Dating A Saint (12 page)

Regina squeezed Alexa’s arm and pointed down the table with her gaze. “By the way, good work, Mom. I guess you get to keep the wise old lady label in our group after all. Did you lecture Mr. Gallagher on how to treat your baby?”

Alexa raised her middle finger to Regina, who laughed. Ben reached over and pinched Regina, who yelped.

“What was that about? And why didn’t you tell me you were into S&M before we were married?” Regina demanded, her distinct voice carrying to the other diners, making Ben cringe. It was all he could to do to hold Regina’s laughing gaze.

“It seems to work for Casey. I thought I’d try it when you start picking fights at dinner,” Ben said.

“Yes, well it makes Alexa want to kill Casey. It has a different effect on me all together. Don’t start something you can’t finish, Benjamin,” Regina said, eyes twinkling.

Lauren stopped mid-sentence in her response to Casey and swung a very direct gaze to Regina. “I have a martial arts move guaranteed to cure that problem,” she said loudly.

Regina had to bite her lip at the shock on Ben’s face, not to mention Jim’s. Jim looked stricken, but oh—so respectful. She laughed and patted Ben’s leg as she bounded up from her seat, dashing to throw her arms around Lauren, who squealed at her purring and cuddling.

“I’m so proud of you, honey. You keep right on kicking ass if anyone disappoints you. I have my own methods, but thank you so much for wanting to help me,” Regina said, kissing the protesting Lauren soundly on both cheeks before returning to sit sedately at Ben’s side.

“I am so looking forward to our contract renegotiation meeting tomorrow morning,” Jim said smoothly to the men at the table, enthused at the prospect of making them squirm now that he knew how their women handled them. “This is turning out to be a very enlightening dinner whether we end up eating or not.”

Ben and Casey both put their faces in their hands while Regina and Alexa looked on smiling.

Jim’s loud laughter drew the attention of the entire restaurant. When he turned his laughing face to Lauren, she was beaming at him as well as holding his hand. Seeing her pleasure, Jim could no longer remember his remaining doubts about getting involved with her. Not that all the doubts in the world would have stopped him from coming tonight so he could apologize.

He meant what he’d told Barrett about wanting to marry her, but Jim didn’t want to hurt Lauren in the process of getting there. His hand tightened on hers.

“I promise what we have is worth waiting for,” Jim said to Lauren, leaning to kiss her mouth again, pleased when she moaned a little against his lips.

When Jim pulled away, he expected to see another beaming smile. Instead, he saw a very determined look on Lauren’s face. He became more nervous when Lauren lifted her chin, licked her lips, and cleared her throat. Too late, Jim recognized the same woman who’d thrown him on the floor this morning.

“I’m sure you’re worth a lot, but I’m tired of waiting, Jim,” Lauren said to him, not sparing a glance at anyone else at their table. “I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want, but I’m not going to let you control everything either. There’s going to come a time soon when I’m going to be tired of waiting and you’re going to have to follow through. You need to come to terms with that fact.”

It was an echo of what she’d said while standing over him this morning. Jim felt her hand unfold under his, felt her palm move up his leg, and felt his reaction to her stroke despite the crowded restaurant and her friends looking on.

“Are you issuing an ultimatum?” Jim asked softly, his gaze unable to tear itself from hers. Lauren was definitely not hiding how much she wanted him from anyone in this group.

“More like putting you on notice,” Lauren said quietly, her tone serious. “I intend to have everything I want from you, James Gallagher.”

“No doubt,” Jim said, trying not to be embarrassed as he tried to cover it with a joke. “Can I at least have dinner first?”

“If you like red meat, you should think about trying the beef medallions. Lucinda’s chef does an excellent job with those,” Lauren said easily, lifting her menu to study it so she could pretend she wasn’t scared about his reaction to her boldness.

“Since you apologized so nicely about this morning, you can have another week to think about when you want to take our relationship to the next level.”

At the end of the table, Alexa raised an eyebrow in surprise, while Regina bit her lip to hold in her shout of jubilation.

Ben and Casey looked at Lauren like they’d never seen her before and sent Jim a sympathetic gaze. They looked at each other, grinned, and picked up menus.

No help was coming from those two wimps, Jim concluded.

“One thing I’ve learned in business is true success is about the quality of the compromise,” Jim said carefully, setting his menu down as the waiter appeared at the table. He looked at the waiter, who was smiling. “I’ll have the crow this evening and so will Ms. McCarthy.”

