Page 32 of Waiting for a Prince (Island Tales #1)

One year later

Sam gave the flat one final glance. “I think we’re ready.” Mum was due to arrive any second now. Then a thought occurred to him, and he dashed over to the couch, plunging his hands between the cushions.

When his fingers brushed something hard, he groaned.

“Mark? You got a sec?”

Mark came into the living room. “What’s up?”

“I thought you said you’d done this room?”

“I did,” Mark remonstrated. “It’s clean and tidy, isn’t it?”

Sam bit his lip. “Yes, but it still has a few added extras I wouldn’t want my mum to find.” He held the bottle of lube and the dildo.

Mark flushed. “Oops?”

Sam rolled his eyes. “You did hide all the lube?” He stilled. “You took the waterproof stuff out of the shower, didn’t you?”

Mark folded his arms. “Sam, we’ve been together how long?

Do you really expect her to believe we’re not having sex on every flat surface in this place?

” He chuckled. “I swear, you’re like this every time she visits.

” He came over to where Sam stood and put his arms around him.

“Breathe.” He glanced at their surroundings.

“Because how can you stress with that view?”

Their flat was on the Ryde Esplanade, looking out across the Solent.

The top floor apartment came with two Juliet balconies, one in the living room and another in their bedroom.

Sam would have preferred to live someplace on West Wight, but it had made more sense to stay in Ryde.

Sonia’s salon was five minutes away, and the rent was fair.

Let’s face it. Nowhere on this island is all that far. He’d laughed the first time Mark had grumbled about having to go all the way to Newport.

Sam took a deep breath. “You sound like Dave.” His therapist was always telling Sam to breathe.

“How did this morning’s session go?”

Sam sighed. “Good. He thinks he’s almost ready to sign me off.” He hadn’t been thrilled by the idea of therapy at first—for either of them—but Mark had set him straight.

‘Babe, think about it. You tortured yourself because a woman beat you up, and my mum destroyed my dad in front of me. You couldn’t find two more likely candidates for therapy.’

When he put it like that…

He kissed Mark’s temple. “How about you?”

Mark shrugged. “We’re getting there. We’re not at the point where I want to have her over for dinner, however.”

Sam gave him another kiss. “No one’s saying you have to. But at least get to the point where thinking about her doesn’t hurt so much.”

Mark gestured to the couch, and they sat, Sam’s arm around his shoulder. “I’ve got another mum, remember?”

Sam smiled. “She loves you to bits.” The first time he’d introduced Mark to his mum, the click had been almost audible. “And she loved what you did with her hair.”

“So did Sonia. She put pictures on the website.” He let out a contented sigh. “It feels so good to go to work and not dread walking through the door.”

“She did a fantastic job with the new place.” Sonia had chosen the colour scheme, the furnishings, everything.

Her salon came with a list of readymade clients.

When Sonia announced she was leaving and gave Marie four weeks’ notice, she’d done it with a lot of trepidation.

Going it alone was scary stuff, and Mark was so proud of her.

The fear didn’t last long. When Sonia left, all her regular clients had followed, and it wasn’t long before new clients arrived.

Mark had followed too, at Sonia’s invitation. Sam knew it was working out just by looking at Mark’s expression every night. He saw that same expression whenever he looked in a mirror.

Both of us with a job that makes us happy.

Mark sniffed. “That smells good.” He grinned. “You made her favourite dish, didn’t you?”

He chuckled. “She’s my mum. Of course I did.”

At least he had one parent who loved him.

Dad’s the one who’s missing out. That was something Dave reminded him of during every session.

His phone buzzed, and he grabbed it from the coffee table. “It’s Ron.” He clicked on Answer. “Hey. Did you get my email?”

“Yeah. Look, I know you’ve got your mum this weekend, so how about we do a Zoom meeting on Monday? We can discuss the project then.”

“That works. What time?”

“Let me look at the schedule first, and then I’ll talk to Donal. Are you and Mark still coming over next month?”

