Catching Sam: Book 2 of 5: The MacDonald Brothers by Emily Matthews (best mystery novels of all time TXT) 📗

would find out as much as he could about her while continuing the relationship. He would go in with his eyes wide open but, hopefully, with his heart open too.

And he’d keep his distrust level in check. He got back online and ordered a book about how to trust people. Maybe that would help. It would be delivered the next day, and he could have it read by the weekend. Perfect.

Now, what to do about an apology.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

It was the Fourth of July, and Annie was sitting on her back porch in a turquoise, plastic, Adirondack chair. On her way home yesterday, she’d picked up the chair, an American flag, a box of sparklers, and a six-pack from a local drugstore. In honor of the holiday, she’d posted the flag in a pre-installed bracket next to the front door. She was sipping a hard lemonade and enjoying the warm, evening air when Sam called for the third time that day. He’d left messages and texts apologizing and asking to see her.

She’d already decided to forgive him, but if she accepted his apology too readily, he’d think she wasn’t upset, which was not the case. He’d have to work for it a little.

Although he’d been way out of line, she understood where he was coming from. She could easily see how irritating it would be to be accused of things you didn’t do. Of course, the irony was that that was exactly what he’d done to her.

Merely telling him he could trust her obviously wasn’t enough. She would have to prove it over time.

The one thrilling bit of information to come out of the conversation was that he admitted he was only sleeping with her. She happily clung to that thought as she answered the phone.

“Hey.”

“Oh, Annie. Thank God, you finally picked up. We need to talk. What are you doing?” he blurted.

“Sitting on my back porch, drinking lemonade.”

“I can do better. Can I come pick you up?”

“I guess,” she hedged.

“See you in five,” he said. She heard him moving before he disconnected.

Figuring he would head straight over, she sprinted into the house and up the stairs to run a brush through her hair and change her shirt. It took no more than a few minutes, but he was already knocking when she came downstairs.

He was wearing cargo shorts, a T-shirt with his alma mater’s logo that said “Go Dawgs,” and flip-flops. He looked comfortable and sexy as all hell.

“Wanna come to my house?” He gave her a sheepish grin.

“Sure,” she said and gave a small smile in return.

He drove the short distance back to his place, grabbed an already opened bottle of wine and two glasses, and led her down to the dock. The dock extended approximately fifty feet into the water and was flanked by a speedboat on one side and two Jet Skis on the other. At the end of the dock, facing the water, were two Adirondack chairs. The wooden expensive kind, not the plastic crap she’d bought. She chuckled.

The view of Lake Washington was beautiful. Boats and Jet Skis speckled the deep blue water, which was alive with wakes and waves. Kids screamed happily as overzealous dads attempted to drive their boats wildly enough to throw them off their inner tubes. Though it was still light out, fireworks exploded sporadically all around the lake.

Once they were settled in the chairs and he’d poured the wine, he took her hand and looked into her eyes. “Annie, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I can be impulsive, and sometimes that gets me into trouble. Of course I don’t think you are out to get me. Can you forgive me?”

She nodded. “I tried to put myself in your shoes to understand where you were coming from. It must suck to always have to watch your back and doubt everyone’s motives. I’m trying not to take it personally, but I’m not gonna lie. It hurt.”

“I know. I don’t have any excuse.”

“Were you serious when you said I was the only one you’d slept with recently?”

“Yes. That’s what made me jump straight to you. Since I haven’t had any sexual contact with anyone else, it was the only thing that made sense to me. Stephanie wasn’t even on my radar. I’d spent all of thirty minutes with her. Obviously, my reasoning abilities need some work.”

“And your reading skills.” She rolled her eyes.

“True. If I’d just slowed down enough to read the damn papers, I could have avoided this whole thing. That’s what I mean about my impulsiveness getting me in trouble.”

“I think it will just take time until you’re able to trust me. Besides my word, time is the only proof I can offer. Hopefully, it won’t take too long.”

“I do trust you, Annie. I do. I was an impetuous idiot.”

“I forgive you, but I also think we should slow this train down a little.”

“I don’t really care for that idea, but if it’s what you want…”

“What if this relationship is one of those impulsive things that ends up getting you in trouble?”

That made him stop and think. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like it, but I guess it’s possible.”

They sat in silence for a minute, sipping wine and watching the action on the lake, both lost in their own thoughts.

“You wanna hear my take on you?” she asked.

“Sure, lay it on me. Please be gentle.” He chuckled.

“You remember George Washingstone? The rock I gave you in Maui?”

“Yes. He’s on my dresser, preparing to lead my spare change into battle.”

She laughed and slapped his arm. “I got him because he made me think of you. You’re everyone’s rock and have been for a long time.

“First, for your family after your dad died and now for the business. You have so many people who depend on you and look up to you, and you take care of them all, selflessly. It’s good to be strong, but it’s also okay to be