Page 2 of Sam (Crow MC 2nd Generation #2)

“Want to tell me what’s going on, Bella? You snuck out early this morning.”

She’s quiet for a minute as she studies me, and I don’t like the way her face blanks nor the casual way in which she tells me, “I had shit to do, Sam. I didn’t know that you made the women you slept with inform you of their every move.”

Pushing away from the door, I walk closer. “What’s with the attitude, Bells? I thought we were on the same page. I’m not the one who pushed for sex yesterday; that was all you.”

Bella shrugs casually, looking bored. “I wanted to see if it was worth all the hours we were spending together. If taking my attention away from my business was worth it.”

With her next words, I’m left wondering who this woman is and if I even know her. At least I don’t know this version of her—the cold, hard, number-driven woman.

“Turns out,” she continues, “it’s not. The sex was mediocre at best, and honestly, I don’t have the time or the inclination to spend time showing you how to make it better. I’ve got a big project coming up that needs all my attention. It’s best if we end this now before you get hurt.”

“Before I get hurt,” I grind out in disbelief. I’m ignoring the comment about sex because I may not be as experienced as Alec, but I know when a woman is enjoying herself, and Bella had.

No, what has my heart pounding and the nausea rising is that she’s breaking us up before we’ve even started.

“Yes, before you get hurt,” she repeats coldly.

“I don’t feel for you what you feel for me, Sam.

I never have, which is why I’ve been putting you off for years, hoping you’d get over your infatuation.

When you told me what you wanted, I thought to myself, why the hell not?

Your blatant desire for me meant I wouldn’t have to work hard.

I tried, I honestly did, over the last few weeks, but there’s nothing there. I’m just not that into you.”

“You enjoyed last night,” I grit out. “I know you did. You can say it was mediocre all you want, but you enjoyed yourself.”

Bella shrugs again and looks down at her computer as if dismissing me. “Pure biology, I’m afraid. I get the same reaction when I use a vibrator. Now, if that’s all, I have work to do.”

My heart is shattered as I look at the woman whom I’ve loved since I was fourteen years old. My brain can’t seem to catch up with what she’s telling me. I’d thought that with time and patience, she’d feel the same. I guess I wasn’t worth it.

The hard part will be seeing her every day as we live on the same property.

“Oh, and Sam, let’s keep it civil, shall we? We’ll put this down to an experiment that didn’t work out.”

“Jesus, Bella. Do I even know you?” I’m having a hard time breathing, let alone thinking. I’m not sure where he came from, but suddenly Alec is there, walking me away from Bella. I don’t notice Beau passing us and entering Bella’s office.

I’m still trying to make sense of everything she’s said. I’m missing something, I’m sure of it. But what, I have no idea. The next few days go by in a blur.

Alec takes over and arranges for me to go with him to the States. He booked me on a course and got my mentor to take over my business for six months.

After the first month, I started to lose the numb feeling and began living again.

It took me three months to admit that my childhood dream of marrying Bella, having babies with her, and building a life with her would never happen and that I needed to decide what I wanted to do with my life.

The only plus to all this was that I spent time with Cash and his family, although we never talked about anything deep. I wasn’t in the right place for that.

Then Bren arrived, and both our worlds changed again. I’ve never been so angry with Alec in my life. I hadn’t thought that anything could come between us. But the way he’d treated my sister? Yeah, that would not fly.

Losing my friendship with him hurt as much as losing Bella, but my niece made it all worthwhile. I’d moved into the manor with Bren, and I’d expected it to be hard knowing that I’d see Bella every day, but she’d disappeared from everyone’s life and had gone travelling, according to Beau.

Nobody seemed to know where she was. Although she kept in contact with Maggie and Dog, so we all knew she was alive.

I could see that everyone had questions, but nobody asked.

And honestly, I’d have no idea how to answer them.

I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure what had happened, and I’d been there.

I’d told Mum and Dad what had gone down when I got back. Mum had been pissed, and Dad had been upset with Bella when I told them the complete story.

“It’s for the best, son. Better now than years down the line. It would have been even harder if kids were involved. I’m sorry that you got hurt. I hate that you and Bren have had your hearts broken. As a parent, it guts me,” he’d told me.

And I knew it did. Even if only KJ was his biological child, he’d never made the rest of us feel any less like his.

When Alec and Bren had got together, I’d moved out of the main house but hadn’t wanted to stay at the cottage.

I’d wanted a fresh start away from all the memories.

Instead, I’d moved back into the flat above the electrical business.

The same flat I’d grown up in. Mum’s last tenants had moved out, and I’d asked if I could rent it instead.

“You’re not renting your own home, Sam.” Mum glared at me and smacked my arm. “But yes, you can move in.”

“Thanks,” I said, kissing her cheek. “It’s better for me anyway, with the workshop being here.”

“Don’t work too hard. It’s easy to do when you live on the premises,” she told me.

“I’ll do my best,” I assured her.

It was strange living in the flat by myself.

I’d not ever lived alone, and it took some getting used to.

I knew I’d never keep the place clean, so I’d hired a cleaning lady, someone Ben knew who needed extra money.

Emilia was an older lady, and she was a godsend.

Not only did she clean, but she also made me meals and left them in the freezer.

It took a few months to get used to it, but once I did, I found I enjoyed my own company. The woodworking business was picking up and, for the first time in over a year, I felt like I’d found my balance.