Guarding Hearts (Living Again #3) (11 page)

Kayley shook her head, and Ben ruffled Alexis’ hair. “Well, now that you know the whole family,” Kayley laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, Sam. As Alexis said, we’re big fans. You have a wonderful voice.”

“Thank you,” Sam said, a blush creeping over her cheeks. Ellis watched her, amazed that even with all of this fame, regular people admiring her could make her blush.

“I’m Rachel,” Rachel stepped up. “And this is my husband, Devin. He and Ellis have been friends for several years. These are our babies, Chance and Faith. I’m also a big fan of yours. I forced Devin to watch the show.”

“True story,” Devin agreed, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you, though.”

As the rest of the group introduced themselves to Sam, Ellis sat in a lounge chair, watching them. She was so at ease, at home with people she had just met. He had never been like that. Acting the part had always been just that—acting.

The group settled around what would become the campfire when the sun went down and continued getting to know each other. Trevor and Emily’s daughter, Cate, sat right next to Sam, peppering her with questions. She took it like a champ, answering every question they had with the upmost patience.

Jessica reached over and touched his hand, and he jumped. His eyes met hers and she smiled. “You okay?”

“Great,” he answered. “Just getting a kick out of listening to the kids hammer Sam with questions. They really are something, aren’t they?”

“She’s taking it well.” Jessica stood up. “Can we walk for a minute?”

Ellis looked over at Sam, then scanned the crowd for Brian. “Just a second. I need to see if Brian can watch Sam.”

“Watch Sam? Is it that dangerous?”

“We have no idea how this person gets to her, so yes. We have to be extra vigilant, especially since we’re outside.” Spotting Brian in the crowd, he walked over to him and asked if he could take a few minutes. He agreed, and Ellis walked away with Jessica.

“What’s going on?”

Jessica laughed. “Am I that transparent?”

“I can tell something is on your mind. I’m a cop, remember? I’m good at reading people.”

He could tell she was nervous, so he took her hand in his. “What is it? Are you okay?”

Jessica nodded. “I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just say it. Whatever it is can’t be worse than what my mind is coming up with.”

She nodded, indicating she wanted to sit. After they settled in the sand, she turned towards him, her eyes shining with tears.

“Jess,” he started, but she held up her hand.

“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” she started, looking out at the water.

“Jess, look at me.” Her eyes met his. “What’s going on?”

“When I lived in Michigan,” she began, her voice wavering. “I had a serious boyfriend for a few years. We broke up a few months before I moved to Florida. It wasn’t an easy break up and we hadn’t talked since. A few weeks ago, he emailed me out of the blue, said he missed me. I emailed him back, and we started talking. He said he wanted to explain what happened so I heard him out. A few days ago, h-he showed up.”

“In Florida?” As much as Ellis wanted to feel anger, or sadness, or something, he didn’t. He felt bad that Jessica seemed upset, but that was all.

“Yes. He said he didn’t want to live without me anymore.”

“And?”

“And I haven’t slept in two days. We talked everything through and I…” her voice caught, and a tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t think I’m a terrible person. I know we haven’t been officially anything, but I still feel like I’ve done something wrong.”

Ellis put two and two together, and a sense of relief so strong washed over him. “You two got back together.”

Jessica put her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, Ellis. I never told you that we were talking again, and now I feel like I’ve been cheating on you or something. I never thought this would happen, and you’re such a wonderful guy…”

“Jess,” Ellis interrupted. “I’ve never been fair to you. While I know I never led you into believing we could have a relationship, I knew you wanted more than I could give you.”

“I knew that. You were honest with me. While I don’t understand why, I get that you aren’t ready to share your reasons for not wanting to be in a relationship. Still…”

“Are you happy?”

“Happy?”

“Does he make you happy?”

Jessica sighed. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ellis. You’re a great guy.”

“Does he make you happy?” Ellis repeated.

“He was always the one,” she admitted, looking away. “The things that broke us up were enough for me to think that we would never be together again.”

“I’m happy for you,” Ellis said. “You deserve someone who will treat you like the amazing woman you are. I hope we can still be friends, because you are one of the most genuine people I’ve ever known.”

Jessica’s mouth dropped open. “You aren’t mad?”

“Why would I be mad? You deserve better than me, anyway.”

“Ellis,” Jessica’s voice warned. “I don’t know why you think that about yourself, but it isn’t true. You’re a great guy. There’s someone out there for you, if you believe in it.”

It was his turn to look away, but she wasn’t done. “I know you don’t believe me, but you should. You’re worth way more than you think you are. I hate whoever made you feel that you shouldn’t or can’t love someone. But you want to know why I knew that tonight was the night to tell you about Blake?”

Now he was intrigued. “Why?”

“I watched Sam for the last hour. She hasn’t stopped watching every move you make. When I sat next to you and put my hand on your arm, I swear fire came out of her eyes. She doesn’t know what I am to you, but she wants to know. Everything happens for a reason, I’m a firm believer in that. And I don’t know if you have any feelings for Sam, but I know what a woman looks like when she’s interested, and she sure is. I was planning to talk to you about him anyway, just not tonight around everyone. But when I saw her around you, I knew I needed to let you go now.”

“Let me go?”

