Fated Bliss (Bliss #2) (20 page)

“Just go easy on him a little. And please, don’t hurt him. He’s had enough hurt to last a lifetime.”

My heart ached. How could it not after hearing that? The man that I’d come to know that night, the lover that was gentle and fierce, passionate and so sweet, was far from the person she described. However, it brought up my earlier assessment of him – there was a hint of sadness behind his guarded, blank expressions that he didn’t let anyone see.

Shit.

I didn’t need this right now. Self-preservation said I needed to think this out before I took a leap.

“Okay, Lyric,” I allowed for now. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

“Damn,” she joked. “I totally thought you’d fly into his arms after that.”

“Wishful thinkin’, you mean.”

She laughed quietly. “Yeah, that too.”

My regrets came flooding back. “I’m glad to hear your voice. It wasn’t until later that I realized I didn’t get your number.”

“Don’t worry about it. I understood. I knew we’d have this conversation eventually.”

“Thank you.”

“No prob. Listen, I have to get to work. Get my number from Ben and text me. We’ll touch base after the weekend.”

“I’d love that.”

“Me too. Talk to you soon, Carolina.”

“Yeah…soon.”

She hung up without another word. I handed the phone to Ben and stared at my lap again, my emotions all over the place. However, my pain was catching up with me, and I was exhausted from the combination.

“You okay?” Ben whispered, cupping my jaw and tilting my face upward.

I suppressed a full body quiver and said, “Tired.”

He searched my eyes, and whatever he saw in them caused his eyes to flare. I gulped and licked my lips nervously. His eyes darkened further.

“I…uh…” I stammered, not sure what I meant to say. I wanted him to move back, but, at the same time, I wanted to close the gap between us.

“Soon,” he murmured, confusing me, and kissed my temple. “You need some rest and a chance to heal before we talk. I don’t want you to overdo it.”

Touched by his concern, I melted and swayed closer to him. He glanced back and forth between my eyes and lips, indecision waging a war on his face. His head started to descend, his mind made, when the door to the room opened. We froze and then slowly turned our heads to find Dad and Grey standing in the doorway, staring at us. Dad seemed delighted and slightly floored at the same time. Grey was plain infuriated.

Damn.

Ben stepped back awkwardly and slipped some paper out of his pocket. He unfolded it and handed it to me, switching back into doctor mode. “Here’s your prescriptions. Make sure you take the antibiotics twice daily until they are all gone.”

“Got it,” I mumbled, glancing between Ben, Dad, and Grey, highly uncomfortable.

Attempting to act natural, Ben went on, “Take the pain meds every four hours or as needed. Next week, I’ll need to see you to remove the stitches.”

“Yes…of course.”

“You can check the stitches when you come over for dinner on Sunday,” Dad commented.

My eyes snapped to his. “Dinner?”

“Yeah. Your mom invited them over. Grey said he mentioned it to you.”

Why did Dad seem pleased with this?

“He did. I just didn’t realize…” I glanced at Ben again and frowned, and then it hit me.

Oh, no!

Mom and Dad were playing matchmaker. Mom had been going on and on about wanting grandbabies for years, and I bet she took one look at Ben and started scheming. There was no other explanation.

Yep, I’m in hell.

“Ben’s mother used to be good friends with your mom back in the day,” Dad enlightened me. “Ben and Grey used to play as kids. Your mom wants to catch up.”

Say what?!

I didn’t see that coming. I expected to hear the
Twilight Zone
theme song at any moment.

I must have had a funny look on my face because Dad and Ben started cracking up. Grey hung his head, shaking it back and forth, and grumbled something unintelligible.

“Come on,” Ben stated and held out a hand for me. “Let me help you down.”

I gave him a fake smile and put my hand in his. The damn chemistry between us zipped up my arm again and then zoomed down to my hoo-ha, but I kept my reaction to him to myself. Gently, I slipped off the table and then let him go immediately.

Distance.

I
needed
distance.

“Thanks, Dr. Rhodes,” I called over my shoulder, rushing to the door. “See you around.”