Lauren looked at Jim and narrowed her eyes. “There’s no crow on the menu.”

“There might be a week from now,” Jim said easily, giving Lauren his best stare. “Tonight, I respect your need to be in control. Why don’t you order for both of us?”

“Betting pool time,” Casey whispered under his breath. Ben laughed and nodded.

“Fifty on Lauren,” Alexa said softly.

Regina’s gaze went back and forth between Jim and Lauren. “I have the advantage of knowing the outcome. I have to sit this one out.”

“You can’t possibly know,” Ben whispered, annoyed with his wife. Regina just looked back at him. “Fine,” Ben said, “are you going to help me out here or watch me lose fifty dollars?”

Regina patted Ben’s leg and smiled sadly. “I love you, but I have to abstain.”

“Fifty on Lauren,” Lauren said from the end of the table, her voice penetrating their whispers. “Mr. Gallagher and I will have the filet medallions, the asparagus, red potatoes, and the house salad. Jim can choose his own drink.”

“Thank you, darling.” Jim smiled at Lauren, narrowing his eyes. She might be able to kick his ass, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for her. “I’ll have two fingers of the best whiskey you have at the bar. Oh, and please bring Ms McCarthy a glass of mineral water. She’s off the sauce until she learns to control her nasty temper.”

Lauren closed her menu and handed it to the waiter. “Thanks for the moral support,
darling
,” she said sarcastically.

“My fifty is on Jim,” Casey said, grinning and rubbing his hands together.

After spending the morning on the Whispering Pines contract, the three men drove up to the facility in the afternoon to meet with the hospital administrator about specific needs and to settle on a timeframe for the work. Jim cleared his schedule to ride along with Ben and Casey.

Sam showed up at the door of the conference room. Having expected him, Jim rose and walked out with him into the hallway.

“Hi, Sam” Jim said.

“Hi. You—you wanted to talk to me? Is this about Sandy?” Sam asked.

“Yes. Well, it affects her,” Jim said, motioning Sam to walk along with him. “Let’s go to my office if that’s okay. How are you doing?”

“Mostly good. The anxiety is almost gone. I’m a little nervous about talking to you,” Sam confessed. “Dr. Edison says the OCD is barely noticeable now. Don’t you still get reports.”

“Yes, but that’s just doctor speak. I wanted to hear how you felt from you,” Jim said. “I consider you my family just as much as Cassandra.”

Sam looked at Jim. “I know. You are a good man.”

“I’m glad you think so. I think you’re a good man, too. I have something important I want to ask your opinion about, Sam.” Jim put his hands in his pockets as they walked.

“Okay,” Sam said, starting to get worried again as he took a chair in Jim’s office. The office stayed dark when Jim wasn’t around. Now all the lights were on. He liked it better when Jim was here. But he didn’t like it when Jim looked nervous.

Jim shook his head and smiled. “Don’t look so worried. I only have good things to share, but I can’t share them with Cass—Sandy yet,” Jim said.

“I like your new friends,” Sam said. “Sandy likes them too.”

“So do I,” Jim said. “In fact, I have another new friend, one I’d like to bring to see you and Sandy sometime soon.”

“Your eyes changed colors. A girlfriend?” Sam asked, smiling at Jim’s nod. “It’s about time, Jim.”

“You’re still as perceptive as ever. Yes,” Jim said, meeting Sam’s gaze. “It’s a woman. Do you think Sandy will mind?”

“No. She often worries about you being all alone.” Sam asked. “Are you planning to divorce Sandy?”

“I would never do anything that would prevent me from protecting the two of you,” Jim watched Sam blink as he assimilated the information. Sam had been an attorney at one time. Jim knew he’d understand about the legal ramifications.

“You know I would like to be really married to Sandy,” Sam said. “I would also like to be divorced. If you keep the girlfriend, will you divorce Sandy?”

“You and Sandy will always be together, no matter what happens. I don’t know about the rest,” Jim said.

“If you get divorced, can I get one, too? Can you do that, Jim?” Sam leaned forward as he spoke, liking the idea of being a free man. Sam knew Jim paid his wife so he could stay with Sandy.

Jim’s eyebrows rose. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. Margaret never loved me. She loved my money. I’m glad my father lost it all,” Sam said easily, clearly. “Margaret lost interest in me after the money was gone.”

