Unrequited (Chosen #3) (6 page)

TEN
- SAM

After I met Nick at his work, I went on a research spree. I needed to know exactly where Lizzie worked and who the baby’s father was. Those were her two sore spots and I was going to annihilate them. My plan was fairly simple and once she lost her job and her baby, there was absolutely no way she would be the same person Nick had fallen for. Any woman would crumble under that type of stress. I started my search by looking up Leeman Financial Management. I wrote down the Custom House Street address and made a call into one of the head partners. Unfortunately, he had been in a meeting and I told the receptionist that I would get back to him the following day.

Finding out the baby’s father’s name proved to be impossible. I couldn’t recollect Conner ever saying anything about him and Nick certainly never talked about him. I decided the only way to figure that piece out was to get it from the horse’s mouth. Once I had a face to face with Lizzie, I would find a way to get his name. If she didn’t give it to me, then I needed an alternate plan.

When Nick called and said that they were going to meet me for dinner, I was beyond thrilled.
Mission Marry Nick Sawyer started now.
I immediately went out and bought a Dolce and Gabanna baby blue lace dress with a cute little belt and high heel matching blue pumps. I bought a long black coat to hide the dress attire until I could reveal it at the restaurant. I was a pit of nerves. The concierge called a driver and I made it to the restaurant fifteen minutes fashionably late to find Nick waiting outside. When the driver opened my door, Nick took my hand and I immediately noticed he was in a black tee shirt under a North Face jacket and faded jeans.

Maybe I was a tad overdressed but once I made my reveal, no one in the place would forget me. My hair was done up in a messy ponytail and my make up was spotless. I was self assured and ready. Nick smiled at me. “It is so wonderful that you could come, Samantha. I look forward to you meeting the family.” Those beautiful eyes and smile could make any woman want him. Growing up with him, I didn’t ever notice his looks, just his gentleness. He was always a loyal friend. I counted on that tonight. Not seeing him but briefly over the past couple of years, I had forgotten how stunning he was, tall, broad, dark hair that was wonderfully styled. He could be on the cover of a GQ magazine, if he wasn’t already so successful.

“I am pleased, as well, Nick. Thank you for the invitation,” I said demurely. He didn’t hesitate to let me take arm as we walked into the restaurant. As we moved through the rooms, I perused all of the people, trying to see if I could place her before she saw me. I needed the upper hand. I wanted the shock of seeing her to flee before I could stand my ground.

What I didn’t expect to see were two people fawning over a baby and laughing. The man was grossly covered in tattoos and had piercings throughout every orifice in his face. The girl was wearing pig tails and had on a moo-moo dress. They both looked up at us when we approached. Lizzie stood up first, clearly flustered and dropped her silverware all over the
ground. The man shooed her away as he picked it up and placed it back on the table.

We stood there, staring at each other, appraising each other. I immediately saw Conner and I felt the pit in my stomach roil up to my throat. I couldn’t stop the tears this time. She was his exact replica. I was staring at Conner in pig tails and a moo-moo dress. She gasped as I tried to pull her into a hug, hoping that I would get the sense that he was still with me. She backed off immediately and stuck out her hand.

“My name is Elizabeth O’Malley,” she stated without feeling.
Duh
. Her eyes were empty and her body stiff. She didn’t want to be here. She thought that this was a mistake.
Good.

“Sam,” I whimpered. A brief flash of sympathy crossed her face and I nearly fell to my knees. No one had given me that look since Conner died. Everyone thought I was resilient and never felt anything for him. They were all wrong. But she knew the pain. She saw the grief, even if it was there and gone in a flash.

I didn’t know how she lived without him every day. I still didn’t know how I did. The disgusting man beside her stood and offered his hand. “Hey, I’m Sean, a close friend of Lizzie and Conner’s.” He didn’t make a face that clued me in that he thought I was beautiful. He was on her side. He was obviously there for her tonight.

I shook his hand and hesitantly sat down in the chair that Nick held out for me. I couldn’t unveil my dress. I was completely out of my realm here. These people were
Conner’s people. He wasn’t here to stand up for me anymore. I swiped my eyes to make sure my mascara didn’t run and I heard my father’s instructions run through my head.
Get rid of her. Nick is yours.

Slowly, I peeled off my black coat and I watched Nick as he appraised my dress. He smiled and winked at me. Niall started to fuss and I looked over at him in his highchair. He was the epitome of a little Conner and I dissolved at the sight of him. I gave a little wave to him, as he slapped the table and said, “Dada”. I saw the loving exchange of looks between Lizzie and Nick and my back straightened. I was not here to relive my relationship with Conner. I was here for only one reason and it was to get rid of
her
. Sean looked at me while I took in their exchange and then quickly looked down at his menu. Did he see the contempt I had for her?

