Fool That I Am (15 page)

As Sam crossed the darkened room toward his goal, the sound
of Billie’s silky voice filled his ears. “I am so honored to be here with you
all this evening. This charity is near and dear to my heart and I urge each of
you to continue to give after tonight.” She paused as the crowd applauded
before continuing, “This next song I’m going to sing is one of my favorite Etta
James songs. Everyone has had that one unrequited love in their life, am I right?”
A wave of agreeable murmurs reached her on the stage and she smiled
conspiratorially. “Well, nothing makes a greater fool of us all than love.”

As the strings began to play a slow melody, Sam stopped at
the table and leaned down to catch Connie’s eye. “May I have this dance?”

Connie’s eyes widened comically as she recognized the
towering man standing over her. “
Ay Dios mío!
What are you doing here,
Samuel?” she exclaimed, automatically standing to face him.

“More to the point, what is
she
doing here?” he
growled, his thumb pointing at the goddess on stage crooning
“Fool that I
am, for falling in love with you...”

Connie’s date stood up, too, and though he didn’t stand as
tall as Sam, he was just as wide and meaner-looking. Wrapping his muscled arm around
the Latina beauty, he addressed the newcomer. “We gonna have a problem here,
Mr. Garrett?”

That brought Sam up short. “How do you know my name? Who are
you anyway?”

“My name is Hank Nelson and I’m the chief of security for
this club. I make it my business to know who our guests are,” he replied, his
voice cold and threatening.

Rolling her eyes, Connie placed her hand against her date’s
bulging chest. “It’s okay,
papi
. Sam is my friend. I will give him a
dance and come straight back to you, okay?” she cooed, giving him teasing
kisses across his jawline.

Hank nodded sharply, never breaking eye contact with Sam.
Sam understood the unspoken threat and nodded back while taking Connie’s hand
and leading her a short distance away to the dance floor. Leaving an acceptable
amount of distance between their bodies, he held onto her waist as she draped
her hands up and around his thick neck. Even though he had a thousand
questions, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Billie and the maddening
glimpse of her leg.

Connie spoke first. “How come you are here, Samuel? Please
tell me you did not bring that
puta
Renata with you,” she threatened
him.

His attention snapped back to her and his eyebrows lowered
in annoyance. “Of course I didn’t bring her. We broke up months ago. I told
Billie that. And my boss gave me these tickets, so I brought Chad.”

Connie glared at him, shooting metaphorical daggers of fire
out of her eyes at him. “You are so dense. Why do you keep choosing that loser
over her? I see the way you look at her like you want to rip her clothes from
her body, yet you keep pushing her away because of that
bastardo
? What
is the matter with you?”

Sam blinked as he tried to think of how to respond. “It’s
complicated, alright, Connie? I’ve been friends with Chad forever and Billie is
his ex-wife. That’s not a line I can just cross.”

“Why not?” she demanded. “What does Chad do for you that’s
so great? He mooches your money, uses you for everything, and throws you under
the buses if he thinks it will save his neck. Now look on that stage and see
what you are giving up for such devotion. She is a wonderful person who has
been in love with you for years-“

Stopping dead in his tracks, Sam stared at the woman in his
arms. “She’s in love with me?”

Connie pushed his shoulder roughly while exclaiming, “Stop
being so stupid, Samuel! Of course she loves you! Do you not hear her singing
for you right now?”

As if on cue, the song came to a close as Billie crooned,
“Oh, but I still care, fool that I am.”

As the crowd erupted into fervent applause, he escorted
Connie away from the floor and to the side, making sure to keep her in direct
eyesight of her glaring boyfriend. Dazed and a little shell-shocked, he told
her, “She never told me. I swear, she never told me, Con.”

Putting her hands on her hips, she replied saucily, “Really,
genius? You mean that she didn’t tell her ex-husband’s best friend that she was
in love with him? I am sooo shocked!”

Sam felt like he had been punched in the gut.  He had
wasted all these years, just to find out that she had loved him, too? He felt a
little bit sick and a lot angry at himself. Why had he never been able to see
it?

Before he could formulate a reply, however, Connie continued
her harangue. “What does it matter now, though? You are too late to the game,
pendejo
.
She is dating the club owner now. He is rich and handsome and he is
loco
for her, okay?”

Sam’s stomach fell to his feet. “She’s dating
that
Daniel?” he demanded, thinking back to the conversation with Derrick and Lola.

“
Sí
, this Daniel and he has no silly rules keeping
him from what he wants,” she sassed him, wagging her finger in his face. “Now
is the time for you to go away so she can finally be happy and forget about
you, okay? It is not fair to keep stringing her along.”

