Chapter 27
Sam
The snow had stopped sometime in the night, leaving Livigno looking crisp and postcard fresh.
Sam strolled down the main pedestrian street with Maya, her heart sinking in her mouth.
Red hearts adorned everything—lights, windows—they even dangled from balconies.
Romantic music came from every café, bistro and restaurant.
Men carried flowers, beaming with pride as they stopped to buy chocolates.
Valentine’s Day. She’d forgotten. She pulled out her phone and there it was—Maya’s annual Happy Galentine’s Day text.
Sam groaned inwardly. If only she’d remembered.
Scurrying along, she dashed into the restaurant where they were going for breakfast. Red roses sat in vases on every table, and the place was jammed with people gazing adoringly at one another.
Gabe was seated at a table in front of the largest window.
Maya waved and hurried over to him. Sam stood in the doorway for a moment and watched them exchange good mornings.
Gabe leaped up to pull out Maya’s chair for her, and she blushed tenderly as she sat down.
They clearly were into each other, but they seemed not to want to do anything about it.
Which was a surprise to Sam—neither one of them were known for being shy.
Quite the opposite really. And they’d been all over each other only days ago, but now it looked like they were just …
friends? It seemed as if nothing had happened between them at all.
Puzzled, Sam bit her lip and slipped onto the chair opposite Maya, hunching forward to read the menu on the table.
“Good morning!” Gabe placed a large matcha in front of Maya. He glanced up at Sam. “Oh, you don’t look like you’re having a good morning at all.”
Sam felt Gabe’s eyes on her, as Maya reached for her matcha.
“Are you okay?” Gabe’s deep voice was low. “Has something happened?”
Sam shook her head. She scrunched her nose and looked at her two friends. “No. Nothing has happened.”
A crease formed on Maya’s forehead. “Well then, what’s with the sudden drama?”
Sam hid her face in her hands, then popped her head back up. “Valentine’s Day.”
Maya nodded. “Well, yeah, that’s today.”
“I forgot.” Sam hid her face in her hands again. She mumbled through them. “I feel like such a bad girlfriend.”
Gabe laughed. “Cut yourself some slack—you’re barely a girlfriend. It’s only been a few days.”
Sam dropped her hands and glared at him at the same time that Maya swiveled around to poke his well-developed bicep. “You clearly have no idea.” She turned back to Sam. “I can’t believe you forgot!”
Sam grimaced. “I know. It’s just that it’s been crazy, with interviews and meetings and everything. I haven’t had a chance to think straight.”
“That’s fair enough,” Maya said. “It has been a bit of a whirlwind.”
“And then some.” Sam plucked at the menu. “And today is busy too. Ideally, I’d have time to plan, to get him something special.”
“Yeah, I suppose. What kind of something special? Finn never seems to want anything.”
“I know, right,” Sam said. “But isn’t that all men?”
Maya nodded. “Sadly, I think it is. Socks and boxers for the win, every time.”
Gabe looked in amazement from one woman to the other.
“First of all—all men? Really? But I’ll come back to that later—secondly.
Plan? What’s there to plan? You get flowers, chocolates, maybe perfume or if she’s really something, jewelry.
You should just wear something sexy and um just …
you know …” he waggled his eyebrows at her “… well, that’s all a guy really wants. ”
“You can say it out loud.” Maya rolled her eyes.
“No, I can’t.” Gabe nodded his head to the table to his left where a family were having breakfast. The two younger kids were making a mess with maple syrup and pancakes, a teenager slumped over a mug of black coffee, and two tired-looking parents who seemed more in need of the coffee than the teen, sat staring into space.
“They don’t look like they have the energy to explain what I can’t say. ”
“Oooooh, naughty.” Maya giggled. Nudging Gabe’s arm she winked. “I bet I can guess what it is you can’t say.”
Laughing, Gabe stood up. He slipped into his wool coat, his smile warm. “I bet you can. I’ve got to go. Catch up later?”
Maya nodded.
Sam watched the interaction with interest. She waited until Gabe had left the restaurant to turn to Maya, a quizzical smile on her face. “Okay, you have got to fill me in on what is going on between you two.”
“Nothing.” Maya took a sip of her matcha. “Nothing at all.”
“Oh, come off it,” Sam said. “It doesn’t look like nothing.”
Maya leaned forward, her elbows on the table.
“So, he’s gorgeous, he’s kind, he’s sexy and has a wicked sense of humor,” she said.
“But he’s far too serious for me, honestly.
I’m here for fun, I’m messy, I’m loud and he’s …
” she paused and gave a slight shrug “… he’s looking for love, Sam. And it’s complicated, I think.”
