Page 255 of A Matter of Time

“Sam—”

“Please lemme see you. I gotta see you.”

“Sam, I⁠—”

“I’m crazy about you…you know that.”

“Sam—”

“We’ll just hang out. No pressure, okay?”

“Sam—”

“Let’s have dinner tomorrow. I’ll be there at six.”

“No,” I told him.

“We’ll just hang out,” he repeated, his voice softer, lower.

I sighed deeply. “It’s not a good idea, Sam. It never⁠—”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“Fine.” I yawned. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Call me if you want.”

“I’ll see you at six,” he said, and hung up.

But I knew him and his job. There was no way he would show.

FOUR

My problem was that I had the memory of an elephant. As I lay in bed for hours thinking about Sam Kage, all I could remember was how I had felt when he left, all the physical and emotional pain I was in, and for how long. So as much as my heart did leaps and flips thinking about him, my brain kept it together. No way, no how was I letting him near me ever again. It would break me a second time.

When I finally fell asleep, I felt content in my resolve and in the fact that I wouldn’t see him again. Sam was great at promising things he couldn’t deliver on, so I’d put him out of my mind and concentrate on work. It was the last thought I had before I fell asleep. Well, second to last. Sam’s voice telling me he was crazy about me was the very last. My idiocy knew no limits.

Dylan was sick the next morning, so she called to get me to come over and work from her place. I took scones and hot chocolate for her, and extra-strong coffee for me. We were done working by eleven and spent the rest of the day shopping for baby clothes. You had to be really disciplined to be self-employed, and lately we weren’t really cutting it.

I went back to the office around four and returned calls and emails and set appointments for the following week. I was on the phone when Sam came through the front door. He was unannounced, as Sadie had already left for the night.

“Wow,” I said, trying not to smile as he stopped in front of my desk. “What’re you doing here?”

“You said we could eat.”

“I didn’t really think you’d make it.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re a detective, Detective.”

“I have to make time for you, J.”

I stared at him as the phone rang on my desk.

“You gonna get that or just look at me?”

I answered the phone because I hated the smug tone in his voice.

“Jory, it’s me,” my friend Aiden said nervously on the other end. “Listen, I know it’s late notice, but Wes just called and flaked out on meeting me.”