Having said her piece, Connie spun on her high heel and
flounced back to the table to drape herself over her boyfriend and whisper
furiously with him. Sam was in a daze as he digested all that Connie told him
while he made his way back to his own table. Mercifully, Chad and Tanya Delaney
were missing when he collapsed back in his chair and watched Billie sing
Someone
Like You
by Adele. His vision narrowed, shutting out everyone and
everything else but her on that stage. He could taste the bile coming up his
throat as he realized that she really did find someone else and this time could
be for keeps. Could he really let her go? Could he live with himself if he
never even tried?

What seemed like mere seconds later, when in fact it had
been closer to an hour, Billie crooned the last words of
Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas
and took a final bow. The thunderous noise of
clapping, whistling, cheers, and shouts made his head ring as she beamed a
dazzling smile and blew kisses to her fans. Daniel Petrosky took this opportunity
to come back on the stage and take the microphone while placing a familiar arm
around Billie’s waist to draw her in close to him.

“Let’s give it up one more time for Valerie Jones!” he
crowed, as the crowd responded enthusiastically. When they quieted a little
more, he laughingly added, “Don’t get your hopes up, gentlemen. I’ve already
called dibs.” Then, much to her surprise, he folded her in his arms, dipped her
back over his arm, and kissed her soundly. That caused another raucous round of
cat calls and cheering, especially when they saw the embarrassed flush crawling
up Billie’s face. Daniel thanked everyone, reminded them to stay for more
dancing and socializing, and then disappeared behind the curtains with Billie.

Jealousy and anger warred within Sam, even as he smugly
thought that Daniel didn’t know Billie very well if he thought such a public
display would please her. Billie detested that kind of gratuitous affection,
especially in front of a crowd of people she didn’t know.

His hand shook with emotion as he raised his glass to his
mouth for a quick drink. The house lights had brightened enough to make
table-hopping and socializing easier and the stage retracted in order to free
up more of the dance floor as music began to play over the speakers. The sound
of people talking, laughing, silverware tinkling, and ice cubes clinking
invaded Sam’s mind as he looked around for Chad. They really needed to leave
now so he could think straight.

Throwing a $100 bill on the table as a tip, he shrugged on
his suit coat and took off to find his childhood friend. He weaved in and out
of the tables, dodging harried-looking servers, politely rebuffing the
hostesses, and ignoring the wealthy members. After ten minutes of searching,
including in the restroom, he finally found Chad and Tanya walking together
back into the club smelling like winter air and cigarette smoke.

“Where the hell have you been? C’mon, we’re leaving,” Sam
announced crankily.

Chad was so drunk he could barely stand up, but he was still
grinning like a fool while Tanya Delaney helped to steady him with a smirk on
her face. Chad grabbed a full drink off a server’s tray and lifted it to his
lips for a long swallow. Smacking his lips in appreciation, he said, “Mmm,
s’good. I looove a good Com Tollins. Lom Tomkins. Oh, you know what I mean,” he
slurred with an obnoxious laugh.

Raising a tweezed eyebrow, the cougar with suspiciously red
hair told Sam, “What’s your hurry, dear boy? Don’t you want to greet the lovely
Valerie Jones? I heard she was a friend of yours,” she purred with a
conspiratorial look at Chad.

Sam had a very bad feeling about this woman. She was acting
much too pleased with herself. In fact, he was pretty sure he could see savage
glee sparking in her eyes as they focused on something behind him.

A wicked smile curved her lips as she said, “Oh, goody. Here
comes the happy couple now.”

Billie was still riding the adrenaline high from their successful
performance on the stage as Daniel escorted her around the club introducing her
to influential people in the community. Even though she wasn’t terribly
impressed with any of them or their money, she took this opportunity to talk up
the children’s hospital and let them know how generous and kind it would be if
they were to drop an extra donation into the box she had talked Diana into
setting up at the bar. This was the part she liked the least about performing;
the act continued even after she left the stage. She had to smile and make
small talk with people she had nothing in common with while they laughed and
talked with fake enthusiasm. Until she started playing the part of Valerie
Jones, she had never truly understood what the term “sycophant” meant and it
shocked her that Daniel didn’t seem to notice that people treated him with such
deference because of his money.

Billie was flustered, especially after that stunt Daniel had
pulled on the stage with that kiss. She tried to brush it off, but it galled
her that he would treat her that way in such a public manner, even after she
had explained to him that they should keep their relationship separate from the
club. That kind of PDA was more along the lines of something Connie would
enjoy, but not Billie. Thinking about Connie prompted Billie to crane her neck
in search of her best friend. Her friend had been frantically gesturing at her
from the audience at the end of the show and trying to tell her something, but
she couldn’t figure it out.

As she fervently looked around for her friend, her eyes slid
across someone that looked familiar before coming back and zeroing in on his
face. A sharp intake of breath alerted Daniel to her distress and his eyes
followed hers. With confusion clouding his face, he asked her, “What’s the
matter, Val?”

