NEXT TO ME (A Love Happens Novel Book 1) (27 page)

“You recognized her, then?” he asked, to fill the silence.

“I recognized
him
.” She tilted her head and smiled sadly. “And the pieces of the puzzle started to fit. Why he never wanted a physical relationship. Not that I cared, I was more than happy living a celibate life. His hands on me felt revolting not long after our marriage began, anyway. But, now I knew why he was so secretive and why he would disappear for days on end and then come back as if nothing was out of the ordinary. I was his cover story. A front he presented to everyone. The picture of a happily married, heterosexual man with no worries that his private life might hamper his professional one. Status and popularity, and what the partners at the law firm thought, was very important to him.” She paused, her eyes searching his face before she reached down, dipping her fingers into her waistband to touch the scar on her hip. “That was the night this happened.”

Sam’s body went rigid in anger. “He did that to you, didn’t he? I knew it.” Not needing her confirmation, he stood, hands fisted at his sides. “I want to kill that mother fucker all over again. Slowly and methodically. And make him beg for his worthless life before I take it.”

Ali stood and reached for his clenched fists, her touch reassuring. “Sam, it’s okay. It really is. This,” she guided his hand to her hip, “is what made me finally leave him. I stayed, hoping that things would change, waiting for them to get better, for far too long. Yes, he hurt me, and yes, it was a terrible experience. But it was my last straw and it’s what brought you to me. I look at it and feel only happiness because without this scar, I wouldn’t be standing here with you right now. I would’ve gone to Oklahoma after the divorce instead of coming to California.” Ali squeezed his hand tightly. “And I would willingly be cut a thousand times more, if it meant that I would find you. That I could be with you.”

***

There it was, in all its ugly glory. Her life history.

The goods news, Ali thought to herself, was that Sam was still standing here. He hadn’t given her a sympathetic look, tapped her politely on the head and said
nice knowing you
before showing himself to the door. So, now what? Oh, that’s right. This was where she offered up her heart and soul on a silver platter. And putting it out there, where he could crush it with the simple shake of his head, was just about as scary as anything Danny had ever thrown her way.

Giving a little shrug, she knew there was no way to sugarcoat it. “He was going to find me, Sam. And hurt me again. I needed somebody to stop him.”

When Sam remained poker-faced, she took a deep breath and continued, knowing he wouldn’t accept anything less than full disclosure. “I don’t know why Donna showed me this house. It wasn’t even close to what I was looking for. But she did, and that was the day I found out about you. She told me who you were and I bought this house because of it. My options were limited and I needed someone close by who could scare Danny. Based on my research, you were qualified. We didn’t meet by chance, Sam. It was because you were right there,” she said, motioning toward his house, “next to me.”

“Jesus, Ali. What the fuck—”

She cut him off, mid-question. “All I wanted was for him to leave me alone. You’re a strong and intimidating man, and I knew Danny would think twice if you were here with me, so I lied to you. I couldn’t risk telling you the truth about myself because you would’ve walked.”

He opened his mouth to speak, to disagree with what she knew was true, but he closed it without uttering the denial.

“Desperation can make you do irrational things,” she said, her confession coming out in a long winded rush. “Fear changes the way you think. It isn’t an excuse, it’s just a fact. But... after that first night? Everything changed for me, Sam. You walked in here and told me my hair was pretty. And you listened when I talked, like you actually cared about what I was saying. And you looked so good naked. I had this whole, stupid plan, but something happened that I hadn’t counted on. I started to like you. I mean,
really
like you. But by then, the lies were so deep and I had told you so many that I didn’t know how to dig myself out. I wanted to come clean and confess it all to you. I wanted to make you understand that it wasn’t about him anymore. That it was only about me and you. About how badly I wanted to be with you, and have a future with you, no matter what happened with Danny. And that’s what I still want, Sam, even though I hate myself for lying to you, and you probably hate me, too, because I know you hate liars, and because of the awful thing you had to do last night and—oh, my God, I’m screwing this up so badly...” Groaning, she buried her face in her hands. “I knew I should’ve written all this down or something.”

