Page 89 of One Life to Loathe

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It was the one that stood out when I saw the photos. It reminded me of the outfit you wore to Finz that night. It has the same look. The overlay and everything. It sparkles like you did that night, too.”

“You remember what I was wearing that night?” I was flabbergasted. “You barely looked at me.”

“I looked at you.” His smile was sheepish. “I couldn’t stop looking at you.”

“But you said you were there with Dexter and Chad.”

“I knew where you were going, Sam. I was there when Daisy invited you. It wasn’t a coincidence that I ended up there …although Dexter and Chad had no idea, so don’t hold my stalking against them.”

“It was just minor stalking,” I assured him as I pulled out the dress so I could hold it up against my body. It looked like it was going to be a perfect fit. Because he’d admitted something that made him feel vulnerable, I decided to do the same. “I was mad that night because you weren’t there for me.”

“What do you mean?” His fingers were gentle as they pushed my hair away from my face.

“I didn’t know I was attracted to you at that point,” I said hurriedly. “I was still struggling to figure that part out. I did, however, recognize that when you said you weren’t there for me, I was disappointed.”

“Because you wanted to jump me,” he guessed.

“Don’t be weird when we’re having a sweet moment,” I warned. “I just don’t want you thinking you were the only one who had weird stuff on their mind that night. I still can’t believe you remember what I was wearing that night, though.”

“I remember all of it, Sam.” His voice was husky. “I was attracted to you right from the start. I didn’t want it. I still don’t know that it’s good for you. It was one of those things I couldn’t escape from.”

I found I was blinking back tears and forced myself to stand straight. “I know what I’m doing.” That was an utter lie. I had no idea what I was doing. He needed to believe it, though. “I’m responsible for my own choices here, and I’m exactly where I want to be.”

He nodded. “I’m glad.” He stared a beat longer, then grinned. “Get dressed. I don’t want to be late for our reservation.”

“You made a reservation, too?” I was floored. “When? Where?”

“I did it on my phone when you were in the bathroom at the ice cream museum. As for where? It’s called Ocean Prime. Therewere too many choices for me to know exactly where you wanted to eat. I wanted something with a solid menu that had good drinks and was reasonably upscale. I read a bunch of reviews, and settled on Ocean Prime because it wasn’t ungodly far from the hotel.”

“And we’re going to need to be close so we can rush home and get naked,” I surmised.

“That might’ve been a consideration.”

I held the dress tight. “What kind of food are we talking about here?”

“The typical stuff. Shrimp cocktail, Maine lobster, goat cheese ravioli.”

I laughed. “Do you even like goat cheese?”

“Surprisingly, I do.”

“Me, too.” I started to move toward the bathroom but stopped myself. My heart was full—dangerously so—and I knew I was falling for him. It would end badly. There was no escaping that. I was no longer capable of walking away, though. I would be crushed when he walked away, but I was giving it my all until then. “If I forget to tell you later, this was the best day I’ve ever had.”

Surprise registered on his features. “How do you know that?”

“Because it already is.” With that, I headed into the bathroom to get changed. I was cruising toward a broken heart, and there was nothing that could stop it. I was going to enjoy myself until the bitter end, though.

That was the only gift I could give myself at this point.

23

TWENTY-THREE

Mornings in Salem were the favorite part of my day. Sure, I liked the nights—I was spending all of them with Sam avoiding the main downtown area—but the mornings were quiet and peaceful.

I normally woke up, headed downstairs to workout with Jax, and then returned to my room to either shower or wake up Sam. We were still splitting our time between both rooms—it didn’t really matter since they were right across from one another—and we each had keycards to both.

Sam was still buried under the covers when I let myself into my room after a hard workout. I was careful when closing the door. They were heavy, so there was a decent amount of noise if I let it fall shut. She didn’t even stir at the click this morning, though.

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