Before We Kiss

Now Sam looked at his friend and wondered what regrets Kenny carried. He could guess at a lot of them but doubted any of them were about his career.

“What has your panties in a bunch?” Kenny asked. “You only run when you have something on your mind.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Kenny grinned. “Tell me something I don’t know.” He held open the door. “Come on. I’ll buy you a beer.”

Sam followed Kenny upstairs. They walked down the long hallway and through double doors into a room about half the size of an airplane hangar. There were a half dozen or so black leather sofas, a giant television, a big bar and beer on tap. It was a place to relax, to hang out. To escape. Because even now, there were times when the world closed in. When fame was too much and the guys needed to unwind, they came here. No one bothered them.

They’d had a room like this back in L.A. They’d tried to ban Taryn, but she’d retaliated by having their cable cut off, in the middle of a play-off game. They’d never messed with her again.

Kenny walked behind the bar and poured them each a beer. Sam pulled a large towel from a stack on a shelf and tossed it across the sofa, then sat down. Kenny took a seat opposite and leaned back against the leather.

“Folks?” he asked.

Sam shook his head.

“Then it’s a woman.”

Sam grimaced. “I know better.”

“We all do. Except Jack, who is careful to never get involved.”

Sam drank his beer. Kenny was right. Jack was good at making it look as if he cared without getting emotionally engaged. His brief marriage to Taryn had been because of her pregnancy, not emotions. Before and after her, there had been a string of beauties who weren’t interested in much more than saying they’d slept with Jack McGarry. While Jack was involved with several charities, it was always from a distance. If something personal was needed, he sent Larissa.

Sam turned to Kenny. “You still think about what happened?”

“Every day,” his friend said flatly. “Every damned day.”

“Sorry.”

Kenny shrugged. “It happened. I was an idiot. The signs were all there, but I didn’t want to see them.”

Which made his situation sound less horrific than it was.

“You talk to her at all?” Sam asked.

Kenny shook his head. “Never.”

Sam knew better than to ask if his friend ever spoke to the child he’d thought of as his own. The answer would be no. And that was the hell of it.

“You sleeping with Dellina?” Kenny asked.

Sam nearly spit his beer. “No.”

“Why not? She’s pretty. Sexy. She likes you.”

Sam forced himself to sit quietly when what he really wanted to do was jump up and demand, “How do you know? Did she say anything? What have you heard?”

Which was what Kenny wanted. Sam stretched out his legs in front of him and did his best to look casual. “How much are you prepared to lose when we play golf this weekend?”

“I’m kicking your ass,” Kenny told him. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the change in topic.”

Sam smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

* * *

“I HATE YOU,” Dellina said forcefully. “I don’t use that word lightly, just so you know. And I mean it. I really, really hate you.”

Her cursor blinked as if unaffected by her declaration, which was so not a surprise. Stupid computer, she thought glumly. And stupid, stupid program. Why wasn’t it working?

She glanced down at the printout in her hand, then back at the screen and sighed heavily. The job with Score was a big one. She was billing lots of hours and invoicing them for everything she bought. Sam paid her promptly. So why wasn’t she coming out ahead financially?

A party like this one should have provided her with lots of extra income. But when she ran her statements, she wasn’t much further ahead than she’d been two months ago. She would cover costs and walk away with a little extra, but nothing like she’d thought. And nowhere near the amount she’d been hoping for.

She tossed the papers back on the desk and turned from the screen. She would figure this all out after the party, she promised herself. When she didn’t have fifty million things going on. Then she could find out why, after working so hard, she was steadily losing money and facing the real possibility of having to shut her doors.

CHAPTER NINE

IN LOS ANGELES, Sam had lived in a condo. The building had been secure with plenty of staff to keep the world at bay. In Fool’s Gold that hadn’t been an option, so he’d bought a house. The place was bigger than he needed, but it was on the golf course, which he enjoyed, with large rooms and high ceilings. He’d liked all the extra space. The downside of having more rooms was having more bedrooms. And the downside of that was he had no reason to tell his parents they couldn’t stay with him when they came to town. Which was why he was pacing back and forth in his foyer, all the while wondering how long it would take him to drive to Mexico.

He heard a car pull up and opened the front door. Fortunately it was only Jack and Taryn. Kenny pulled up behind them. He noticed how they now blocked the driveway, which would make it harder to escape. Harder, he thought, but not impossible.

It was late afternoon and they’d all come from the office. Taryn wore one of her usual tight dresses that probably cost more than he’d spent on his favorite suit. But she looked good, he thought. Happy. Her relationship with Angel was good for her and—

He swore under his breath. Dear God, it was already happening. Just the knowledge that his parents were only a few miles away was changing him into a woman! He had to get out of here now.

“Don’t even think about it,” Taryn said as she walked up the front walkway. “You aren’t leaving. You’re going to stay and greet your parents like the mature, full-functioning adult that you are. You’re going to listen to their stories and be grateful you have a loving family, no matter how much they annoy and frighten you.”

Her violet-blue gaze was steady. She spoke quietly, as if only for him to hear. And he got the message. Because Taryn’s home life had been shit. She didn’t say much but he’d figured out enough to know that things had gone badly for her. That when she’d met Jack, she’d managed to put herself through college and graduate with honors, but she’d also been broke and practically living in her car.

In the scheme of things, he had it easy. His big complaint was that his family loved him too much. And his parents had sex on the brain. Poor, poor him.

“Good point,” he said, pulling her close and hugging her. She wrapped her arms around him and hung on. The contact was comforting. And siblinglike. There were no thrills when holding Taryn. No need for more, no burning hunger.

