“Yes.”
“And you’re not replacing me?”
Brody came out from behind his desk. He took the papers from her hand and set them aside before wrapping his arms around her. “How could I possibly do that?” he asked, hugging her tightly against his chest.
Sam sighed and snuggled against him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I overreacted. This weekend was so nice. It was almost too nice.”
“You’ve been burned before, Sam. That’s hard to forget. It’s difficult to believe people when they tell you they would never hurt you like that. They have to prove themselves, but even then, a part of you just waits for the other shoe to drop. Believe me, I know all about that.”
Sam felt the truth in his words. He’d lived that and his scars were more than only physical ones. She should know better than to think he would do that to her. She hugged him tighter, trying to stave off the tears that threatened again for a different reason.
After a few moments, Brody pulled away. He looked down at her with his hands gently rubbing her upper arms through her sweater. “How does my calendar look at the end of this week?”
Sam shrugged. She hadn’t looked this morning. “I’m not sure. Last I checked, you were pretty open.”
“Good. And what about you? Do you have any personal plans, say, Wednesday through Sunday?”
Sam didn’t have many plans. The past few months of unemployment had put a massive dent in her social life. Even Amanda could barely lure her out of her apartment. “Nothing I know of.”
“All right. Today, I want you to clear my calendar of anything this week from Wednesday on. If it’s important, move it to Tuesday or next week. And Wednesday morning, I want you to be ready with a suitcase packed for a long weekend. I’ll come by your place to pick you up at eight.”
Sam’s eyes widened with surprise. He was taking her somewhere? Her heart started to flutter with excitement for a moment, but reality quickly set in. The logistics of travel with Brody would be complicated. They’d have to drive and stay in a private residence because anything else would require a hotel or an airplane. Someone would see him. Right? “Where are we going?” she asked.
Brody smiled and shook his head. “It’s a surprise.”
“And how will I know what I should pack?”
“Dress for warm weather. Very casual. Bring a swimsuit or two. That should be all you need. If I have things my way, you’ll be naked most of the time, anyhow.”
He leaned down to kiss her. Sam felt a thrill run down her spine when his lips touched hers. A rush of excitement and arousal pumped through her veins as she molded her body against his.
“Okay,” he said, finally pulling away. “That’s about all I can handle of that right now, or I’m going to bend you over the pinball machine.”
Sam smiled and reluctantly stepped back. “If you insist.” She eyed the pinball machine for a moment but opted against pushing him. At least for today.
* * *
Brody watched Sam walk out of his office, admiring her snug curves in the skirt she’d worn today. She had an excellent collection of fitted skirts. They were modest in length, with only a small slit up the back to hint at the creamy flesh of her thigh. But now that he knew what delights were hidden beneath that fabric, he had a whole new appreciation for the seductive sway of her hips.
But after she shut the door, the smile faded from his face and he returned to his computer.
How had he made such a stupid mistake? To send Sam the wrong email? Now he knew what his brothers joked about when they said they had sex on the brain. It was a total distraction. Before their weekend together, he would fantasize about her, and now his mind kept drifting back to their time together. He’d had Sam four times in the past two days. There were plenty of images seared in his mind and they kept leaping into his thoughts without invitation.
This could’ve been a major problem. Thank goodness he’d managed to come up with the story about Xander’s non-existent girlfriend. Normally, he didn’t like talking about his family—biological or foster. Brody Eden was a ghost. Part of that was not having a past or giving anyone a way to trace him back to being Brody Butler. The press was always looking for an angle to dig up information on him. But this was more important. Sam was held by the confidentiality agreement, and he’d rather talk about his family than tell her what the email was really about.
Sam had bought it without asking any questions he couldn’t answer. Her only concern was that this person was her replacement, and he was able to quell those fears with his tale. Fortunately, she hadn’t looked closely enough at the report to notice Deborah was recently married with a new baby and didn’t live anywhere near Washington D.C.