“I sawStar Warsyesterday at Julianna’s house. Nicholas wanted to watch it. Lucas, did your mom get your name from Luke Skywalker?” I only hoped the droids didn’t give her nightmares like the last movie Julianna’s brother had them watch.
“No, sweetie, Lucas is fromwaybefore Luke Skywalker,” Sam told her but was eyeing me with a smirk.
“Notmuchbefore, Sam.” I narrowed my eyes at her. She was going to pay for that later. “My mom got my name from my uncle. Do you know where your name comes from?”
“Yep. Mommy got my name from a girl in a book.”
“That’s cool, Bella. Do you know what book?”
“Sure,Twilight.” I dropped my fork and looked across the table at Sam. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Okay, Bella. I think Lucas has learned enough about you and Mommy tonight. Let’s be quiet and eat.” Sam wouldn’t look me in the eye. I couldn’t wait to tease her, and she knew it.
After dinner, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to leave or stay after Bella went to bed. I didn’t want to assume anything. Bella and I got along great, but I wasn’t sure if Sam was comfortable with her daughter waking up and seeing me during breakfast. I decided to follow her lead.
“Bella, say goodnight to Lucas.” She scurried over and tackled me with a big hug.
“Sweet dreams, Butterfly.” I kissed her on her cheek, and she ran to her room.
I took that as I was at least staying until later, if not overnight. I walked into the kitchen to start drying the dishes.
I heard the bedroom door shut, and Sam joined me a moment later to put the dishes away. I walked over to her and leaned against the refrigerator.
She tried to look mad, but she was fighting a smile.
“Got something to say?” She cocked an eyebrow at me and tapped her foot, waiting for what was coming. Sam was so adorable when she got feisty.
“I’m embarrassed,” I said with a shrug and exaggerated sigh. Sam shook her head at me and went back to gathering the dishes.
“Embarrassed forme. I mean, the woman I’m in love with named her daughter after a vampire movie. What do I tell people?” Dishes crashed to the floor as Sam dropped them and spun to look at me.
“What did you say?” She looked pale, and her eyes were wide with shock.All right, then. Rachael RayandTwilight were off limits. Got it.I walked over to her and put my arms around her waist.
“Aw, Baby Girl, I was kidding. I actually think it’s cute. I didn’t mean to make you mad.” I tried to pull her closer to me, but she wouldn’t move.
“Think about what you just said.” I ran what I said over in my head.That’swhy she was freaking out.Talk about a slip.
She turned away from me and held onto the edge of the kitchen sink for dear life. I was so in love with her, I couldn’t see straight. She was my first thought when I woke up, and the last thing I thought about at night. And in the time between, I still couldn’t get her out of my head. I looked at her and saw marriage, kids, and my future. She wasitfor me, but I could never tell her. I was afraid Marc would come back and steal Sam away, that he would guilt Sam down the line into taking him back. I knew they were separated, and I thought Sam loved me, too, but I could never get past that. Until he signed those papers, that thought would always be in the back of my head. Since that night in the bar all those months ago, Sam owned me. Body and soul. And it fucking terrified me.
I made Sam turn around and took her face in my hands. It was now or never.
“Look at me, Samantha. Look. At. Me.” When Sam looked up, her eyes were filled with tears. Not knowing if this was good or bad, I took a deep breath and kept going.
“I love you. I love you because you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever known, inside and out. I love you because you’re brave and smart and funny as hell without realizing it. I love you because you’re fierce, protective, and loyal—why you’re such an amazing mother. I love you because of the way you look at me—like I’m a superhero who can do anything. I love you because I can’t picture my life without you.”
As I finally told Sam how I felt about her, the tears she’d been holding in her eyes fell nonstop. A few moments passed that seemed more like hours, and Sam was still crying so hard she couldn’t speak. She buried her face in my chest, sobbing so hard she was shaking.
“Sam, you’re scaring me. Please, fucking say something. Anything.”I couldn’t have read her that wrong, could I?My grip on her arms got tighter as I panicked.
“I …” She looked up at me, swallowed a sob and tried to catch her breath so she could talk. “I love you so much. I’ve always loved you. It’s …” She stopped again, still crying but gave me a big smile. “It’s always been you, Lucas. Always you.”
I breathed a huge sigh of relief as Sam beamed at me through her tears.
“Thank God!” I pulled her close and kissed her. I could taste the salt on her lips from all those tears, which only made me kiss her harder. Not taking my mouth off hers, I lifted her up on the kitchen counter, and she wrapped her legs around my waist.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again!” I said against her lips, making her giggle.
Sam pulled back from the kiss and looked up at me. She smiled and ran her hand down my cheek.