He stepped back and grinned. Probably for the best, he thought. Angel could so take them all. It wasn’t that the other man was stronger; it was that he knew how to fight dirty and wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to win. Jack, Kenny and Sam had been raised with the idea of a fair battle and a code of conduct.

“You’ll be fine,” Taryn told him, just as a BMW X5 drove up and parked in front of the house. The doors opened and an attractive older couple stepped out.

Sam happened to know their ages, but he would guess that anyone else would think they were at least a decade younger than they were. His dad was tall, with dark hair and eyes. Lark was five-eight, with wavy dark blond hair and deep blue eyes. They wore jeans and shirts, like regular people, but Sam knew the disguise was simply to help them blend in. That soon enough they would show their true, weird colors.

But they were also his parents and, despite everything, he couldn’t help being pleased to see them. Maybe he was overreacting, he thought. Maybe the visit would be fine. People mellowed as they aged. They could be completely normal.

Lark reached Taryn first and hugged her. “My favorite almost-daughter,” she said, and stepped back to study her. “You’re so beautiful. I can see you’re having regular sex and it’s wonderful.” She tilted her head. “You’re in love.”

Taryn laughed. “Yes, I am. You’re going to meet him this weekend.” She held out her left hand where a large diamond flashed in the light.

“I can’t wait to hold him in my arms.” Lark stared, then sighed. “Wonderful. Reggie, look. Taryn’s engaged.”

“Congratulations,” Reggie said, hugging her tight. “He’s a good man?”

“The best.”

Lark smiled. “You know a good sexual relationship is the cornerstone to any marriage. I have some new techniques I want to discuss with you and your young man. It’s all about mindfulness and breathing. It makes a man last for hours. Reggie, my love, you’ll talk to Taryn’s friend about his end of things, so to speak.”

“Of course.” Reggie dropped a kiss onto the top of his wife’s head. “Depending on how shy he is, I’ll show him the video of what we’ve been practicing or just tell him.”

Sam hung his head. Yup, these were his parents, and from what he could tell, no one had mellowed.

Kenny slapped him on the back. “This is the best show in town.”

“Watch it,” Sam warned. “Or I’ll ask my dad to give you a private demonstration.”

Kenny winced. “Ah, no, thanks.”

Lark moved to Jack and hugged him. She studied his face. “Still not giving with your heart?”

Jack shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s always good to see you, Lark,” he said, and kissed her.

She sighed. “You’re emotionally elusive. We have to fix that.” She turned to Kenny and smiled. “You know, of all Sam’s friends, you were the one I thought would be most interesting in bed.”

Reggie rolled his eyes. “You tell him that every time you see him. Give the kid a break.”

Kenny grinned. “I like being the favorite.”

They embraced and then it was Sam’s turn. He braced himself, knowing the combination of love and space violation would leave him looking for an exit. The worst part was, he never knew which direction the embarrassment was going to come from so it was tough to prepare.

His father shook his hand, hugged him, then turned him over to his mother. Lark studied him for a long time before hugging him so tight his ribs ached.

“I love you so much,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you. You’re in my prayers every day.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

She stepped back and smiled, then put her hands on his shoulders. “You’re in very good shape. I love that I produce beautiful babies. You’re still strong and well hydrated. I’m so happy you listened when I tried to teach you about the glory of drinking enough water. It keeps you regular, you know. You’re still too young to worry about that, but trust me, in a few years, you’re going to care a lot more about your bowels.”

“Listen to your mother,” Reggie said.

Kenny snickered.

“Come on inside,” he said. “You haven’t seen Sam’s new place.”

While Sam appreciated the distraction, he knew that it wouldn’t last for long. Nor would it help much. Because his mother never met a boundary she didn’t want to cross.

Sure enough, she wandered into the house while the guys brought in their considerable pile of luggage. As Sam, Kenny and Jack carried suitcases to the guest room, Taryn mixed drinks in the kitchen. Sam put down the two bags he’d been holding only to hear the familiar sound of drawers opening and closing. In his bedroom.

“Darling, I know a much better brand of condom,” his mother called. “And where is that pink vibrator I sent you last Christmas? The one that’s shaped to reach a woman’s G-spot. I don’t see it anywhere.”

“Mom, get out of my bedroom.”

She appeared in the doorway, her expression one of genuine confusion. “I was just exploring your life, darling. It’s how we reacquaint ourselves after being apart for so long.”

“Some people just have a conversation,” he mumbled.

“I’ve got the martinis ready,” Taryn called from the kitchen.

“Wonderful,” Lark said.

They went to the living room. Reggie carried in a tray of drinks while Taryn followed with some appetizers Sam had picked up from Angelo’s, the local Italian restaurant.

Taryn pointed to the drinks on the tray. “Straight up with a twist, straight up with olives, straight up with a hint of lavender for the beautiful woman I love so much.”

Lark smiled at her.

“Straight up seems to be a theme,” Jack whispered, taking one of the drinks.

“As long as it takes the edge off,” Sam told him, and grabbed one for himself.

He swallowed half of his in a gulp and glanced at Taryn. She grinned and pointed, as if saying yes, there was a pitcher waiting in the refrigerator. Something he would need to get through the visit.

Once everyone was settled, conversation seemed to flow more smoothly. Lark and Reggie talked about Sam’s sisters and how well they were doing. Most of the talk was relatively normal and there was only one mention of his sister Lottie’s vagina, which Sam considered a win where his parents were concerned.

“You’re on a book tour?” Kenny asked.

Lark nodded. “I never wanted to go on one before. Not when I had to be apart from Reggie for so long.” She smiled at her husband. “We try to never be apart for more than twenty-four hours and our goal is to make love at least once every forty-eight hours.”

“Mom,” Sam said sharply. “TMI.”