Three months later . . .
“WILL YOU DANCE with me?” he asked, looking incredibly handsome in his tuxedo. He was incredibly irresistible. But somehow in the last three months, I had been good and had kept my hands to myself.
“Sam,” I started, trying to explain how if he held my hand I might automatically self-combust into an orgasmic puddle of putty. It might have sounded a tad dramatic, but the man was one hundred percent a walking, talking sexual temptation.
One I hadn’t had in three months.
But I understood why, and I appreciated what we had on a whole other level. A very real level. One I didn’t know was possible.
Three months of both of us getting our lives started in California and starting a very solid relationship hadn’t been easy. But there we were. Three months later, solid and happy. No games, just honesty about what we felt. We butted heads sometimes, but oddly enough, we handled it like adults and talked them out.
A week after arriving and settling in, Nina and I started our new jobs, and I loved my position at U of D. It was exciting and challenging. Sam, on the other hand, had had a tough time figuring it out, but he had landed a great security job with an old Marine buddy of his and was loving his day-to-day there. A month ago, he had moved out of the apartment he shared with Brandon. His own place was only three miles away from mine.
The foundation we were creating was solid. I was his and he was mine. No question about it.
But as his fingers tangled with mine, each step we took taking us closer and closer to the dance floor, I was ready to tell him I needed more. Nina and Brandon’s wedding reception was in full swing. Everyone was dancing and laughing, having a great time as champagne flowed. Right as we slowed and he brought me into his arms, the song changed.
Something slower and familiar.
“It’s the first song we danced to,” he softly said into my ear as we started to sway to the music. The reminder of that beautiful night was so sweet it made me smile. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it, but I think I fell in love with you that night, Macie Marks. I was already far gone as it was—”
“Sam,” I whispered, searching his eyes, but there it was. Clear as day the love I felt for him reflecting right back at me. I’d known I was head over heels in love with him for a while; I just had been too much of a chicken shit to say it out loud. Afraid to mess things up. “I love you too,” I whispered, trying not to cry like a baby.
“Thank you for giving me what I needed so we could be where we are right now,” he rasped, and stupid happy tears flowed. He wiped away each one with the pad of his thumb.
“Thank you for loving me like you do.” And I meant that. It might have been the first time we had said the words, but it didn’t mean we didn’t show one another how much we cared.
The most beautiful things happened when you least expected them. My life with Sam Santino was greater than anyone could ever dream.
Sam
Three months later . . .
I knocked on the enormous door, trying to ignore the frigid Connecticut weather. A case had brought me to the East Coast, and this was something I needed to do before I headed home.
The door opened, and a tall older man with Macie’s eyes stood there looking at me through narrowed eyes.
“Can I help you?” he asked, but I could see he knew exactly who I was. Maybe he was less disinterested than Macie was led to believe.
“My name is Sam Santino, Mr. Marks.”
“Dr. Marks,” he corrected, crossing his arms in front of him. “And I know who you are. Come in.” He stepped back, and I walked in. The house was huge and over the top. As I looked at the foyer and the opulent wealth that surrounded them in those walls, it made me sad for Macie. He could have given his daughter everything but the one thing she needed. Love.
“Is she okay?” he finally asked, and I nodded.
“She’s great,” I shared. “I was around here for a job and felt the need to introduce myself. Though you know who I am.”
“She shares pictures on her social media, Mr. Santino. You two are not a secret.”
“Very true, but you’re a ghost.”
“Excuse me?” he bristled, and I put my hand out to gentle the blow.
“No offense, Dr. Marks, but you have been a ghost since Macie lost her mother.”
“Who do you—”
“I get it. The idea of losing what I have with Macie kills me. I wouldn’t have a clue how to live without her. But you two had her. A piece of both of you, of the love that you two shared. If I had that, a child we made together, and lost her, I would protect her. No way would I leave her to the wolves.”
“Look around you, Mr. Santino. She was hardly raised by wolves.”
“No, no, you’re right. She was just raised by ghosts. A shell of the man who was supposed to be there for her no matter what.”
“I don’t need to hear—’
“I love her,” I cut him off. No way I would leave without saying what I needed to say. “I love her with everything I am. I didn’t even believe in love until I met her. You have no idea how easy she is to love. I wish you did. Wholeheartedly, I do. Because life is brighter with her in it.” I swallowed hard and shrugged. “Anyhow, I’m not here to ask for permission because a man like you looking at a man like me, I know what you see. Some punk with no people, no huge fortune or trust fund, and that’s fine. You don’t know me. I’m here because I wanted you to know I love your daughter. I’m going to ask her to marry me. We’re going to have kids and a big hairy dog. The kind she always wanted growing up but your ice queen of a second wife always said no to and you didn’t have the balls to say shit about.”
“Excuse—’
“I’m going to make sure she feels loved. Every single fucking day of her life she will know. No doubt about it. I don’t know you, but I needed to tell you I’m going to be the man to give your daughter everything she’s ever wanted, and none of it has to do with money.” I exhaled and tipped my head before turning around.
“Sam,” he called, and I stopped. “Thank you. She…” He sighed. “You’re wrong.” I turned to look at him. “I know exactly how easy she is to love. Loved her since she took her first breath. I did a lot of shit wrong in my life, and there comes a point you have no clue how to make it right.” The regret in his voice was pained and clear.
“You could start by picking up the phone and saying hi,” I informed him. “Macie has a lot of great and some not-so-great qualities. She can be stubborn. But I’ve learned she has the most forgiving heart.” With that I walked out and got to the airport.
I held her ring in my hand the entire flight, excited and nervous about getting home.
Home.
I’d always thought home was a place, but it wasn’t. Home was wherever Macie was.
