7. Sam
CHAPTER SEVEN
sam
The deep rumble of his voice is pure seduction. Her heart lurches in her chest as he offers a devilish grin.
You jerk.
Not ready? What does that mean—not ready?
What the hell happened in that dream suite!? The more she’s left to wonder, the more and more obscene the fantasies she conjures become. Did they break the bed? Were there handcuffs? Toys? What did he do? She can’t stop picturing herself in all these wild scenarios, because, well, she and Em look exactly the same, and honestly, she hasn’t had a good lay in a while, and—
Stop.
Heat flares up her throat to spread across her cheeks. It’s not a blush—she is NOT blushing. And her nipples definitely haven’t peaked. And the flutters deep in her belly are hunger pangs. Nothing more.
Sex hunger pangs.
Her inner bitch is a backstabbing sloot.
STOP.
“Are you two coming?” Nina calls as she leans over the railing above.
“Yup,” Cooper answers.
Sam wrestles her raging hormones to the ground, and walks with him over the gangway and onto the yacht.
“Shot?” Nina extends a tray.
Sam takes both and downs them one after another before Cooper can even lift his hand.
The producer widens her eyes with a grin. “Is fun Emily coming out today?”
More like reckless, sad, numbing-her-pain-with-alcohol Samantha, but she fights the urge to correct Nina. Her sister has never needed booze to be fun. The most fun Sam can ever remember having in her life are the nights the two of them used to spend doing nothing—watching movies, playing cards, chitchatting while they painted their nails, belting out songs as they rummaged through their closets to try on clothes. Nothing has been the same since she left home for NYU. Nothing has felt as joyful, as right .
But that’s life. Who is she to complain? Playing happy has become second nature and this is just another role, another day.
So aloud, all Sam says is, “Hell yeah!”
“Where can I get a beer?” Cooper asks with a laugh.
“The bar is back there.” Nina jabs her thumb over her shoulder, then hooks her arm through Sam’s. “But the party is over here.”
The producer leads her through the main cabin, up the stairs, and out onto a sundeck. Trish reclines on a lounger with her phone to her ear, lips pursed. Fred is out cold by her side.
Sam turns to Nina with a raised brow. “You call this a party?”
“I do now.” The producer grins and hands Sam a margarita before clinking their glasses. “Cheers!”
She takes a sip, because why not, and tries to figure out what Em would do in this situation. Probably sit in one of the chairs and pull out her sketchbook. But seeing as Sam has absolutely no artistic talent and is in desperate need of a distraction from the hulking redhead sauntering her way like a panther on the hunt, she turns to Nina instead. “Hot tub?”
“Let’s do it. Cooper, you in?”
Sam stifles her groan. The last thing she needs is him, half-naked, wet, and oozing rugged masculinity right by her side.
“In for what?” he asks.
“Hot tub.”
Please say no. Please say no.
As if he can hear, he turns to her with a wink, copying her earlier words. “Hell yeah.”
Fuck my life.
Sam takes a long swill of margarita as he reaches over his head and pulls off his shirt in one annoyingly hot tug. Just like when she watched him emerge from the ocean this morning, her throat runs dry at the sight of his truly glorious torso, all rippling muscle and tanned skin and rock-hard flesh. She doesn’t want to look, doesn’t want to rake her gaze over every inch of his bare skin, doesn’t want to study each firm ridge as if she might be tested on it later, doesn’t want to taste the drool pooling on her tongue, and yet…
I am a thirsty, thirsty bitch.
She swallows.
Cooper grins.
Her competitiveness rears its ugly head. Two can play at that game, cowboy.
Sam reaches for the hem of her shirt, fully aware of the almost physical touch of his eyes as they zero in on her. She lifts the cotton slowly, tantalizingly revealing inch after inch of her flat stomach, round curves, and perfectly respectable breasts. She kickboxes five days a week at the gym down the street. She knows what she’s working with. And despite her sister’s normally conservative tastes, she found a tiny electric-blue string bikini buried in the back of her closet—probably part of the wardrobe from the show. So yes, it’s not exactly a surprise that when she finishes pulling her tiny shorts down her proportionally long legs, Cooper is practically panting at her. But it sure as hell feels good.
“Are you two done stripping yet?” Nina drawls from where she has already settled in the hot tub, a black one-piece with mesh panels covering her petite frame. “If I’d known I was getting a show, I would’ve brought popcorn.”
Sam snatches her margarita from the table and climbs into the hot tub. Cooper splashes in behind her. As she’s settling into the hard plastic seat, a deliciously calloused hand finds her hip. Next thing she knows, she’s sidled up against his firm body, dwarfed by his sheer size. Her entire right side feels on fire, all the way down to where their ankles gently knock in the bubbling water. She takes an aggressive sip of her marvelously cold drink.
