When Love Is Unexpected: A Sweet Fake Relationship Friends To Lovers Romance

21. Chapter 21

He brings my hand up to his lips. I watch as he kisses my knuckles. When he lets go of my hand and wipes a tear from my cheek, I realize I”m crying. He kisses me on the cheek, my neck, my shoulder.

”You always kiss my right shoulder,” I say. ”The left one feels left out.”

He chuckles softly and presses his lips to my left shoulder. I close my eyes, inhaling the intoxicating scent of his cologne, and feel the comforting warmth of his body melding with mine.

His lips are sweet, and the way he kisses me is so deliberately slow that it drives me crazy and takes my breath away. I feel like a novice learning an art only practiced by true poets. What he does to me is nothing short of poetry in motion.

”Do you want to dance?” he asks.

”You mean that”s not what we”ve been doing for the last five minutes?”

His smile is back, and I realize I put it there. He loves me!

When he walks me up to the studio, it”s past one o”clock in the morning, but I”m wide awake. I want to invite him in, but sound judgment prevails, and he gives me a brief kiss goodnight before heading back downstairs.

In the morning, we go for a run on the beach, but we end up walking instead. Sam holds my hand as we walk for a few miles, stopping at an outdoor cafe for breakfast. I order a chorizo and egg scramble with toast, and he orders poached eggs over sourdough toast with an avocado spread. We talk, hold hands, kiss, and eat off each other”s plates. On our way back, we stop at a shop where he buys me a San Diego tank top. It”s almost noon by the time we return to the house.

When we sit down for lunch with the rest of the family, I can sense everyone”s approval and blessing, even Emma”s.

”I wish we had known you would be here for the wedding,” says Emma. ”I would”ve loved for you to be one of my bridesmaids.”

”Thank you,” I say. ”I appreciate that.”

”You and Sam would look great walking down the aisle together,” says Abby.

”Who will you be paired up with?” I ask Sam.

”With Annie,” he says. ”Tom”s wife.”

”She”s only five feet, three inches tall,” says Tiffany, ”but she”ll be wearing four-inch heels, so that”ll help.”

A couple of days later, Sam and I are relaxing on the couch before we have to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. He pulls me close so I”m snuggled against him. It brings back memories of how our friendship progressed and grew into the bond we now share. I haven”t told him I love him, and he hasn”t asked, but I know I love him, and I can”t wait to tell him.

”So, how was the bachelor party?” I ask, holding his hand and resting my head on his shoulder.

”It was just a bunch of guys watching sports, eating chicken wings, and drinking non-alcoholic beverages,” he says. ”The married men tried to give the groom marriage advice, the divorced men tried to talk him out of getting married, and the single men, well, we said nothing because we”re clueless. It was loads of fun.”

”No strippers?” I ask.

”I told you. The men in our family and circle of friends wouldn”t consider that entertainment. Besides, Mom and my sisters would kill us, so no, no strippers. It was all clean and wholesome fun, I promise.”

”I heard the bachelorette party was a memorable event,” I say. ”I”m sorry I missed it.”

”They didn”t have strippers either,” he says, laughing. ”Emma would”ve closed her eyes the entire time, and Abby. Well, Abby wouldn”t have shown up if there had been strippers. Trust me.”

”Your Abby and Emma sound a lot like my Katherine and Loren,” I say.

”Speaking of,” he says, ”you never finished telling me about the phone call you got from Eric.

”He apologized for his aggressive behavior,” I say.

”Good,” says Sam. ”Either way, I”m glad you”re here, and he”s there.”

I tell him what Eric said, and paint a picture of their exchange, including the part about Aaron”s T-shirt.

”So,” Sam says, ”if you were to get me a personalized T-shirt, what would it say?”

”Well, it”s funny you should ask.”

I get up and walk to the closet. I pull out the package that arrived yesterday and throw it to him.

”Catch,” I say.

”What”s this?” he asks, catching the package in mid-air.

”Open it,” I say.

He tears through the package like a little kid on Christmas day.

I watch his expression as he pulls out a white T-shirt and stares at the design.

He starts laughing, a loud belly laugh that fills the entire room. He turns the T-shirt over and holds it up so I can see it.

World”s Best Kisseris printed on the front.

”You like it?” I ask.

”And where exactly am I supposed to wear this?” he asks through more bouts of laughter.

”Well, you can put it on right now and remind me why I bought it.”

He pulls off his shirt, and the first thing I see, well, besides his broad shoulders, strong arms, defined abs, and chiseled pecs, is that small foreign word tattooed on his chest. How I wish I could get a better look at it.

”He hem,” I cough into my hand when I realize I”m staring. I try to look away, but all my attempts are futile, so I allow my eyes to drink in his rugged good looks.

He puts on the new T-shirt, and a second later, I”m in his arms, enjoying the reason why he deserves to wear this shirt every single day.

