Thank you for your continued interest. I appreciate it.
I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Chasing Christmas Eve.
Mercedes had to laugh at the look on Sam's face...pained, but not even remotely embarrassed.
And since he looked fantastic in his clothes...and now, she also knew he looked fantastic out of his clothes...she wouldn't have been embarrassed either.
"I wasn't sure what we were going to do," she said. "So I didn't know how to dress."
He smiled.
"I wouldn't mind, if you wore the same outfit I wear when working."
"Ha," she said, giving him a small push to the chest.
He was solid enough, not to be budged, and that, along with his assured stance and easy smile, did something to her.
The same something that getting away from New York and all her problems there had done.
It made her feel...alive.
Sam took Mercedes' hand, looking her over the same way she'd done to him.
She'd dressed for the weather, which she'd learned in her five days here, was as unpredictable and moody as her muse.
The one thing you could be sure of in San Francisco, was that you couldn't predict the weather. So she'd worn layers...a cami, a sweater, a scarf, and dark jeans tucked into boots.
Sam's gaze lingered on the leather boots.
"I like those as much as your heels," he said, in a voice that gave her a delicious sort of shiver.
And for a moment, she was torn between wanting to go sightseeing and tugging him into her apartment and stripping him down to his work attire.
And beyond.
He took in her expression and let out a low laugh.
"The way you look at me, is way too good for my ego."
He shoved his glasses to the top of his head. Then he snagged her around the waist, pulling her into him, and kissed her, until her toes curled.
It was the appetizer, on the menu of Sam Evans' kisses, which only made her hungrier.
He grinned at the look on her face, as he put his glasses back on.
"Later," he promised. "We've gotta go. We're on a schedule."
"For what?" she asked.
"You'll see."
They left the courtyard through the wrought-iron gate to the street. And as they did, someone came out of the shadows and started snapping pictures of them.
Mercedes gasped in surprise, instinctively turning her head into Sam's shoulder, not wanting anyone to catch a photo of her and announce her whereabouts.
But then, the guy's shouted questions penetrated.
"Who's the woman, Samuel? How does she feel about you being nominated, for San Francisco's most eligible bachelor?"
Okay, so this wasn't about her, she realized, and began to lift her head because...San Francisco's most eligible bachelor?
Sam cupped the back of her head in his big hand, pressing her face into his shoulder, as he tightened his grip on her, shielding her from the lens.
"Come on," the guy yelled at Sam. "Give me one sound bite, man. I make a living off this shit."
"You need a new job," was Sam's sound bite, as he walked Mercedes passed the guy without another word.
"The truck's a block over," Sam told Mercedes a few seconds later, as they passed a clothing boutique, a burger joint, and a bookstore.
"A bookstore," she said, the same thrill zinging through her, that bookstores had brought all of her life.
"Do you want to go in?" he asked, because she'd stopped, practically putting her nose to the glass window display.
Reading had always been her happy place, a blissful escape, far before she'd become a writer.
"Can we?" she asked.
Smiling, he opened the door for her.
It was an independent store and to Mercedes' delight, her books were prominently displayed.
The first one in the series was front and center, thanks, of course, to the upcoming premiere of the movie on Christmas Day.
Sam didn't even glance at the display, he just headed straight back to the nerdy science book section, and she had to laugh.
She ran a finger over her book and eavesdropped on the two readers standing there eyeing the display.
"I still like her writing," one said to the other. "But the third book didn't have the same heart as the first two."
Mercedes put a hand to her own heart, feeling it tighten at the words, like someone was criticizing her firstborn or something.
"I completely agree," the second reader said. "Think she's doing it, just because she has a big, expensive contract?"
At that, Mercedes took a deep breath.
There was a reason writers should never read their own reviews or, apparently, eavesdrop on readers.
She started to walk away, but a third woman joined the other two.
"I love the entire series," the woman said. "I'd read M.J. Callista, if she copied the phone book. But she should've put Cora and Dain together. They deserved their happiness too."
"Yes!" the other two women said at the same time, and then, Mercedes found herself alone at the display.
After about a full minute, she hunted down Sam, finding him nose deep in a book so thick, it must've weighed twenty-five pounds.
The title had a lot of words, like thermodynamics and applied elasticity.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey."
"So...most eligible bachelor?" she asked.
Sam shoved the book back on the shelf.
"You're not going to give me grief about this, are you?"
"Oh, most definitely."
He grimaced and took her hand.
"Save it until after I've had food."
Five minutes later, they were in his truck, a completely redone 1957 Chevy Deluxe cab, turquoise blue with whitewall tires.
"Not what I pictured you driving," she said, running a hand along the dash, admiring the gorgeous beast.
"No?"
"No, I saw you in a sleek, fast sports car."
Sam shrugged.
