Nicole Edwards - Entrusted

“So, I take it you got the job.”

“I’ll say,” she laughed, that sensual sound causing Elijah to watch her closely.

There was no doubt about it; he was intrigued by this woman.

“And how did he change your life? Aside from the obvious,” Elijah said, glancing down at the rock on Samantha’s left hand. Beneath the table, Elijah fingered his own wedding ring.

“He awakened a part of me I didn’t know existed,” Sam stated seriously and Elijah decided right then that he liked Samantha even more. The woman was straight to the point. None of the fumbling or giggling that Elijah heard often from women.

“I can only presume you mean sexually?” he asked.

Samantha paused and glanced around before answering, apparently looking to see if anyone was within hearing distance. Elijah already knew that no one was, but he appreciated Sam’s need to be discreet in her response.

“Both sexually and emotionally.”

Interesting answer. Elijah didn’t immediately ask a question and he wasn’t very surprised when Samantha threw out one of her own.

“I noticed you’re wearing a ring.”

Elijah didn’t try to deny it, although said ring was currently beneath the table so Sam obviously hadn’t just noticed it.

He had known the question would come about at some point. “I am… Yes,” he told her softly as he placed his hand on the table, twisting the wedding band on his left hand. He still wore it. Even all these years later.

As soon as it registered exactly what he’d said, Samantha’s eyes darted down toward his left hand. Instantly, her body language changed and she looked… upset.

When she finally met his gaze again, Elijah continued, “My Beth passed away four years ago. Brain cancer.”

Her entire demeanor softened and she leaned forward. “Oh, Elijah, I’m so sorry for your loss,” Samantha said, reaching for his hand.

Elijah liked the way her hand felt when she touched him. Soft, smooth fingers. He glanced down where their hands met and then back up at her. He didn’t respond to her, nothing needed to be said.

She didn’t pull her hand away as she added, “If you don’t mind me asking, how did the two of you meet?”

Elijah smiled. Yes, Samantha McCoy continued to surprise him. Most people shied away from talking about his wife once he told them that she was dead. Probably out of fear that he would break down in front of them. That wasn’t going to happen. He loved talking about Beth. She was a significant part of his life; she was the woman who had made him who he was today.

And he reserved the breaking down part for when he was alone.

“I was attending a trade show, as a vendor, and I happened to run into her. I didn’t know it at the time, but she’d been the one to put the show together, with the help of several other people. Beth was an event planner. She was one of those people who were meticulous about details. When she caught my eye, she’d been ensuring everything was going exactly as intended. It took me a few tries, but I finally found the nerve to ask her out. She said yes. The rest is history.”

“How long were the two of you married?” Sam asked.

“It’ll be thirteen years this month,” Elijah said, noticing that when Logan’s hand disappeared beneath the table, Samantha retrieved her hand from his. “We dated for three years before I found the right time to propose. We lived together for two years before we were finally married.”

Which meant he’d been married to her for almost nine years before she passed away, but as far as Elijah was concerned, Beth was it for him. Even without her there every single day, he still thought about her. Still loved her with every breath he took. And he knew without a doubt that there would never be another woman to take her place.

When the waiter interrupted to bring salads, the table quieted and Elijah couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d darkened the mood at the table. A minute or two later, Samantha’s gaze aligned with his and he saw that she didn’t seem at all bothered by their topic of discussion. No, now she just looked curious.

“So, can I ask a personal question?” Samantha asked as they ate.

Elijah paused, his salad fork resting against his plate. “Of course.”

“Have you ever done this before?”

Well, that was about as personal as any question could get. Not that Elijah minded because he received that question quite frequently. He interacted with many people who shared the same lifestyle that he did and because of how taboo some people felt it was, there were often inquisitions into how many polyamorous relationships he’d been a part of.

“My official answer to that is one,” he said easily. “If you’re asking how many threesomes I’ve interacted with, it has been several. However, I assure you that I’ve always been safe.”