At the rehearsal dinner, everyone is super excited about tomorrow. The groom”s family has flown in from out of state and are all in attendance. Sam is sitting next to me, holding my hand and leaning over every so often to whisper sweet words in my ear. ”I”m going to kiss every freckle on your face. The birthmark on your shoulder is begging me for a kiss. I”m going to kiss you until I leave you breathless.” I smile every time, understanding now precisely what my sisters experience being married to their husbands. This is love.

When he walks me to my door at midnight, he makes good on all the promises he made during dinner.

The wedding is perfect. Emma looks radiant in her beautiful white dress, and Luke cries as soon as he sees her. Sam looks handsome in his tuxedo. When he walks into the church with Annie by his side, he searches for me. When our eyes meet, I smile at him, and when he smiles and winks at me, my heart melts.

The wedding party and family members are taking pictures, so I”m using this time to call my parents to touch base with them. We spend an hour talking about anything and everything. They”re planning their next trip, which won”t be until baby Baldwin is born. Loren is experiencing more Braxton-Hicks. Aaron refuses to leave her side. Katherine”s baby bump is getting bigger. Holly lost another tooth. Tori can”t wait to lose hers so she can get a visit from the tooth fairy. Jon has gotten taller. Adam is running Linder and Morgan by himself, and Dad couldn”t be more proud.

When I see Sam walk in the door, I say goodbye to my parents. He takes my breath away. When did this happen? I think I”ve been growing in love with him since the first day I met him, and now, I”m having a hard time keeping it contained inside my heart.

At the reception, Sam”s toast to his sister and her new husband is both funny and heartwarming. When he”s done, everyone gives him a round of applause, and Emma gives him a tearful hug. The food is delicious, and the music is a great mix of country, classic rock and roll, and good old 80s music.

”May I have this dance?” Sam asks when people start joining the happy couple on the dance floor. We dance almost every song, stopping a few times to cool off and catch our breath. Sam also dances with his sisters and his mom.

On Sunday, people start heading back to their respective hometowns and states. We say goodbye to Tiffany and Josh, Janice and Pops, Alice and Martin. Sam”s parents are also going out of town to spend a few days decompressing after the wedding.

That leaves Sam and me alone in the house. He sleeps in his old bedroom, and I move my stuff into Emma”s room. We”re essentially next-door neighbors. Every night, he walks me to my door and kisses me goodnight.

Sometimes, I”ll step out into the hallway and stand by his door, like right now. I”m lightly touching the doorknob, wanting nothing more than to cross the threshold, tell him I love him, and surrender my heart to him. But then I recall a conversation I once overheard between my sisters. Loren and Justin were only a few weeks away from their wedding, and Justin wanted Loren to spend the night with him in their new house.

I overheard Loren say, ”I want to be with him, but I also want to wait. He doesn”t think it”s a big deal, and what if it isn”t?”

Then Katherine said, ”Regret is not your friend. Do not make it your lifelong companion.”

So, I let go of the knob and go back to my room.

When Friday rolls around, we”re both excited about the high school reunion picnic at the park. I have my outfit set out. I”m straightening my hair, and Sam is getting ready.

”Who will I be meeting?” I ask as we look for a parking space at Kate Sessions Park.

”There are quite a few friends I still keep in contact with. Mostly from my basketball team. Some childhood friends.”

”Why haven”t you seen anyone since we”ve been here?” I ask.

”I haven”t seen anyone in seven years. We chose not to ruin the surprise. Plus, with Emma”s wedding, I didn”t have much time for anything else.”

He takes my hand, and we slowly make our way to the designated area. At least a hundred people are already here. Sam starts recognizing people, and of course who could miss him.

”You were pretty popular,” I say after shaking hands with dozens of people.

They have games scheduled, food, a photo booth, a slideshow of the past and present, bingo, and a photo gallery.

After lunch, I excuse myself to go to the ladies” room, leaving Sam with a few of his best friends. They”re engrossed in conversation about the old days.

When I return, Sam isn”t with the same group. I scan the area a few times, but with this many people, I don”t see him. They have picnic mats stacked on a table, so I grab one and find myself a comfortable spot next to the group he was with when I left.

When the crowd clears, I see Sam standing next to a tall brunette with perfectly tanned skin, an athletic build, and great taste in clothes. She”s wearing a yellow single-breasted suit vest, matching shorts, and cute little gold sandals. Her hair is pin-straight and goes down to her waist. She looks oddly familiar, but I know I wouldn”t know her. I watch their body language. Sam is relaxed. Her? Not so much. She seems to be wound up tight, her nerves ready to snap at any second. He starts to say goodbye, and she grabs his arm, which makes him stop in his tracks. She gets close to him and kisses his cheek, and I could swear she”s whispering something in his ear. Maybe I”m imagining it.

”Is everything okay?” I ask when he returns.

”Yes,” he says, smiling tightly.

”Who was that?” I ask.

”Who?” he asks, sitting next to me.

”The woman you were just talking to,” I say. ”You two seemed to be deep in conversation.”