Okay, so, yeah, he was sexy. That was a no-brainer.
I shot him a furtive glance, taking in the corded muscles of his forearms and the lock of dark hair that constantly flopped onto his forehead. And sure, he was sweet and attentive. He looked after me and made sure I always had a fresh drink and that I wasn’t cold or hot. He held the door for me and pulled out my chair when we went to restaurants. Hell, he’d been looking forward to this trip for months and he’d sacrificed an entire day just to make sure I got here safe and didn’t spend my time sulking.
Still, that didn’t mean he had feelings for me. He hadn’t argued when I’d mentioned us being like brother and sister or anything.
No, this whole line of thinking was ludicrous. Sam was a good friend. That was all…wasn’t it?
After all, Trevor had loved me once and he never did any of that.
Admittedly, that wasn’t the best example, but it proved my point all the same. In Sam’s shoes, Trevor never would have missed the chance to hit the slopes with his friends. He hadn’t even skipped the business trip that fell on my twenty-fifth birthday years back.
But Sam was there, my brain supplied helpfully.
Again, not an indication that he had feelings for me. People were just different. Sam was one of the good ones. And if he liked me surely I’d have known by now. He’d have told me or…something.
“Is that your phone?” Sam turned to me and I blinked, only realizing that I’d been so engrossed in my own thoughts that I’d totally zoned out.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Don’t you hear that vibrating noise? I think it’s your phone.”
I listened hard and then heard the low, gentle hum he was talking about.
“Yep, probably you-know-who again.” I sighed, but fished the phone from my tiny handbag all the same on the off chance it was a family member with an emergency.
It wasn’t Trevor, though. He had called—I had seven new missed messages from him since I’d left for the airport, but I also had three missed calls from my friend Deanna. I hadn’t spoken to her in more than two weeks because she’d been away on a long-awaited safari, but now more than ever I really needed to hear her voice.
“It’s Dee. She must be back from her trip,” I told Sam. “I know the pizza will be here in a minute, but is it cool if I step out for a sec and take this?”
He waved me off. “Go give her a call and make sure she’s good and all. I’ll make sure these jackals don’t eat all the food.”
I clasped my phone a little harder as I made my way onto the fairy-lit patio of the restaurant.
Bracing myself for the cold, I sat on the iron bench against the wall and dialed Dee’s number. It only took a few seconds before the line clicked to life.
“Hey,” I said, trying my best to sound normal. “Everything okay? I saw—”
“What is going on?” she demanded, talking even faster than usual, which was saying something.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I stopped by your place to show you pics of my amazing trip and Trevor was sitting outside your door with a bunch of wilted flowers looking like a sad sack.”
I pinched my nose between thumb and forefinger. “Was he?”
She hummed her confirmation. “He must have had two dozen roses and he wouldn’t say a word about what happened between you guys or where you were, but I figured it wasn’t good.”
“Well, I can tell you that I’m in Colorado,” I said.
There was a sharp intake of breath. “Like with Sam? Isn’t he supposed to be in Colorado right now?”
“Yes, I’m with Sam.”
“I knew it,” she exclaimed, sounding oddly gleeful. “You sly little devil! So you finally opened your frigging eyes and ran away with that sexy beast and Trevor is trying to win you back? How did it happen? Don’t leave a single detail out,” she demanded.
My spinning mind tilted on its axis and I gripped the icy iron bench for support. “Hang on, nobody ran away with anybody,” I said with a forced laugh. “I went to Trevor’s apartment yesterday and found him balls-deep in his assistant.”
“No,” Dee gasped. “That rat bastard. I knew it. I always said—”
“You always said he was a nice guy and a great catch,” I reminded her.
“To your face,” Dee said casually as ever. “Because you weren’t ready to hear anything else. So what, are you, like, heartbroken or—”
I rolled my eyes as I thought through my reply. “I’m getting through. Sam offered to bring me out here to get away from things for a while. I’m hoping by the time I get back, Trevor will have given up because, obviously, there is no way I’m getting back with him.”
“Obviously,” she agreed. “That scum. Oh, I hate men like him. They think they’re so fancy with their offices and their assistants. You’re better off.” The words came out in an angry rush.
“Thanks, I think so too.” In fact, with every hour that passed with me not missing a single thing about him, I realized it more and more.
“But let’s get back to Sam,” Dee pressed.
“What about Sam?” I echoed, my pulse quickening. What had prompted all that crazy nonsense she’d been spewing about us running away?
“Well, you’re there with him, right? So…”
“Dee, don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped, my cheeks heating. “I don’t know why the second I’m single the whole universe thinks I should get together with Sam of all people.”
“The whole universe, huh?” Dee said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “Tell me, has he been taking good care of you?”
I glanced through the wide glass windows of the patio and caught sight of the pair of massive pizzas being set on our table.
Saved by the dinner bell.
“Look, Dee, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you back the second I’m home so you can fill me in about your trip, okay?”
“Oh, no way, you chicken shit. Don’t think you’re getting off that easy. You guys belong to—”
In a panic, I clicked off. No way was I sticking around to listen to her conspiracy theories. Especially when they made my palms sweat and my heart race.
Instead, I rushed back inside, slipped back into my seat, took a massive hunk of cheesy goodness and slathered it with Parmesan, garlic, and red peppers.
“How is Dee?” Sam asked as he took his own piece.
“Crazy as ever,” I said, and to my eternal gratitude, the conversation ended with that.
For the rest of dinner, I listened quietly while the guys planned their courses for the following day.