“Oh.” Sam sat back. “Poor Gabe.”
“He’ll be fine,” Maya said. “And so will I, honestly. I’m too busy right now. I need to make a name for myself, you know.”
“I do know,” Sam said.
“Yeah, you get it.” Maya laughed. “It’s not like this job is gonna last forever. The Winter Olympics is almost over … I need to line up some more work for after.”
“Oh,” Sam said with a tiny laugh. “It really is nearly all over. It feels so strange. Like, this has been my ultimate goal, and now, now it’s all over. Just a few more days and the closing ceremony and then … then what?”
“I know, right?” Maya pouted. “It feels like a dream, doesn’t it?”
Sam nodded. There was something pulling her back to Gabe though.
Thoughts of the years she and Finn had wasted lay heavily on her heart, but at least she’d been able to see Finn almost every day.
It wouldn’t be the same for Maya and Gabe.
She was a freelancer; he wasn’t the easiest person to pin down either.
“Maya.” She hesitated, then carried on. She owed it to her friend to say something.
“Are you sure you don’t want anything to happen with Gabe?
Lord knows where your jobs will take both of you next—you might not see each other again. ”
Maya wrinkled her nose and nodded. She leaned in, a softness in her eyes that made Sam sit up.
Maya was about to drop some tea. “Look, we all have them, the guys we can’t stop thinking about.
And girl, it’s come as a huge surprise to me that he’s the one I can’t get out of my mind.
I mean look at him, he’s a hottie—and heaven forgive me, he looks like he was carved out of marble by the gods and made to go all night long—imagine the stamina.
” She chuckled before getting serious again.
“But he’s not for me, not really. The real plot twist is that I know I won’t walk away with my heart intact—cos, Sam, underneath all that perfection, Gabe is the kind of man I could love so hard, I’d never recover.
And let’s face it, I don’t really know him, but I do know that he’s too serious for me—and I’m not ready for that. ”
Sam’s breath caught in her throat. It was the way Maya said it—not teasing, not gossipy, just … knowing.
“Maya, I never expected all that,” Sam said softly.
Maya’s smile was warm, but a hint of sadness reached her eyes.
“Yeah, I know. But rest assured, I’m fine.
” She swirled her matcha and grinned with her trademark Maya sparkle.
“Anyway, you know me. I’d break up with him in a week.
I couldn’t do that to him—he’s a good man, a really good man.
And those are like unicorns—almost impossible to find. ”
“Almost.” Sam’s chest pinched as Maya gazed down into the remnants of her matcha. “You look like you need a fresh cup.”
Maya brightened. “I do, please. It’s been exhausting being Gabe’s emotional support hot mess but what can I say? He needed me.”
A bubble of laughter burst from Sam. “You! An emotional support—what!”
“Oh yeah,” Maya said, her head bobbling with mischief. “I’m basically Florence Nightingale … with better tits.”
“That you are.” Sam laughed. She smiled at the waitress who was making her way over to them before ordering her breakfast and a fresh matcha.
Maya smirked at her. “So, you’re gonna fill me in on what the hot hell is going on between you and Leo—and then, the real stuff—you and Finn?”
“Looks like I don’t have a choice!”
“Good.” Maya flicked her eyebrows up a little.
“What—what are you looking at me like that for?” Sam pushed the menu to one side. A tiny shimmer of regret in her chest. Like maybe she’d underestimated everything just a little. “I get it. I should have seen it before—I should have listened to you way back at prom when you told me to go for it.”
Maya shook her head, her smile wise. “You weren’t meant to do that back then, don’t you see? You were meant to find him now. And he was meant to wait for you. It was fate.”
Sam’s laugh caught in her throat. Maya was right. Drumming the table with her fingertips, Sam sighed. “That still doesn’t help me with today—I want to do something special for Finn. It’s our first Valentine’s together, and I’m in meetings back-to-back all day.”
“Can’t you celebrate it another day?” Maya asked.
“No.” Sam was sulky.
“And do you have any ideas?” Maya took her fresh matcha from the waitress.
“Not an iota.” Sam poured syrup over her waffles. “Do you know what bothers me the most?”
“What?”
Sam unfolded her napkin. “We damn well knew we were meant for each other, from the very beginning. And now here we are—finally together and I forget our very first Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m sorry.” Maya’s smile was soft, and Sam didn’t catch the glimmer in her eyes that meant she was hatching a plan. “Don’t let it get to you, okay?”
“I’ll try,” Sam said, spearing a piece of pancake and strawberry.