“That’s not necessary. I’ll just move in with my dad for a bit longer.”
Sam chuckled. “No one wants that. I suspect one week has been more than a lifetime for you both.” He downed his drink and stood. “Drinks are on me.” He bent down and kissed her cheek. “Goodbye, Paige.”
“Goodbye, Sam.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
SAM
New York, 2013
EARLYFEBRUARYBROUGHTSamantha into Manhattan for a soccer tournament. Samantha would spend the weekend with Sam, and Maya would attend the games when she could. The week before Valentine’s Day was always busy at the shop.
Clear skies and bright sun did nothing to warm the air that Saturday afternoon as Sam and Samantha walked to the soccerplex. They had tied their game the night before, so today’s game was important if the team was to advance in the tournament.
Sam found himself checking his watch as game time approached. No sign of Maya. Good. He’d be able keep a clear head. Not that Maya clouded his head. Not at all.
The teams hit the field. He looked toward the entrance. Still not here.Why did he even care?
The game started and Sam took his regular seat, two rows in on the bleachers, closer to the goal than midfield. The girls came out aggressively, and he was soon engrossed in the first minutes of the game. Sam was unaware that Maya had entered the arena until she was standing in his line of sight.
She had on dark jeans with a cream-colored, fitted wool coat and carried something under her arm. Dark hair cascaded in waves down her back and she bit her bottom lip as she flicked her eyes about, looking for him. Sam waited for irritation to kick in, but tonight it did not. Instead, he found himself remembering how soft her hair felt in his fingers, and the soft pinch when she bit his lips.What?
He was shaking his head, trying to clear those memories, when she turned and saw him. He quickly looked away so as not to get caught gazing at her, but watched from the corner of his eye as she climbed over the first two rows to where he was sitting.
“Hi. Did I miss anything?” She faltered a bit as she climbed over the second row. Must be the high heels. Sam offered his hand to steady her. She ignored it and sat down, leaving space between them. He slowly lowered his unwanted hand.
“Um, not too much. They just started. No one scored yet.” He studied her. Had he forgotten how beautiful she was? Or had he just stopped noticing?
Maya was waving her hand in front of him.
“What?” He furrowed his brow in question.
“You’re staring like you were the first time we met,” she said.
Heat crept up his face. “Oh, I just—sorry.” He slowly turned his gaze away from her to focus on the game. Samantha made a great save by plucking the ball out of the air as the offensive player tried to head it into the goal.
“Yes! That’s my girl!” Sam cheered. He turned excitedly to Maya. “Did you see that? Did you seeour girltake that goal away?”
Maya was laughing. “That wasincredible.”She grabbed his arm. “Who knew she could jump that high? It has to be all that time you spent training her. She plays a lot like you did.”
Sam grinned, enjoying her touch. She hastily released his arm and returned her attention to the game.
Samantha’s team scored before the end of the first half, so they were up 1–0 at halftime. But in the last seconds of the second half, the opposing striker got a breakaway. Samantha ran up to meet her, but she second-guessed herself for just a split second. The delay cost her, and the striker easily deked her and scored.
Maya grabbed Sam’s arm with both hands. “No!It’s down to penalty kicks now, right?”
Again, Sam relished her touch. He laughed. “Yes. Our Samantha against five of their best strikers.”
Maya paled and covered her eyes with her hands. “I can’t watch. I can’t watch.” She peeked at him through her fingers. “In case you were wondering—I canneverwatch PKs.”
He remembered. Sam relaxed into his amusement. “She’ll be fine. We’ve practiced this—and true, the odds are against the goalie—but she’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t hesitate. Or second-guess herself.”
Maya’s eyes widened behind her fingers, and Sam melted. The once or twice she had seen him play in a game, she had done the same thing. It was as endearing now as it had been then.
“Oh, God, Sam.” She nearly squealed.
A hush fell over the stadium, and Sam turned to face the field. Samantha’s team shot first, but the other goalie punched it out of play. Now, Samantha was in the goal, the other team’s striker was gearing up. She took the shot. “Left!” Sam whispered. Samantha did just that and plucked the ball out of the air.