"This has sentimental value. It was my grandpa's. He abused it until he lost his license. So I bought it off him and rebuilt and restored it a few years back."
To be honest, he could've bought a new truck. He could've even bought a fleet of new trucks.
"You like old stuff?" Mercedes asked.
He glanced at her, his eyes hidden behind dark lenses.
"I'm sentimental," he said without apology.
Their gazes held for a long beat, as she absorbed that.
He was brilliant.
An engineer.
An inventor.
Good with money.
And very hot, in a sexy engineer geek sort of way, with his perpetually finger-combed hair and glasses.
Sam flashed a smile, making Mercedes realize, that she was still staring at him, so she cleared her throat.
"Well, whoever did it for you, did an amazing job." The interior matched the exterior paint job and was spotless.
"I did it myself," he said.
He was one surprise after another.
"So you're a mechanic too?"
"I've been taking apart things and putting them back together my whole life." He gave a wry smile. "I was five, when I rigged my mom's watch to count her steps. In hindsight, I probably should've grabbed the patent for that."
Mercedes choked out a laugh.
"So you're a man of many talents."
At that, he slid her a look so hot, she glanced down to make sure her clothes hadn't gone up in smoke.
"How did your grandpa lose his license? Did he get too old to drive?" Mercedes asked.
"He had one too many homemade brownies last summer and got himself arrested."
She blinked.
"Seriously?"
"Seriously. I was his one phone call, because his daughter-in-law...my mom...would've killed him and left him to rot in prison."
Mercedes laughed, even though she suspected he wasn't kidding.
"Do you have a big family?"
"No," Sam said. "Just the three of us."
"Are you close?"
"My mom and I, yes. This is the Embarcadero," he said, pointing ahead of them. "That's Coit Tower. And there's the Bay Bridge. And you can see Alcatraz out on the water."
Mercedes practically glued her nose to the windshield.
"All of that is on my list!"
"I know."
Sam turned in at Pier 39, lined with boats of all sizes, each so close to the next, that Mercedes couldn't imagine, how they could possibly get out of their slips without bumping.
He came around for her, taking her hand, as he grabbed an old tattered duffle bag from the back, which he slung over his shoulder.
"Come on."
"Where to?" she asked.
"Still a surprise," he said mysteriously.
They walked passed a pier, lined with sea lions lounging together, and passed groups of tourists wandering around.
"The tour companies are shutting down for the day," Sam said. "This time of year, they don't do night tours."
This was disappointing to Mercedes.
She'd begun to hope, that they were going out on the water.
Sam just smiled at her expression and walked up to a locked gate. Then, he produced a key, let them both in, and locked the gate behind them.
They walked down the dock and stopped at a slip, in front of a sleek-looking ship.
"Other than the Long Island ferry, I've never been on a boat," Mercedes said, still staring at it. "Until now, I've never even been away or on vacation."
She'd never been anything, but in over her head, both at home raising her brothers and her mom and also at work, in the crazy surprising career, that demanded so much of her time.
Sam cupped her jaw and turned her face to his. Next, he brushed a soft but potent kiss across her lips.
"I'm sorry for that," he said, "For all you've gone through, but I'm also glad, I get to be the one to share this with you."
A woman stood on board, looking at her watch.
"I'm impressed," she called down. "You're not only on the right day, but on time too."
Sam laughed and he led Mercedes on board.
"Pam, meet Mercedes. Mercedes, this is Pam, Fergus' soon-to-be better half. She's going to be our pilot and captain tonight. And she's not going to stick her nose in our business at all."
Pam grinned.
"Wanna bet?" She gave Sam a hug and kiss, and then Mercedes as well.
Next was a quick tour, of what looked like an amazingly well-kept and well-loved ship.
"It's beautiful," Mercedes said. "Is it yours?"
Pam laughed.
"No. I couldn't even buy the fuel for this lovely toy. It belongs to my boss' family. He allowed me to rent it out for tonight." She eyed Sam. "Somebody I know, wanted a sunset/moonlight tour of the bay."
Mercedes could hardly contain herself.
She turned and gave Sam a huge hug.
He was quick to gather her in closer, wrapping his arms around her.
"You might want to wait to reserve judgment, until you see the dinner picnic I made for us," he murmured.
His mouth was at her ear, his breath warm, giving her a full set of goose bumps and all sorts of other reactions, that she was pretty sure, shouldn't be happening in public.
"I'm not as good a conjurer as you are," he added.
Then, he lifted her off her feet, just enough, that their bodies lined up perfect.
Face-to-face, chest-to-chest, thigh-to-thigh, and...everything in between.
Mercedes sucked in a breath.
And so did he.
"Alrighty, then," Pam murmured to herself. "Going to work now. I'd say relax and enjoy, but I think you've got those two things covered."
Shout out to Alex. I've got you covered.
Stay safe everyone!