Page 12 of Her Intense Protector

“I’ve got to think about it.”

“Think about Sharon; she’s home with a three-year-old and pregnant again. This is her life. Please? You’re our last hope.”

“Until we come up with a solid plan as to what in the heck I would be doing, I’m not saying yes. Otherwise, it’s just plain stupid.”

Toni grinned. “But you’re not saying no. Thank God. Trust me, we’ll come up with something.”

* * *

Sam’s day went downhill from there. On her way out for the day, the firm’s receptionist, Zsa Zsa, told her she’d had three calls from a man named Kevin who’d only gotten more irritated each time she’d said Sam was unavailable.

“Oh, spit, that’s my ex.”

“The one who was having the affair with your maid of honor?”

God save her from the design field, no secret was sacred. If she had to guess, that little tidbit of information came from Julie back in Boise when she’d been helping with the Billingham project. No way had Toni told Zsa Zsa.

“Yep, that’s the one,” she smiled. She bent in to whisper. “Now the maid of honor is cheating on him.”

Zsa Zsa clapped. “The dick deserves it.”

“Yeah, well, I blocked his number when he wanted to cry on my shoulder, that’s why he’s calling here. I’m sorry he’s doing this to you.”

“No problem. I’m the ‘Queen of No’,” Zsa Zsa told her. Samantha wanted to hug her. At nineteen years old, Zsa Zsa already had way better boundaries than Samantha.

By the time she got home, she was a little frazzled. But, at least she had something nice in her wardrobe for her date with Ezio. It wasn’t too nice, wasn’t too casual. Since it was a warm April night in Virginia she went for a purple and green floral sleeveless sundress and a black sweater, along with a pair of black sandals. Some mascara and lip gloss and she was good to go. So why was she nervous?

Oh yeah, I like him.

She twisted her hair, then admonished herself to stop. It was always such a dead giveaway that she was nervous.

She took a deep breath and practiced a smile in front of the mirror.

“Think of Larry. Think of Larry.” She laughed.

That did the trick. No more nerves. Toni was still apologizing over that fiasco.

She frowned when she thought about Toni’s request for her to help Phil. Now that looked to be a fiasco as well, one she didn’t want to get into. Except Toni’d shown her a picture of her three-year-old nephew. What a cutie. She could see why Toni wanted to help so badly.

She jumped at the sound of knocking at her front door.

Sam turned away from the bathroom mirror and ran her hands down the front of her dress.

“Larry. This will be so much better than Larry.”

She was grinning when she opened the door. She forgot she had to look up so far.

So much better than Larry.

“Hello, Samantha,” his voice curled around her.

Smiling, she stepped back. “Come on in. I just need to get my purse, then I’m ready to go.”

His size made her already-small apartment look even smaller, more intimate.

“This place really shows off your personality, doesn’t it? Tranquil and complex.” He went over and looked at her favorite sculpture that she had purchased with her first bonus check. “Can I touch this?” he asked.

She nodded. “It’s meant to be touched. It’s made of sandstone.”