Chapter 2

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Sam sat at her desk going through her emails. She glanced at the clock on her computer screen and mentally calculated that she would be in Kenosha in less than 28 hours. Just thinking about it had her in nervous knots for the last few weeks. She still wasn't sure what possessed her to agree to go home for Thanksgiving but she had no problem putting the blame on Martin. He had made her more optimistic about family. It was sickly ironic that the one thing he gave her hope about is the very reason he broke up with her.

Her mom, Diane, and sister, Bridget, had been calling her constantly for the last week confirming details about when she would arrive, who would be picking her up in Milwaukee, who she was staying with on which night, and generally driving her nuts with ridiculous questions. She wished she was as excited as they were; she was trying but so far she was more apprehensive than ever.

"I'm going to get some coffee, you want some?" Sam heard Danny ask. She turned and saw him standing up at his desk looking over at her.

"Yeah, but I need to stretch my legs so I'll go with you." Sam grabbed her mug as she stood up and headed down the hall with Danny.

"So, are you getting excited about your visit to the land of Cheese Heads?" Danny joked.

Smiling, Sam replied, "Go Green Bay. What about you, what did you and Emma decide?" She knew that they were debating on where to spend the holiday. She wanted to go see her family and he wanted to spend it with his.

"We are going to spend Thanksgiving with her family since we just had dinner with Rafi and Sylvia. The tricky thing will be Christmas." Danny removed the coffee carafe and poured Sam and himself a cup. "We'll spend Christmas eve with my family and then Christmas day with hers in Jersey. I'm on call so I just hope we can pull it off."

At that moment James, the tech, walked in and asked Danny if he saw some game on TV last night. While they were talking Sam studied Danny and couldn't help but envy him. He was so casual about making plans on where to spend the holidays with a girlfriend. He and Emma seemed to have no problems making plans about their future. She couldn't help but recall that this time last year Martin had tried to convince her to go with him to his uncle and cousins but after her third refusal he had finally given up.

And then the memory of his visit afterwards drifted into her mind.

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He showed up at her door on Thanksgiving night holding two large bags of Tupperware containers filled with leftovers. It seemed the Toland's were lunchtime eaters. Grinning, Martin asked, "Hi, have you had dinner yet?"

"No," Sam replied, giving him a quick kiss hello before letting his pass to take the food to the kitchen. "What's all this?"

"Jamie insisted that I bring you some food back."

"That's way too much. I can't eat all of that."

"Good." He pulled out three small containers and put them on the counter. "Those are yours, the rest are mine."

She suddenly felt very insulted. "You get all of that and I only get this?"

Martin just laughed, pulled her close and kissed her before replying, "Well, if you're nice, I might share."

They stayed there kissing for a few beats and then they both pulled back and started focusing on the food. Sam hadn't actually made her dinner yet so this really was a pleasant surprise. Martin dished out the food, asking her what she wanted and then put the plates in the oven warm up. She eyed the containers containing the desserts and when his back was turned she popped the lid off of one and stuck her finger into the pumpkin cheesecake. It was amazing. She went in for second helping when he turned back around and started laughing at the sight of her.

"It's good isn't it?"

Sam just nodded her head as she licked her fingers. Smiling coyly at Martin as she picked up the container and with delicate fingers she broke off a big chunk of the dessert. Getting the hint, he walked over, placing a hand on either side of her, leaning in close as she fed him. He kept his eyes on her as he slowly ate the sticky, sweet dessert. When he reached her fingertips he sucked the digits slowly and Sam moved in to kiss him. As the kiss deepened she snaked her arms around his neck while he moved his hands to cup her ass, lifting her onto the counter. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him tightly to her. His hips automatically thrust against her….

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"What do you think Sam? Sam?"

Startled out of her reverie, her eyes went wide and focused on Danny who was waving his hand in front of her face. "Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"

Danny smirked and said, "You okay? You were zoned out and now you look a little flushed."

"I'm fine. Just thinking about all the stuff I have to do before I leave." She silently cursed her momentary lapse and wanted to get out of there fast. "I better get back to work. See you guys later."

Sam hurried out of the break room furious that the thought of Martin could still have this effect on her. She mentally reminded herself, 'You hate him. You don't need him. You don't care about him. You don't love him.'

She repeated that mantra over and over, praying that if she said it enough she would finally believe it.