Page 241 of A Matter of Time

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great. I can meet you there in fifteen minutes.”

“I’m leaving now,” he said, and hung up on me.

I walked to the curb as I heard my name called. Brandon Rossi was jogging toward me as I opened the door of the cab.

“Jory, please don’t⁠—”

“Thanks again for inviting me.” I got in the cab and closed the door behind me. I didn’t look back.

I was leaning against the wall to the side of the hostess station, where I had checked in, when I felt a hand on the small of my back. It was a very familiar place to touch, and when I looked up from texting Dylan, I found Sam.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He smiled, gesturing me close.

“What?”

“I dunno, what do I hafta do to get a proper greeting from an old friend?”

He was right. I pocketed my phone and stepped into him, reaching up to wrap my arms around his neck. I squeezed tight and, instantly, he hugged me back. He buried his face in my shoulder, his arms holding me close, pressing me against him, and he breathed in deeply before the long exhale.

“It’s good to see you, J.”

I hugged him because I used to love him and he felt good in my arms.

“I missed you,” he said, and a shiver ran through him fast.

Better to gargle glass than respond.

He pulled back and looked down at me, into my eyes. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” I said, stepping free.

“You look good,” he said to the floor.

“Yeah?” I fished, because he was not one to dish out compliments.

“Yeah,” he said under his breath, his eyes flicking up to mine. “Really good.”

“And you look tired.” I passed judgment as I looked him over. “Maybe we should do this another⁠—”

“No,” he cut me off, his brows furrowing.

“Have you been sleeping?”

“I wanna sleep with you,” he said slowly, his voice deep and gravelly. “Come home with me.”

It took me a second to respond, as my heart was in my throat, but I forced a dry chuckle. “Just like that?”

“Could we maybe have a summit meeting tomorrow? Right now I’m beat. I want you to come home with me so I can lie down with you.”

I watched his eyes, heavy-lidded, as he stared at me.

“I swear to God I haven’t really slept since I saw you last.”

“I thought you would have…” I trailed off because I had started speaking without thinking.