“So, of course, this dinner is on Lizzie and me tonight so go nuts,” Nick said. He smiled at Lizzie and she shook her head. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. Her mannerisms, her looks of adoration, her little quirks were all Conner.

“Well, gorgeous, you know what I am having,” Lizzie said as she pursued her lips.

“Of course I do. You order the cheapest entrée on the menu and it always makes me feel inadequate,” Nick sighed in mock desperation.

“I can’t help it that I love cheese raviolis,” she whined. Okay, this woman was a child. She wore pig tails, giggled, and acted so unsophisticated that it was embarrassing just to watch. I rolled my eyes just as she glanced over at me. I tried to make quick darting eyes to cover up the eye roll but I knew she didn’t fall for it.

Her spine stiffened and I saw the understanding cross over her face. Damn, this girl could play the masks well, too.

“So, Sam. Or should I call you Samantha?” Lizzie asked me.

“Sam is fine.” I took a sip of the Red Cabernet Nick had ordered. It was a nice bottle. It probably costs upwards of three hundred dollars.

“Sam.” She sat there and peered at me like I was a snake in one of those glass cubes at the zoo. “What is your favorite memory of my brother?”

I couldn’t tell her this. It was so personal. I thought back to the first kiss he landed on my lips and how he smelled of whiskey and beer. He was so sweaty that night after his show and I was so damn lucky to be the girl he kissed after they left the stage.

“Ah, well. Your brother wrote songs,” I stammered out.

She nodded her head and gave me a pacifying smile. What a fucking bitch. Should I ask her about her sex life with Nick? She took a swig of Nick’s wine and he gave her an odd look which she ignored. She was clearly pissed off.

“He did do that!” Lizzie declared. “Tell me, which of his songs were your favorite?” Her eyes lingered over my dress and I took another sip of my wine.

“Butterfly Girl,” I answered. “I loved that song. It was so beautiful and I thought he wrote it for me long before we met.”

Lizzie visibly dissolved. Her hands started to shake as she took Sean’s glass of wine and downed it. She coughed and her baby started to whimper. It looked like I had struck her across the face. After a few tense minutes, she laughed. I mean, she laughed so hard that the whole fucking restaurant was watching her. She looked maniacal. She looked crazy. She looked like a fucking freak.

Nick stood up. “Lizzie, let’s take Niall out for some air, honey.” She shook her head at him and then started to fold and unfold her napkin in an obsessive compulsive way. What was wrong with this girl? Nick wanted this freak show?

“You know, Sam.” She finally said. “Conner wrote that song when I was pregnant with Niall. Nick proposed to me after he sang that song to me, so don’t you never, ever dare say that he wrote that song for you. I was his Butterfly Girl. It was me. Are we clear?”

I put my hand over my mouth in mock sympathy. I knew Conner had written it for her. He told me the whole story about her having Niall on her own but hell, I was done with niceties. This girl was going to get put in her lowly place before this night was even done.

“I am so sorry,” I whispered. Nick squeezed my hand and Lizzie’s eyes flew to his endearment. “I didn’t know. I am sorry. I just didn’t….”Nick cut me off.

“It’s alright, Sam. Lizzie is having a difficult time with him gone, too. I think we can all understand that we suffered a great loss after he passed,” Nick soothed. His calming demeanor was extraordinary. The guy could stay calm in the middle of a hurricane and this dinner was certainly turning into one.

Lizzie’s chair fell to the ground as she pushed it out and scowled at Nick. She would have spit venom at him if she could have.
It was fucking fabulous.
Her ponytails started to come undone and I watched her morph into a woman scorned. She wasn’t that pretty when she was angry.

I saw Sean shake his head from the other side of the table. He quickly grabbed Niall from his high chair and gave Lizzie a look. “Elizabeth Erin O’Malley,” Sean startled her. “Mike’s is calling us right now. We need to go before they run out of the turtle canollis.”

Lizzie looked at him stunned, shocked and fucking on fire. She nodded robotically. She whipped her head back to look at Nick, whose head was down and his hand still on mine. Lizzie leaned over the table and quietly regarded us both.

“It was really great to meet you, Sam. Let Nick know when you plan to travel down Route 9 again so I can ride shotgun.”

Nick’s head shot up. “Lizzie!” Nick reprimanded. Everyone’s head turned in the restaurant. Lizzie looked like she had been slapped across the face. Her face was blotchy red and she was fuming.

Sean took Lizzie’s shaking arm and carefully encouraged her out the door. Nick put his face in his hands. I rubbed my
hand over his back. “I am sorry. Maybe it was too soon. She is so angry, Nick. How do you deal with that every day?”

