Free Impossibly Tongue-Tied by Josie Brown Page A

door for him to lay it on the line:
    That he had felt that they were growing apart for a very long time now. That he cared deeply for her, and always appreciated how she gave 1000 percent of herself to every endeavor, especially to him . But in truth, he asked, was that fair to her? No, of course not, he answered for her, before she’d had a chance to open her mouth. Not if he couldn’t give her 1000 percent of himself, too.
    And that’s just it: He couldn’t. And she didn’t deserve any less…
    This exact spiel had always worked magic with previous girlfriends—and, ironically, with a few deadbeat clients too. He held his breath for her reaction.
    He didn’t have to wait long. Tearfully, she looked him in the eye, threw the bag of teff at him, and slammed the door behind her.
    Before Sam could find a broom, Towser had lapped up all the tiny purple pellets that had spilled all over the kitchen floor.
    Great! Just great , thought Sam. As if his day hadn’t been bad enough, the teff ensured that the evening would end— literally —on a crappy note.
    And he still had to read that O person the riot act.
    He picked up the dog’s leash and herded Towser out the door, just in the nick of time.
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    Nathan burst through the front door as if he were on fire. But before Nina could open her mouth to tell him the exciting news about having given Sam his reel, Nathan informed her that he’d just met with Sam Godwin of ICA not even an hour ago.
    â€œSee, hon? Mailing out all those DVDs finally paid off. He wants to represent me!”
    Nathan picked her up and swung her around, dipped her into a kiss. “Wow, I can’t believe he actually recognized me, you know, behind the bar and all…although that was sort of embarrassing.”
    It would have been more embarrassing if Sam had seen Nathan in his Disneyland costume, thought Nina, but she didn’t say that. Instead she wrapped herself in his arms and laughed. “Don’t be. All of this was meant to happen. Oh, Nathan, I’m so proud of you.”
    She didn’t have the heart to tell him that the contact had initially been made by her.
    What difference would that have made, anyway? Sam Godwin had seen Nathan’s reel out of the goodness of his heart, not because of anything she had said or done.
    Gosh, it was nice to finally meet someone in this town who didn’t have an ulterior motive!

5
The Proposition
    Sam’s conversation with O did not go exactly the way he had hoped, and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why not.
    He’d had the foresight to tape it, and he was glad he had, for a couple of reasons. First off, it might come in handy legally. Second, he had to admit that, like Hugo, he found himself intrigued with O’s sultry voice, even more so each time he played it to himself:
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    SAM: ( In a very businesslike, take-no-prisoners tone ) Hello. I’m talking to O, I presume?
    O: ( With a soft, tinkling laugh ) I can be anyone you want, lover…You don’t mind if I call you lover, do you? I don’t think you mentioned your name.
    SAM: ( Pauses to consider the consequence of the nickname “lover.” Because he remembers that he’s taping the conversation, he thinks better of this. ) My name is—is Sam. I’mcalling about a friend of mine. You know him as…Wilbur.
    O: Ahhhhh… Love Wilbur. He knows just what to say to a woman to…well, get her all hot …and bothered…I’ll just bet you do, too, Sam.
    SAM: Uh, what? What’s that?
    O: ( Softly, achingly ) I said I can imagine you know how to make a woman… come .
    SAM: ( After a long pause ) To tell you the truth, O, I don’t want to talk about me. I’d prefer to talk about you and Wilbur.
    O: Right, gotcha. You want me to tell you what we talk about…You want to know what words make him hard…and long…and hot as he imagines me there, beside