We are thrilled that you are enjoying this story! Let me tell you, the anticipation for us is just as intense as it is for you. We find ourselves asking each other if we are finished. LOL. How have you been with the guessing? I see a mix, meaning some of you know our styles! Either way, we feel flattered when we are compared to each other! Remember to vote!
"I'm sorry, what the hell happened?" Mercedes asked as she and Quinn sat on her bed. Santana and Tina had called her right after they hung up with Jane, telling her all the juicy details.
"Yes, girl! He went over there on a damn mission. She got the three-piece combo and started ballin' like a baby. It was beautiful." Santana beamed.
"I wanted to feel bad, but she brought this on herself." Tina sighed. "We tried to talk to her, and all she could say was how much Sam loved her and how happy we should be for her."
"Then she wore this teal baby doll dress, and okay, she looked good, but Sam didn't even notice. He was all. Did Mercedes give you a note? And Jane tried to lie, but Sam was having none of it. He told her straight up that he loved you, he was in love with you, and they were over."
Mercedes exhaled, staring at the phone; hearing that Sam confronted Jane made her feel good but also pissed her off as she thought about all the time wasted.
"I know you wanted to just have your fun and leave, but it seems you may be going back to London with some baggage." Quinn giggled.
Rolling her eyes, Mercedes stood going to the closet. "Look, I am just gonna get dressed and see what happens. The problem is that I didn't come here thinking I was going on a date. And my one good dress I already wore."
"We thought about that," Santana said.
Mercedes raised an eyebrow as Quinn left the room and returned with a garment bag. "We went ahead and bought you a little something something."
"Momma!" Came from the phone and Mercedes and Quinn turned back to the screen.
Quinn beamed. "There's my beautiful baby girl. Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"
"She is! I put her down hours ago," Santana said, looking at the two-year-old. "What are you doing up, lil momma?"
"I woked up." She said adorably, causing Mercedes and Tina to 'Awwww' her.
"Leave Auntie's baby alone."
"Aunnie Ce'es. Aun T," Aubrey said, smiling at the phone. "Where my cu'ins."
"Your cousins are with their daddy, but I promise we will video chat with you soon." Tina smiled.
"Aunnie Ce'es coming home with momma?" The little girl asked.
"Of course I am! We have a tea party date next week!"
"Yay! Momma miss me?"
"More than anything, lil one. Momma and Auntie Cedes will be back soon. Are you having fun with Mommy?"
Aubrey nodded. "We saw puppies!"
"Santana Lopez-Fabray! We said no puppy."
Santana threw her hands up. "We were just looking. But they were so cute."
Mercedes laughed. "Let me finish finding something to wear so you two can hash that out."
Quinn laughed. "Oh! Here, we got you a dress."
Mercedes glanced at the garment bag Quinn had brought in a few minutes ago and opened it, gasping as she saw the perfect dress.
"You wore a sundress on your first date with Evans. We made a few phone calls to Kurt, and he whipped this little number up. He told me to call him for your second wedding dress." Santana laughed.
Mercedes rushed out of the room, pulling off her robe and slipping into the delicate sundress that fell just above her knees. The flower embroidery that lay softly against the hem was beautifully done. The dress clung to her curves and enhanced them, showing her perfect hourglass figure.
The gold roses were a nod to the first flowers Sam had ever given her. While the sweetheart neckline was aided by a sewn-in bra, it exposed her back perfectly. And though it did drift dangerously low, Mercedes still loved it.
The dress fit like a second skin, and she knew it was exactly what she needed tonight. Unwrapping her hair, she styled it similarly to their first date, letting it fall to her shoulders in a slight curl.
As she added a pair of hoop earrings, her eyes went to her jewelry box. Her wedding and engagement ring stared back at her as a sign of good fortune. But she shook it off. It was just one date. One. It didn't matter what he said to Jane; it didn't matter that he wanted her.
