Hey guys sorry about the delay its the Holiday season after all. I am so glad you guys are loving this story! Stay Blessed!
Mercedes wasn't sure how she did it but she managed to get through everything she needed to do at the hotel without breaking down, the tears didn't start til she made her way to her garden in front of her place. She sat on the padded wooden bench in her private courtyard and stared out into the flowers tears falling from her eyes. She had thought maybe she wasn't imagining things and maybe he would see her but he found love and it hurt.
"Mercedes?"
Mercedes head shot ip and she saw Sam standing at the gate. She had been so in her thoughts that she hadn't even heard him approach her. She looked away from him wiping her eyes. "Sam what are you doing here?"
He walked closer to her studying her face. "What's wrong? Did that guy do something?"
"What? Oh no he was a perfect gentleman, it was just a sad movie." she lied, he didn't need to know her sadness was due to him. "You are home early."
He bent down in front of her. "Yeah, looks like neither of our dates worked out."
Mercedes nodded. "There is always next time." she said sadly. But not for her. She was done with trying to get Sam to notice her.
His green eyes turned dark. "I suppose you want to be like Tina, get married and have kids?"
"Did Tina ask you to marry her?"
Sam shook his head. "No, but she said she wants to get married."
"That is what most all women want Sam." She said feeling every bit of her loneliness.
Sam stood. "So all this dating random guys, is you, you wanting to find a husband?"
"No, that would be wishful thinking on my part."
Sam looked at her confused. "Why is that wishful thinking?"
Mercedes couldn't tell Sam the truth, that most guys were either intimidated by her, her just didn't see her because she wasn't a size two.
"I am too busy, I would settle for a man I could trust to be faithful to me and caring towards me."
"You shouldn't have to settle Mercedes."
"Its okay Sam, I have come to terms with the fact it's just the way it has to be."
Sam stared at her for a long while, taking her in. Then sighed. "Okay you win."
"Win what?"
Sam moved closer to her. "I will teach you how to get a man, a good one."
She looked at him and shook her head. What she wouldn't give to go back to before she realized that she didn't have a chance with Sam, even if he didn't fall in love with Tina, he still asked her out. Mercedes worked so hard to get him to notice her and instead of noticing her, he found someone else. He would never see her as more than Cam's little sister and his friend.
"Its okay Sam, thanks for the offer but I have changed my mind, and I am sorry I put you in that position."
Sam shook his head, "Merce you deserve to be happy, I may not want to settle down and get married now but I will one day and so i get why you feel the way you do and so I said I would help you and i will."
Mercedes sighed, yes he would settle down but it would never be with her. She felt her tears well up and she stood moving away from him. "I don't really feel well I should go."
He stood as well.
"Are you really sick? Or are you avoiding me."
"Goodnight Sam." She gave him a soft smile as his hand went up to place her hair behind her ear, causing her to shiver.
"Are you okay?" He asked his hand going to her forehead. "Are you catching something?"
"I am fine Sam I just need to get some rest, good night." She stood on her tippy toes kissing Sam on his cheek, it was her goodbye to him. SHe couldn't hold the notion that they belonged together anymore. She opened the door and locked it going straight to her room.
Sam stared at the door, her kiss sent its own sparks and shivers down his body and he just couldn't understand. Understand why with Tina he felt nothing, but with Mercedes he felt that. Why Mercedes of all people? The question was only on his lips for a moment before he realized the answer. She was safe. She wasn't looking to make him her husbands, she wasn't trying to corrupt him, so he could think about her, want to be with her and not worry.
Mercedes was one of those women a man could depend on, could trust, could depend on, a woman like that deserved a man to love her completely, to love her fully.
Sam started to walk back to his room slowly, he truly hated seeing Mercedes unhappy, he always had a special affection for Cam's baby sister, and that was most likely another reason his body reacted to hers the way it did. Now he knew that she was stubborn, extremely stubborn just like the women in his family, which meant he was just going to have to take things into his own hands the way he had when Mercedes was in high school and her dances.
