Chapter 26
Natalie
Tip #26: It is totally possible to fake date and actually be friends. Friends who kiss in front of family, but still friends. Just. Friends.
S nowflakes tipsily drifted down from clouds so low-hanging it felt like I could touch them if I had a ladder tall enough.
I simultaneously snorted and huffed, using my breath to flick a snowflake off the tip of my nose as I stood outside my parents’ house and wondered if I was crazy. “Are you sure you want to do this, Sam?”
Samuel, holding a Tupperware container of my homemade beer dip and a bag of pretzels that he insisted on carrying for me, smiled. “Absolutely.”
“This is your last chance. Mann family gatherings can be a lot.”
Samuel bumped his arm against mine, which I barely felt due to all the thick padding from our coats. “I can handle it.”
I bit my lip. “Not all of the Manns will be as nice to you as the Warners have been to me.”
“I’m aware,” Samuel said. “And I won’t take it personally. My family had a very good reason to be so welcoming to you, after all.”
I was about to ask him what he meant when the front door swung open, revealing my mom’s smiling face.
“Hey, you two!” Mom waved us inside. “Why are you standing out here freezing? Everyone’s been waiting for you!”
As we stepped into the house, I glanced at Samuel, who was busy smiling at Mom. “Thank you for inviting me,” he said.
“Of course!” Mom said. “Everyone is so excited to meet you and congratulate you two!”
“I’m sure they are,” I muttered as we removed our boots.
Mom plucked the dip and bag of pretzels from Samuel’s grasp. “This is perfect, Natalie! Mike was just asking if you’d be bringing your famous homemade beer dip! I’ll just go put it out with the rest of the appetizers.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I handed my coat to Samuel, who was already trying to figure out where to hang them on the ever-overloaded coat rack. “The coats go on the bed in the spare bedroom?—”
“Nat!”
“Natalie!”
“Congratulations!”
I almost fell over when I was abruptly surrounded by a gaggle of my female cousins, who all talked at once.
“Nat, it’s so romantic that you two are getting married!” one cousin gushed.
“Keely told me she was there when he proposed,” another cousin chimed in. “He used a book! That’s so sweet!”
“Congratulations!” came another voice, followed by, “Show us the ring! We need to see the ring!”
Feeling oddly shy, I held out my hand, displaying the beautiful ring with the leaflike emeralds framing the diamond. My cousins oohed and aahed over it, their eyes wide with admiration as they jostled to get a better view.
“It’s Samuel’s grandmother’s ring,” I said.
“How romantic!”
“Wow, he really went all out!”
As the questions and exclamations continued, I checked on Samuel. To my relief, I saw Owen handing him a can of beer and taking our coats from him. They said something to each other, but I couldn’t hear what over my cousins’ excited shrieks.
When Owen slipped off to store our coats, my Uncle Mike greeted Samuel, giving him a once-over before nodding in approval and offering his hand. Samuel shook it and looked comfortable, chatting casually with him.
Since Samuel was doing OK, I let my cousins steer me into the living room. Every seat in the room was taken, and more relatives flooded the living room as they came from the kitchen and the den that had the TV going with a sports game.
The house was filled with the mouthwatering smell of garlic and chili. The heat from all the people packed inside made me feel cozy, while the loud chatter and rowdy discussions reminded me just how much fun Mann family get-togethers could be.
“When’s the wedding?” Madison asked.
“You should make Owen be the ring bearer,” Keely said. “I would pay to see that.”
“It’s a little early to be thinking about the ceremony since we don’t even have a date.” I checked on Samuel again. He’d followed us into the living room and was keeping an eye on me as he continued his conversation with Uncle Mike.
“Quiet down, everyone!” Grandma Mann’s voice cut through the cacophony of laughter and conversation like a knife.
A hush fell over the room, and Samuel edged his way through my cousins to stand shoulder to shoulder with me. He took my hand with his free one, intertwining our fingers.
I squeezed it for reassurance.
Grandma and Grandpa Mann shuffled forward, their gazes fixed on Samuel. My female cousins scattered like leaves in the wind, leaving us standing alone, the center of attention.