That didn't erase what happened. At least, that's how she wanted to feel, but instead, she got butterflies when there was a knock on the door. It was Sam, and suddenly, she was the young girl waiting for their first date.
She opened the door to Sam, handsomely wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket. He was so nervous she could see his Adam's apple constantly bobbing up and down.
Slipping into wedged gladiator sandals tied all the way up her calf to right below her knees, she walked into her room and sighed heavily.
"Damn Cedes, you look hot. Sam is gonna lose his mind." Tina smiled.
"Aunnie Ce'es look pretty."
"She does. Now tell her and Momma good night so I can put you back to bed," Santana said, picking the girl up.
Mercedes and Quinn blew her kisses through the screen as Quinn pushed her towards the door. "Go and have fun; I will lock up for you."
Mercedes side-eyed her. "You better not be planning to have phone sex on my bed!"
"I mean, it's not, not gonna happen. I dunno."
"And on that note, I am gonna find Mike and the kids." Tina laughed.
Mercedes shook her head as she exhaled, going to the door. "I swear you guys-"
"Nope, I heard you and Sam were just as freaky," Quinn called out.
Rolling her eyes, Mercedes opened the door and literally gulped at the sight before her. Sam stood there in all his sexiness. His dark-washed jeans fit him like a glove. He added a buttoned-down Hunter green shirt and his infamous leather jacket. His goatee was neatly trimmed, and that smile on his face lit up the darkening night.
"Wow, Mercedes, you look…there are no words that could even describe you. Here, I got you these."
Mercedes stared at the bouquet. After getting to know her, he realized she wasn't as much a rose woman as a wildflower girl. She loved all the beautiful colors.
"Sam, these are beautiful, thank you."
"I will put them up. Hello, you must be Sam." Quinn said, smiling. "I get it." she whispered to Mercedes.
"Yo, Sammy! You hurt her; I hurt you!" Santana warned. "I am already packing to fly there tomorrow with my baby girl. Don't make me add you to my as...my butt-kicking list."
"Aunnie Ce'es no hurt!"
"That's right, baby girl." Santana cooed.
Sam nodded, looking from Quinn to Tina and Santana on the phone. "I promise I won't make the same stupid mistake twice."
"Tina, are you com-hey? Is that Sam?" Came from behind Tina and they watched as Mike came into view. "Oh, it's Sam and Mercedes. Well, it's about damn time you two got back together."
"No one said we were back together." Mercedes corrected with a smile.
"Yet," Sam added. "Hey, Mike! How is Ireland?"
"It's great! Though we miss the states."
"Well, maybe you will have a reason to come back soon." Sam beamed. "Ready to go, Merce?"
Mercedes nodded. Blowing a kiss to the phone, she grabbed her purse and let Sam lead the way. Once in his truck, they eased into small conversations about their lives.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Santana moved out there with you," Sam said, smiling.
Mercedes nodded. "A few months into my being in London, Santana and Dani broke up for what she was certain was the last time, which was devastating for her. So, I invited Santana to come visit me. When she arrived, I was still broken from you, and she was still broken from Dani, so I got her a job with me, and that is where she met Quinn."
"Quinn is the blonde who was in your place?" Sam asked.
Mercedes nodded. "Yep. She is over in her own department, and we work closely together. I swear it was like…lighting hitting them when they met. They had been dating for a year when Quinn found out that her sister Fanny was pregnant. Fanny didn't want to raise the child and was going to put her up for adoption. Quinn took one look at the girl and knew she was meant to be her mom. And when Santana saw them together, she asked Quinn to marry her."
"That's why you are Aunnie Ce'es?"
Mercedes beamed. "We are working on her D's and T's. But Aubrey is still so smart. And so loveable. They married last year and officially adopted her."
"And Mike and Tina enjoy being in Ireland, it seems?" Sam asked.
"We weren't happy when Mike got the call to work with Rory for the two years, but Tina decided to view it as a vacation."
Sam looked over to her and nodded. "And I take it you love living in London?"
Mercedes looked over to him. "It was what I needed then, and I grew to love it there."