“Even though we weren’t a couple, I know you were hanging on to me as part friend part something more, so you didn’t have to try to find someone that you can’t breathe without. As much as I wanted to be that for you, I wasn’t. What you need to find out now is if she is that person for you.”

She watched Ellis walking back down the beach towards them, Jessica walking by his side. He had walked away without as much as a glance in her direction. He had asked Brian to cover for him, to
watch her
, and then he just walked away with the beautiful girl. They had been gone for thirty-eight minutes. She knew because she had felt every single one of them.

She knew she was being ridiculous. She had known him for two days. But that kiss they had shared was seared into her memory. There was just something about him. She wasn’t sleeping, dreaming only of those serious green eyes that felt like they could look through her.

“Be patient,” a voice came from next to her. She jumped slightly, turning to see Ellis’ friend Devin settling in next to her, a sleeping baby on his shoulder. Her heart pounded at his simple words. He knew.

“What?” Sam knew she needed to be careful.

Devin nodded his head towards Ellis, almost back to the group now. “He doesn’t love her.”

Sam opened her mouth, then shut it. Should she really talk to his friend? She didn’t know him well enough to know how much she could say.

“Sam, I’ve known Ellis for many years now. He distances himself from people for reasons he won’t get into, not even to me. All I know is that he has no family, and that the reason behind that is something none of us would like to think of. He keeps himself at arms’ length from everyone so he can protect himself. But, I see what you see.”

Sam furrowed her brow, trying to read in between his words. “What I see?”

“He likes you,” Devin announced, and she sucked in her breath, her hand on her chest. There was no stopping that visceral reaction to what his friend just said. “But, you’ll need to be patient. He doesn’t think he’s worth anything. In the years I’ve known him, Jessica is the closest he’s ever come to having a girlfriend.”

Both of their eyes turned to follow Ellis and Jessica back into the party. His eyes scanned the beach, and she hoped that he was looking for her. When his eyes connected to hers, he looked quickly next to her and saw Devin, then looked back at her. Even if she wanted to form words, she wouldn’t be able to. She wished she could get him to open up a little bit, but according to Devin he wouldn’t even open up after years, much less days.

“I only have this week,” she whispered, her eyes still trained on Ellis. He had stopped to grab a water bottle, but was still watching her talk to Devin.

“Just use your time wisely,” he muttered, seeing that Ellis was watching both of them.

“I’ve only known him two days,” she continued, verbalizing her concern to this half stranger. “How do you know I can get through?”

Ellis was striding towards them now, and she knew their conversation was over. “You may not. But you need to try. See the look on his face right now? He’s coming over here fast to see what I’m telling you. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t.” With that, Devin stood up, balancing the baby carefully.

“What’s going on over here?” Ellis asked, leaning over to peer into the little baby’s face. Her stomach clenched at the sight of him smiling at the sleeping child.

“Just getting to know Sam a little bit,” Devin winked at her. “I think we need to call it a night, man. Time to get these babies home, and get in bed myself. These little alarm clocks get us up several times a night.”

“I was just coming to find you,” Rachel said from behind them. She was holding their other baby, also asleep. “Sam, it was so amazing to meet you. I love your music and hope we can see you again sometime.”

Sam smiled. “Rachel, you and all of your friends are welcome at any concert you want to come to, anytime. Just get in touch with my dad and he will get you VIP tickets. Sometime you guys will have to come up to Nashville and visit, too!”

“Bye, Sam,” a small voice came from next to her. “I really don’t want to go home ever, I want to stay here with you, but my mommy and daddy say I have to.”

Sam laughed at Alexis, the most adorable kid she’d ever been around. “You can come visit me anytime, okay, Alexis? I’m so glad you got to come tonight.”

Jessica stepped up to her, hugging her quickly. “You’re so talented, Sam. Thanks for having us tonight.” She leaned over closer to her ear. “You can do it, Sam. If anyone can, you can.” With that, she walked away, leaving Sam wondering exactly what she was referring to.

After Sam said goodbye to all of Ellis’ friends, including the adorable children who had been stuck to her like glue all night, she sat next to the fire, her mind a million miles away. They were leaving in the morning to head over to the east coast. She was exhausted after a full day of shooting the video over and over again until they got it ‘just right’, and a night full of exhausting emotions about her new bodyguard. Talking to Devin hadn’t squelched her feelings about the connection she had with Ellis at all. She felt like a fool, but she couldn’t stop her emotions from taking over whenever he was within eye shot of her.

“Ready to go in?” She jumped when she heard Ellis’ voice next to her, just like she was imagining. She wasn’t going to get into what
else
she was imagining, though. She looked up at him and saw a small smile playing on his lips. He was so breathtaking. Even with only the lights coming from the back of the house and the fire in front of her, she could see the green in his eyes, so clear she could almost look through them, the dark scruff on his face, his beach tousled hair. He might’ve been on duty, but he looked like he had just come off the pages of a magazine.

Sam looked around, noticing that Brian had gone in, her parents had turned in hours ago, and they were alone. “Not really,” she said softly, maintaining eye contact with him. She figured that if she was going to push through him at all, she had to be bold. The problem was, that wasn’t usually her, hence the reason her parents still controlled her at twenty-three years old.