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She never could have pictured having moments like these. Yet being folded into the warmth of Sam’s family, she had to admit she didn’t hate the feeling.
Three hours disappeared in a pounding heartbeat. Walking to Sam’s car, Natalia found herself considering the unthinkable. The formerly unthinkable.
“Okay, be honest,” Sam started the moment they pulled away from her parents’ lovely home. “How bad was?—”
“Yes,” Natalia said despite her twisting stomach and sweating palms and pulse racing so hard in her ears she felt every drop of fight or flight.
“You don’t even know what I’m going to?—”
Natalia shook her head, annoyed that Sam couldn’t just read her mind. Wishing she could just know what Natalia wanted without making her say it aloud and sounding so stupid. “I’m too old to be anyone’s girlfriend,” she snapped, too harsh, too nervous. “But I’m not interested in sleeping with anyone else at the moment.”
Sam stopped the car at the stop sign at the end of the street and threw the car in park. “Wait. Are you fucking with me?”
Natalia rolled her eyes. “Don’t make it a big deal?—“
Natalia tensed as Sam cupped her face, bracing herself for the impact of Sam’s lips. But the kiss that followed was soft, unhurried. It spoke the words aloud that Natalia struggled to voice.
When they finally parted, Sam kept her forehead pressed gently against Natalia’s. The intimacy of it squeezing her racing heart. No one had ever handled her so tenderly before.
“I won’t make it a big deal,” Sam promised, her breath warm on Natalia’s skin. “But it is to me. Thank you for taking that leap with me tonight. For trusting me enough to do something uncomfortable.”
Sam brushed back a lock of Natalia’s hair, the caress soft as a whisper. Against her will, Natalia leaned into the contact.
“I meant it when I said we can go at your pace. I’m just happy to be with you, in whatever way you’re comfortable.”
Sam’s lips found hers again in another kiss as light as falling snow. Natalia’s hands came up to grasp Sam’s waist, anchoring herself against the swell of emotion inside her.
When Sam pulled back, her eyes were bright with affection. “No pressure, no labels,” she assured gently. “Just this.”
Natalia’s throat tightened around the words she wished she could say. But Sam seemed to understand anyway, gazing at her like she was something precious.
Stealing glances at each other when the streetlights illuminated the car’s interior, Natalia tried and failed to gather her bearings. To dissect how exactly she’d lost her mind.
When they pulled up to Natalia’s’ door, Sam put the car in park and turned to her with a casual, “So, what are you up to tomorrow morning?”
Natalia tensed, certain Sam intended to invite herself in, to spend the night together now that they were official. Is this what she expected now? Sleepovers? Just because she agreed to date her, because they’d shared a room in the Keys, didn’t mean they were practically moving in together. She wasn’t ready for that, and the bile rising in her throat knew that.
“I want to take you somewhere tomorrow morning. Do you plan on working on a Saturday?” Sam’s eyes were so bright, so eager.
Natalia pretended nonchalance even if she wasn’t sure she was convincing. “Take me where?”
Sam grinned, affection oozing from every pore. “It’s a surprise, obviously.”
“Don’t let this go to your head,” Natalia said by way of acceptance.
Without kissing Sam good night for fear that she wouldn’t be able to let her go, Natalia pushed open the car door. She couldn’t restrain her smile as she sauntered away from the car — Sam’s gaze following her inside, warming her all the way to the door.
CHAPTER 47
Driving with an enormous cooler occupying her entire backseat, Sam was drumming on the steering wheel as she waited for Natalia to open her ostentatious gate. She’d been singing at the top of her lungs since she woke up before sunrise, jet lag put to excellent use.
Once beyond the threshold, Sam parked at the front door. She’d intended to get down and pick Natalia up, but she was already walking out in heels and a dress. Sam looked down at her board shorts and tank top and realized that she should have given Natalia a dress code.
Jumping out of the car, Sam jogged toward Natalia, kissing her cheek. “I should have told you to wear rubber-soled shoes.”
Natalia narrowed her gaze, unamused.
Sam grinned, exhilarated at the sight of Natalia, even if she’d annoyed her. Especially because she’d annoyed her.