Sam felt his heart drop in his chest as she continued, "But then I come back here, and…it feels right, too. This was the only place I truly called home."
Sam pulled into the parking lot and looked toward her. "I know you were dealt a raw deal, but this will always be your home, and I hope this date proves it."
Mercedes looked away from him, finally realizing where they were. On his parents' land, a little ways from any trails was a large field with a lake that flowed through to a larger one on the property that Sam and his siblings had created.
"Sam...this is..."
"Where we first made love? Yeah, it's also one of your favorite places. I remember finding you here studying or working. Starlight would be grazing, loving that you let her roam free."
"She never wandered or strayed. I really loved her."
Sam nodded. "Her grave is still in the field over there. I bring Comet here to stand where she stood."
Mercedes looked over to Sam. For the first time since she got back, she didn't see her ex, the man who betrayed her with her friend. She saw Sam Evans, the man who swept her away with love and the promise of a great future.
"Come on, I have a surprise for you."
As Mercedes exited the car, she let Sam lead her to where a picnic had been set up. She snickered when she saw Mary and Stacey standing there like they were caught red-handed.
"Mom, you're still here?"
"We totally didn't take our time to see if you were bringing Jane or Mercedes," Stacey said, causing Mary to elbow her and Mercedes to giggle more.
"I will take any chance to see you two as a win," Mercedes said, going to hug the women.
"Just know, had he been stupid enough to bring Jane, I would have tripped her into the lake," Stacey whispered, earning a small snort from Mercedes.
"And sent me the photo?"
"of course." Stacey beamed.
"I'm so glad you're here," Mary said, kissing her cheek. It means my son has the sense God gave him. Not that Jane is bad, but Sam is your person, and you are his."
"Ahem, can you two please let me and my date enjoy our evening now?"
Mary kissed Sam on the cheek. "If you ruin your last chance, I will tell Stevie he can hit on her. I will make sure she stays in this family one way or another." She hissed with a smile as she ushered Stacey away. Enjoy."
"If you two get around to it, I would love a niece or Nephew," Stacey yelled as she got into her car.
"Stacey! Ma, control your daughter?"
"I will not! I want a grandbaby." Mary said as she shut the passenger door, and Stacey drove away.
I'm sorry about them," Sam said, running his hands through his hair. Mercedes grinned and shook her head.
"Never apologize for them. They are perfect."
Sam smiled, looking over to her. "Shall we continue?"
She nodded as Sam took her hand, leading her to the blanket that was spread. "Would you like some wine?"
Mercedes sat down, pulling her shoes off and setting them to the side. "You know I haven't really enjoyed wine as much as I enjoyed the one we had at our wedding."
Sam smiled. "I figured as much, which is why I brought this."
Mercedes's eyes widened as she took the bottle. "Sam…is this…"
"Our wedding wine? Yes."
She stared at the bottle. "You remembered?"
"Of course." He took the bottle and began to pour their glasses."That day, I'd never seen a more beautiful sight than watching my dad walk you down the aisle. Your dress clung to your curves in a way that I was tempted to bend you over in front of the entire congregation."
Mercedes giggled. "Is that why you took me in the limo? We were late to our reception."
"Hey, I would have stopped at just enjoying my favorite meal, but then you had to go and suck me like I was your favorite snack, and well…I have no regrets."
Mercedes took the glass he offered and smiled. "So what are we toasting too?"
Sam smiled, leaning into her, "I want to toast to new beginnings, but if we are going to do that, then I need to say something."
Mercedes nodded for Sam to continue. "I didn't mean to hurt you with Jane. I guess, on some level, I may have thought if you heard about us, you'd come back to me. And on the other level, she was beautiful and I was lonely. I am telling you this in hopes we can move forward."
He linked his free hand with hers. "You are and will always be my person, wife, and love. So I toast to second chance and forgiveness."
Mercedes stared at him for a moment before clincking her glass with him. "To second chances and forgiveness."