“Well, I didn’t say that exactly,” she said.
“Well, you were right. Itisall I have ever known. Since my brother died, it was like an unspoken rule that I would do everything he would’ve done. It seemed to make my mom—well, less sad.” He continued tracing his finger from her elbow to her hand, brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “If I had my way—” He couldn’t say it. It felt almost wrong to voice his own hopes and dreams, when Arjun no longer had his.
“If you had your way, what?” She spoke softly, almost as if she were afraid that if she spoke too loudly he would stop talking. He wanted to tell her that would never be the case.
Sam dropped his gaze on hers and let it rest. She was beautiful, inside and out. A sensation had come over him that he hadn’t experienced since childhood. He felt light and free, and he was happy. He couldn’t understand how he could feel this carefree while still being connected to this one person. He’d simply been going through the motions of life, doing what was expected, but now, he knew what he wanted. And she was lying right here in his arms. She looked at him with such pure love, he knew he was completely lost to her. Her eyes were soft and golden, and her cheeks carried a pleasant flush that he had put there.
“After my brother was killed, there was a trial. The defense tried to make it look like Arjun was a reckless teenager and was equally at fault. They said that even though the other driver was over the blood alcohol limit, if Arjun has stoppedcompletely, there wouldn’t have been an accident. Our lawyer was smarter and came up with all kinds of evidence that proved that theory wrong. We ended up getting justice for Arjun and our family. It made a big difference for us, in helping us move on.” He looked at her fingers, entwined with his. “At least for me and my dad.” Sam hazarded a glance at her. She smiled when he caught her eye, waiting for him to continue.
“So ever since then, I thought how incredible it would be to help out families like that, to make a difference in people’s lives during a time that’s difficult for them. If had my way,” he continued, “I’d open my own office and do just that—forget all that corporate crap.” He watched her, waiting for her expression to change. But when it did, it wasn’t with the disapproval he feared, instead she beamed at him, clearly impressed.
“That’s amazing! God knows half our neighbors in Queens have been taken advantage of simply because they couldn’t afford to pay a fancy lawyer.” Her face glowed with pride and love, and she made small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. “You should totally do it.” She snuggled closer and kissed his neck with those soft, plush lips.Oh, God.
He closed his eyes. “So, I had made a promise to my mom that I would fulfill Arjun’s dream of corporate life and politics, and I’m keeping it.” He surprised himself with the resentment that showed up in his voice. “That’s my map to my future. And there aren’t any detours.”
Maya’s hand on his face made him open his eyes. “Maybe you could do both.” This was just another thing he loved about her—her sense of hope. She clearly did not know his mother, and there was no way to explain Hema to her.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is being here with you.” Sam’s anger vanished as he pushed aside the soft tresses that cascaded over her shoulder and focused on Maya’s beautiful, bare, brown skin. He leaned over and kissed her shoulder.But why couldn’t he have the life he now knew he wanted?She reached out for him.One that included Maya and his own dreams? They could live in the city. Maya could become a world-famous pastry chef in any restaurant in New York, and he could have his practice.
“Hey, where’d you go?” Maya ran her fingers along his jawline, and down his neck to his chest.
“Hmm?” He closed his eyes and gave in to her hands. “Nowhere.” He opened his eyes and locked her gaze. “Maya?”
“Yes.” Her eyes were soft and loving, and Sam was positive he was the only man alive who felt this way about a woman. Surely he was the luckiest man on earth to be locked in her loving gaze.
“I’ve never told anyone about my dreams. I always thought my dreams were...secondary. But...you make me feel like anything is possible. I love you, Maya. And I meant what I said before, I belong to you. Only to you.”
She bit her bottom lip, and her eyes lit up. “And I belong to only you. And I always will.” Her expression became playful as she kissed his lips and face. Just as he reached around to take her back in his arms, she whispered, “We need food.”
“No. No, we don’t.” His voice was husky as he placed a hand on her bare hip to pull her closer.
She laughed and pushed him away as she reached for her robe. “Yes, we do. At least some more coffee.” He reached out to pull her back to the bed. She continued to laugh as she escaped his grip and donned the robe. “A shower first.”
Sam threw himself back onto the bed with a groan and watched as she walked into the bathroom.Time to live the life he really wanted. He’d talk to his parents when he got home.She threw the robe out and poked her head out. “You coming or what?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SAM
New York, 2012
SAMEXITEDHISoffice building with his phone to his ear. Cold wind and honking cars made it difficult for him to hear the voice mail. He and Maya had been playing phone tag all day, the last one from Maya sounded final. He’d gotten Byron Stevenson as well as the authorities to agree not to press charges against Samantha. He had also convinced the school that expelling Samantha was not in anyone’s best interest. Maya had thanked him and, apparently, dismissed him back to the past. He had called her back right away, but she hadn’t picked up or returned his call. Irritated, he left another message. “Maya, call me when you get this message. I’m on my way to the coffee shop. I want to be a part of Samantha’s life. I can’t just make a few calls and forget I have daughter. But I think we should tell her together.”
No sooner did he tap his phone to disconnect than he was stopped in his tracks. A young girl with long dark curls, wearing a camel-colored woolen coat but no hat or scarf, sat by the fountain. Sam could not imagine why she would be here, but his pace increased as he approached her.Maybe he’d tell her himself.
“Well, hello.”
Samantha started at the sound of his voice, but recovered quickly as she stood to face him. She reached out a bare hand to tuck her flyaway hair behind her ears. “Hello.” She wiggled a couple fingers at him in greeting.
The silence between them was solid enough to be another person. But neither moved away. “So, everything okay?” Sam spoke first.
“Yes.” Her hands were shoved into her pockets, but she could not seem to stop studying him. It was as if she was trying to memorize him. “You’re the lawyer.”
If Sam was not mistaken, she rolled her eyes in that small eye-roll way teenagers had when they felt self-conscious. Niki had done this a lot.
He caught her eye and responded with a smile. “We met. The other day...” Sam wanted to say more, but he was trying to catch up with the fact that he was actually looking into eyes that were the same as his. “Why are you here, Samantha?”
“Mom and I were called to see my vice principal yesterday.” She started to walk.
