Everywhere they’d gone today, men and women alike had checked her out.
He’d gotten used to it as a kid because she had such rare and breathtaking eyes. But as he’d gotten older, he’d heard the whispers. Sabrina’s mixed heritage caused an awful lot of looks.
But today he didn’t think the attention was due to anything other than her incredible figure and her inner beauty shining out. He had to admit that her confidence was sexy as hell.
Even now, she shook Adrian’s hand and tossed her head back with a laugh. The delicious sound carried across the pavement and hit David square in the chest.
She’d shed the shyness like a snake skin, revealing a curious soul.
Hooking his hands over his hips, David fought the unease rising in his chest. Just because another man found her attractive...it shouldn’t mean anything to him. But it did.
He should be happy for her. Conquering her demons, coming out on top, obviously working so hard on her own happiness.
She made it seem effortless. Being happy. Grabbing life by the horns. Taking advantage of every day.
When had he stopped living?
He dropped his chin to his chest and met the demon head on. David could pinpoint the exact time and place he’d been when his world had stopped turning. It’d been all of sixty seconds after he’d taken Vanessa’s call.
Her sobs echoed through his mind. She choked out the words. Choked on them.
He couldn’t understand her, his brain couldn’t parse the garble, but his heart had known instantly.
A mother’s pain was unmistakable.
“He’s gone.” It’d taken her another minute to collect herself enough to utter the two words that had crushed him easier than any punch.
His pain had been so swift, so overwhelming that the phone had dropped from his hand and blackness took him. His teammates had rallied around him.
They were the only reason he’d survived. The only reason he was still breathing.
But even they hadn’t been able to save Vanessa.
She hadn’t waited for David to get leave. She hadn’t survived the heartbreak. She hadn’t bothered to say goodbye. Her note had been simple, to the point.
She couldn’t survive the loss of her son.
Her son.
David cleared his throat and looked up as the Lamborghini rolled to a stop. Sabrina flashed him a smile so dazzling that it melted all the pain. The brightness radiating off her chased away the darkness. And as she alighted from the car, he wanted to hold on to that sweetness, her purity, her warmth. Their past be damned.
In so many ways, she reminded him of Samuel. Genuine, innocent, stars in her eyes.
“That. Was. Amazing!” She squealed as she approached.
As she bounced on her toes before him, he cupped her cheeks. Her jaw dropped slightly, and she stilled.
“Thank you,” he murmured against her lips. He’d worry about reconciling their history later. Right now, all that mattered was being alive, being with her, casting the shadows out and letting the light in.
Her palms slid up his chest.
“You’re welcome,” she whispered back.
She kissed him back, softly at first. Exploratory in a way their first night hadn’t been. Her lips were supple and seductive.
He slid his hands down her back, wrapped his arms around her and lifted. She gasped. Damn it felt good to hold her, to feel her melt against him.
When he sat her back on her feet and lifted his head, she was grinning up at him. It was the wide, warm smile she’d used with Allen and Marissa.
His heart melted a little more.
“I want to do that again,” she said, arms around his shoulders.
“The kissing or the car?”
“Both,” she quipped, and they shared a laugh.
Maybe Teo and Dylan had been right after all. Perhaps rehashing the past, putting demons to rest was the way forward. The logical choice, the smart choice. Because the feelings inside him were unlike anything he’d ever felt.
Freedom. Completion. Whole. Home.
13
Sabrina marveled at the change in David. The kiss they’d shared on the tarmac had melted her bones. And though he hadn’t said a word on their way to dinner, he’d reached for her hand and hadn’t let go.
If only her eighteen-year-old self could see her now.
She braked for a red light. All around them, lights flickered on as the sun dipped behind the horizon. Glancing over at him, she found him studying her. His gaze was soft and everything about him seemed tranquil somehow.
The near permanent scowl she’d come to expect was missing.
His shoulders were relaxed, his other hand loose against his thigh.
Whatever he was thinking, he didn’t share. But it was enough. Being with him like this, the tension dissolved. It was enough.
A green glow filled the car and she looked up to see the light had changed. Pressing on the gas, she was suddenly eager to get to their destination.
The parking lot of Fat Matt’s Rib Shack was jam packed. She managed to squeeze her car between a dumpster and a wall. But it was worth it.
“It’s nothing fancy, but the food is out of this world.”
He met her behind the trunk. “The guys have been raving about it.”
She smiled.
They had to wait in a long line and then squeeze themselves into a crowded table. A band took the stage at the far end of the small room. As the first notes filled the air, David turned and shot her a smile.
An honest-to-God smile from David Jameson almost knocked her off her chair.
Her breath lodged in her throat and she studied his profile as he got into the music. Was it too soon to hope that this change was permanent? What would he say when he learned the truth? When she revealed what had happened when the mean girls at her high school had found out about her date with David?
Elbow to elbow, they devoured the best ribs she’d ever gnawed off a bone. By the time she’d stuffed herself silly, she was so giddy with happiness she was about to burst. Every morsel had been divine.
