“The opportunity presented itself.”
Which made no sense. According to the math teacher, Mr. Giannini, Sam had been destined for greatness in the math community. “Brilliant” had always preceded his name. She shook her head. “Every year when the Nobel Prizes are awarded I look for your name.”
“Things change.”
“You didn’t attend your father’s funeral.” She remembered how pitiful it had been. So few people, and none who genuinely mourned.
“You did.”
So. He’d left, but he’d kept track. “Why are you here, Sam?”
“To thank you.”
“For attending the funeral?”
“No.”
She looked away, shaken by the intensity of his gaze. Gratitude was the last thing Dana expected. He’d been furious at her at graduation, rightfully so. And she hadn’t been allowed to set the record straight or beg forgiveness. By the time she could hunt for him after the ceremony, he’d left town.
“How can you thank me?” The effort to appear casual for the interested bystanders sent her pulse dancing. “Because of me you were beaten. You could barely walk at graduation. Your eye was swollen shut. That was my fault.”
“It changed my life, Dana, in ways I never could have anticipated.”
How could he be so calm? She wanted to scream, Mine, too! It changed my life, too. “Tell me how,” she said.
“It’s a long story.”
His hand slid a little farther across her lower back, bringing her closer. His thumb brushed her spine through the silk of her dress.
“I have time for a long story,” she said, her voice catching on the last word as he pressed a finger against a vertebra. When had that spot become an erogenous zone?
“I don’t. I’ve already stayed longer than I intended. Not to mention that everyone in this room is watching our every move.”
She pulled back a little. “I guess I’m used to living under a microscope.”
“And I’m used to putting people under one.”
“Now there’s a cryptic comment. Care to explain?”
“No.”
The song was ending. Panicked she would miss her opportunity, she hurried her words. She only had seconds to say what she’d been wanting to all these years. “I was sorry, Sam. You protected me and got hurt because of it. I became much more aware of the consequences of my actions after. Much more cautious.”
“Is that why you married Randall Sterling? It was the prudent thing to do?”
Two
Before Dana could come up with a response she stumbled as Sam suddenly stopped dancing. Without releasing her he angled toward the man who’d tapped Sam’s shoulder, cutting in. She felt him tense, like an animal facing its prey—or its enemy. Harley Bonner was the enemy. And she’d already turned him down twice tonight.
“Time to share, Remington.”
Tightening her grip on Sam, Dana moved closer to him, hoping he would pick up on her unspoken need to avoid Harley—even as she knew it was unfair to expect him to rescue her once again.
“Sharing is an overrated social skill,” Sam said as the music switched to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
He moved Dana out of range, his hand still resting against the small of her back in a gesture that was both seductive and protective. She didn’t know which one appealed to her more.
“Thank you,” Dana said, more grateful than she could say. “I’m in your debt. Again.”
“We’re square. Nobody owes anyone anything.” He took his hand away when they reached the edge of the crowd. “I have to go, Dana. It was good seeing you.”
Already? She stopped herself from saying the word, grabbing his elbow instead.
“I have your valedictorian medal,” she said. “It’s at my parents’ house.” When she’d reached her car after the graduation ceremony she’d found it hanging from her rearview mirror. She’d cried the whole time she spent looking for him. She couldn’t believe he’d done that—given her his medal.
“I didn’t want it then,” he said, “and I don’t want it now.”
“Please, Sam.” She was excruciatingly aware of people dancing and milling around them, although the volume of the music kept their conversation private. And she was so aware of him as a man. “Come with me. It’ll just take a few minutes. My parents are out of town. It’d be just you and me.”
“I have to go,” he repeated.
Was that regret in his eyes? Temptation? Although their unique relationship had begun in elementary school they’d dated only once in high school. Just once. A date she’d dreamed of for years. A date that had started wonderfully and ended abysmally. She never knew what had gone wrong, how she’d ruined the evening, but she had.
She had so many questions to ask him now, had played out the scene in her head so many times. How could he just leave when there were so many unanswered questions?
“I know you don’t owe me anything, but at least tell me why you gave me the medal,” she said.
“Running away again?” asked a male voice.
Harley ambled up beside them a second time, his chest puffed out, eyes hard, hands fisted. Dana’s hatred for him deepened. A bully in high school and a rich bully now.
“Move aside,” Sam said, low and threatening.
“Oh ho! Feelin’ cocky, are we, Remington? Think you could take me on this time?”
“One on one, I could’ve beaten you then. Five against one weren’t great odds.”
Dana hadn’t heard the chilling details before. Most people assumed Sam’s father had hit him again, but Dana knew Harley and his friends had been responsible. She just didn’t know how many people were involved. If she could go back in time, she would handle everything differently.
“Don’t make a scene,” Dana said to Harley, hurting at the picture of Sam being a punching bag. Because of her. “Just go away.”
Harley bristled. “This is my turf. You don’t have any power here.”
“But I’m wearing my ruby slippers,” she said, making an effort to defuse the tension.
He glanced at her feet, not getting the joke. An ominous silence hung between them. Old contentions seemed painfully fresh.
Sam took a step, bringing himself shoulder to shoulder with Harley. “One would
