Champagne Kisses (The Kisses 4)

Dean."

The tears trickled out down my cheeks. I couldn't speak. Joy, love, despair, and hope all tangled and twisted inside of me. I'd never felt so happy and sad at the same time. I wished I could have had that letter when it was supposed to have been delivered. We would have been together if it had.

Dean turned, his blue eyes bright. With a smooth motion, he reached for me, drawing me into a kiss. The gray world disappeared, replaced by a prism of colors. The shadows and light, the pounding rain, the fear and the heartache- they all faded. Only Dean's lips pressed to mine, his breath on my cheek, his warm hand on my skin were real. The world, and all its problems didn't matter anymore. Dean and this kiss was all that were real. I kissed him like it was the only thing I had ever wanted. I kissed him like I had wanted to kiss him every day since we said goodbye.

I would have kissed him for forever, but a truck zoomed past, shaking the car and honking loudly. Dean and I were startled out of the kiss, noticing that sunlight was now filtering through the car windows. The rain had slowed from the torrential downpour back into a light mist. The sky was lighter and the thunder no longer made the ground shake. Our gray world of rain had dissolved, and we were back in the real world. Dean let go of my hand.

"Dean, I-" I started, my hand touching my lips. I wanted to kiss him again, but now the world could see us.

"I know. I know we can't have that... that this isn't going to work. But I had to kiss you again or my soul was going to break," he said simply. He gave me a halfhearted smile and reached for his seat-belt. His eyes shone with tears, and I knew my cheek was streaked with them. "We should get going."

My heart was breaking again. To be so close to something I had wanted for so long, yet to be so far away, was maddening. He was right, though. Just because we had actually both sent letters, had actually both had feelings, didn't mean we were right for one another. Even if we didn't have the work complication, there was no guarantee we would be able to make it work again. We were both so different, and our feelings were still based on something that happened for a week twenty years ago. It didn't work then, and it wouldn't work now.

I eased the car back out onto the highway, the rain still falling lightly as we headed for the small town in silence. Our kiss still tingled on my lips, my skin still warm from his touch. As we drove, I looked to the sky, praying for rain.

Chapter 22

Present Day

I pulled into the parking lot attached to a

n old wooden building with small windows that looked exactly like a small town police station in the movies. Dean sat quietly for a moment, as if debating saying something. Inside the darkened glass door with white lettering, I could see a man in a grayish tan uniform sitting at a desk filling out paperwork.

"I'll get the paperwork started while you're at the hospital. I'll call if we finish before you," Dean said. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something more, but instead changed his mind, pushing his lips together and opening the car door. I watched him walk into the station, his movements full of an unconscious deadly grace that can only come with years of practice. His hands opened the door, and I remembered how they had felt on my cheek. I took a deep breath. I couldn't think about that kiss right now, the way his hand cupped my jaw, the sweetness of his tongue... Stop it! You have work to do! I chided myself.

The hospital was just a short drive down the main street of the small town. A large building with big windows welcomed patients in, looking more like a hotel than a hospital. It was a new building, and I suspected there was a wing with the Saunders' name on it, but I could never keep track of all the Saunders wings.

I remembered Robbie saying something about it the last time I was in town with him. He kept one of his favorite racing yachts docked at the local marina because he liked the small town feel. The locals had gotten used to him, to the point where he was considered "one of them." It was a good thing too, because he had a tendency to ditch his security, but at least the town was small enough that anyone who didn't belong stuck out like a sore thumb. I had always thought it was a good place for Robbie.

The woman at the main desk sent me up to the second floor to the inpatient unit. The halls were bright and cheery, the smell of fresh wood and paint still lingering in the hallways. It only took me a moment to find the open door into Samantha's room. I could see her sitting in bed reading, her dirty blonde hair up in a ponytail, a bandage on her head and an IV in her arm. I pulled my reading glasses out of their case and carefully centered them on my nose. I knew they made me look more professional, and I actually liked the way they looked. With a deep breath, I knocked and stepped inside.

"Hi, Samantha. I don't know if you remember me, but I would like to talk to you about Robbie," I started, using my business voice. As much as I had liked her when she was a child, this was a business transaction. She gave me a warm smile.

"You're Rachel. Of course I remember you. You would always let Robbie and me stop at the ice cream shop on our way home after sailing lessons. And you are one of the few people that always insisted on calling me Samantha instead of just Sam." She sat up taller in the bed, moving the pillows around to make her more comfortable. I moved to one of the red "leather" padded chairs next to the bed and sat down.

"I'm glad you remember me. I need to talk to you about Robbie, and I'll need you to sign some paperwork." I pulled a folder out of my purse. She looked just like I remembered her. I didn't want to tell her she still looked twelve to me, but to my eyes, she looked exactly the same. Even the ponytail was the same.

"I still can't believe he hit me. I mean, they told me he was drinking, but..." She stopped and shook her head before looking over at me.

I set the folder on the rolling bed table over Samantha's lap, and took out the document inside. I had a computer file full of documents just like it, made up by the Saunders' lawyer for just these kind of situations. I hated that I even had it.

"What happened to him, Rachel? I mean, why would he do that? It's just not like him." Samantha looked over at me, her big gray eyes searching my face. It was those gray eyes that got the two of them ice cream. They were impossible to say no to.

"His dad is dying. He's having a hard time dealing with it. That's not an excuse or a justification, just the explanation. I'd like to ask you not to press charges," I said, indicating the paperwork. "The Saunders family would like to reimburse you for all medical expenses, including any future care you may need with regard to this injury, as well as a payment to cover any work-related expenses this injury may have incurred."

Sam narrowed her eyes, tipping her chin slightly. "And if I said I still wanted to press charges, would I get all the shiny prizes?"

I raised my eyebrows at her. She had always been too smart for her own good as a kid, but at least now it was paying off. I pushed my glasses up on my nose and nodded. "Yes. The Saunders family feels that they should make sure this accident does not end up changing your life. If you still feel the need to press charges and change Robbie's life, then that is purely your decision."

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. "I never intended to press charges against him. Call me sentimental, but I still consider him a friend. I know that he must be going through something crazy hard if he broke his own rule. Besides, he saved me from drowning, so I would like to be able to thank him for that, even if he was the one who put me in the water."

My shoulders dropped, the weight sliding off of them. I knew I had always liked Samantha. "Thank you. I really mean it too, not just as the Saunders' family representative, but as Robbie's friend. Thank you."

"He's my friend. Or at least he was a long time ago. And friends help each other with mistakes. He got me out of trouble a couple of times too." Samantha gave me a grin, almost daring me to ask what kind of trouble. I didn't ask because I didn't want to know; Robbie and Sam were always getting into trouble. "Out of curiosity, how much is the payment?"

"Our standard is twenty-five thousand dollars. If you don't think that is going to be enough, I can always speak with the Saunders' lawyer and come up with a more equitable figure." I really didn't want to do that though. The lawyer was good, but he was kind of a jerk.

Samantha went pale and then flushed. "Twenty-five thousand dollars? No, that's fine. That amount is just fine. It's good."