Sadie chuckled.
“At least he waited until after supper this time.”
“Your great-aunt Georgia is a trip too. She cornered me when I went to the restroom and interrogated me. I could practically feel the hot lamp shining in my eyes.”
“Rest assured, she’s already picked out our wedding invitations and named our firstborn son.”
She waggled a finger at him. “See now, that’s where I draw the line—my first son will be named Logan. I refuse to compromise on that.”
“Interesting choice.”
“He’s my favorite cowboy from Louis L’Amour’s Sackett series.”
“Of course he is.” He aimed a charming smile her way. “Do you have a cowgirl name for your future daughter as well?”
They reached her door and she slid her key card in the slot. At the noise Rio barked on the other side of the door. “I should probably let my husband name at least one of our children.”
“Very fair-minded of you.” He unlocked his own door and opened it. “Did you hear we’re meeting for brunch at ten?”
“I’ll be ready to go.”
“After that we’ll pretty much have the day to ourselves until time to dress for the wedding.”
“I can’t wait to try out that beautiful pool.”
After they said good night, Sadie slipped inside, gave Rio some much-needed attention, then leashed the dog and took heroutside. When she returned to the room, she changed into her yoga pants and cami and spread out on the king-size bed with her dog and the remote control. She needed to wind down before she was ready to sleep.
As she channel surfed she replayed some of her conversation with Sam, and that led to his complimentary review of her books on the trip down. Her work was so personal, and knowing that he’d derived pleasure from it warmed her from the inside out.
“I’m impressed. You’re a good writer.”
His words lifted her spirits as she flipped from channel to channel.
“What do you think, Rio? The local news,Dateline,Hawaii Five-0...Ooh, a serial killer show. No, wait, I need to sleep tonight. Baseball—that’s a hard no.” A western popped up on the screen. She gasped. “Red River. Oh, the cruelty. John Wayne, you’re killing me.” Whimpering, she forced herself to change the channel.
“Family Feud,The Golden Girls,Ridiculousness...Oh!” She stopped at the familiar scene fromThe Firmthat preceded Sam’s favorite part of the movie—a scene sequence repeating the line, “No associate has ever failed the bar exam.”
She grabbed her phone and texted Sam.Quick, turn your TV to channel 32.
She tapped her fingers on her legs as the scene progressed. Checked her phone a minute later. Finally she hopped off the bed, opened her adjoining door, and knocked on Sam’s door. “Sam! Open up.”
She peeked at the TV. It was almost time for his favorite part. She grabbed the knob and pushed. “Sam,The Firmis on channel—”
The door suddenly fell open. Sadie stumbled forward.
She squeaked just before she face-planted into Sam’s chest.
“Whoa.” He stumbled backward. Caught her by the waist.
She grabbed Sam’s arms, steadying herself as he gained his footing. “Oops. I didn’t mean to...” As she looked up, their gazes met.
Tangled.
“The Firmis, uh... it’s on TV.” Her voice seemed to be breathless.
“Yes, you, ah, mentioned that.”
“It’s almost to that scene you like where...”