The damn man chuckled. “See you soon, Samantha.”

“Let’s
go
,” I urged Dad and Grey, squeezing past them.

“Very subtle, Sam,” Grey teased, keeping his tone low so that Ben didn’t hear. It wasn’t discreet enough that Dad didn’t, though. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you run from anythin’. Is there somethin’ we should know?”

I flipped him the bird and continued down the hall, ignoring my protesting body. It told me to slow down, but that wasn’t happening. I needed out of this place before I did something I’d later regret…like murder my brother in cold blood or throw myself at a hot doctor.

Chapter 19

Samantha

“So,” Clara began
, swirling her wine in her wineglass. “Wanna tell me about Ben yet?”

“Not really,” I mumbled, wishing she’d drop it.

We were sitting at Mom and Dad’s patio table, awaiting Ben and Linc’s arrival. They were supposed to be here in an hour, and I needed the liquid courage if I was going to face Ben, hence my suggestion to Clara about sitting outside in the refreshing mountain air and popping open a bottle of wine. The last thing I wanted to do was answer questions regarding him.

Clara hadn’t been the only one asking questions. Grey had been a hound dog, hoping to sniff out the story. Someone had said something – I wasn’t sure what just yet and was too chicken to ask – to Mom and Dad because now they were in on the questioning. Not only that, when I went to the grocery store earlier today with Mom, Becky Holt stopped me and asked if I was dating the new doctor. The rumor mill around town was in a tizzy now.

Like I’d predicted, my life was hell.

“Come on, Sam. You’ve gotta give me something,” Clara pleaded, pinning me beseeching eyes.

“Ugh!” I grumbled. “No one will leave this alone, will they?”

“You told Adam, Sam!
Adam!
” she cried, appalled. “You two hate each other, and he knew before me! How could you do that?!”

“First, I don’t hate Adam,” I corrected her, but now that she put it that way, I felt like an ass. If the roles were reversed, I’d be all over her, trying to pump her for every scrap of information. “We just argue a lot. I bicker with Grey and Mom all the time – it’s no different. That’s how I show my love. And I love Adam.”

She frowned, stunned by my confession, and then her eyes widened. “You’re stalling!”

Damn…she figured me out.

“Fine,” I caved. I grabbed my wine glass from the table and took a big gulp.

She clapped her hands together. “Yay! Finally!”

“You’re such a child,” I teased.

“Right.” She leveled me with a pointed stare. “I’ve known you how long, and it wasn’t until yesterday that you told me about your asshole of an ex. I thought I’d have to wait another year before you told me about Ben. Excuse me for being excited.”

I blew out a breath from the side of my mouth, really wanting to argue, but she had me cornered. “Okay, okay…I’m a bitch. Happy now?”

“A little,” she allowed, narrowing her eyes at me playfully. “But I won’t be completely happy until you tell me what happened between you and that delicious doctor.”

“Did you, the same Clara that came to town all scared and timid, really just call him delicious?” I breathed, acting stunned.

“Oh, hush.” She waved in a shooing motion. “I might be engaged, but I’m not blind. That man is beautiful. Seriously, what is it about Bliss that attracts gorgeous men? I’ve seen more here than my entire life in Chicago.”

I cracked a smile. “Wait ’til I tell Grey that. He’d hate Ben.”

She smacked my uninjured arm, laughing. “I don’t think you want your brother to hate your new boyfriend any more than he does.”

I sputtered around a sip of wine. “Whoa! Slow your roll there, missy. Who said anythin’ about a boyfriend?” I wiped my mouth and glanced at her in exasperation. “I think you’re movin’ a little fast, don’t you?”

“If what Grey said is true, not really. I think he said you mentioned something about monkey sex and so many orgasms it blew your mind. I thought he was going to have a coronary when he told me. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard.”

Annoyed, I complained, “Glad you find this funny. I’m never gonna live that down. Adam keeps sendin’ me texts about it. He’s havin’ too much fun at my expense.”

“You’ve got yourself to blame.”