He shook his head and looked at me. “That was not the Lizzie I know.” He looked down at the table and gave the remaining dishes of food a quizzical look. What could he possibly be thinking about her abrupt departure?

I rubbed my hand up his arm and sighed. “She isn’t anything like Conner was. Who was that guy she was with anyway? Is he really a good friend to her? Why was he the one that grabbed her right away? If I had been you, I would have tried to console her but you didn’t. You stayed here with me.  I don’t want to be mean or anything, Nick, but we are old friends and I hope we can be honest with each other.” He nodded at me with a worried look.

“She just isn’t who I ever pictured you to be with. You are Nick
fucking
Sawyer. What does she do for
you
to make you happy in your relationship? Because, quite honestly, I just don’t see it,” I said.

He grunted in response. Was he agreeing with me? Did he see that she wasn’t the mature woman that deserves his lifelong promise? I knew in that moment as I stared at him that I had gotten to him. He did not look happy and it was all of her fault.  He would have to ponder what about her that really makes him happy. She had to prove that she was the woman he wanted to be with. And, if I had anything to do with it, that would not happen anytime soon.

ELEVEN - NICK

I put Sam into a taxi and started walking towards the car, hoping that Lizzie and Sean were already there. I was beat. I wanted my bed and I wanted it now. If I had to walk up to Mike’s and then back down the streets to find them, I was going to be pissed. I was already pissed. She drank and she is pregnant! Who the hell was that girl at dinner? She is always so friendly and accommodating to people but something switched and she became the pettiest woman I had seen in a long time. I felt bad for Sam. She had gotten all dressed up and was trying to apologize. It wasn’t until she told me that Lizzie obviously didn’t make me happy that I zoned out.

Lizzie and Sean were leaning on the side of the car, stuffing cannolis in their faces. Niall was in his car seat and Lizzie was scooping small amounts of the filling and putting into his mouth with her finger. When I looked at her, I could see the tear stains down her face. Sean immediately put his hands in his pockets and started walking around the car.

“Where is she?” Lizzie cried. “Where is that woman?”

“I put her in a cab,” I deadpanned. She nodded her head and then let out a long breath.

“Lizzie? Why? Why were you so spiteful towards her?”

She threw her hand up to her mouth, dropping a cannoli to the ground and her eyes widened. She started to shake and then the tears started all over again.

“You know. Maybe it is best if I do go to the hotel after all,” Sean said. “I can just grab my stuff and go.” I wasn’t exactly sure who he was talking to but Lizzie continued to sniff so I am not sure that she even heard him.

I walked to the other side of the car and opened Lizzie’s door. She hung her head and got in. Sean went to the back passenger door and I nodded to him. “I think that would be best for everyone, Sean. Please, let me make sure you get to where you are going,” I said.

He gave me a quick nod and a sympathetic look. He knew that Lizzie had basically cracked, too.

I dropped Lizzie and Niall at the front door of our brownstone and Sean went in to get his bags. Neither of them said anything to me. I put my head on the steering wheel and listened to Phish play on the stereo. After a few moments, Sean got in the car and threw his head back on the headrest.

“That was the biggest clusterfuck probably in recent Boston history. I mean, I made her go. I shouldn’t have done that,” he said. He rubbed one of his hands over an eye. He looked exhausted.

“Nah, dude, it wasn’t your fault. They were eventually going to meet. Sam is living back in Boston and she needs my help, you know? She is an old friend, just like Lizzie is to you. I can see you would do anything for her,” I replied, pulling out into traffic.

“Yes. That is true,” he firmly stated and then shook his head. He wanted to say something else but didn’t. The dude was a vault of information and I knew hardly anyone could crack him.

“Have you ever seen her like that before? I mean, I know Conner is gone and the whole song thing was hit close to home, you know, but Lizzie, God, she is acting like a bitch,” I said. I needed him to concur. I couldn’t have been the only one to think that she had overacted.

“Lizzie can be a bitch. I have never faulted her for that. If she feels like someone is stepping on her territory, she is like a fucking werewolf with the largest fangs out there,” he laughed. “I mean, you obviously know what she did to Teagan when she found out he actually had a girlfriend the whole time they were together.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t.”

“Aw, man. Lizzie shredded him. I mean, she was explosive. One of our mutual friends said that people were just standing on the street while she berated him to hell and back. I think the only reason she didn’t use physical force was because that guy, Freddie was there. Then, the motherfucker shows up to her abortion appointment like nothing ever happened. She was destroyed, Nick. I didn’t know if she would survive that. I mean, shit, she is dealing so much better with Conner’s death than she did that week she was living with me,” he said.

