Heaven and Hell (11 page)

Mistake.

Luci’s brows snapped together with adorable
confusion but I didn’t take much of that in before Sam’s arm around
me curled, taking me with it, so instead of my side leaning into
his long, hard one, my front was pressed to it.

My head tipped back to see his was tipped
down and he asked, “What?”

“I have a pre-booked boat tour that takes
off at seven. I have to be in bed early so I can be rested and
enjoy my tour.”

This, actually, was true.

“How early?” Sam asked.

“Ten o’clock,” I tried even though I
probably could push it to eleven.

This time, Sam’s brows drew together and it
wasn’t confused or adorable. It was scary.

“Baby, it’s quarter to nine now and we just
got here.”

“Sorry, I’m seeing maybe I should have told
you this before,” I muttered.

“Don’t worry,” Luci butted in. “Drink, eat,
enjoy and miss your tour. Stay the night. I’ll let you borrow some
clothes tomorrow so you can sleep in. While you have breakfast with
me, Sam can pop back to the hotel to get something to wear then you
two can use my boat and he can take you on a personal tour
tomorrow.”

Uh-oh.

There were so many things wrong with this
suggestion I didn’t know where to start. First, she was at least
two inches taller but still twenty pounds lighter than me so she
had to be two sizes smaller than me. Second, I was
not
spending the night in her house with Sam under the same roof, in
the same bed I was in (definitely!) or not. I could do a hotel. I
could not do a home. Don’t ask me why, that was just the way it
was. Third, that was my only night with Sam. No way was I spending
a day in a boat on a beautiful lake in romantic Italy alone with
him.

No way.

“I –” I started.

“Works for me,” Sam said over me. “My shit
is done, got all day.”

I looked back up at Sam and opened my mouth
to say something when Luci again butted in.

“Perfect. I’ll have Giuseppa pack you a
lunch. Something gorgeous.” She aimed a brilliant, perfect teeth
against kickass cranberry-colored lipstick lips and flawless, olive
skin smile at me and declared, “Done!”

Uh-oh!

“I –” I started again but that time it was
kind of me who interrupted me.

Or, at least it was my cell phone ringing in
my bag.

“Excuse me,” I muttered, pushing back a bit
from Sam (or, as far as he’d let me go, which, frankly, wasn’t very
far), juggling my drink while opening the clasp on my bag (or I did
for the nanosecond it took Sam to slide the drink out of my fingers
like the gentleman he was), pulling out my phone, shoving my bag
under my arm, looking at the display and seeing it said,
“Paula.”

“Sorry,” I looked between Sam and Luci. “I
have to take this.”

“So take it,” Sam invited but, I will note,
he didn’t let me go.

The phone kept ringing. I waited for him to
let me go or Luci to wander away. He didn’t and she didn’t.

Damn.

I flipped it open and greeted, “Hey,
girl.”

“
There’s a bidding war on your
house!
” she shrieked so loudly, I had to jerk the phone away
from my ear and I knew, because
I
heard it, that Sam and
Luci heard it and, probably, anyone in a ten foot radius.

I put the phone back to my ear and began,
“Paula –”

That was as far as I got before more
screeching that forced me to take the phone away from my ear which
meant, again, Sam and Luciana could hear everything.

“
Ohmigod, ohmigod, OHMIGOD, it’s been
months and no nibbles, NOW THIS! My commission is gonna be KILLER
AND I just heard word there’s a unit that’s opened up at The
Dorchester! EXACTLY WHERE YOU WANTED TO MOVE!
”

When she shut up, quickly I put my phone to
my ear and told her, “Paula, honey, I’m at a party and everything
you scream, everyone can hear.”

Silence then, a whole lot quieter, “Oh shit,
sorry.” Pause then, “You’re at a party?”

“Yeah,” I replied and said no more.

Paula, being Paula, didn’t let it go at
that. “You’re on vacation, how are you at a party?”

“Uh… I’ll explain later,” I evaded.

“Okay but, cool. Parties are fun,” she
informed me.

This one, we would see.

“This is good news though,” I said softly,
bringing the discussion back in hand and it
was
good
news.