Sam sat on his bed pulling his shoes off. He never understood why boys, then men hadn't asked her out. And then the men he met this week were out of her life as well. And that thought, it confused him, he was happy, truly happy they were gone, but he was angry at them for leaving her, hurting her. Mercedes was amazing just the way she was, she didn't need to change to attract men, she needed confidence. And he was just the man for the job whether she wanted him to be or not.
Mercedes awoke the next morning feeling better than she thought she would, as she fastened the chandelier earrings on her ears, she heard a knock on the door. Even though she wasn't trying to get Sam anymore, she wanted to keep her new wardrobe it made her feel beautiful, made her feel sexy in a way no other clothing had. She used to dress for comfort not style and now she could do both. Staring into the full length mirror she gazed at herself smiling, the black form fitting halter dress complimented the pink cardigan, the pink heels were actually very comfortable. Hearing that knock again she let her hair fall over her shoulders and grabbed her lip gloss applying it as she grabbed her leather bound notebook, which housed her keys and phone. She was meeting with the Supervisor of housekeeping in fifteen minutes and she was early. But Mercedes was fine with that. The faster they got to the meeting the sooner she could leave.
The smile and deep "hi" she wasn't expecting caught her off guard. "Sam? Sam you do realize its seven thirty in the morning right?"
"Why good Morning Mercedes, you look beautiful this morning, and I am here because I wanted to catch you before you started your day."
"Is there something wrong with your room Sam?" She asked, she needed to know what was going on.
He leaned against the door frame with a smile on his lips. "I can get up when it's for something that is important."
Mercedes nodded. "Oh I suppose you are meeting Mr. Hummel at your place this morning."
Sam sighed shaking his head. "No, he had a family thing and is out of town for two days. I swear at this rate I will never get back to my place."
Mercedes sighed, before that would make her so happy but now it just burned because she knew they were not ever going o be together. "Well you never know good things can happen."
She stepped out her door, and locked her door. Walking down the path of her place Sam followed.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to have breakfast together, I mean since I can't steal Henri I might as well enjoy his cooking while I can."
"I appreciate you holding back and being a man of your word."
"As You should, so join me for breakfast."
Mercedes sighed turning towards him. "I can't, I have a meeting this morning, I actually thought you were her."
"Oh okay, then I will wait for you, maybe you can come with me to my place look at the fixtures tell me what might look good?"
"Sam we will be at least two hours."
"Well what about lunch or dinner? We can do it then?"
She sighed turning to him. "Sam stop I know what you are doing."
"I never thought you were be the kind of person to give up Merce."
"I am not in most cases but sometimes you gotta know when to fold em as they say. And right now I-"
"How about you just come by when you are free. We are open until Midnight."
"Sam, it's Friday, we have several events that I need to be here for."
"Well then if you can't make it tonight I will see you in the morning for breakfast. Since you like to be up nice and early we can be there at 8." She stared at him and knew there was no use in arguing with him.
"Wow, I feel honored that you would get up two mornings in a row."
"Friends do that for each other."
Mercedes signed forcing the smile to stay on her face. "I guess they do, I should be going. Enjoy breakfast."
Sam smiled brightly. "Oh I will, Stace isn't here to take it from me." He gave her a lopsided grin as he walked backwards from her, not wanting to take his eyes off of her. "See ya when we can, and I meant what I said Mercedes, you are beautiful."
She chewed her bottom lips closing her eyes as he left. "Sam please, please don't do this to me." she whispered to herself. There was no way she was going to breakfast with him, she couldn't. She made a mental note to cancel it with him.
Sam knew he has a problem, and he wasn't sure he could fix it. She hadn't come to lunch or dinner on Friday, nor did he meet her for breakfast Saturday. After leaving messages for her, he was bale to track her down on Saturday night in which she finally answered his call only to tell him that he was she was busy, then hung up.