Sam glanced at the fridge. “You’re on the calendar.”

“Great. We’ll get in some of that beer Mark told us about. And Donal’s finished building the barbecue. There’s even a fire pit.”

Sam beamed. “More nights sitting out in the garden, watching the night sky. Sounds wonderful.” He and Mark had already stayed a few times at the home of Ron and Donal Yates, Sam’s bosses. They lived on the mainland, about an hour’s drive from Southampton.

The doorbell rang.

“I have to go. Mum’s here.”

“No problem. I’ll send you a reminder of the Zoom meeting. Have fun.” Ron ended the call.

Mark was already off the couch and heading for the door.

Sam glanced at the lube and dildo, still sitting on the coffee table, and stuffed them behind a cushion.

Mark was way too much of a distraction.

Mum came into the living room, Mark following with her bag. She held her arms wide, and Sam got up to hug her. A moment later, her nose twitched, and she grinned.

“You made that Bolognese pasta bake I love so much.”

He kissed her cheek. “If I made you anything else, you’d only complain.”

“Me? Complain? When I never even say a word about—” She clammed up.

Sam tensed. “About what?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Besides, I came prepared this time.” She flushed.

“Prepared for what?” Mark demanded.

She bit her lip, then reached into her bag. “I thought these might come in handy.”

Sam stared at the rounded black plastic case in her hand. “What’s in there?”

Mark peered at it and let out a snort. “How to say ‘You make a lot of noise’ without actually saying the words.” His eyes gleamed. “Your mum has brought noise-cancelling headphones.”

For a second there his words didn’t compute, and then the penny dropped.

Sam’s face was on fire.

Mum stuffed the case back in her bag. “Maybe I should’ve kept quiet.”

Mark snickered. “Maybe we’re the ones who should’ve kept quiet.” He kissed her cheek. “Vera, I love you. Don’t ever change.”

Her blush deepened, and she pulled Mark into a hug. “Love you too, sweetheart.” She went over to the open window. “I love your view.”

Mark chuckled. “You say that every time.”

She didn’t respond but stared out at the Solent.

Sam’s senses were suddenly on alert at the abrupt change in her. “Mum, are you okay?”

She turned to look at him. “Have you seen today’s County Press?”

“No. We usually grab a copy when one of us goes to the local shop.” He cocked his head. “Have we missed some vital piece of island news?”

Mum bit her lip once more, then reached into her shoulder bag. She handed him the folded newspaper. “Page six. And now I really need your bathroom.” She glanced around the living room.

“What are you looking for?” Mark asked.

“Tigger. Last time I stayed here, one of you hid him in the wardrobe, and when I opened it, he fell on me. Gave me the shock of my life.”

Mark chuckled. “You’re safe. He’s in his usual spot on our bed.”

She grinned. “Is he wearing earmuffs?”

Once she was out of the room, Sam gaped at Mark. “I can’t believe she said that.”

“I can. She’s your mother. So what is it we need to see in the County Press?”

Sam laid the newspaper on the table and flipped the pages over. When he saw the photos, he stilled. “Oh. I see.”

“See what?” Mark demanded.

Sam let out a sigh. “Rebecca’s got married.”

Mark gaped at him. A moment later his lips twitched. “Who’s she married? Maybe I should go out and buy a sympathy card for the poor sod.”

Sam chuckled. “Don’t be mean. Jack told me she attended that anger management course. For all we know, she’s a very different woman. Well, good luck to her.” He smiled. “If she’s half as happy as we are, she’s doing fine.”

Mark came over to him and kissed him on the lips. “And that is why I love you. Because you truly live up to your name.”

He smirked. “I wasn’t aware Sam had any special significance.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “Not that name. You, babe, are a Prince amongst men.” He smiled. “And my very own Prince Charming. After all, you did rescue me from the evil queen—I mean, Marie.”

Sam kissed the top of his head. “To quote a film we must watch at least once a month, then you rescued me right back.”

The End