Chapter Fourteen

SAM

Watching Jamie leave was one of the most painful experiences of my life. While I knew I should’ve followed her out, I felt paralyzed by fear and helplessness. Never in my life did I want to lose her, but there was nothing I could do to explain the craziness of growing up in Sutton Hill.

Jamie just didn’t get it – that neighborhood is more than a zip code, it’s a way of life. Parents start setting up potential unions before kids go to middle school. Everyone has an agenda, and nothing is ever as it seems.

Even our family barbeques are more like networking events than fun times. All anyone wants to know is how well you did next quarter and what improvements you made to your house since their last visit.

The women set up endless play dates to gossip about each other, sharing who is have trouble in their marriages, or scandalous details about affairs. It’s like a soap opera, and while I don’t mind introducing Jamie to all of them, I don’t want her to be a part of their sick world.

I like knowing she doesn’t value those things and never want that to change. This entire day, I thought I’d done everything right – and then she shows up and throws me for a complete loop with all this talk about me being ashamed of her. I’ve never taken another woman to a family function in my life, but that means nothing.

Shaking my head, I still struggle to understand her problem with Tasha. Sure, she was flirting like the desperate woman she is, but if I wanted Tasha, I would’ve had her long ago. It’s not like she’s hard to find or seduce. She’s been throwing herself at me at every function for the past decade.

I guess when I put it that way, I realize why Jamie could’ve been upset, but it really wasn’t a big deal. I told her the truth, and she seemed to be fine before we fell asleep last night.

Just when I felt like I had everything under control, it all ravels apart, and I feel drained from her explosion. I’ve never seen her so upset, and hate to be the reason she felt so bad.

Glancing around the office, I debate going after her, but what will I say? I could show up at her house with roses, maybe some candy, hoping she just lets it go.

I love Jamie, and she knows that. All this other stuff is irrelevant, including my family. I wish she could just understand that her idea of us is different from the reality.

Alyssa is my closest sibling, and I made sure to introduce her. My brothers don’t care who I date, which was the only reason I didn’t bring her over to meet them. If we’d been together and seen them, I wouldn’t have hidden her, but going out of my way to drag her into a crowd of men just seemed silly.

I can admit that Nikki was a bitch to her, but what she didn’t know was that she was that way with everyone. My mother would have only been worse, and that’s the reason I held off leaving her alone with her.

With a deep sigh, I decided to focus on the mounting work, knowing I can talk to Jamie later, even tomorrow at work if I must. After receiving a new product order, I have a bit of a distribution disaster to handle, and with two heavy shipments scheduled for delivery in the morning, I can’t put the solution off another minute.

The evening passes slowly as I churn out one report after another, calling drivers and warehouse managers to ensure their preparation for the change in shipments.

It’s after midnight when I finally leave my office, exhausted and hungry. Looking through the refrigerator, I notice the leftover cupcakes Jamie brought by earlier in the week, and debate calling her.

Noticing how late it is, I figure I’ll just see her at work tomorrow. We try to avoid each other, hoping not to give the employees anything to talk out, but maybe I’ll take her out to lunch.

Relationships are foreign to me. I told her that from the beginning, but she just doesn’t seem keen to give me any breaks. Sometimes I feel like Jamie expects too much from me, but there’s nothing I can do except live up to her expectations.

If I can run two companies at the same time, I can fix a little argument with the woman I love. And Jamie is absolutely the girl of my dreams. Everything about her is just what I want, it’s funny that she can’t see how crazy I am for her.

All this time, I’ve thought she was trying to play it cool and not show me how much she cares for me because she was closed off, but now I’m beginning to see that she doubts my reciprocation of those feelings.

Sleep comes fast that night, after a hot shower and a few minutes of sports news. My last thought before drifting off is to make sure I don’t spend too many more nights like this. It’s bad enough not to have Jamie in the bed with me, but not being on good terms with her is even worse. Tossing and turning, I decided to get my girl back as soon as possible.