"You did?"
I nodded, and she squealed and started slapping at me. "Are you in love?" she said, gawking.
I nodded still, and she covered her mouth, hitting me more excitedly.
"Are you really?" she asked, stopping. Her eyes widened, and her face became more serious as she waited for my answer.
I nodded seriously this time because I knew it was the truth. "I am really."
Epilogue
That same evening
"How many kids are we going to have?" Sam said, his mouth close to my ear. Those words made me want to melt. The fact that his breath touched my ear added to it, but the idea of having children with this man gave me a longing I never even knew was possible.
"One?" I said tentatively. I smiled. "At a time," I added, whispering near his ear.
He was thinking about kids because we were with some at the moment. We were hanging out at Josie's sister's house, and we had just watched some kids perform a magic show. Audrey's little girl, Luna, had a couple of her friends over, and they put on a show for us. Most of us were piled onto a couch. It was so packed that I sat on Sam's lap and no one noticed.
"That was actually really good," Judd said, standing up from the couch and looking impressed. There were six of us crammed on there for the show, so we all had a lot more room when he got up. I had enjoyed being forced to sit with Sam, and I was sad the show was over.
We had spent the day with everyone in Missoula. We ate brunch, and then we went to a historic mansion and then to an art museum. Then some of us had gone to the mall while otherswent to a different store. We met back up for dinner, and then we came to Audrey's place to hang out and watch the girls do a show. It was only 8:30 in the evening, but it had been dark since before 5, so it felt later.
I knew I would leave Missoula after the show, and it was probably for the best because I was running on fumes physically.
Sam had been next to me all day, but our PDA had not been obvious at all. There were so many of us around that we had both refrained. As soon as the magic show happened, however, that changed. I sat on his lap, and now he wouldn't let me go.
The couch emptied after the girls took their bows. Everyone got up and started talking to each other, but when I moved, Sam held onto me. He put his big hands around my waist, and he effortlessly held me in place on his lap. I turned to look at him. His face was only inches from mine, and he stared at me, holding me.
"We're leaving tomorrow," he said, wearing a serious expression.
"I know," I said, regretfully. "This is horrible."
People were walking around and talking to the girls about their show, and I honestly didn't think anyone was paying attention to us, but then I heard Alex's voice from the other side of the couch.
"I have to admit I really like this," he said.
I was so entranced by Sam that I wouldn't have paid attention to Alex, but he projected his voice in our direction, and there was no mistaking that he was talking to us. Both of us turned to him, me still wrapped in Sam's big arms. Alex smiled and gestured to us. Josie had gotten up to talk to her niece, and he was talking to us from the other side of the couch.
"I have to say, I like this," Alex repeated. "If this is happening the way it looks, I'm going to feel like I played Cupid."
"I thought I suggested that we make Ty the one who stays in Missouri," Cameron said, hearing us and chiming in.
"You did, but I was already thinking about it," Alex said, grinning at her. "And I'm the one who hired the girls in the first place." He was being lighthearted, and he made a face at Cameron and then looked at me again. "Anyway, I'm not sure how you waited this long. I have that egg scene edited, and the chemistry is… a force. I couldn't have asked you guys to produce that if I tried. That was just natural, if you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sam said sardonically, causing us all to laugh.
Alex stood up with a smile and went to say something to Luna about her performance. He mentioned that they'd have to video the performance next time, and everyone started talking about making magic videos. I was only aware of that conversation long enough to make sure that they weren't talking to us.
I glanced at Sam again.
"Alex is happy," Sam said as if it were something significant.
"What's that mean?" I asked, grinning at him.
He shrugged, and I reached up and put my hand on his face. He hadn't shaved in a couple of days, and I could see and feel the stubble on his jaw.
"We can't let him down. He's happy we're together. So, let's just stay together."