The corners of his mouth turned up. “I think you’re working up to the good part, Ali.” He rolled his hand. “Keep going.”

Surprised, she let out a watery laugh. “You see? That’s why I think you’re so wonderful. Because you make me laugh, even when I want to cry. Because you apologize when you’re only a minute late. Literally, one minute, Sam. Who does that? And you notice when I’m cold and get me a sweatshirt before I can think to get it myself. Because you praise Pete even when he pees in your new car. And you care more about Dwayne Jackson’s family than you do about the money you lost by firing him. And so many other reasons that I don’t even know of yet. That’s why I want to be with you, Sam.” She took a fortifying breath, oxygen filling her body where her guts used to be. “And I’m so, so sorry.”

He said nothing. Just held her eyes with a half ass grin on his face. She shifted on her feet, impatiently waiting for his verdict, hoping for absolution. The smile was reassuring, the silence was not. In fact, it was kind of infuriating.

“Well?” Damn it, she hadn’t meant that to sound so bitchy.

“So, you know everything I said to you last night was bullshit, don’t you?” Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. Touching his lips to hers, he added, “Because it was, Ali. My nerves were shot and I was worried sick. And pissed off is the one emotion I do well. That’s no excuse. I’m an asshole. And I’m the sorry one, babe.”

Once Ali was sure he’d really said what her brain had just registered, she sealed her mouth to his before he could change his mind, sinking into his arms and basking in the glory of his acceptance and forgiveness. The fates that she had once questioned, once cursed, now shone down on her brightly and for the first time in years, Ali felt an easy peace settle into her bones.

“Wow,” she said breathlessly, “it seems the truth really does set you free.”

He murmured his agreement, his tongue barely losing its delicious contact with hers as he shuffled her backwards, following her gently down when she fell onto the sofa. “We shouldn’t do this,” he said, running a finger lightly across the bandage on her neck. “Don’t want to pop a stitch.”

She snorted. “You better be kidding, right? Pop away, baby.”

His smiling mouth went to her earlobe, softly sucking the sensitive flesh and making her crazy with lust as she pushed his t-shirt up, exposing the hot skin on his muscular back. Letting out an impatient growl, he raised up and yanked his shirt off first, then reached for hers, carefully avoiding the wound on her neck as he ripped the cotton fabric along its seam. She was too far gone to care, even though it was her favorite ruffled eyelet lace tank. Their fingers tangled as they hurried to get his jeans and her shorts out of the way.

“Wait a minute, babe.” He pulled back, his jeans completely undone, the open placket showing a mouthwatering amount of flesh that she desperately needed to get her hands on.

And the man had just told her to wait.

“No... don’t wanna wait.” Biting along his tattooed shoulder, her hand brushed the hair roughened skin as she reached inside the tight denim. “I don’t think you should ever wear pants. I’m instituting a new house rule. When you’re here, you can’t have any pants on.”

He grunted, fumbling in his front pocket. “Ali, look.” Dragging her gaze up his long torso, which was chiseled to perfection, she saw him holding her check. “If I tried to cash this, it would clear, wouldn’t it?”

He knew damn well it would, but she nodded anyway.

As if it was no big deal, he tore the check in half, then again, laying four, evenly torn pieces on the coffee table next to them.

“Sam!” Unable to hide her shock, she lightly punched his arm. “That check was for real.” Pushing herself up on her elbows, she ignored his bare chest and the fact that her boobs were overflowing the cups of her red lace bra, and spoke sincerely. “I gave it to you so we could be even again and go back to the beginning. So I could just be a normal woman who moved into a dusty, old beach house and,” she paused, hoping he could see into her soul, “fell helplessly in love with the neighborhood hottie next door. And who now spends all her waking moments wishing that hottie would fall in love back. I just wanted us to be square.”

His lips quirked. “I’m not sure how I feel about being labeled a hottie.”

She laughed. “Umm... how about sweet piece of man meat?”

“Even worse. Definitely not that.” Leaning over, he gave her a thoroughly deep kiss, the kind that made her lady parts throb, before trailing his tongue down to her exposed nipple. “And I already did, by the way. Fall in love back. Hell, I probably fell first. So now we’re square, babe. And we’re gonna be horizontal, too, in about three seconds.”

