“No! What do you think I am—some kind of sexyassassin coercing hotel employees to do my crazy bidding with this delightful body of mine?” Maya threw her head back and laughed. “Girl, I simply took Finn’s spare room card the last time I was in here—now, come on—you promised to meet me for breakfast—and I want all the tea. And you, Romeo, get up! You have another final to compete in today—although, from that glow on your face you look as if you’ve already won.”
“You have no idea.” Finn joked from his comfy position under the duvet. “Sam, don’t tell her everything. She won’t be able to handle it.”
“In your dreams, buster,” Maya said with sass as Sam stood in the middle of the room, her eyes and her mouth open.
Maya tossed Sam a hoodie. “Hurry up, Olympic champion! My stomach is rumbling.”
Sam pulled on the hoodie and her pants and hurried to the door. Finn watched her go, warmth blooming in his chest despite the embers of anger that still glowed there. Sam was magic, always had been—determined, fierce, extraordinary, not someone to mess with. She was brilliant. She needed to understand that she was all of that, and nothing less. He sat up, wanting to pull her back to bed.
Quietly, he called her name. She turned to him, and he smiled as he caught a flicker of the old fiery, passionate Sam he knew so well.
“You’re unstoppable.” His voice was almost a whisper. Then her eyes met his, and he saw it. That determination, that strength he’d always admired. Belief in herself growing. He smiled.
“Yes, I sure as hell am.” She nodded at him. “And so are you—go get that gold, lover!”
Finn threw his arms over his face as the door closed softly behind Sam.Lover. Hell. He smiled into the crook of his elbow. He could come last for all he cared; Sam Harrington had called himlover!
27
Sam
The snow had stopped sometime in the night, leaving Livigno looking crisp and postcard fresh. Sam strolled down the main pedestrian street with Maya, her heart sinking in her mouth. Red hearts adorned everything—lights, windows—they even dangled from balconies. Romantic music came from every café, bistro and restaurant. Men carried flowers, beaming with pride as they stopped to buy chocolates.Valentine’s Day.She’d forgotten. She pulled out her phone and there it was—Maya’s annual Happy Galentine’s Day text. Sam groaned inwardly. If only she’d remembered.
Scurrying along, she dashed into the restaurant where they were going for breakfast. Red roses sat in vases on every table, and the place was jammed with people gazing adoringly at one another. Gabe was seated at a table in front of the largest window. Maya waved and hurried over to him. Sam stood in the doorway for a moment and watched them exchange good mornings. Gabe leaped up to pull out Maya’s chair for her, and she blushed tenderly as she sat down. Theyclearly were into each other, but they seemed not to want to do anything about it. Which was a surprise to Sam—neither one of them were known for being shy. Quite the opposite really. And they’d been all over each other only days ago, but now it looked like they were just … friends? It seemed as if nothing had happened between them at all. Puzzled, Sam bit her lip and slipped onto the chair opposite Maya, hunching forward to read the menu on the table.
“Good morning!” Gabe placed a large matcha in front of Maya. He glanced up at Sam. “Oh, you don’t look like you’re having a good morning at all.”
Sam felt Gabe’s eyes on her, as Maya reached for her matcha.
“Are you okay?” Gabe’s deep voice was low. “Has something happened?”
Sam shook her head. She scrunched her nose and looked at her two friends. “No. Nothing has happened.”
A crease formed on Maya’s forehead. “Well then, what’s with the sudden drama?”
Sam hid her face in her hands, then popped her head back up. “Valentine’s Day.”
Maya nodded. “Well, yeah, that’s today.”
“I forgot.” Sam hid her face in her hands again. She mumbled through them. “I feel like such a bad girlfriend.”
Gabe laughed. “Cut yourself some slack—you’re barely a girlfriend. It’s only been a few days.”
Sam dropped her hands and glared at him at the same time that Maya swiveled around to poke his well-developed bicep. “You clearly have no idea.” She turned back to Sam. “I can’t believe you forgot!”
Sam grimaced. “I know. It’s just that it’s been crazy, with interviews and meetings and everything. I haven’t had a chance to think straight.”
“That’s fair enough,” Maya said. “It has been a bit of a whirlwind.”
“And then some.” Sam plucked at the menu. “And today is busy too. Ideally, I’d have time to plan, to get him something special.”
“Yeah, I suppose. What kind of something special? Finn never seems to want anything.”
“I know, right,” Sam said. “But isn’t that all men?”
Maya nodded. “Sadly, I think it is. Socks and boxers for the win, every time.”
Gabe looked in amazement from one woman to the other. “First of all—all men? Really? But I’ll come back to that later—secondly. Plan? What’s there to plan? You get flowers, chocolates, maybe perfume or if she’s really something, jewelry. You should just wear something sexy and um just … you know …” he waggled his eyebrows at her “… well, that’s all a guy really wants.”