“She lived with you?” I asked stunned.

“Well, she had no where else to go. Her family wanted her to keep the baby and Teagan didn’t. She didn’t have a job or anything. She just had that stupid red car,” he stated. “I basically cared for her back to mental health. Lots of movies and ice cream,” he chuckled. “And then the loser kept emailing her and telling her he wanted to see her. It was fucked up.” Sean looked out the window and started drumming his fingers. I looked over at him and thought about the next question I really wanted to ask him. I could just ask him. Lizzie had always told me that anything I wanted to know about her, I should ask her directly. Sean was here and I was upset. I didn’t know what Lizzie was going through tonight and I needed to know.

“Why was she so upset, Sean?” I asked as I turned down the music. Even Phish couldn’t drown out the million thoughts going through my head.

“About Teagan?” Sean looked confused.

I shook my head. “Tonight. Why was Lizzie fuming tonight?”

Sean turned in his seat to face me. “You don’t see it, do you?” He looked at me like I was the dumbest man in the world. I shook my head again apologetically.

“It’s Sam. Man, that girl is a piece of work. I don’t know what Conner ever saw in her. Who knows, maybe she was a totally different person with him. Nick, she is trouble. Just the sex looks she was throwing your way tonight were not cool. No way. That girl wants you. Believe me, when I want a girl, I have that exact player face and those looks were practiced. Samantha isn’t here for any other reason than to be with you,” he firmly stated. “It’s messed up.”

“What? That is crazy. We have always just been friends. That’s it,” I said. I wanted to pull the car over and throttle Sean. How would anyone think that? Sam knows that I love Lizzie. We talk about her all the time.

Sean threw a “bull shit” look at me. “Lizzie tells me a lot, Nick. Be careful. I know you two hooked up back in Texas. That girl didn’t dress up like that tonight for Lizzie. She wants
you
. I don’t know her game and I would never put any ideas into Lizzie’s head about how serious that girl is about you, but I am pretty sure she figured it out tonight.”

“So, she is worried that I am going to hook up with Sam?” I scoffed.

Sean shrugged his shoulders. “Hey man, you can leave me off here. I want to check in on another friend real quick.”

I knew he was uncomfortable. I wanted to question him like he was on trial for murder but
he
wanted out of my car. I panicked. I needed to know exactly what he meant. Was I being played by Sam? Was Lizzie upset about me and not Conner? What the fuck happened with Teagan and her parents? Sean had met Teagan, right? Was Lizzie happier when she was in Teagan ignorant bliss?

I pulled the car over and Sean turned to me. “I hate girl drama. I despise it. But I will always love Lizzie as a sister and she means the world to me. Before she met you, I would have endured Lizzie drama for a week. But she has you now. So do what’s right for you. Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. For all of our sake’s, please,
please
don’t break her heart when you decide because I won’t be as nice to you as I was to Teagan.” Sean popped open the door, slammed it, and walked away. I watched him light up a cigarette and start down the sidewalk.
He doesn’t think I love her. He thinks we are over and we haven’t even started yet.

I drove around the city in silence and thought about everything that Sam had said to me after Lizzie left the table.
“How do you deal with her every day? She is so angry. You are Nick fucking Sawyer.”

Sean was right. Samantha was here in Boston for me. There was no other reason. She didn’t have family here. The last time she came, she came for me. She has no idea who Lizzie is and what she means to me. Oh my God, I totally messed up.

I hurriedly went back to the apartment. Lizzie and Niall were already in bed. When I took off my clothes and got in bed with her, she was still sniffling. I made her turn around and she pushed her face into my chest. I hugged her so tight.

“I messed up, baby,” I said.

“Sam wants you,” she said.

“I think I just figured that out,” I said. “But, I don’t know why. She knows that I am with you. Why would she come back now?”

Lizzie outlined my tattoo with her fingers and laughed. “Who wouldn’t want you, Nick? You said it yourself; women want you for your money and your status.”

“None of that matters to me. I have never felt more alive than when I am in bed with you just like this. When it is just me and you, the rest of the world can go eat shit because this is the only thing I want. I want you and no matter what Sam does, it will never dissuade my love for you. You are it for me,” I said, kissing her softly on the lips.

“I am sorry I had some wine. I know it should be fine, but I will call the doctor tomorrow anyway,” she whispered. “I think I went mental, Nick. She was all over you. She basically ruined any hopes of my liking her.”

I kissed her neck, her shoulder, and whispered that it would all be okay. She nodded into my chest and then her tears dried up. I hummed a song that she and I had been working on for the past few weeks and soon her breathing evened out. I held her like that for hours while I tried to figure out a way to get Samantha out of my life. I would never let anyone or anything come between my girl and me again.