I swallowed hard and croaked out a low “thank you” before following his lead into the hall.
When we reached the lobby, Sam ordered my vodka soda and a whiskey for himself and we sat and watched the droves of people strolling through the doors of the hotel, all dressed to the nines and ready to party.
“You’re sure you wouldn’t rather… This isn’t lame for you?” I prodded.
“Hell no.” Sam shook his head. “I’m telling you, the best place I could be tonight is hanging out with you.”
A thrill of warmth coiled around my spine and I sat up a little straighter, taking my drink as the bartender sat it in front of me.
“You remember last New Year’s?” Sam grinned.
I rolled my eyes. “How could I forget?”
I’d gone to a company party with Trevor at his insistence but he’d agreed Sam could come with us so I wasn’t alone while he schmoozed with the bigwigs. He swore we’d only be stopping by to make an appearance. After two interminable hours of listening to a bunch of blowhards brag about the size of their bank accounts—and other stuff—Sam and I had snuck out to his truck and sat in the cab. For the next hour or so, we watched the fireworks explode over the Hudson as Sam played the CD of Christmas songs he always kept in his car just for me.
“I’ll never understand why the *NSYNC Christmas album just screams ‘Maggie’ to you,” I said with a grin, feeling oddly choked up at the memory.
“Because of your thing for Justin Timberlake.”
“My what?” I demanded.
Sam laughed. “You have a thing for Justin Timberlake. When he got married, you were inconsolable and you always make a point of watching when he’s on Saturday Night Live.”
“I make a point to watch because he’s an excellent performer!” I protested, pausing to take a long pull from my glass. “And I was not inconsolable, thank you very much. I just didn’t see him and Jessica Biel together, that’s all,” I added with a grumble.
“Which you reminded me of often, and loudly.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“Jessica Biel? I could explain it to you,” Sam teased.
I rolled my eyes. “Men.”
“What? She’s a beautiful woman and she looks a little like you. She’s got the heart-shaped face and the dark, rich chestnut hair and the almond-shaped eyes. You could be sisters.”
Another shiver shot through me. Hadn’t Sam just said Jessica Biel was hot? Did that mean he thought I was hot, too?
And there I go, reading into things again.
“So, just to be clear, does that mean you think I have a chance with Justin Timberlake?”
“You’d have to admit you’re into him first.” Sam clinked his glass with mine and we chattered on, teasing each other as we finished our drinks.
We wound up having two before conversation became impossible due to the crowd. I covered the tab over Sam’s protests and we headed back up to the room to peruse the room service menu.
After stepping into the room, I kicked off my shoes and made my way over to the bed, where I plopped down and opened the menu, reading each option to Sam and ignoring the way my stomach growled at the mere mention of food.
“We have to get something Trevor would never let you order,” Sam reminded me with a grin. A sizzle went through me at the sight and I turned away, cheeks flaming. This was getting to be a problem. If it didn’t stop, he was sure to notice eventually and it would surely get in the way of our friendship.
The thought sobered me instantly and I dragged my gaze from him and focused on the menu again.
“How about lobster mac and cheese?”
“Lobster in a land-locked state in the dead of winter? I like it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I bet it’s amazing.”
“Then get it. You can get whatever you want.”
Sam ordered for us, getting a cheeseburger for himself, and I sat back and watched him as he hung up the phone. He’d pushed his sleeves up to bare his muscular forearms and I found myself in the same exact spot I’d been in less than a minute before.
A pang of warmth filled my heart and I chewed my bottom lip, trying to decide whether to tell him what was on my mind. We’d always been honest with each other before. Maybe pretending this wasn’t happening would do more harm than good.
I pushed myself from the bed and grabbed my pajamas from my bag before padding into the bathroom.
“I’ll be out in a few. I’m going to wash my makeup off and change for bed.”
Also, by the way, I’m a big, fat chicken.
I shushed that annoying inner voice that sounded remarkably like Dee and made quick work of my dress. Once I’d changed into my usual nightwear of boxer shorts and a T-shirt, I paused to glance in the mirror, wishing I’d packed something a little sexi—
“No way,” I snapped at my reflection. I wasn’t about to blow up a friendship I’d had and cherished since college no matter how squishy Sam was making my stomach feel lately.
“Did you say something?” he called back.
“Nope, sorry. Just um…talking to myself.” Good save, genius.
I blew out a sigh and washed my face before patting it dry and going for a second attempt at a pep talk in the mirror.
“Just because your relationship blew up does not give you the right to shift everything between you and Sam. Get it together, woman,” I hissed.
My reflection nodded back at me and, together, we turned off the bathroom light and made our way back into the bedroom with a smile.
“What’s up?” Sam asked, brows draw together quizzically the second I walked in. “You’ve been in there forever and now you’ve got your serious-thinking face on.”
“I do not,” I laughed.
“Don’t lie to me about your thinking face,” he shot back in mock anger.
I sighed and then shrugged. If anyone knew I had a tell it was Sam. “Fine, you caught me.”
“And what are you thinking so hard about?”
“I just… I want to thank you, I guess. For being my knight in shining armor all the time,” I said, knowing I was hedging, but unable to make myself tell him the full truth. “It feels like every time I need you, you’re there for me and I… I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“Don’t be silly, Mags,” he replied, brushing me off with the easy warmth that came so naturally to him.
“It’s true,” I insisted. “Remember when my cousin was getting married and Trevor bailed on me at the last second? You stepped in and helped. And when my tire exploded in Maryland? You drove all the way from New York just to help me. Not everyone would do something like that.”
“For you they would,” Sam said, his blue eyes suddenly soft as he gazed at me.
My heart froze in my chest as our gazes collided and I swallowed hard, suddenly overcome with a rush of emotion that knocked me on my ass.
It wasn’t just a look of friendship or even devotion.