Stay for Me by Carlene Love Flores Read Free Book Online Page A

more time, thankful Sam didn’t know how stupid she’d been.
    It would have been easy to sneak back to
her office. To hide. Wait him out. Let him leave.
Avoid him for a while and then seek him out after a couple weeks, hoping he’d
found a new night job and was too busy to recall her cowardice and this great
mistake she’d just made. Seeing him bare and raw like she’d just done hadn’t
left her feeling any different, stronger, or better about their situation like
she’d thought. Of course he’d be capable of taking his clothes off for her
without letting things go any further. His confidence rivaled his control.
    Hers had, too, at one time.
    A fresh headache started on its way to
her temples.
    She glanced at the current cast’s
pictures hanging on the wall. Sam’s hung there, his face serious and seductive.
    Caught up in her gazing, she only
noticed someone had entered the room with her when someone started fidgeting
with the chair. She put her hand over her heart to slow the beat. She glanced
up from the corner where she sat and saw Sam take a seat. As if on command, her
arms, legs, chest, neck, it all responded to his presence. It all left ration
behind and instead focused on being held. Sharing his space.
    “I shouldn’t have left,” he said. “I’m
sorry.”
    She got up and walked to him, unable to
stay hidden in her safe corner. “I shouldn’t have asked you to strip for me.
I’m sorry more.”
    A few more seconds passed before his
posture softened and his shoulders curled inward, although only just barely,
and it did nothing to make him appear smaller.
    “I’d offer you a seat but…” He gestured
to his naked lap and shrugged. “Emma,” he said, then stopped to take in a deep breath. “I should actually get dressed.”
    “Hey, this is all my fault. I’ve gone and made this as weird as it possibly could be. Let’s just
pretend the last half hour never happened. Okay? Chalk it up to candy corn
sugar high. And tomorrow we can go to the movies. I think Home Alone is playing at the theater. I’ll even spring for the
expensive candy. And an icee if you’ll just promise to forget—”
    ****
    There was no way he’d ever be able to
forget the way she’d watched him tonight, his every movement. Her deep brown
eyes had given her away. As much as he wished they could call do-over, Sam knew
that wasn’t possible. Not now. Too late. The can had
been opened and things they could no longer avoid were out. Literally, he’d
stripped himself for her minutes ago.
    Nope, this wasn’t done, and to give her
the peace of mind she so obviously needed, Emma was going to have to suck it
up. She had to stay. In here. With
him. What he needed to do became clear. His mouth warmed so much he
could chug a gallon of ice water.
    He let a breath out, ready to say what
needed to be said, once and for all.
    “The movies?” Sam resisted
the urge to run a finger down along the piece of long bang hanging there near
her cheek. He had to focus. “We’ve been to the movies a million times together.
It doesn’t hurt to go to the movies. At the end of the night, you know the
question isn’t whether we would have a fun time. The answer is yes, Emma.
You’re my best friend. We like the same music and rival football teams to keep
it fun. Perfect, right? You cook, I eat. Every month,
we come this close to adopting a dog. We both know , these aren’t the questions we need answered right now.”
    ****
    “I know. You’re right.” Should she
remind him? Add the first thing that had popped into her mind as he read off
his list? What was the point of holding back now? “My family loves you. Mom
lives to feed you mashed potatoes and stuffing every year. You forgot to add
that.”
    Barely, just barely, the corner of his mouth turned up into the hint of a grin before he became
serious-faced again.
    “All this stuff we’re so great at…that’s
not what needs to be proved, is it?” she asked, knowing the answer.
    His