Chapter 32
SAM
If there was a version of paradise, Sam decided that this was it. Currently snuggled up with Charlie on the couch, she couldn’t think of anything better.
Well, scratch that. She could think of something better, but she didn’t have the energy for it at the moment, being thoroughly sated and still a bit weak in the knees from earlier that day.
Even now, however, Charlie casually holding her against him in the white T-shirt and gray sweatpants he’d thrown on was a dangerous combination.
She was more than pleased that despite the lingering worries looming—wondering if things were going to work out, whether this change would last—she found they became increasingly fleeting.
Drowned out by Charlie’s constant shows of affection, which continued to make her heart flutter.
She wasn’t sure how long that would last, whether it would eventually die out with time, or if he would always make it flutter like this.
Glancing from the screen up to Charlie’s face, a touch of warmth heated her cheeks, and she smiled. He seemed so relaxed, so happy, that she couldn’t help but snuggle in closer.
She wanted to check in with him to see how he was doing, knowing how close the charity gala was, but she didn’t want to push. They’d talk about it when he was ready.
All she wanted was to luxuriate in this little bubble she and Charlie had managed to create.
The charity itself was less than a few days away, and she still needed to get something to wear for it. She wasn’t in any particular rush, too content to leave the warmth of Charlie’s embrace to even worry about it now.
Though it was the knock coming from the front door that finally burst their bubble.
“Did you order something?” Sam asked curiously. The words barely left her mouth, however, as Charlie disentangled himself from her to stand.
“Yeah, sit here, and I’ll grab it,” he replied, giving a quick stretch.
She pouted, already missing the blissful pocket of heat that had settled between them.
She hadn’t been paying much attention to the movie they’d put on, so she turned back to see where they were. That is, until a familiar-sounding voice caught her attention.
She spun, practically leaping out of her spot when she spotted Angel, standing there next to Charlie.
“Surprise, bitch,” Angel said, waggling her eyebrows.
It took all of two seconds before Sam practically threw herself at her.
Charlie, having seen the trajectory, had wisely gotten out of the way.
He closed the door and stepped into the kitchen as the two women embraced, jumping up and down in spot like they were still in college.
“Oh my God! When did you get here?” Sam squealed, fighting the tears that threatened to escape.
It felt obvious, but she had missed her friend. A lot had happened in the past few weeks, both good and bad. Having her there now felt like the cherry on top for the good side.
“Alright, you fucking tree,” Angel stated firmly from Sam’s chest, her voice muffled into the fabric, “let me get some air!”
It was probably a good idea because Sam realized that Angel was just as eloquently styled as usual. Reluctantly, Sam released her, fearing that she might have accidentally crumpled the cream satin halter top Angel had on.
With a quick flip of Angel’s raven hair over her shoulder, Sam couldn’t tell if she had just gotten off the airplane or had just stepped out of a fancy New York boutique.
“I wish I could be you when I grow up,” Sam teased.
Angel rolled her eyes at her before placing the rather expensive-looking purse on the counter next to where Charlie stood. Sam leveled a glare at him, appearing much too calm for this kind of surprise.
“You knew about this?” she asked.
His smile was coy, but he shrugged. “She might have texted me.”
Sam turned back to Angel. “What are you doing here? I thought your conference wasn’t until next week?”
Angel grinned. “Well… I might have lied about the conference. Peter here needed a date to a certain charity event, so I may or may not be going with you guys.”
It was around that time that Sam even noticed the other individual hovering next to Charlie and startled.
Peter beamed at her, the same tell-tale Backman dimples appearing in the corners of his smile. Along with the newer crinkles around his eyes, he managed to somehow look older than when she’d last seen him a few months ago—more distinguished almost.
The height difference was more noticeable between the two siblings as they stood next to one another, with Peter just a few inches shorter.
Peter looked like an older version of Charlie, so similar in a lot of ways, aside from the height.