A knot of worry formed in my stomach. My fears were totally unnecessary since Samuel wasn’t really my fiancé, but as close as we’d gotten since we started fake dating, I really wanted my family to like him.
Grandpa Mann folded his arms across his chest and looked back and forth between Samuel and me, the wrinkles on his forehead puckering as he studied us.
I gulped.
Grandma Mann raised her penciled-in eyebrows at me. “Paul.” Grandma Mann turned to my father, who was leaning against the kitchen doorframe. “What do you think of this young man?”
Dad thoughtfully scratched his beard before slowly raising a thumb in approval. The room erupted in cheers as my relatives hooted and hollered.
“Alright, alright, hold on,” Grandma Mann yelled, silencing the crowd once again.
Her eyes met Grandpa Mann’s, and they exchanged knowing nods. With a wink at me, Grandpa turned his attention to Samuel.
“Samuel,” he began, his voice warm but firm. “Will you take care of our Natalie? Will you make her your highest priority in life?”
Samuel, in an Oscar-worthy performance that was so good it felt real, smiled down at me with affection. “Of course I will, sir. Natalie is my everything. She means the world to me.”
A collective aww echoed through the room, and I blushed. Grandpa Mann clasped Samuel’s shoulder, then nodded to Grandma Mann.
“The verdict is in,” she announced. “Sam is worthy of our Nat!”
Another round of cheers filled the air. It was so loud I swear I felt the vibrations in my gut.
Samuel gently squeezed my hand, dragging my attention to him. He kept his eyes on mine as he slowly lifted my hand to his lips. When he pressed his lips to the pads of my fingers it caused a chorus of cooing from my female relatives in the crowd.
I, oddly, found that I couldn’t look away from Samuel’s gray eyes, and a tiny voice in my brain whispered that even if he was a fake boyfriend, Samuel was definitely the best significant other I’d ever had.
“Alright, everyone!” Mom clapped her hands together in glee. “To celebrate my baby girl’s engagement to Samuel, who is such a sweet boy, let’s eat! There’s food and drinks in the kitchen!”
The Manns cheered again, swarming the kitchen like bees to honey.
Samuel and I were carried along with the flow of traffic. As we entered the bustling kitchen, I marveled at the sheer amount of food covering every available surface.
Two crockpots of chili bubbled away on the counter, cast iron skillets of golden cornbread were lined up in a row on the stovetop, and the steaming baked potatoes in the tray next to the crockpots begged for toppings. The scents of garlic bread and homemade mac and cheese mingled with the fruity aroma of a fresh fruit salad.
“Does your family always celebrate with this much food?” Samuel asked.
I glanced at the folding table dedicated entirely to desserts. “How else would we celebrate?”
Samuel laughed. “Good point.”
Keely appeared, handing us each a paper plate. “Food is a love language for the Manns, so you better get used to it!”
Samuel let go of my hand so he could take the plate. “Don’t worry about me. I’m going to enjoy all future Mann family get-togethers.”
My shoulders relaxed in relief that Samuel would get along fine during future family functions. Then I remembered that once our fake relationship ended, he wouldn’t be attending these get-togethers anymore. We’d had so much fun the past few months. Although I knew we’d still be friends after all of this, I was going to miss his close presence.
Samuel bumped my shoulder with his. “Hey, sweet pea, are you OK?”
“I’m great.” I forced a smile. “I was just figuring out my food strategy. I need to leave room for dessert, so I have to plan accordingly.”
“Yes, dessert is serious business for you.” Samuel leaned down and planted a tender kiss on my temple that I felt all the way down in my gut.
For the first time I wondered if I really was as unmoved by our unlikely chemistry as I’d thought.
We stuffed ourselves with glorious, delicious food until we couldn’t eat a single bite more. The warmth of the house, combined with the delicious feast we’d just devoured, made me feel drowsy, and about two hours later I could barely keep up with the excited chatter of my mother and aunts in the garage, where electric space heaters hummed away and a few kiddos played card games.
Stifling a yawn, I extricated myself from the conversation with no problems—I’d sufficiently shown off both Samuel and my ring, so my family no longer crowded around us.
