Blissful Surrender (Bliss #3)(15)
Author: B.J. Harvey

“How are you feeling?” I ask when he finally meets my eyes.

“Better. Still sore, but the doc says I should be fine for work next week.” I nod in agreement before turning to Sam.

“Ryan, do you want to go first?” Sam asks. He shakes his head and takes a long swig of beer. I study him recognizing all the signs of a man who is yet to accept the consequences of his actions. Seems my ultimatum at the hospital had no effect. My mood starts to darken when I hear Sam’s soft voice filter through the silence again.

“All right. Well, Ryan called me this morning because he couldn’t call you. His stuff was at the bar, and he asked me to pick him up. I made the decision to call your office and when I was told you were working from home, I asked Ryan for your address and here we are.” She’s got her cop hat on. As much as her professionalism is honorable, it pisses me off when it’s directed at me of all people.

“How can I help then?” I bite out, gritting my teeth. The room is full of tension. I can see Ryan in my peripheral vision, his hand gripping his bottle like his life depends on it.

“Well …” She fidgets in the seat. “In the car, Ryan explained how he doesn’t feel safe at his apartment due to whatever is going on with him. He has explained that he has an addiction problem and that he’d like to get some help.” The more she talks, the stronger her demeanor becomes. She’s found her stride now and I couldn’t be prouder. “I think Ryan should stay with you.” I open my mouth to argue, but she doesn’t stop talking. “And when he’s feeling physically stronger, you can both sit down and discuss what his options are regarding therapy, Gamblers Anonymous or similar, and whether he still has a job.”

I stare at her. Everything I was going to talk to Ryan about so that he can get help for his addiction, has already been covered by Sam in the short trip from the hospital. The woman in front of me has miraculously achieved what I couldn’t in the past, which is to get Ryan to agree.

Turning toward Ryan, I notice he has visibly relaxed since Sam finished her spiel. I can’t help softening my stance when I realize that he was genuinely worried that I wouldn’t help him. Maybe he did take my words seriously the other night.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” he pipes up, his voice croaky and full of unspoken emotion.

“Yes, Ry. You can stay here for a few days. Your rent is up to date and paid for the next month, and your landlord has recently upgraded the security system, so I’m sure you will be safe there, but you have just been released from the hospital with a few cracked ribs and a head wound. You can stay in the guest room beside my office until you’re back on your feet, but there will be no visitors, no computer, no cell. No access to betting of any sort. This is me giving my little brother one last chance since today you’ve given me a ray of hope that you can see this through this time.”

He nods. “Thanks, brother. I’m beat. I’m going to go lie down if that’s okay.”

“Good idea. I’ll wake you before I leave for the club. Maybe we’ll have dinner?”

“Great.” His voice is decidedly more upbeat when he answers. He stands and picks up his bag, turning toward Sam. “Thanks, Sammy, I really appreciate you picking me up.”

“You’re welcome, Ryan. I’ll call in a few days to check in on you.” The smile she gives him blinds me. I’m hit with memories of all the times she’d look at me like that. It’s like a sucker punch to my very being. I want that smile directed at me again, and f**k if I’m not going to use every weapon in my arsenal to make that happen.

Once Ryan has left, she stands up and I have to choose whether to let her go again or press my case.

I walk around the counter and casually lean back against it, never taking my eyes off her. She noticeably shudders under my gaze and drops her eyes before her body stills, realizing what she just did. She turns away from me and walks over to my floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street and park.

“Surely this isn’t another coincidence, Samantha. The hospital was chance, this time you knew you’d be seeing me again …”

“I’m helping Ryan,” she replies a bit too quickly.

As always, she’s wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was never able to hide her emotions very well, something I know has been used to her disadvantage in the past. The demise of our relationship case in point. “And I appreciate that, but Ryan is a big boy who needs to stand on his own two feet. Something I told him the other night before I saw you in the corridor.”

“Sean, he needs help. He’s your brother, your only family—”

“I’m perfectly aware of that fact but it goes both ways. What I’m wondering is when do I say enough is enough?”

“When there are no other options.”

“Is that what you did, Sammy?”

“What?” she splutters defensively, turning around to face me.

I stand up straight, pulling my shoulders back, preparing for one of two scenarios to play out.

1) She bolts.

or

2) She stands up to me.

Either one will not deter me or turn me off if I’m to be honest.

“When you ended things between us?”

“That was ten years ago …”

“It was, yet seeing you again after all this time has made me remember what happened between us …” I leave the statement unfinished as I step closer.

Her eyes go wide, then dart toward the stairwell leading down to the entranceway.

I shake my head at her as I recognize her flight reflex threatening to kick in. “Uh-oh, Samantha. There’s no escape this time. I let you walk once, and I’m not too keen on seeing the woman who is still buried deep under my skin disappear for another ten years without some answers.”

“Sean, I-”

I stop a foot away from her, putting my hands in my pockets as I trail my eyes from her feet up her long, tanned legs, to her sexy as hell cut-off black denim shorts, her jade fitted tee, to an all too familiar emerald pendant hanging from a silver chain around her neck. I quickly try to hide my shock. She still has the necklace I gave to her on our one year anniversary. The same one I was given by my grandmother to give to her. A piece of my heart that she kept close to her own despite walking away from me, from us, all those years ago. Surely this can’t be a coincidence.

My perusal stops when my eyes meet hers and I can’t help but smirk when her eyes drop to the floor moments later, but not before I see that spark that I caught a glimpse of the other night, a flash of recognition that I see right through her defenses.