They shared the same sandy-brown hair, though Peter’s was longer and curlier, and his beard was much thicker and more pronounced than Charlie’s.
“Oh my God, Peter! I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see you there!” Sam exclaimed.
She launched herself at Charlie’s brother, giggling as he swept her up in a hug and lifted her off her feet.
Sam and Charlie had been thick as thieves growing up, but she would always have a soft spot for his brothers.
Peter chuckled, a warmth and affection in the deep timbre of his voice. “Chopped liver, I know, but I’ll forgive you this time, knowing how much you two ladies have missed each other.”
Angel stood next to Sam once Peter finally lowered her back to the ground. “I’m staying over at Peter’s place while I’m here, but I wanted to come over here to say hi so that I didn’t give you a heart attack when we showed up at the event.”
“Much appreciated,” Sam said gratefully. “With everything that’s gone on lately, I might have.”
Angel nudged her hip against Sam’s. “I also happen to be in need of an outfit, and a little birdie told me that you might be in need of one, too?”
Sam grimaced. “Yeah, I’d been meaning to go.”
“Then let’s get going,” Angel declared, looping her arm through Sam’s as she began marching her toward the bedroom. “We’re going shopping!”
Sam glanced over her shoulder. “Is this a group outing?”
“The boys are coming too. They’ll just fuck off somewhere to get their suits, while we get our stuff. Can’t let them see us in what we get—you know how much I like to make an entrance,” Angel stated with a wink.
Sam attempted to zip up yet another dress, grunting from the effort as she shimmied her way into the material.
Charlie and Peter had wandered off to a different part of the store, while Angel and Sam had their little fashion show for one another. Trying on dress after dress and strutting through the dressing area as if on the runway.
“I think this is the one!” Angel announced in the dressing room next to hers.
Sam hadn’t told Angel about the most recent update with Charlie. Angel would absolutely kill her for keeping yet another thing from her, but she vowed to tell her at some point while she was here visiting—just maybe not while the two of them were trying on floor-length gowns.
Sam pouted her lips as she stared at her own reflection. This most recent dress was a bit on the short side for her height. “I’ll come out, so you can show me yours, but I don’t think this is the one for me.”
She kicked the excess of a previous dress she’d tried on out of the way and walked out into the dressing area. Angel’s door opened next to her at the same time, and she strutted out confidently, sashaying dramatically as if she were, in fact, on a runway.
Yeah, Sam could agree that this was the perfect dress for Angel.
A floor-length mermaid-cut dress that showed off how slender her frame was, it was absolutely stunning on her. The gown had a dramatically low-cut neckline that went down almost to Angel’s navel and which only someone like Angel, with her confidence, could pull off.
Sam gave a low whistle. “Hot damn.”
If her suspicions were correct, Peter was going to have a hard time picking his jaw up off the floor with this one.
“That was the exact reaction I was going for with this one,” Angel beamed, turning to angle a dramatic pose in the mirror.
Their shopping trips back in college felt like a lifetime ago these days.
Standing there, laughing, as Angel continued to make dramatic poses in the mirror, however, she remembered how much fun it had been. She wondered if she should suggest that their next stop should be to grab a ridiculously overpriced coffee from the food court like they used to.
It was vastly different from how their relationship had been the past few months.
All of their interactions lately had been centered around Sam. About her book, her career, her love life, her stalker. Sam wondered, watching Angel gleefully strike another fashion pose, when the last time had been that she’d asked about what had been going on in Angel’s life.
“Thank you,” Sam said after watching her friend finally get tired of posing in front of the mirror.
Angel quirked an eyebrow at her. “For what? I mean, I know I look fabulous enough that anyone would want to thank me for gracing them with my presence, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.”
Sam chuckled. “For always being a good friend, even when I’m not that good of a friend to you in return. I’m sorry I haven’t been checking in to see how you’re doing as well. I’ve been selfish recently.” Sam winced when Angel immediately slapped her shoulder. “Ow!”