“How?! I was injected with a shit-ton of morphine! It wasn’t my fault,” I cried, stupefied. “If I had known I would run into Ben, I would have gone about it in a completely different way. Showing up at his clinic unconscious wasn’t exactly ideal.”

“True,” she murmured, bobbing her head up and down. “Are you done procrastinating now?”

“Ugh!” I couldn’t win for losing.

“Come on, Sam. Tell me,” she pleaded. Clara grabbed the wine bottle and topped off my glass. “Here. This should help.”

“Gettin’ me liquored up before I see Ben probably isn’t a good idea,” I pointed out, taking a big gulp.

“It was your idea,” she retorted, sending me a
really
look.

“Okay, okay…” I relented, rolling my eyes. “Ben and I sat next to each other on the plane…”

Clara remained quiet as I spilled the entire story. I gave her only the bare minimum regarding our night together (I didn’t kiss and tell), then proceeded to relay Ben’s disappearance – I got off subject and told her about Lyric’s call in the middle – the reason I called Adam in the first place, and the conversation with Adam that led me to leave London.

“So, as you can see, I’m stunned to find him livin’ here,” I finished.

“Whoa,” Clara breathed, her eyes round. “That’s…that’s…”

“Insane, crazy, unheard of… Did I say crazy?”

“Fate!” she exclaimed, beaming.

“What?!” I croaked, sure I’d heard wrong.

“Sam, for you two to have a whirlwind romance like that and then to be torn apart…” She sat up in her seat and took my hand, staring into my eyes earnestly. “Maybe this is fate bringing you back together.”

“Did you get knocked in the head with a rake, too?” I questioned, my words dripping with sarcasm.

“Stop for a moment and think about it,” she snapped, annoyed. “You were on the same plane together. Then, after you parted ways, you see him again with another woman. Next thing you know, you’re at a club with one of his friends, and they just so happen to bring up the pregnant woman. You guys go back to your place and have the most amazing sex of your life-”

“I didn’t say anythin’ about the most amazin’ sex of my life,” I interjected, fuming on the inside. If I let her words penetrate, I was going to let myself hope again. As I had already concluded, hope was a bitch.

“You didn’t have to say it – it was written all over your face. It was even in your eyes, Sam. You fell in love with him during your short time together.”

I could only stare at her.

Was I that transparent?

Wait?!

Love?

No, no, no, no,
no!

Deep in lust, definitely.

Cared for him, absolutely.

Not love, I corrected myself, drilling it into my brain.

“See. You’re not arguing.” She appeared very satisfied with herself. “As I was saying, you two had an amazing night together, and then he disappears. FYI, if what your friend said is true, there’s a reason for that, and I think you need to hear him out.” She gave me another look that said I’d better hop to it. “And now, to top that off, fate has thrown you back together again. I think she was working with you two from the beginning, and you two let obstacles get in your way. You guys need to go for it and see what happens.”

I wanted to bang my head up against the wall.

Instead, since there were none around, I replied, “You’re definitely off your rocker.”

“You’re the most stubborn person I know, Sam. When you set your mind to something, there’s no swaying you. Please, for me,” she squeezed my hand again, this time harder, “don’t do that with Ben. You have every right to be upset after he hurt you like that, but what if his reasoning was major? What if you miss out on the best thing that’s ever happened to you by letting your fear get the better of you?

“Look at Grey and me for example. Look at our happiness. If I’d let my fear continue to control my life, I wouldn’t have him or Bella. I would still be stuck in Chicago, scared of my own shadow. You are stronger than that, Sam. I’ve seen it.”

“You’re not playin’ fair,” I whined, begrudgingly seeing her point.

She acted as if she was wiping something from her hands. “My work here is done.”

“I’m not in love with him,” I commented, needing to clarify that. “What I felt for him was real and intense…
but
…it wasn’t love.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” she sang, beaming again.

Ignoring that comment, I picked up my phone off the table and checked the time. “Damn, they should be here soon.”

“We should probably see if Emma needs help,” Clara suggested, her eyes wide. “We should have probably asked that a while ago.”