“Only one of them was permanent?”

“I’m not sure I’d call it permanent. More like long term. Beth had believed it was forever.”

“You were in a threesome with your wife?” Sam asked, sounding surprised.

“My wife and my best friend, James. Why? Did you think this was something I came up with recently?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to assume,” Sam answered, glancing down.

Elijah reached over and lifted her chin with his finger. “I don’t mind answering questions,” he told her. “This is an important topic.” Considering. “So, yes, technically, I’ve only been in a long term polyamorous relationship once. It unfortunately came to an end when Beth got sick.”

Sam’s eyes were shiny, her emotions right there for anyone to see. Elijah found that endearing.

Elijah decided to steer the conversation back toward Samantha for now. He didn’t want to be an emotional drain on her tonight. He had a lot of baggage, he knew it, and from the looks of it, Samantha and Logan knew it too. There would be a better time and place to talk about all of the details later. “And how about you? How many threesomes have you been a part of?”

Elijah waited for Samantha to answer, knowing full well what the answer was. He’d already questioned Logan about this exact subject. Considering Logan had approached him, Elijah had been curious as to what Logan and Sam were interested in. What their intentions were.

“Two…” Sam hesitated.

“Only two?” he asked, setting his fork down on his salad plate and pushing it away.

“Yes. I didn’t engage in this sort of activity prior to meeting Logan. And since we got together,” she explained, glancing over at Logan briefly, “there have been two men who I was involved with.”

“And you enjoy that sort of interaction?”

“Yes.” Samantha’s straightforward answer made Elijah smile.

“And you’re looking to find a more permanent – as you referred to it – person to be involved with?”

The hesitation that followed was the answer Elijah was looking for. Samantha might know what she wanted, but how she was to go about asking for it, she still appeared confused.

Based on what he understood, Samantha enjoyed threesomes; however, she seemed to establish attachments to the men she was with. For Logan, he wasn’t looking for temporary. Not that he seemed interested in permanent, but the man was looking for something more. That he was certain of.

Elijah was happy to say, he believed he could offer them both what they wanted. And in return, he’d get what he needed.

Sam stared back at Elijah, wondering how she should answer the question. Truth be told, she’d already started to see where Elijah was going with the conversation and she couldn’t help but realize exactly what the man was implying.

Glancing over at Logan, then back to Elijah, Samantha opted for the truth. “At the risk of making this sound like a job interview,” Sam told him with a laugh, “I’m not looking for a one night stand. I don’t care for temporary or fleeting either. We’ve done that already and as you can imagine, it isn’t easy for me.”

Sam noticed the way Elijah’s eyes darted to Logan and then back to her. “Then I’m happy to say that the three of us seem to be on the same page,” Elijah said and a bolt of heat erupted in Sam’s core. “In fact, I informed Logan yesterday pretty much the same thing.”

Sam kept her eyes on Elijah, seeing the heat reflected in his intense gaze. The man was mouthwatering. He reminded her a lot of Logan in the way he carried and presented himself.

He was a businessman, first and foremost. And it was clear that he put a lot of effort – and money – into his appearance with the expensive suits he wore. Not that the money mattered to her in the least, but the effort certainly did. His hair was a dark chocolate brown, his eyes were honey gold. He had a chiseled jaw, his nose was just a little too big, but somehow perfect on his face, and his thick eyelashes probably made a million women jealous.

And of course, there was that GQ stubble and the slightly unkempt hair that made her want to reach out and touch him just to feel the rasp of his beard and the silky softness of his hair.

He was incredibly handsome; there was no doubt about it.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked bluntly, suddenly anxious to know everything there was to know about this man.

“Blue,” he answered without hesitation.

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“One sister, she’s almost fifteen years younger than I am. Yes, she was planned. My parents started early with me. Really early. They had me before they graduated from high school.”

“Wow,” Sam said, speechless. “Sorry, not that sort of wow. I’m just… That’s interesting. I’d love to meet your mother.”