Unloading the house I hated and restarting
my life at The Dorchester, which was an absolutely awesome condo
complex, was seriously good news and, even better, it was very rare
a unit opened up for sale.

So this wasn’t good news, it was
awesome.

“Totally, babe,” Paula told me. “This is
huge.
I
love
it. Now, I know you’re vacationing with
the rich and famous…” Jeez, she had no idea and when she learned,
I’d have to put cotton in my ears she was going to scream so loud.
“But I gotta move on this. I’ll see if they have digital shots or a
web listing set up, if not, I’ll get in the unit and take some,
e-mail them to you. Can you go somewhere, get on a computer and
pick up your webmail?”

“Probably,” I answered.

“Good. I’m gonna do that today. And tell the
two couples I have on the hook that they gotta get their shit
sorted by end of business. Get that nailed down, get your deposit.
If you give the go ahead on the photos, I’ll move on The
Dorchester. Do we have a plan?”

I couldn’t believe this. This was amazing.
This meant I got to go home, have my yard sale and get on with my
life.
My
life. My life with Memphis that had no nuance of
Cooter in it except, of course, the existence of Memphis but that
wasn’t her fault.

I loved this.

And that was why I smiled at the phone and
whispered, “Yeah, honey, we have a plan.”

“Killer, babe. Kill…
er.
I’m freaking
out, I’m so happy. It’s like… I know this is gonna sound totally
unhinged and so far beyond bitchy, I may go straight to hell, but
it’s like Milo blew a hole in Cooter’s head and at the same time he
blew you a shitload of luck. His pension, five million dollars, the
vacation of a lifetime and now this.”

At her words, I closed my eyes, my body got
stiff and I was so freaked, I didn’t notice Sam’s arm going tight
or his body closing in on mine.

When I didn’t speak, Paula whispered, “Oh
shit, I took that too far, didn’t I?”

She did.

She was right with what she said, of course.
It sucked for Milo, who was a good guy who was driven to do a very
bad thing, but there was no question his actions meant good things
for me including getting my life back, getting a shitload of money
and dodging a bullet, literally because Cooter and Vanessa were
going to hire a hit man.

But still. I wasn’t ready for it to be laid
out like that and certainly not when I was experiencing all that
was Sam. I wasn’t prepared. I was vulnerable and her words brought
shit to the surface I didn’t want to deal with unless I was in
familiar surroundings and close to Memphis who would cuddle, give
me doggie kisses and make me feel better.

I sucked in an unsteady breath but didn’t
open my eyes when I replied quietly, “No, honey, that’s okay.”

Silence then, “No, it was too far.”

“It’s okay.”

I heard her take in breath then say
cautiously, “I know we haven’t gotten ‘round to talking about this,
babe, but you know we’ll have to and –”

I shook my head then tipped it down, opened
my eyes and looked at the floor, whispering, “I can’t do this
now.”

More silence then, “Oh God, I forgot. You’re
at a party.”

Yes, I was.

Oh shit.

I was.

With ex-model Luciana who had a villa, a
Lamborghini, four other cars and a boat and Sampson Freaking Cooper
who I noticed belatedly was holding me front-to-front in one
arm.

Shit!

I looked up at him, he was staring down at
me with that intent look and, I knew, listening to every word.

“Yes,” I answered Paula, my eyes sliding
away. “I’m at a party.”

“Right, well, okay then, don’t hate me but
I’m gonna take this shot.”

Oh man.

Sneak attack!

Before I could intervene, she kept
talking.

“I’m gonna get your house sorted for you and
then me, Teri and Missy are gonna get
you
sorted, babe. No,”
she said the last word swiftly like she thought I’d refuse which,
totally, I would, that was I would if I didn’t have an audience.
“When he was alive, we get it, he was a threat. You don’t see your
girl with bruises on her face too often to count for seven years
and not get that, babe. And also not get that that shit dished out
regularly would put the fear of God in anybody. But he’s gone and
we’re gonna sort out the shit he left behind and, Kia, we all dig
that you think you can just put it behind you, get rid of all that
was him and move on but that shit isn’t gonna fly and, deep down, I
know you know it, girl.”

“Paula,
please,
now is
really
not the time,” I whispered and when I did, Sam’s other arm slid
around me.

Damn it!