I lifted my arm slightly, the same one that was in a sling. “I might hate this thing, but it gets me out of kitchen duty. Plus, you’re entertainin’ me. I drove Mom crazy yesterday; I’m sure she appreciates that.”

“Wait.” Clara eyed my arm and face and then glanced at the wine bottle. “Should you be drinking?”

“Probably not,” I mused, then shrugged.

“Sam, you’re on pain medication! Do you want to repeat the other day?!”

I chuckled, happy to get a rise out of her. “No, which is why I haven’t taken any today.”

She pressed her lips together and gave me a stern look. “Is that wise? I bet your arm is killing you.”

I lifted a brow snootily. “Which is why I wanted wine.”

“Sam,” she began, and I had no doubt it was about to lead into a long lecture.

“I’m just screwin’ with you. It hurts a little. My face has gotten a lot better, and my arm only hurts if I move it too fast or somethin’.”

“You’re sure?” she searched, unconvinced.

“The wine takes the edge off a little,” I confessed. “I hate the pain pills. My thinkin’ is much slower, and I needed my faculties in order this evenin’.”

“Gotcha.” She nodded, seeing my point.

“Come on,” I said as I stood. “Let’s see if Mom needs any last minute things. Maybe I can talk her into lettin’ me skip this whole thing. I can start whinin’ about my arm or somethin’.”

“Not happening.” Clara laughed, tickled at the idea.

∞

We found the table set and dinner ready when we walked inside, which didn’t surprise me. Mom was a force to be reckoned with when she’s bound and determined to do something – and she was determined to impress Ben and his son for reasons unknown.

“Need help?” Clara asked from behind me as we entered the kitchen.

Mom turned from the sink, where she’d been washing a large pot, and stared at me, her forehead wrinkled oddly. “I’m good.”

“You sure?” I questioned, my nerves making me jumpy. The look on Mom’s face meant I did something wrong. “You’re lookin’ at me funny.”

She turned back to the sink, flippantly saying, “Nothin’ funny here. Everythin’ is ready to go.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced, but I let it go. “Okay. I guess we’ll wait in the livin’ room with Dad and Grey.”

“That’s fine,” she agreed, though something in her voice didn’t sit right.

I glanced at Clara and shrugged, unsure. By her scrunched up face, she was getting the same vibe as me.

“Come on,” she said, letting it go, and pulled me towards the living room.

We found Dad and Grey on the couch watching a baseball game. Bella was asleep against Grey’s chest, looking cozy. Those two were too cute together. I never thought my brother would be the
daddy
type, especially to a baby that wasn’t his. However, he proved me wrong. He loved that little girl just as much as he would his own flesh and blood.

Grey noticed Clara first and flashed his dimples as he smiled, his eyes brimming with adoration. “Hey, you.” He patted the couch next to him. “Come here. You’ve been gone too long.”

As Clara walked around the couch, the doorbell rang. I glanced at the clock under the television and checked the time.

Ben was early.

Shit.

“Sam, will you get that?” Mom hollered from the kitchen, halting Dad as he hauled himself to his feet.

He glanced at me as he fell back, noticing my indecision. “What are you waitin’ for, girly? Get a’ movin’.”

I scowled at him and glanced at Clara.

“Good luck,” she mouthed to me.

Slowly, I meandered to the front door. I breathed in deeply, fortifying myself and my nerves, and opened the door. My breath caught when my gaze collided with Ben’s.

God, he was gorgeous, wearing a baby-blue button-up that accentuated his eyes perfectly. Where his hair was slightly askew at the clinic, it was now slicked back, giving him that rugged bad-boy aura again. If I saw him in a magazine, I’d say he was dreamy.

Play it cool, Sam.

I could totally be nice, act myself, and not jump him, even though I was a wreck and on edge inside.

I’ve got this.

“Hey,” Ben murmured, smiling softly as his eyes roamed my face. “How are you feeling?”

I glanced down at my arm and grimaced. “Couldn’t be better,” I stated dryly.

His chuckle rolled over me, tingling my senses. “The swelling went down, I see. That’s a good sign.”