A Scandalous Affair

They laughed.

“Thanks, but I’ll head home. Have a busy day tomorrow. When do you think you’ll be ready for us to get together and plan a strategy?”

“Uh, I’m going to try to do as much of it as I can. Believe me, I understand how busy everyone is. And—”

“My father talked to you, didn’t he?”

“No. Well…”

“You don’t have to cover for him. I know he said something. It wouldn’t be like him not to.”

“He’s just concerned, Sam. And I don’t blame him. I should have thought it through before I tried to involve you and Simone. If I were Justin I would feel the same way.”

Samantha could feel herself seething. How dare he? She was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. When was he going to let her live her own life? She gripped the steering wheel.

“Take it easy, Sam,” he soothed, covering her hands with his.

“That’s not the point, Chad, and you know it.”

“He told me about the threats. And I’m worried.”

She pressed her lips together and stared out her window. “I can take care of myself.”

“That doesn’t stop your folks from worrying, Samantha…or me.”

Slowly, she turned toward him, her eyes glimmering in the soft night light.

Chad gently cupped her chin. “I wouldn’t want to be the cause of anything happening to you,” he said softly. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” His eyes held her and she wondered if he could hear the pounding of her heart, hear the one thought racing through her head: kiss me, kiss me.

Never in his life had he felt so torn. The urge to take her in his arms, feel the softness of her against him, nearly blocked out the fact that once upon a time he’d slept with her sister, carried that one night with him for four years. Did she know? Did it matter to her? And yet, here he was, inches away from her lips, wanting her with an intensity that rocked him. He was afraid. Afraid of what that meant and where this simple kiss would take them.

And then all at once he tasted her, the shivering sweet sensation of her. He gave in to the tender pull of her mouth against his. Memory faded. It was only the here and now, with Samantha.

She let go, let the moment seize her, savored it, took and gave, and it was just as she thought it would be, only better.

An eternity passed, but it was only seconds, seconds that changed everything—and them.

Chapter 10

Simone couldn’t sleep. She was sure if she did, she’d dream things she didn’t want to see. Samantha and Chad.

On more than one occasion during the course of the evening, she’d been halfway to her car en route to Blue Light. After all, she’d been invited. So what if she turned up without a date? That’s the thought that stopped her in her tracks. She’d look like a fool. She’d look desperate. She’d look like she was spying. And if she went she’d be all those things.

She turned off the television with the remote and the room was enveloped in near darkness, except for the pale light from the sprinkling of stars and the half moon that gleamed outside her window.

She turned on her side. The digital clock stared back at her. One o’clock. Did he take her home? Did she let him stay?

“This is crazy,” she mumbled into the room. She was making herself nuts. Whatever was going to be would be and there wasn’t a damned thing she could do about it. She’d had her chance. She had it the night at her parents’ house. She had it that afternoon in his office. She chose not to take it.

She could have told him how she felt. She could have told Samantha long ago about her and Chad, even if it was about only that one night. That one glorious night. They’d always shared everything. And this one thing she’d kept to herself would come between them. If she let it.

Slowly, she sat up. She’d never been one to back away from anything, to pretend things were as they were not. She always confronted her issues head-on. Her father said that was one of her best virtues and key assets. But now, she felt lost—trapped really—between what was in her heart and what was in her head. Reason never wins out when it goes against the unbridled power of the heart. However, she knew that Samantha wanted to pursue a relationship with Chad. To tell her now about their past could ruin whatever chance their relationship may have. And for what? For a man who may or may not still care.

Leave it alone, her conscience whispered. Let it go. She knew in her heart it was the right thing to do. But could she?

Samantha knew it was late, nearly two o’clock by the time she settled down for bed. But she was too excited to sleep. Over and over again she relived that first kiss. And though she was no novice in the artifices of men and women, tonight was completely new, truly “the first time.”

She wanted to call Simone, try to explain to her how glorious she felt, how alive. For so long, her work, her causes, had been what brought a smile to her face, and prompted her heart to race.

Men, so few and far between, had been mere distractions, not additions to her life. And none could leap the high bar she’d stuck in their path until now.