I slipped into the house and stumbled my way to the living room, which was momentarily unoccupied, as the family mostly filled the kitchen, den, and garage.
I sank into the worn plaid couch, its saggy but soft cushions sucking me down. A pillow found its way into my arms, and I snuggled into the corner of the couch, closing my eyes for a moment.
As I began to doze, the muffled sounds of conversation from the rest of the house seeped through me.
“… Why are you Warners so keen to renovate the old middle school into luxury condos?” Owen’s voice floated into the room, accompanied by Samuel’s distinctive baritone.
“Look, Owen.” Samuel’s voice grew louder—they must have entered the living room, but my eyelids were too heavy to double-check. “Even if the school is used for adult education courses some evenings, for the most part it sits empty, and it’s falling apart. The city can’t afford the necessary repairs or upgrades that would have to come with remodeling it, like fixing its lack of accessibility. Rather than let it crumble and rot, isn’t it better to save it and put it to good use?”
Samuel had a point. The city didn’t have the resources to spend on the aging building. I knew that firsthand. While I still felt it was a vital building considering the importance of the adult education classes it hosted, if repairs weren’t made, it would likely be unusable in a decade.
My eyelids felt heavy, and despite trying I still couldn’t manage to open them.
“Samuel?” I murmured drowsily.
“Sorry.” Samuel’s voice grew quieter, but I could tell he was close by. “Did we wake you?”
“Nah,” I mumbled, my sleepy brain struggling to form coherent thoughts. “Just… dozing.”
“That’s good.” His voice held a smile. “Keep on resting, Nat.”
The couch shuddered as Samuel settled down next to me, his warm presence immediately comforting.
He wrapped an arm around me, pulling my sleepy form out of the corner I’d wedged myself into and tipping me against his chest. My cheek found a comfortable spot on his shoulder, and my pillow fell from my arms.
As I leaned into Sam, it occurred to me we didn’t need this level of cuddling to sell our relationship. My family was already sold on our engagement, and Owen was the only one here to see us anyway. But as Samuel spread a soft blanket over my lap, I realized that I wanted this closeness with him.
Giving in, I snuggled into his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. A contented sigh escaped my lips as his hand rubbed my lower back, sending pleasant shivers up my spine.
Owen’s voice cut through the cozy moment like a knife, his tone sour. “You two are something else.”
Samuel chuckled—a deep, rich sound that vibrated pleasantly in his chest and that I felt, wrapped around him as I was. “You don’t say? Then why don’t you share why you didn’t invite Jenna to this get-together, Owen?”
“You know what? On second thought, you deserve to get plagued by Natalie.” Owen’s words held a hint of annoyance, but I could tell it was a siblinglike playfulness and not malice in his voice.
My eyelids grew heavier as I listened to the distant murmurings of conversation.
“Going back to our original discussion about the school,” Owen said. “I agree the school does need to get sold off since the city can’t afford its upkeep. However, you Warners could fix it up and use it for something besides luxury condos.”
“What would you suggest we do with it?” Samuel asked.
“You could turn it into a community center,” Owen said.
“In order for it to be a city community center and not a privately owned events center, the city would have to own it,” Samuel said.
That was the catch. Since Fox Creek couldn’t afford the school, what could the Warners possibly do with the building that would be good for the community? Maybe a compromise was the best way to go.
“Apartments,” I muttered, barely able to form a coherent sentence.
“What was that, babe?” Samuel stopped rubbing my lower back so he could smooth the blanket on my lap.
I stifled a yawn. “You could renovate the old school into housing.”
Samuel’s fingers brushed my cheek. “That’s what my family is planning to do.”
“No, not luxury condos,” I murmured. “Regular apartments, with lower rent.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Owen said. “Fox Creek doesn’t have a lot of apartment buildings, and most of the residents wouldn’t be able to afford a luxury condo. Mind you, I think we need a community center more, but there you have it.”
“I see,” Samuel said.
I couldn’t tell how he felt about the suggestion, but at least I knew firsthand his body hadn’t stiffened up, so there was that.
“Owen!” Mom called from the kitchen, her voice cutting through the hum of conversation in the living room.