“First, have I ever been known to keep quiet if I needed to talk about something?”
“Well… no—”
“Then stop worrying about it. You’ve had a lot thrown at you lately. My life, in comparison, has been exceedingly boring, so there honestly hasn’t been much for me to report on.”
Sam tossed her a pointed glare. “Yeah, let’s definitely not talk about the fact that you flew all the way down here from New York just to go as Peter’s date... Nothing to report there…”
Angel averted her gaze back toward the mirror and fluffed her hair up. “Mind your business.”
Sam shook her head. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. I still should have asked. You’re my best friend.”
Angel’s eyes softened at that, swaying a bit where she stood. “I thought that was Charlie.”
Well, technically, Charlie was her boyfriend now, but she wasn’t quite ready to tell Angel that in a moment like this. “I can have more than one! There’s no ranking here. You’ve been my best friend just as much as Charlie has. I’m sorry I leaned so heavily into our working relationship.”
Angel took Sam’s hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. “I appreciate the sentiment, I do, but please don’t work yourself into a tizzy over it. Let’s just be open and honest with each other going forward, okay?”
Sam nodded, but a lump had formed in her throat, preventing her from saying anything.
She was trying to heed the words, but she couldn’t help but still feel a bit guilty.
Angel gave her hand another quick squeeze before waving Sam toward her dressing room.
“Alright, I’m gonna get this one, so go back in there and try on that green one I gave you earlier. ”
The air around her felt lighter as she closed the door behind her.
She grabbed the green dress off its hanger, eyeing it with a hint of dread. Angel had spotted this one the second they’d walked in and insisted that Sam try it on.
It was definitely more outside of her comfort zone than the others she’d tried on.
The others had been more traditional sweetheart-neckline ballgowns that ended up seeming too princess-wedding.
This was a drastically different cut, one that would hug her a lot more snugly than the others had.
Holding it in front of her, though, Sam could see the appeal.
It was an off-the-shoulder velvet gown with a slit cut up the side so high that Sam worried she might flash someone if she weren’t careful.
It was a tight kind of fabric, and she wasn’t sure her ego could take the hit if it didn’t hit her body in just the right way.
Angel could pull off a dress like this in her sleep, but Sam wasn’t so sure the same could be said of her.
“You sure about this one, Angel?” she called out, biting her lower lip.
“Absolutely!”
Her eyes fluttered shut when she started tugging it up her body, preparing herself for disappointment. It managed to zip up without a fuss, much to her relief, and she prepared herself for what she would see when she walked out. It was just a dress.
Angel was perched on a nearby stool, opposite her dressing room, when she finally mustered the courage to open the door. She was looking down at her phone, her own dress was laid out across her lap, and she was back in her regular clothing.
“What do you think?” Sam asked, standing there in the doorway.
When Angel glanced up from her phone, she beamed. “Damn, I love it when I’m right.”
“Does it look okay?”
Angel nodded toward the nearby mirror. “See for yourself hot stuff.”
She took the few steps out of the dressing room and turned, facing the mirror. Upon seeing her reflection, she had to blink a few times.
The brilliant emerald hue to the dress complemented the cool tone of her skin and fiery strawberry-blonde hair in a way she hadn’t expected.
As tall as she was, the slit up her right leg wasn’t nearly as dramatic as she’d feared, but it was enough to show off the length of her legs.
Even the fit of the dress itself surprised her.
Despite the unforgiving fabric, it hit her curves in all the right ways, making her appear curvier and more voluptuous.
She looked good.
It made her feel like a lady. Classy, elegant, sophisticated, and—dare she say it? It made her feel a bit sexy, too. If this was how Angel felt on the regular with her elevated fashion sense, Sam could completely understand the confidence her friend exuded on a 24/7 basis.
Angel snorted. “We might have to tie Charlie’s dick down, so he’s not at full mast all night.”