Free Buried in Bargains (Good Buy Girls) by Josie Belle Page B

Sam’s hands framed her face, holding her still while his mouth descended on hers in a kiss that was so hot it left scorch marks on everything around them.
    It took Maggie only a moment to realize that this was Sam’s way of telling her how he felt. Before he could pull away, she knew it was her turn to be clear, and she fisted his shirt in her hands and refused to let him go. She felt him go still for just a second while he processed the fact that she was kissing him back, and then his arms dropped to her hips and slid up her back to pull her closer.
    When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathing heavy and Sam’s jacket had dropped to the ground. Maggie rested her head on his shoulder, listening to his heart pound in time with her own.
    Sam’s hand slid up her back to play with the ends of her hair. “So . . .”
    Maggie leaned back and looked at his face. Had he always been this impossibly handsome?
    “So, I know we are trying to be friends, but I don’t want to be friends anymore,” she said.
    The look he gave her was intense, as if he was afraid there was an option that he hadn’t thought of and he didn’t want to get blasted.
    “Well, I don’t kiss my enemies like that,” he said.
    “Me neither,” Maggie said.
    “So that leaves . . .”
    “Dating,” she said. “I’m afraid if you’re going to kiss me like that, we’re just going to have to start dating.”
    Sam let out a whoop and spun her around, making Maggie laugh. Then he stopped and studied her with a look that made her insides knot up.
    “Really?” he asked.
    Maggie met his gaze and grinned. “Yes.”
    Sam pulled her close and planted another bone-melting kiss on her.
    “Good,” he said. “But Maggie, you have to be sure.”
    “I am,” she said. She did a quick check, and everything inside of her screamed that this was right. “I promise I am absolutely sure.”
    “Good,” he said. He kissed her quickly. “Because I’m older and wiser now, and I’m going to be a lot harder to scrape off this time.”
    “No scraping, I promise,” she said. “Can I ask you one thing?”
    He nodded.
    “A few weeks ago,” she began and then paused. She felt like an idiot, but she had to know. If there was someone else he was interested in, she needed to know now before she got in too deep. “Right after I got out of the hospital, Ginger saw you coming down the street with flowers. Who were they for?”
    “Ginger saw me, huh?” he asked.
    “Yep,” Maggie said. “In fact, we all did.”
    “They were for you,” he said. He looked embarrassed, and Maggie frowned.
    “Me?”
    “Yeah, but on my way I ran into Pete Daniels, also with flowers for you,” he said, looking annoyed. “You and I had agreed to be friends, so I thought you had moved on with Pete, and I didn’t want to mess it up for you.”
    “Oh,” she said. She put a hand on the side of his face. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Totally stupid, but really nice.”
    “Stupid?” he asked. Then his hand quickly found the tickle spot on her side, and he was merciless.
    Maggie yelped and giggled as his fingers teased her the same way he had he had over twenty years before.
    “Uncle!” Maggie cried. “Not stupid. More like wonderful, charming and gallant.”
    Sam immediately stopped tickling her and pulled her close. “Come dance with me.”
    Maggie glanced up at him and grinned. “We could do that, or we could stay out here by ourselves.”
    Sam placed a quick kiss on her mouth and stooped to retrieve his coat. “No, I can’t trust myself alone with you for much longer. Besides, I have been waiting for over twenty years to show you off as my girlfriend, and I will not be denied.”
    Maggie hadn’t thought it was possible to love Sam Collins more than she had when she was a teenager. She realized as he led her back into the ballroom and looked at her as if she was the only person who mattered that she had been wrong—so