Somewhere between thoughts of swaying palm trees and spa treatments, she drifted away.
“Sadie,” a voice whispered.
She groaned, pushed the outside away, and snuggled deeper.
“Sadie, the movie’s over.”
She fluttered her eyelids open. Blinked against the light of the screen, where names in a tiny font zipped past. Music filled the room. Sam.
She was leaning against his shoulder, cuddled up to his side. She’d probably drooled on his sleeve! She sat up and brushed the spot, relieved to find it dry. Still, her face warmed even while she relished the solid feel of his bicep beneath her fingertips.
“Whoops. I guess I fell asleep.”
Apparently Rio had also found Sam to be the ideal pillow. She was curled up on his lap, snoring lightly.
Sadie ran a hand over her hair. “We both conked out on you. I’m so sorry. And here you wanted to share your favorite story with me. Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Her gaze met his. They were still sitting close, and his face was in the shadows now that the screen had gone dark. Thewoodsy scent of his soap or shampoo beckoned. Tension crackled between them.
He looked away. “Uh, it’s okay. You said you were up early this morning. Figured you needed the sleep.”
Sadie pushed back to her side of the sofa. Good grief, how long had she been like that?
Rio stirred, stretched, and hopped off the sofa.
“I can’t believe I did that,” she mused. “I rarely take naps and now I don’t know how the movie ended.”
“Mitch ended up—”
“Shh! No spoilers. I’ll finish it tomorrow, I promise.”
“You don’t have to. I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time.” He shut off the TV. “Still not as good as the book though.”
Sadie turned on the lamp, feeling vulnerable when light flooded the room. “Let me make it up to you. I’ll cook you dinner tomorrow night if you don’t have other plans, and we can have a full-on movie discussion.”
Sam stood. “Nah, you don’t have to do that.”
“No, please. I feel bad for being such a rude host. Besides, don’t think I haven’t noticed all those take-out bags in your garbage can.” He must spend a fortune at restaurants. “Don’t you ever cook?”
“Doesn’t seem worth it just for one.”
“Tomorrow night then?”
He turned at the sliding door, the corners of his lips turning up. “If you insist.”
She stooped and gathered Rio in her arms. “We absolutely insist, don’t we, girl?”
“What can I bring?”
“Nothing but yourself. We’ll whip up something tasty. Any allergies or dislikes?”
“I like just about everything except kale.”
“Ew, no. We won’t be using kale. It’ll be fun. See you around seven?”
“Sounds like a plan. Good night.”
“Night.”
