Trust in Me - Quinn Ward Page 0,13
of everything that had happened during the week as if I hadn’t been right in the thick of it. She was a nice enough lady but tended to stick her nose where it didn’t belong. The further I could stay off her radar the better.
I thought about Sam as I sat in rush hour traffic. There had been plenty of guys who’d caught my attention in the past, but none held it the way he did. I’d been watching him from a distance since shortly after he started working at The Lodge, trying to figure out what he was into, but only from a distance because he seemed like the type who would spook easily.
I was still thinking about him as I reheated one of the premade meals I had delivered weekly to keep me from going out to eat every night. I probably spent the same amount of money, but it was easy to tell myself this wasn’t as bad because I didn’t seem pathetic for dining alone or ordering take-out for one.
Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Sam was still on my mind. He was an obsession.
Call William. Tom’s suggestion wasn’t a horrible one.
I flipped the phone over in my hands a few times. Hit the unlock button as I settled into my recliner. Stared at the screen a bit more. Took a sip of water to fight off the sudden desert in my mouth. Scrolled to William’s contact info. Set down the phone and paced, trying to talk myself out of pursuing anything. Sat down again.
“You’re fucking ridiculous,” I muttered as I grabbed the phone again. This wasn’t how a good Daddy acted. I needed to be confident, especially if there was something that had the potential to hold Sam back from giving himself over to me. Before I could second-guess myself, yet again, I tapped the call button. Either William would answer, or he wouldn’t, simple as that.
“I was starting to wonder if we’d ever hear from you again,” William said as soon as the call connected. I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or amused by the delay in me reaching out but, either way, he didn’t seem surprised to hear from me.
“Yeah, well you gave me a lot to think about,” I admitted. A pit formed in my stomach, and the headache I’d managed to escape earlier started creeping in again.
“And have you thought about what I said?” The man had missed his calling. The deep rumble and lack of inflection in his tone would make him a teacher that students feared but respected.
“I have,” I confirmed. “I can’t make any promises, but I’d like to know more. And that’s part of why I haven’t been around. It’s unfair to get hopes up, for either of us, but without proceeding I’ll never have an answer.”
“This isn’t a business negotiation, Theron.” William sighed heavily. “But you have a good point. Are you doing anything right now?”
“Now?” My voice cracked. Was I ready to jump into the deep end right this minute?
No time like the present.
“Well, not this very minute, but in the next hour or two,” William clarified. “Fair warning though, if you want to sit down and talk to Sam, I will be there. He has some very valid concerns and I’ve told him I will act as his protector with any man he’s interested in until such a time everyone agrees it’s no longer warranted.”
That…helped. For some, it might have been disconcerting to have someone acting as a shield but with so much uncertainty, I was grateful William had given him protection. If I knew my friend, that also meant he would see to Sam’s needs until he found a Daddy worthy of him. That, too, was comforting.
“I’m assuming we’d be talking at the club?” I was already out of my chair and on my way to the bedroom. I could go to the club in my slacks and button-down, but I didn’t want anything so stuffy tonight. I wanted Sam to see me as friendly and approachable. I opted for a pair of distressed jeans, a dark purple shirt, and my boots, because I also didn’t want to be too casual.
William confirmed that we’d be talking on relatively neutral ground, and I told him I’d be there as soon as I could. For better or worse, I couldn’t go to sleep another night without knowing what secret William worried would push me away from the boy I wanted.
The front door of The