This is going to be a long afternoon.
“So,” Nina says in a chatty tone, a wide smile on her lips. Something about her seems a bit too friendly, but Sam can’t quite place what. “How are things going?”
She looks up at Cooper. He’s already watching her. A beat of expectant silence passes before she swallows and glances back at Nina with an overly cheerful smile. “Great!”
“Yeah?” Nina responds casually before taking a sip of her drink. “It can be hard for couples to find their footing after the show. But I had a feeling you two would figure things out, especially after the proposal.”
“Really?” Sam’s genuinely curious. “Why?”
“There was something different about you both on the beach that day. I mean, you always had great chemistry on camera, but when we filmed that scene…” The producer shrugs. “I don’t know. Your connection was palpable, not just through the rose-colored lens of the show, but here in real life. For the first time, I got the sense you could really make it.”
There was something different about you both on the beach that day…
Nina has no idea how right she is.
Sam squirms in her seat. Cooper trails his fingers up and down her bicep in a soothing motion. The flurry of nerves turns to a different flurry entirely, and her breath catches in her throat.
“We have some stuff to figure out,” Cooper says in that deep, confident voice. “But we’re enjoying the time we have together.”
“Stuff?” The producer arches a brow inquisitively.
“Where to live, when to move,” he answers noncommittally. “That sort of thing.”
Sam knows what he’s doing. Laying the groundwork for their plan. Planting the seeds for their inevitable breakup.
Nina looks at her, that gaze far too perceptive. “You don’t—”
“Dolphin!”
Sam throws her arm wildly to the left and leans forward, getting some much-needed space from Cooper’s hard body and a much-needed break from this conversation. She stares intently at the brilliant blue water which is, at the moment, glassy and calm. There’s not a single whitecap in sight beneath the beating sun.
Motherfucker.
“Dolphin?” Nina asks sardonically.
“I swore I saw…” Sam narrows her eyes as she trails off, pretending to study the water. Then she shrugs and settles back in her seat, leaving a bit of space between her and the cowboy. She takes a sip of her margarita and then grins at Nina. “Oh, speaking of couples from the show, I’ve been dying to ask about Ashleigh and Brad. Why didn’t he pick her? When did he find out about the baby? Was there any behind-the-scenes drama? I need the scoop.”
Nina rolls her eyes and leans back in her seat. For the next hour, Sam pesters her with questions about prior contestants and petty drama. Being a huge fan of The Love Match has never come so much in handy. She keeps the topics neutral, never once letting them steer into more personal territory. And just when she’s about to run out of questions, Fred wakes up and joins them. The conversation switches from the show to polite chatter.
Cooper keeps his arm around her the entire time, all twinkling eyes and easy smile. She can’t help but stare when he arches his head back to take a swill of his beer, his Adam’s apple bobbing, the muscles of his thick neck rolling, the edge of his jaw sharpening, everything about him screaming man —sexy, sexy man. It becomes all too easy to lean into his touch as the alcohol permeates her blood. All too easy to catch his eyes with a knowing smile, the secret between them turning into an inside joke. All too easy to let her fingers fall on his meaty thigh beneath the water as if they’re supposed to be there, gently squeezing hard muscle.
When they reach the reef to snorkel, he doesn’t seem to think twice about wrapping his large arm around her small waist to help her as she climbs out of the hot tub. He keeps it there, warm and solid and steady as they follow the others to the back of the yacht. In the water, they hold hands. And though it’s too difficult to speak aloud with the goggles and the waves and the breathing tube, they meet each other’s eyes, conversing without words as schools of fish dash and dart around them. This is amazing! How beautiful! Look over here! They point and explore. There’s a sea turtle! Do you see that stingray? Oh my god, a shark! Nemo fish! They nudge each other with their elbows. They take turns diving deep beneath the surface. Again, and again, they find each other—to keep up the facade, of course.
All too soon, time is up.
The ride back to the resort passes in a blink of laughter and grins, the five of them now in the hot tub talking about everything they saw and how ridiculously beautiful the Maldives are, patting themselves on the back for picking such a gorgeous spot. When they make it back to the dock, Sam reluctantly slips her sandals on as the real world settles back on her shoulders.
“Want to join us for an early dinner?” Nina asks.
“I think we’re just going to get room service tonight,” Sam answers quickly, not letting Cooper jump in. A suggestive smile curves her lips. “I can only share him for so long.”
They make their goodbyes, promising to find each other again soon. The crew turns left toward the bungalows. Sam and Cooper turn right toward the front desk. The second they’re alone, the magic of the afternoon dissipates. She drops his hand. She steps a foot to the left. She marches a few steps ahead, on a mission. They don’t speak more than a handful of words while Sam retrieves her laptop and phone and immediately scans her messages.