“I know, I’m just saying, when you get home,
we’re
making
it the time.”

And I was just thinking that maybe I’d find
a place on Crete and never go home.

“Kia? Babe?” she called.

“Fine,” I whispered because at that moment I
had no choice.

“Okay,” she whispered back.

“I’ll find a computer to pull up the
pictures you send me but it’s late here so it won’t be until
morning.”

“Right.”

“Okay.”

“Well then, have fun at your party.”

Impossible.

“I will,” I lied.

“
Ciao,
babe,” she said and I could
hear her smile in her voice but could only guess it was
relieved.

“
Ciao,
you big dork,” I replied and I
could then hear her laughter which I knew was relieved. My words
said I wasn’t pissed at her and I’d given in on the talk.

Then she was gone and I knew at that moment,
in Heartmeadow, Indiana, my friend Paula was dialing Missy or Teri
or, if she was at a phone that had the option, she was
conferencing.

Shit.

I pulled in a soft breath as I flipped my
phone shut, tucking it into my bag when Luci unsurprisingly
immediately offered, “Tomorrow, when you wake up, you can use my
computer.”

God, seriously, it would be a lot better if
she was a haughty uber-bitch like all supermodels were supposed to
be and not hyper-friendly.

I looked at her and noticed that Sam’s arms
hadn’t moved, nor had his body, which was right in my space.

Still, even so, I ignored both.

“Thanks,” I said softly.

“
Prego,
” she said softly back.

“Luci, give us a minute, yeah?” Sam said,
not softly but firmly and there was only one answer to his “yeah?”
which Luci gave him after throwing him a radiant, happy, certain
she was going to have quasi nieces and nephews imminently as
supplied by Sam and me smile before she melted away.

My mind was stuck on giving Luci nieces and
nephews as supplied on me by Sam when Sam called me.

“Baby.”

Reluctantly, I tipped my head back to look
up at him.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

“If I say yes, will you ask me repeatedly
until I tell you the truth?” I asked back and he grinned.

Then he answered, “Yeah.”

“Then, no.”

“Talk to me,” he ordered gently.

I shook my head, put my hands to his biceps
and pushed back as I started, “Sam, I –”

His arms got tight and it was proved
positive I was totally clueless because he was not a small man, he
was a tall man, he was definitely a muscular man and thus I should
have cottoned onto the fact that he was a very strong man and I
knew this in that instant because his arms separated, one going low
at my waist, one going up to rest under my shoulder blades. They
got tight in a way I knew there was no escape even without trying
and suddenly I found myself chest to chest, hips to hips and thighs
to thighs, pressed deep to Sam Cooper.

Then his neck bent and his face was an inch
from mine.

My stomach pitched, my knees wobbled and my
mouth clamped shut.

When he had my undivided attention, he said
in a firm, unrelenting but still somehow gentle voice, “That was
not a request.”

“I need some space, Sam,” I whispered and it
was breathy mostly because I was breathing so hard I was close to
panting.

“You’re not going to get it.”

Say what?

“Sam!” I snapped.

“Talk,” he returned.

“I get to decide when I want to talk, not
you,” I retorted and that was when it happened.

Right then.

Right there (nearly).

Within maybe ten minutes of showing up at
his dead, best friend’s wealthy, gorgeous, famous wife’s fabulous
villa on
Lago di Como,
it happened.

Sam released me with one arm but only to
twist, taking me with him and putting the champagne flute on a
table within his reach and he repeated this maneuver when he
divested me of my bag. Then he shuffled me backwards out the door.
Once there, he turned me to his side, his arm clamped around my
waist and he pulled me to the very end corner of the terrace
balustrade, alone, no one close. There, he twisted me into the
corner and caged me in.

And through this, I lost it. Completely. I
forgot who he was but I didn’t forget who I was. I didn’t forget
what I learned at the hands of my husband. It had been months but I
remembered it in excruciating detail.

And Sam’s actions brought back Cooter’s
lessons and fear gripped me, extreme and paralyzing.

So when his hands came to either side of my
neck, his thumbs at my jaws forced my head back to look at him and
I did, his head jerked with his flinch so violently, it was like I
struck him and I knew it was written all over my face.