“I’ll be right back—it’s not wise to keep Mom waiting.” Owen’s voice grew fainter. “I enjoyed talking with you, Samuel.”
“I enjoyed it too,” Samuel said.
“Did Owen leave?” I drowsily asked, still unable to open my eyes.
“Yes,” Samuel said.
I yawned as Samuel wrapped both of his arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. I relaxed, feeling safe and cozy in his arms.
“Are you comfortable?” Samuel asked.
“Very.”
We listened to the hum of conversation and laughter that leaked into the quiet living room.
“Your family is a lot of fun,” Samuel said.
“Thanks. I think so too. But I like your family a lot.”
“Good.” Samuel traced his fingers up and down my spine.
We were quiet for another few moments.
“Natalie.”
“Hmm?”
Samuel sounded serious, so I managed to open my eyes and peel my head off his shoulder. I gazed into his gray eyes, which seemed darker in the dim light of the living room.
My heartbeat echoed in my ears, and the sounds of the family get-together faded.
We leaned closer together, and my eyes fluttered shut before we kissed.
It was different from any of the kisses we’d shared before, all of which had been in front of an audience specifically to sell our charade.
Not that those hadn’t been unexpectedly enjoyable, but this… this was on a totally different level.
Samuel started gentle, with a little pressure that built with each second that passed. We broke the kiss for a moment. Samuel immediately pulled me close again, and his lips were fire against mine. He cradled the back of my head with one hand, keeping our connection burning—as if I had the strength or will to end our kiss.
“Sorry, Sam. Mom needed me to empty more ice into a drinks cooler,” Owen called out—thankfully before he entered the room.
I pulled back from Sam. I didn’t get too far, though, as Samuel still had his arms locked around me.
I tried to tug myself free, but Samuel reeled me in and pressed my head to his shoulder, returning me to the position I’d been in while dozing. Which was very nice and all, except I was now very much awake and did not feel like dozing anymore!
“No worries,” Samuel said. It was only because I was splayed against his chest that I heard the breathlessness in his voice.
I scrunched my eyes shut before Owen entered the living room and pressed my face into Samuel’s neck in an effort to hide. Samuel held me closer than he had before, not giving me any wiggle room to slip away.
I heard Dad’s recliner groan—Owen must have been sitting down.
“My dude,” Owen said. “Do you really have to hold her like that when it’s just us?”
“Absolutely,” Samuel said.
I felt my cheeks heat at the certainty in Samuel’s voice. My hand, hidden between his back and the couch, tapped on his spine.
Samuel, in return, kissed my temple.
“Gross,” Owen said. “Anyway, what did you think of the Packers’ season?”
With Samuel and Owen launching into a detailed discussion about football, my heart started to slow down, and my brain function picked up again.
That kiss. What had that been?
I was comfortable with Samuel. We were friends. Yes, friends who kissed in front of family, but weirdly it had worked in my brain.
That kiss though… friends didn’t kiss like that. And I’d been more than happy to participate in it.
I’d known forever that Samuel was unbearably attractive, and I’d known since I dubbed him a friend that I liked his sense of humor, appreciated his subtly caring nature, and enjoyed hanging out with him.
But.
That.
Kiss.
It had stripped me of all excuses and explanations I could give for my relationship with Samuel. The answer was obvious. I was in love with Samuel Warner. I’d fallen for him, probably sometime after his fake but incredibly sweet proposal, and I hadn’t wanted to admit it.
But now I didn’t have a choice. I had to face my feelings head-on and accept them.
I just didn’t know what I was going to do about them.
Then again, I had some time. Samuel and I wouldn’t even bother discussing ending our fake relationship-turned-engagement until Owen and Jenna were settled. I could figure this out—whether that meant stifling my feelings because Samuel didn’t return them and I wasn’t going to risk the truce we’d reached with a confession, or it meant talking it over with Samuel to see if there was a possibility of… something.
As Sam and Owen continued their conversation about football, I reflexively grabbed Samuel’s soft shirt.
I had time. I just needed to remember that or I’d be overwhelmed by the implications of all this.
Thank goodness for time and the fact that Owen rivaled a tortoise for speed when it came to love!