Jim was amazed at the transformation in Samuel. He seemed quite normal suddenly. He also seemed quite excited at the idea of divorcing his legal wife. What a strange situation they were all in, Jim thought. Both he and Sam were legally married to women who didn’t want them. At least Sam had Sandy. Maybe he was close to having Lauren. Thinking about the irony of it all made Jim sigh.

“I can’t promise anything, but I will ask about getting you a divorce. Will you let me be your guardian if you need one afterward?” Jim asked. “I promise to care for you.”

Sam was shaking his head no. “I like you, Jim. But I want my son to be my guardian. I think he will want that too.”

“Son? Sam, you don’t have a son,” Jim said, disappointed Sam wasn’t as clear on reality as he seemed. “You and Margaret didn’t have children because of your illness.”

When Sam suddenly smiled, it was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. “Yes. I have a son, Jim. I even have grandchildren. Don’t tell anyone. Margaret doesn’t know. If she did, she probably wouldn’t let them see me.”

“I don’t understand. Are you sure you have a son?” Jim asked.

Sam reached in his pocket and pulled out a picture. He slid it across to Jim.

“I haven’t even told Sandy he is my real son, but Hector tells her he loves me. I loved his mother when I was young. It was long ago, before I married Margaret. I wanted to marry Rosa, but my father sent her away. I could never find her. Rosa and Hector found me here,” Sam said. “I should have told you, but I was protecting them. I thought you might think I didn’t want Sandy anymore, but I love Sandy.”

“I know you do,” Jim said sincerely. There had never been any doubt in Jim’s mind about Sam’s love for Cassandra. Giving her up had only been tolerable because he knew Sam took care of her. He looked at the picture of Sam and a smiling young man who looked Hispanic in origin. “He’s a good-looking man.”

“Hector looks like Rosa. His name is Hector Samuel Gonzales. Rosa gave him my name even after what my father did. Hector is the person who taught me how to take care of the flowers,” Sam said with a shrug. “My son is very good at what he does. He loves plants, but not as much as his family. Hector is a good man.”

“I am sure he is,” Jim agreed. “Can I talk to him? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but if you want him to be your guardian, I would have to talk with him. He’d have to be willing to sign papers for you.”

Jim handed the picture back to Sam, not letting on that he recognized the man who ran the grounds service for Whispering Pines.

“Hector comes on Tuesdays. Can you come back then? I’ll tell him about you. I won’t tell Sandy about the divorce. I don’t think she would understand. It might upset her.”

“I don’t want to upset her either. Thanks, Sam. I’ll talk to your—son, next Tuesday. Only I don’t know about the divorce. Even if it doesn’t work out, we’ll make sure you and Sandy get to stay together.”

“I trust you,” Sam said. “You’ll take care of us. You’re a good man.”

Jim closed his eyes. “Everything I want to do may take a long time to work out. Be patient with me.”

“I really want my divorce,” Sam said. “I would do it myself if I could. I used to do those things all the time.”

“Yes, I know. I heard you were really good.” Jim said, smiling.

“I like taking care of flowers better,” Sam said with shrug. “Sandy will be done with the doctor now. I better go meet her.”

“Thank you, Sam.” Jim noted Sam’s fixation with time was still there, but hell—many people ran their lives by a clock.

Jim leaned back in his chair, staring at the door long after Sam had exited.

Barrett was going to love this twist. Sam didn’t know it, but Jim would gladly pay Barrett to negotiate for Sam’s divorce. The woman used Sam as a bargaining chip. He was already paying for Sam’s keep, but he was also paying Sam’s wife in order to keep Sam with Sandy. It was worth every penny, but still fundamentally wrong.

Now there might be a son. Not that Jim believed Sam’s story, but he’d have to talk to the man just in case. He just hoped the man wasn’t going to be embarrassed about Sam calling him his son.

And if he was, well Jim imagined a raise would soothe it over. Money could fix a lot of things—which is why Jim made sure he always had a lot of it.

*** *** ***

At four that afternoon, Lauren jogged down the stairs to answer the doorbell. She was sweaty and hadn’t finished her workout yet but figured her overnight delivery had arrived earlier than the six o’clock estimated time. When she looked through the security port in the door, she was looking for a brown uniform, but she saw Jim instead.