Billie ignored the nickname that Daniel had taken to calling
her so he never slipped up in public by calling her by her real name. The color
began to drain from her face as she replied shakily, “That man over there. That’s
my ex-husband. How did he get in here?”

Daniel’s eyebrows lowered in consternation. He had an idea
of how it happened, especially if the hulking man standing in front of her ex
was who he thought he was. Then he noticed who was standing next to her ex-husband
and a quiet oath escaped his mouth. “There’s more bad news, I’m afraid. That
woman he’s standing with is a reporter for an online gossip blog. She’s been
determined to get the scoop on you for the past month. I’m afraid she may have
finally found her source.”

Dread curled in her belly as she thought about her real
identity being revealed. Now there would be no escape back to her own life.
Valerie Jones was going to follow her home. “I guess we have no choice but to
confront them and try to convince her to keep this information to herself.”

Even though he knew she was right, he almost spun on his
heel to lead her away. She still hadn’t noticed who else was in attendance, but
that was about to change. He could see the spiteful glee spread across Tanya’s
face as they drew nearer and he knew that Billie’s hope to contain her secret
was in vain.

His suspicions were confirmed when she called out to them,
“Hello, Daniel! What a lovely concert this evening. Please come introduce Miss
Jones to us all. Oh, but I forget!” she laughed wickedly. “They already know
her, but they call her
Billie Jean Hardesty
.”

Billie stopped in her tracks as her true name rang across
the distance between them. To compound her distress, the tall man with his back
to her turned to look at her and she saw Sam’s blazing blue eyes searing into
her own.

“Sam?” she whispered in confusion. “What are you doing
here?”

A small commotion ensued as the crowd parted willingly for
Connie who was being hotly pursued by Hank. “I will tell you why he is here,
mija
!”
she cried angrily. Pointing her finger accusingly at Daniel, she explained,
“Your new boyfriend told
my
new boyfriend to invite him!”

By this time, Hank had caught up to her and gently took her
arm in his beefy paw. “Connie, don’t be mad. Come on, sweetheart. There were no
bad intentions-“

“Don’t you ‘sweetheart’ me,
cabrón
! I told you about
Samuel in confidence and you run and tell your
jefe
. I do not care what
your intentions were doing. The fact is that you brought him here just so
he
,”
she pointed emphatically again at Daniel, “can mark his territory!” she spat
before launching into a full-fledged tantrum in Spanish.

Hank, even as the head of security with arms that had won
title bouts, looked ready to panic. With an apologetic look at Daniel and
Billie, he called back to them as he dragged Connie away, “Sorry! We’ll be back
in a minute!”

Billie was stunned. Apparently, so was Sam, but he was the
first to speak. “You brought me here on purpose? Why would you do that? I’ve
never even met you.”

Daniel had a sinking feeling that this night was not going
to end as he had hoped: with Billie in his bed. Sucking in a deep breath, he
stuck his hand out toward Sam and introduced himself. “Daniel Petrosky. You
must be Sam Garrett.”

Sam didn’t hesitate as he slid his hand into Daniel’s. If he
squeezed a little harder than necessary, no one knew of it but the two men and
Daniel barely winced. From behind him, Chad stumbled forward, knocking Sam
aside and slurred, “Hey, whadda ‘bout me? I’m the one that was married to her.”
Thrusting his hand toward Daniel, he missed his hand and continued to try to
make contact until he finally grasped Daniel’s hand and pumped it
enthusiastically. “Chad Hardesty, goodtameetya.”

Daniel freed himself from Chad’s sweaty palm and
surreptitiously wiped it on his trousers. “I see that you are indeed having a
good time tonight,” he replied drily before turning to Billie. “Billie, l can
explain-“

Billie raised her hand in a stopping gesture without even
meeting his eyes. She couldn’t seem to pull them away from Sam. “Connie already
made it perfectly clear why Sam is here. I guess that’s what that display up on
the stage was all about,” she added sardonically. Dismissing Daniel for the
moment, she turned to Chad. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she watched him make
a fool of himself in front of all these people. “What did you do, Chad? What
did you tell this woman?” she demanded of him.

The woman answered for him with a false smile that didn’t
reach her eyes. “Why, he only told me a little bit about you, dear. I was very
interested to hear that the sexy siren Valerie Jones is actually a single
mother of two kids who works as a receptionist of all things!” she laughed in
savage delight. “My, my, Daniel. You really are slumming it this time.”

Daniel’s face turned red with fury, but it was Sam that
stepped between them. “You will not speak about her that way,” he growled
threateningly.

Pulling her cell phone out of her clutch, Tanya cackled
happily. “What do we have here? A love triangle? How incredibly scintillating!
My readers will be on pins and needles to watch the drama unfold! Who will get
to be the new step daddy? Daddy Warbucks or Joe Schmoe?” she exclaimed, tapping
on her phone rapidly.

