Page 65 of Then Came You

More recently, her dreams had been about somebody trying to break into her house. She could never see the person’s face, just an outline of a man going around to all the windows and doors, looking for a way in. In the dream, she’d yell and scream and try to chase him off, but he’d keep coming like he hadn’t even heard her.

During her college years, she’d gone through a phase where she’d become fascinated with dreams. She’d bought numerous books on the subject and studied them at length. She suspected, based on her readings, that the dreams about her house being broken into weren’t really about that at all. The “intruder” represented Sam, whom she’d tried to fight off for weeks before she’d finally opened up and let him in. Oh, how she’d let him in.

She sank further into the tub and swirled the water around with her hands. Hands. Sam’s hands. It gave her a thrill just thinking about him touching her, caressing, exploring. His hands had been everywhere, in her hair, on her face, and on her body, including the place she hadn’t been touched in far too long.

She’d felt so out of practice, but she needn’t have worried. Sam had been a gentle and considerate lover, and soon all her fears had disappeared.

She’d thought about him all day long, even while she’d been busy serving customers at the coffee counter or in the bookshop. She must have had a dazed look about her because Savannah had called her out on it during a break in the action.

“What’s up with you today?”

“What do you mean?”

“When you saw Sam with his date last night, you were a wreck. Now you’re practically floating around here with a perma-grin.”

Gillian averted her eyes. “Maybe I’m just tired of feeling sorry for myself.”

“Uh-uh. That’s not it.”

Gillian glanced up. “Maybe I’m happy because the store is so busy today. We seem to be gaining more customers each week.”

“Nope. Not that either.”

Savannah walked around her in a slow circle, appraising her from head to toe. Then she came back to stand before her. “Did you go straight home last night?”

“Yes.”

“Did you pass anyone on the way or talk to anyone on the phone?”

“It was late, Savannah. I just wanted to get home.”

“Way to ignore the question.”

Gillian glanced around the store and then to the front door. She half-wished a customer would come in and interrupt Savannah’s scrutiny. The other half wanted to share her good news.

“Fine, I’ll tell you, but you can’t make a big deal about it.”

Savannah planted her hands on her hips and raised her perfectly manicured eyebrows. “Just tell me.”

“Sam followed me home last night.”

Savannah lunged at her. “Get out!”

“I’m serious. He waited in the parking lot until we left the restaurant, and then he followed me.”

Savannah wrinkled her nose, but somehow she still managed to look cute. “Kind of stalkerish, but okay. Then what happened?”

“We started talking in the middle of the road, but it was dark and kind of cold, so I invited him inside.”

“Ooh. I think I’m going to like this part. Keep going.”

Savannah reminded Gillian of a child during story time. She seemed riveted by the storyteller and eager to hear the next page. “I apologized to him about how I reacted when I found out he knew Owen.”

Savannah reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m proud of you. I know that must have been difficult.”

“It was, but Sam was really gracious about it. He apologized too for not telling me sooner, but I understand why. I used to freak out every time I saw him in uniform. He was afraid to bring up Owen because he knew how much it would upset me.”

Savannah nodded. “So, you apologized to each other. Then what?”