I could show her the man I could be for her when I wasn’t floundering for my life.
A limousine arrived the following morning to whisk us away to the airport. I told Sam to pack light, nothing but her toiletries and what she would need to keep in contact with John. She tried to fight me on where we were going, stating she didn’t have any tropical clothes. I noticed the beads of sweat already forming on her brow. The woman lived in jeans and leather even though it was eighty degrees outside. But I had outfits for her that would fit her perfectly hangin
g in a closet, just waiting for her to pluck them out and try them on.
It took a lot of convincing to get her into the limousine, but I finally did it.
I watched Sam relax with every second we were in the air. When we started cruising over the water, I heard her sigh with contentment. She sank back into the plush seats of my private jet and even took the glass of wine I offered her. She never drank while she was on the job. I hadn’t been able to share anything like this with her up until this point.
But as we clinked glasses and cheered the vacation we were heading toward, I could sense her guard dropping.
The real Sam started emerging from behind that wall.
Five hours later, we were descending to the only tarmac that serviced the small, private island. Sam’s head was on a swivel as a private car whisked us away to the bungalow I’d rented for us for the week. Her eyes were gazing out the window, taking everything in as it passed by her.
For a woman who boasted of how well-traveled she was, she was acting like she’d never been here before.
“It’s funny,” Sam said. “I’ve traveled all over the world and experienced so many things, but I’ve never seen any of the places I’ve been.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah. Last year I was on the mainland of Hawaii, and I don’t even remember the beaches. My work takes me there, but I don’t indulge. I do what needs to get done, I stick to the shadows, and then I leave.”
“You don’t experience the beauty of the place you’re in? You know, to offset the darkness you see?”
“No,” she said plainly. “I’ve never stayed. I guess I always thought if I did, someone else would want to hire me for a job, and it would just spoil everything.”
It was the first time Sam had ever opened up to me because she wanted to and not to match a conversation or get me back on track. Simply because she wanted me to know something about her.
The private car wound us around the island until we came to the bungalow. I grabbed our things and then opened Sam’s door so she could get out. She was gawking at the scenery, at the white sand beneath her feet and the clear waters brushing against the shoreline. Her jaw dropped as we walked down the private dock all the way to the air-conditioned bungalow that sat there, waiting for us to enjoy.
But her mood turned when she opened her closet and found it full of dresses.
“What’s all this?” she asked.
“Those are for you,” I said.
“Are they my size?”
“Take a look and see.”
I watched her pluck one of my favorites from the batch, a simple black dress that fluttered easily in the wind. It hit her right above her knees and hung loosely around her body. I watched her turn to look in a mirror, her eyes dancing over her reflection as I stood in the doorway.
“Derek, where did all of these come from?”
“I had them placed here so you wouldn’t have to bother with packing.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said.
I heard her voice shake with nerves. There was an emerging side of her I didn’t think would exist in a woman like Sam, a tentative, hesitant side that was visibly uncomfortable.
“If you don’t like them, I can—”
“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s just ...”
She turned to look at me, and I knew what she was thinking. I was pulling her along into territory she wanted to ignore. She wanted to cast aside the connection she knew was brewing between us. She dropped the dress to her side before she turned and hung it up, her fingertips dancing along the silken and flowing fabrics I’d purchased only for her.
“The closet floor is full of shoes. Dinner’s in an hour. I’ve got us booked at a wonderful place I think you’ll love,” I said.