his chin. I rub the spot on my arm his hand was reaching for and try to will away the phantom tingling from his almost-touch.
“Sorry, I just…” I start.
“Listen, I’m not here to bother you. I just want a chance to explain some things.”
I look up at his handsome face, and the somberness there confuses me. Three days ago I caught him looking pretty cozy with his ex-fiancé, so why am I finding it so hard to just turn him away? A little girl runs into my leg, and I’m suddenly aware that we’re standing in the middle of the lane. I look around us and catch Tim staring at me. Unlike Sam’s quiet, thoughtful expression, Tim’s brow is creased and his concentrated stare is trained on me and the tall biker at my side.
I’ve got to get Sam out of Tim’s line of sight. “Why don’t we go over there?” I point to the small manmade alley between the Bath Shop’s booth and that of Carly’s Sweet Treats.
“Lead the way.” Sam motions for me to walk ahead of him, and I sidestep the pockmarked high-schoolers who’ve secured Amber’s early night off. I shoot Amber a furtive glance as we pass, and her eyes move skeptically between Sam and me.
“Well,” I say, turning to face Sam in the small space, “what did you come here to explain?”
He’s much closer to me than I’ve anticipated. The space between the tents is barely wider than Sam himself, and he’s standing so near me, his shadow covers me in shade. His proximity, the heat of the day, and the sheer weariness that has dogged me since seeing him at the bar with Roxy has me close to tears. I take a deep breath and wrap my arms around myself, waiting for him to explain how he could break my trust after promising me he would never break my heart.
“I should’ve told you about Roxy.”
“Yes, you should have.”
He shakes his head and shoves his hands into his pockets. “I knew when you saw me with her at the bar the other night that you’d gotten the wrong idea.”
I snap my head up and let my eyes meet his fully for the first time. “Gotten the wrong idea? I caught you and your ex-fiancé, the woman you were going to marry, practically snuggling in the back of a bar while you were ignoring my calls, by the way. What idea should I have gotten?” I’m not sure where all of this anger is coming from, but I’m so mad at him for disappointing me, I can’t help but spit the words at him.
“For a start, Roxy and I haven’t seen one another in well over a year now. I didn’t even know she was in town until she showed up at my house that morning.”
“She came to your house? The same morning you were trying to get me into the shower with you?”
“It’s not like that,” he cautions, raising his hands in surrender. “She stopped by after you left to let me know she’s back in town. I thought it was better to have our little catch up at The Cavern than at my place so I asked her to meet me there after work.”
“Why? Don’t trust yourself with her?” I accuse.
“I know you’re mad because I didn’t tell you about her, so I’m going to let that slide this time.”
I feel the pink blush of shame creeping up my sparsely-covered chest. Sam isn’t Tim, and I can’t hold him responsible for the mistakes of my ex. He may not have told me about Roxy, but that’s a far cry from screwing her on our leather sofa. Besides, I did unknowingly aid and abet their little reunion by arming her with an illegally imported perfume, something I’ve been regretting bitterly ever since.
“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for,” I say, my anger dissipating a bit.
Sam lifts his hand again and for a moment, I think he’s going to reach out for me, but he lets the hand fall back to his side. “When I saw you looking at me like I’d let you down…I ran out after you and tried to get your attention, but you were a world away.”
Remembering the tears flooding my vision during my high-speed escape, I hold myself tighter, blinking back the wetness in my eyes. “When I saw you there with her, I just—I had to get out of there. It felt so awful, seeing her touch you like that. You