Billie, long used to taking care of herself, pushed Sam out
of the way and plucked the phone out of the woman’s hand. Tanya squawked with
indignation, but Billie very calmly dropped it in the full glass that Chad had
just liberated from the server. Everyone ignored his unhappy exclamation.

Though she tried to project a calm she didn’t feel, inside
she was a boiling mass of hurt and anger. Narrowing her eyes on the hateful
woman, she said, “Let me explain something to you, lady. You can write whatever
you want about me, me and Daniel, or even me and Daniel and Sam. But if you
mention
one word
about my children, I will make it my mission in life to
systematically destroy your precious blog and have my lawyer bury you under so
many injunctions that you will be litigating from your grave. Do you understand
me, Ms. Delaney?” She was blatantly bluffing, but the witch didn’t have to know
that.

Nodding her head stiffly and shooting daggers out of her
eyes, Tanya liberated her phone from the liquid and turned to slink away.
Billie faced Daniel and said, “Call Hank and tell him to stall her from
leaving. I don’t care if he has to slash her tires. I need an hour’s head start
on her. Can you also find that woman you just introduced me to, that reporter
for the social column in the Louisville newspaper? I need to speak with her.”

Daniel deduced what her plan was and smiled tentatively at
his date. “Of course, Val. I will return with her in just a moment,” he assured
her. Looking to Sam, he offered a brief nod and a hard look that Sam stonily
returned.

Chad had wandered off to sit at an empty table and had
promptly passed out with his head resting on a dirty plate. Now that Billie and
Sam were alone, the tension between them was palpable. Steeling herself not to
cry, she said to him, “I’m sorry you got dragged into all this, Sam. I didn’t
know he was going to do any of this.”

Sam shook his head in denial of her apology. “It’s not your
fault, B.J. Hell, if I was in his position, I probably would have done worse,”
he offered with a roguish smile. “Besides, I got to watch you perform and
listen to you sing. You took my breath away,” he confessed softly.

A pink flush colored her cheeks at his words and set her
pulse to dancing. Funny how a few words from Sam could make her body thrill
more than all the kisses and caresses from Daniel put together. “Still,” she
insisted, “It wasn’t very well done of him.”

Without his volition, his body moved closer to her. His
fingers itched to bury themselves in her thick, silky locks and devour her
mouth until her lipstick was nothing more than a memory. “Why didn’t you tell
me about this, Beej? I feel like such an ass for the way I left things the last
time we talked. If I hadn’t screwed up so badly, I could have done more to
help.”

Billie, without noticing, moved a little closer to him as
she replied, “No, I’m sorry. I totally overreacted and blew up at you. I was
just so shocked after talking to Renata-“

Cutting her off, he scowled, “What do you mean ‘after
talking to Renata’?”

Flustered, she explained, “I ran into her at the attorney’s
office when I was having my employment contract reviewed. She said that you two
were having a baby and would be getting married after Christmas. It was just so
unexpected, especially since you had just told me that you had broken up with
her.”

Sam ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. “She flat
lied to you, Billie. While it is true that she’s pregnant, the likelihood of it
being my baby is slim to none. The only thing happening after Christmas is a
paternity test. She was just angry and trying to cause trouble, because she
found out that I…” he hesitated, unsure of whether to continue. At her
prompting, he took a deep breath and a big risk. “…have feelings for you. She
knew that I could never love her, because I was already in love with you.”

Her ears began to ring and her vision tunneled. Her brain
cells deserted her and she repeated blankly, “You have feelings for me? You are
already in love with me?”

He nodded his head slowly. “For as long as I have known you,
there has never been another woman that could come close to holding a candle to
you. I wasted so much time trying to be noble. Instead, I have been such a
fool.”

Billie thought her heart would beat out of chest. She had so
much to say to him, so much to tell him. Her mouth opened to reply, but
instead, Daniel’s voice cut into the tense moment. “Val? I’ve brought Karina
Thompkins from the paper with me,” he said.

Billie hastily moved away from Sam and blinked as if she
were waking from a dream. She looked regretfully at Sam, but he just smiled
sadly and said, “I’m going to take the jackass home. Congratulations, B.J. You
were phenomenal.”

Wordlessly, she lifted her hand in a weak farewell as Daniel
claimed her arm and steered her over to an empty table where a classy
30-something woman was sitting regarding them all quizzically. When she turned
back again to look for Sam, he and Chad were gone.

Taking a seat along with Daniel at the table, she regarded
the new acquaintance with determination. “Thank you for taking the time to meet
with me, Ms. Thompkins.”

“Of course, Miss Jones. I hope you have changed your mind
about an interview for my column?” she asked politely.

“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of a scoop.
You also run the Louisville Society Pages online, is that right?” At the
woman’s eager nod, she continued, “In that case, please call me Billie.”