “I understand.”

  Raising his arm, he glanced at the time. “I’ll be holding a meeting here in a little while.”

  Samantha nodded. “I won’t keep you.” She gave him the first smile of the morning. “I’m going to get some coffee. I hope it’s as thick as mud.”

  * * * * *

  With her mug close by, Samantha gathered the ingredients for homemade soup. She prepared it in the slow cooker, so it would be ready for Marie whenever she wanted it. After last night she knew that keeping something down was going to be a challenge. Hopefully, something light would do the trick for her nervous stomach. She went easy on the spices, keeping it bland.