There are some from her roommate, some from her coworkers, some from her parents, and some from—
Jake.
Fear grabs hold of her heart, talons sinking too deep to dislodge. She can feel herself pale. Cooper furrows his brow, already able to read her too-familiar face.
“Is everything okay?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She doesn’t trust herself to speak. And she can’t do this here, so she pushes past him and uses her New York power walk to book it back to the bungalow. As soon as they step through the door, rule number three goes into effect. They’re back to being strangers. Even though she can tell he doesn’t want to, Cooper respects the boundary and lets her retreat to the bedroom without intervening. She flinches as the door slams shut behind her, that loud bang revealing far too much about her emotional state.
But this is what she’s been waiting days—no, weeks—for, ever since the doctor’s office had called her, explaining that they couldn’t get in touch with Emily and Sam was her sister’s emergency contact. Retrieving the phone was never about work. She doesn’t want to be fired, obviously, but she couldn’t give two shits about what’s waiting in her corporate inbox. This is so much more important. This is why she swapped places with her sister in the first place. It’s the whole reason she’s even here.
Still, Sam hesitates.
Terror leaves her rigid, unable to cross those last few millimeters. Her thumb hovers over the screen, her pulse thundering so wildly she can feel the throb against her nail. Maybe this is why she went with Cooper on the yacht. Why she didn’t run straight to the lobby for the phone. Why she came all the way back to the room. Why she’s still delaying. Because up until now she’s been secretly telling herself it’s nothing, but as soon as she reads these messages, she won’t be able to avoid the truth any longer.
Stop being an idiot. Em is fine.
She’s FINE.
Sam swipes the screen.
She clicks on Jake’s name.
With her heart in her throat, she scans the missed texts.
Since I’m texting from his phone, you can probably guess I found Jake at the hotel like we planned. I know it’s killing you a little inside to help me fly right back into his arms, but it’s going to be different this time. I know it is. I promise, Sam. I love him. I love him so freaking much. And he loves me. I finally told him everything, and he said none of it matters as long as we’re in it together. I’m so happy right now. Happier than I can ever remember being, and I just… Thank you. Thank you so much, sis. Not just for swapping places with me, but for giving us your blessing. It means everything. I love you.
Sorry, that was sort of an essay, wasn’t it…
Oh right, you’re probably still freaking out! I called Dr. Laghari and it was nothing. The sample I gave before the show got contaminated. They need me to come for another blood draw. That was it. That was everything. Totally routine. Jake and I will be on the next flight out to New York. I’ll update you as soon as I can!
Landed! Can we stay at your apartment?
We’re staying at your apartment.
Do you own anything with a pattern? My god. Your closet is sad. I’m actually crying.
Hey—where’s that Lilly Pulitzer dress I got you for Christmas a few years ago?
You returned it, didn’t you?
You did.
Without telling me?!
*Angry Face*
Is nothing sacred?
Okay, I forgive you. I found your stash of my jewelry. This outfit can be salvaged. Jake and I are headed to Dr. Laghari’s office now!
Blood draw complete. Should have results by tomorrow.
You haven’t answered, so I’m guessing you haven’t had a chance to get your phone from the front desk, but in case you’re still having a panic attack, I haven’t heard back yet.
NORMAL!!!!!!!
All my levels are totally normal!!! WOOHOOOO!!!
I’ll stop bombarding you with texts now. Call me when you get a chance and I’ll fill you in! I’m on a flight back to Georgia in two days. LOVE YOU SIS!!!
Sam releases the breath she’s been holding for the past five weeks, ever since she got the call from her sister’s doctor.
Emily is okay.
She’s healthy.
She’s okay .
The realization rocks through her, sweeping all the strength from her limbs until all she can do is drop back against the door and slide to the floor. There’s relief—so much fucking relief. And happiness. And gratitude. And every wonderful emotion under the sun. But there’s also pain. A sudden, strong knot pulls on her gut. A wobbly inhale works its way down her throat. The corners of her eyes begin to sting. Suddenly, she’s eighteen years old again, hearing that word for the first time.
Cancer.
She was so scared that it was back. She spent the past five weeks bracing herself for the worst. More surgeries. More chemo. More putting on a brave face. More keeping it together so her sister could fall apart. More plastering on a smile while inside she was breaking.
But it’s not.
Emily is fine, she repeats. She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s fine.
The words are a familiar mantra. They keep her afloat as the air seems to suction from her lungs leaving her chest tight. She heaves. The loud, ugly sound has her pushing a hand to her burning heart.
Bad news is so easy to believe.
But good news? Good news always feels impossible. Temporary. As though at any moment, it might be swept away.
She’s fine. She’s fine. She’s fine.
Against her will, tears start to fall. Sam stumbles into the bathroom and turns on the shower so Cooper won’t hear her cry.