EPILOGUE

“I’ve been thinking about hyphenating my name.” Ali tilted her head back, rubbing her cheek against his late day stubble. “What do you think?”

Sweeping her blonde hair to the side, Sam gave her neck a nibbling kiss then rested his chin on top of her head. Arms banded around her, he pulled her back against him tightly as they sat watching the white capped waves roll in. “As long as Gleeson is in there somewhere, I really don’t care.”

Hmm, she thought. Ali Ross Gleeson. It sure didn’t roll off the tongue quite as nicely as Donna’s did, but she agreed with Sam. Her last name was going to be Gleeson in a little more than forty-eight hours and that fact still made her heart go all pittery pat. Their small, posh—and somehow expensive—sunset wedding was shaping up to be the fairy tale Ali hadn’t realized she wanted. Both she and Sam had been perfectly fine with a road trip to Vegas, tacky plastic flowers and an Elvis impersonator included, but Donna had nixed that idea immediately. Taking over, she had planned every detail of their intimate cliffside ceremony and beachfront reception to follow, and Ali was happy to let her do it.

Nearly five months had passed since she and Sam had
gone public
as he’d called it, and they had settled in as a cohabiting couple with amazing ease. For Ali, it was like living a dream. Much of her time was spent working on the final edits for her latest book, which was due to be published in eight weeks, and volunteering with Sheltered, a recently established domestic violence charity that she gave much of her time and money to. And as of last month, her home.

The old, white cottage had been her sanctuary. A place that had given her temporary security for the moment and permanent promise for the future. And thanks to her soon-to-be husband’s brilliant mind and powerful connections, it was now providing the very same refuge for women who sought the same. Set up as a safe house, it was used for victims of all types, including human trafficking, which was a disturbingly profitable business this close to the Mexican border. The women received top notch support and protection from a small staff while taking the difficult steps necessary to rebuild their lives, free of violence and oppression. The charity was richly funded by anonymous donors, mostly enlisted by Sam, and operated by discreet people with a strong sense of business. As the majority founding partner, Sam spent a fair amount of time overseeing the operation, ensuring its success even when it meant sending in his own team of guys. It was an entirely altruistic venture that provided him no monetary gain. In fact, he supplemented the charity’s operating expenses with his own money. Ali knew he did it to quietly honor her, although he brushed off the notion whenever she mentioned it, refusing any recognition. There was a heart the size of Texas in that man’s chiseled chest and Ali was lucky to wake up next to him everyday.

And it had become apparent very quickly that having two different houses was a colossal waste of resources. As Sam had declared the morning following their heart to heart, all they really needed was one bed, in one room, in one house. Together, they had chosen Sam’s, mainly because his was more suitable to a couple who might one day have small children running around. A family was in their future, of that they both agreed, but much to Sam’s dismay, when an opportunity arose and there was no condom in sight, Ali followed Caroline’s advice to the letter. And so far, his desperation hadn’t reached the level where he promised her a girl baby if she would roll the dice. Of course, it helped that she provided him with some very sexy alternatives, guaranteeing his satisfaction, as well as hers. There had been some serious discussion about tearing out Ali’s kitchen island and installing it at Sam’s house—considering the amount of action it had seen—but decided against it when his existing countertop seemed to work just fine.

“I love you, Ali.” His words, said softly against her ear, brought her out of her musings.

Standing, she took his hand and he rose to his feet. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she buried her nose in his masculine, musky smelling throat. “That’s good since I love you.”

“So prove it,” he said, his teasing words carrying in the breeze. “Scream it to the world.”

Ali smiled, looking up and down the lively beach before leaning into him and whispering hotly into his ear. “I love you, Sam Gleeson.”

Hands resting low on her hips, he chuckled and pulled her close. “You were supposed to yell, Ali-cat. Why did you whisper it to me?”

Her tiptoes dug into the sand as she stretched up to kiss him sweetly, nipping at his bottom lip before running her palm along his handsome, precious face. “Because you are my world.”