“Sogginess?” Sam asked. It was an old argument. One Sam knew she would never win, but it felt good to play along with Alex and feel some semblance of normalcy in their interaction.
Alex took a bite, closed her eyes, and groaned with appreciation. Sam watched her, a feeling stirring deep inside her. She had a sudden flash of memories from years ago and other contexts that caused Alex to make similar noises. She felt herself blush and hastily looked away. Was Alex playing with her on purpose?
“What?” Alex asked. She gave Sam a slight smile.
Sam cleared her throat and looked down at her pastry. Hastily, she grabbed it and shoved almost half of it into her mouth, nearly choking in the process. Alex continued to watch her as she finished her cannoli. The air seemed filled with unresolved tension. As she chewed, Sam thought for ways to break it, but came up empty.
Finally, Alex looked down at the table. Her voice was soft as she spoke. “I’m sorry about last week.”
Sam scrunched her brows in confusion, trying to think of what she had to be sorry for. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said.
“For the way I left,” Alex began. “I feel like we were finally getting somewhere, and I pushed a little too hard and ruined it. Then I got all embarrassed and ran.” She blushed and looked down at her hands.
“Alex, I can’t help but have feelings about how things ended. And I’ve held on to those feelings for twelve long years. Habits are hard to break.” She shrugged and shook her head. “But I realize that we were young. I can acknowledge now that holding on to some of those feelings for as long as I have might have been unreasonable.” At that admission, Alex’s head shot up, along with both her eyebrows.
“Yes, I’m admitting that I’m stubborn. And that I may have gotten a few things wrong,” Sam continued. “But I’m ready to move on.”
Alex studied Sam’s face for several long moments. “Okay,”she finally said. “So why don’t we start with coffee and cannoli and go from there?”
“Delicious cannoli,” Sam pointed out.
“The best,” Alex conceded with a smile.
After her stressful work week in Boston, Sam was almost happy to return to working on the house. Brad and the boys had tackled one of the jobs she dreaded most, putting her light years ahead of schedule. But there was still just so much to do. She didn’t know how she would get the house finished and ready to sell before she was supposed to report back to work. It was time to call in reinforcements that weren’t named Jordan.
Brad and Adam, another friend from high school, showed up later that day with a truckload of tools and lumber. Sam didn’t know if they really had availability or were just doing her another favor, but whatever the motivation, she was grateful. Brad jumped out of the truck and came to stand by Sam in the driveway. They stood silently for a minute, surveying the house, while Adam started putting down the tarps and unpacking things from the truck. A few minutes later, a second car pulled in, and a few gangly teens unfolded from it and walked over to help Adam.
“I really can’t thank you enough,” Sam said, breaking the silence. “It would have taken me ages to do all that painting. What can I do to repay you?”
Brad gave her a look. “I thought you were repaying us by going out on Friday.”
“You really want to hang out?” Sam couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.
“Sam.” Brad turned to look at her full-on. “I know things were weird there for a bit with Alex, but I always considered you a friend. Even when you disappeared—and I don’t blame you for that—I didn’t forget what you did for me in high school.”
Sam turned to look at him, noticing that his face was a little red, and he was nervously rubbing the back of his neck. She reachedover and squeezed his arm. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”
Brad cleared his throat, looking more than a little bit bashful. “So, I did a little inventory when we were here painting.” He pointed up to the roof. “You know that has to go, right?”
Sam blew out a breath. “Yeah, Melissa thought that might be a good idea. I was hoping to avoid it because of the cost, though.”
“We’re taking care of it for materials.” Brad pointed to where Adam was unloading the truck. “That should save you about three-quarters of the cost.”
“Brad, in no way do I expect you to do that,” Sam said.
“I know.” Brad grinned. “But I have a few new boys I’m breaking in on roofing. This is as good a place to start as any.”
“Hey!” Adam called over, already sweating with exertion. Even still, he was grinning from ear to ear. “Are you going to chat all day, or are we going to roof it up?”
Sam laughed and pushed Brad toward the pile. “Go, or I’m going to get you in trouble.”
“I’m not worried.” Brad smiled. “I kind of own the company.”
“I have a few things to take care of this morning, but after I grab lunch for you all, I can jump in and help.” Sam watched the guys work for a few minutes, mentally calculating the cost of the materials for her budget. She pulled out her phone to call Melissa. When the other woman picked up, she said, “The boys are here.”
“Who do you think sent them?” Melissa sounded like she was smiling.
“You too?” Sam asked.
