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She hesitated. “I don’t know why I came here. You guys enjoy your night.”
There was no way Bryce would let Samantha leave without telling them what was wrong. He knew if she was there something was bothering her.
“Samantha,” he said firmly. “Come upstairs.”
Without protest, she followed them to the elevators. Once they reached the room, Bryce directed her to sit at the table while Rayelle went straight to the phone to call room service. He didn’t have to eavesdrop to know she was ordering alcohol of some sort.
“Talk to me,” he said softly, taking the seat next to her.
“I’m sorry, I just needed to walk away and Meka has her daughter, so I didn’t want to bother her, but I didn’t mean to bother you,” Samantha began to explain in one breath.
“Hey. Stop apologizing. What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath and glanced at Rayelle who took the seat across the table. “I was going through all of his things, like I told you. There really wasn’t much, so it didn’t take long. Aside from work stuff, most of the things in the apartment belong to us both. So, I started going through finances and I am so screwed. He never let me touch his bank account. He paid all the bills and anything I was allowed to spend, he put in the joint account where my paycheck goes. I feel like such an idiot. I don’t know how I’m going to pay for everything once his life insurance money runs out.”
Rayelle spoke up before he could gather himself enough to respond. “I’m going to take a shower. I ordered room service. Champagne because we’re fancy.”
Bryce chuckled. “Drunks don’t drink champagne, only fancy people do, I guess.”
“Exactly,” Rayelle agreed before making her way to the bathroom.
She was giving them privacy. He was grateful he had an extra moment to think before he responded to what Samantha said. She clearly had no idea how controlling it was for Brandon to keep her away from their finances and give her a glorified allowance.
“Oh!” Samantha suddenly exclaimed. “Before I forget, I found this when I was going through the closet.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a photo. Brandon, Bryce, and his mom smiled up from the picture. They had to be in elementary school when it was taken. Their mom looked happier than he could ever remember her being. He was surprised Brandon had it.
“Where did you find this?”
“There was a shoebox filled mostly with certificates from the fire department. His favorite book was in there. The first birthday card I gave him was in there. And this photo was in there. I thought you might want it.”
“Thank you,” he rasped after a moment, ignoring the sting behind his eyes.
“Maybe he didn’t really forget about you guys after all,” she said softly.
“I’m not sure if that makes me feel better. Thanks for giving it to me, though. Let’s get back to you. How quickly do you need to figure things out?”
He wanted to keep his focus on Samantha’s problems so he didn’t have to think about the photo. It was easier when he assumed Brandon never thought about him or their mom. If he did think of them, he would never understand why he stayed away. Bryce had been easy on him, considering.
The server from room service rapped on the door and announced his arrival. Bryce excused himself to let him in. The gentleman wheeled in a table with three buckets of ice. Each ice bucket contained a bottle of champagne. With a flourish, he opened the first bottle and filled two champagne flutes before showing himself out.
“I have some time,” she said after taking a sip. “I just can’t believe I had no idea what bills we have. There’s no way I can stay there if I don’t get a better-paying job. My theater hobby is over.”
“It’s not over, and it’s not a hobby. We’ll figure things out when it happens.”
“We?” she asked, surprised.
“Well, yeah. Unless you plan on kicking me and Ray to the curb after tonight,” he teased. “And good luck with that, by the way.”
At that, Samantha smiled. It was the first time he’d seen a smile reach her eyes, and the effect it had on him was unexpected. Her entire face lit up. The persistent crease above her brow seemed to disappear causing her brown eyes to look even brighter. He couldn’t look away.
“Is something wrong?” she asked after he looked at her longer than he intended.
“Just wondering what it would take to see you smile like that more often.”
Looking away, she sipped from her glass. It was obvious she wasn’t used to receiving positive attention and he wanted to change that. Another thought that took him by surprise.
“I have an idea,” Samantha said after a couple of minutes.
