Not even a solid ten seconds passed before my phone rang.
Taking it in hand, I pressed the glass screen to my ear and winced as Dee shrieked over the line.
“Oh my god! You two idiots finally figured it out! I knew it, I knew it would happen. Tell me, did you kiss him back?” she shouted with excitement.
“I did,” I said, trying to sound much calmer than I felt.
“And?” Dee asked “How was it?”
“It was...” I couldn’t help it. I actually squealed with delight. “It was incredible. It was so tender but firm and sexy and… I don’t know. It was just so Sam.”
“I’ll bet it was.” I could hear Dee’s smile in her voice. “So the real question is why are you wasting your time calling me? Don’t you have some, you know, business to attend to?”
“That’s the thing, the second after we kissed, he rushed out of here like he was Bruce Wayne and just caught a glimpse of the bat signal blinking in the distance.”
“Cold feet?” Dee said, sounding perplexed.
“I have no earthly idea. That’s why I was calling you,” I countered with a pained laugh. “I think he feels like it was a mistake, maybe.”
It wasn’t until I said the words out loud that I realized how much that thought terrified me. What if that was it? What if it felt wrong to him, despite me knowing nothing had ever felt so right?
“Just, you know, give him a second to process. This is new for both of you. He was probably resigned to you and Trevor and now all of a sudden, you guys are breaching the friendship barrier and making out. He’ll figure it out soon enough. When have you ever known Sam to not do the right thing?”
“And the right thing is...?” I asked.
“Getting back in that ski lodge and not leaving the bed until you’ve created enough heat to melt that dang mountain,” Dee said with a laugh. “Trust me. He’ll be back.”
We said our good-byes, but even after we hung up, I held Dee’s words close to my heart, like a secret wish.
He’ll be back.
I had to hope she was right.
And when he got here?
This time, I’d be ready for him.
Chapter Ten
Sam
What the fuck was I doing out here?
Aside from freezing my nuts off, that is.
From the hotel’s rooftop, I stared out at the snowcaps in the distance, my breath a white fog in front of me. I was standing here with my hands shoved in my pockets like an idiot while the girl of my dreams sat in a hotel room a few floors away probably wondering what the hell had just happened.
The sound of laughter broke into my thoughts and I shot a glance down at the crowd of twenty-somethings moving from pub to pub, probably in search of that midnight kiss or a quick lay.
That had been me, once. I’d been one of those guys surfing for quick, easy fun and meaningless sex to fill the time. But now?
It was the last thing on my mind.
The second I’d touched Maggie I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop myself until I had her. The need was all-consuming and it scared the ever-loving shit out of me.
Which, I supposed, was the real reason I’d ended up on the roof.
I’d crossed the line and shown her my true feelings, and whatever happened next was going to affect our relationship for the rest of time. What if this was just a moment of weakness for her? What if we took that next step and then, tomorrow, in the light of day, she was filled with regret?
It would kill me.
This was a terrible idea. The second our mouths touched, I knew it. If I loved her before, the way our bodies fit? The things those lips made me feel and want? It was a whole new level. Which meant, if it went bad, I was going to be in a world of pain. The kind that dragged you down into a deep, dark depression where you knew no one would ever compare.
The wind kicked up and I shuddered, squaring my shoulders against the gust.
What was she thinking down there all alone? She was probably as confused as I was. She’d always been the cautious one, running the numbers, checking the stats. I was the daredevil, and Mags was the angel by my side, making sure I was careful.
It was only then, as I stared out at the sheer wall of ice—a double black diamond—that I’d skied down earlier that it hit me like a load of bricks right in the gut.
What the actual fuck was I doing out here? When had I ever let fear hold me back? I was the guy who didn’t want to miss a thing. A risk-taker. And instead of taking the most important risk of my life, I was here in the cold on New Year’s Eve instead of telling the woman I loved how I felt.
And even better? Based on the way she’d kissed me? I had a real chance of having everything I’d ever wanted.
Maggie, totally mine.
That kiss, hot and sweet as it had been, solidified everything for me. Maggie wasn’t just some girl I’d lusted after. She was my forever. And the longer I stood here, the longer I was giving her time to second guess what I knew to be true—that we belonged together. She was willing to risk it. I’d never forgive myself if I was the one who chickened out.
A man on a mission, I headed back into the warm hotel and rubbed my hands together before punching the down button outside of the elevator. I had no idea what I was going to actually say once I got there—after all, if I hadn’t figured it out in eight years, I certainly wasn’t going to tonight. Whatever came out, came out. Consequences be damned.
The elevator door chimed and I made my way to the room, tugging the room key from my pocket. I swiped and stepped inside, knocking gently as I did so as not to startle her.
It didn’t matter though; she was reclined on the bed but her eyes were locked on the door. Our gazes collided instantly. Her eyes widened as she surveyed me, then she offered me a timid smile.
“You’re back.” she said.
She’d changed from her boxers and T-shirt into the hotel robe and for the life of me, it was all I could do not to cross the room and fling the terry cloth to the floor. But we needed to talk first.
I let out a deep breath. “Look, I want to apologize.”
“You don’t need—”
“I do, though. I’m sorry for the way I acted.”
Maggie looked taken aback for a moment, but then she slowly nodded, her face tinged with a sadness that was like a punch to the gut. “No, no, really, it’s okay. I totally understand. Weird moment. New Year’s and all… It can do that to a person. We can just forget it ever happened and go back to the way things were. It’s okay.”
“Go back to...?” I frowned at her, stomach clenching as each word she’d said was like a nail being hammered into my coffin. It took me a second to realize—or hope, at least—that she’d misunderstood me. “Oh, no, Mags. I’m not sorry for kissing you. I’m sorry I left you here all this time while I thought about it.”
I stepped a little closer to the bed. “The real question is, are you sorry I kissed you?”