Sam was at a loss, he didn't know how to fix things. As he made his way to his Simon's he thought about how stubborn Mercedes was being, most women who played hard to get waived with a smile, but Mercedes, she was too strong for that and she knew that she was not playing a game. She was avoiding him. And that wasn't going to work for him.
From the way things were going, maybe she should be teaching him how to handle women, because she was failing. Pulling into the driveway he parked next to a black Lexus SUV he didn't recognized. He wondered who it was, the cookout was an hour away from starting, at least he knew his parents weren't there yet.
Opening the passenger door of his Porsche he grabbed the two stainless steel pans of beef, chicken and links that he marinated and cooked at the restaurant. He wasn't taking any chances with Simon on the grill. He walked to the front door, not even having to knock because Simon opened the door with a smiled. "Anything else to grab?"
"Salad and baked beans." He said as he moved towards the kitchen and stopped in the foyer when he saw Mercedes talking to Marley.
"Hi Sam!" Marley greeted him with a hug. Sam hugged her back and looked at Mercedes.
"Hi Mercedes."
"Hello Sam." She said, then turned back to Marley. "I should be going, I just wanted to drop off the sweet treats from Henri."
Simon came in holding the salad and beans. "Marls where should i put this stuff?"
"Come with me baby I will show you." She said taking the potatoes from him and handing them to Mercedes, then grabbing one of the salads. "I will show you where to put that stuff too Sam, and then maybe you can help me get Mercedes to stay."
"I told you Marley I have to get back."
"And I told you I am sure you have a great staff that can handle things while you are gone, now come with me."
Mercedes sighed, giving up the fight and followed her to the kitchen. Sam shook his head with a smirk. "That is not the shy Marley we knew in school. Being married to you has surely cured her of her shyness."
Simons smiled. "I hadn't even thought about that."
Sam sighed, "You think you know a woman, and then she pulls a 360 on you and you are left wondering."
"Are we talking about any woman in particularly?"
Sam didn't like keeping secrets from his family but he wasn't about to tell them about Mercede. "All women are the same to me."
Simon laughed. "Uh huh, and if I thought you really believe that, then you would have me worried. Now let's get this meat warmed on the grill before the guests come."
Mercedes didn't even know how it happened, but 45 minutes after Sam came she was still at the house. Marley kept having requests and Mercedes was happy to help but wanted to leave. If it wasn't for Sam being there she would have relaxed, but she knew that Sam caught on to the fact that she was avoiding him, and at any minute he could ask her. Mercedes had been cutting the stems on the flowers and arranging them when Marley came back in from giving the boys something to drink. "The flowers look amazing."
Mercedes smiled softly. "Well it's not like I could mess it up."
"You are too modest. Everything here looks ready to me, what do you think?"
Mercedes nodded. "I think it's done and it's time for me to leave."
"Mercedes I don't know what is going on but please just stay? Just for a while longer."
Mercedes nodded. Marley smiled walking out the kitchen with the flowers and placing them on the table outside. Then she went to Simon and held him close.
All Mercedes wanted was to love someone and be loved like that. But she was afraid she would never have that. She turned away from the door not looking at them anymore, she couldn't. A kick turned her back to it and she saw Sam trying to get inside with a tray. She ran to the door and opened it. Sam smiled.
"Thanks, where does Marley want the meat?"
"Over there." she said pointing to the empty spot on the table. "There is a lot of food here."
"She will need it. I have fed this group of people before. THey love to eat. So Marley said you are thinking about stay?"
Mercedes shrugged looking at the the table cloth. "Just for a little while."
"Would you be here longer if I wasn't here?"
Her head shot up looking at him. "I am not sure." she said honestly.
Sam nodded. "Care to tell me what I did wrong?"
Mercedes placed her hair behind her ears. "Sam can we not-., look what I asked you, I just I don't want to go through that."
"Look, friends, great friends are hard to find."
"Yeah they are. Look I should go."
She said then headed out the back door. She would stay for a little bit and then she would leave.