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Sam’s face lit with amusement. “Yes. There is that, I suppose.”
The silence went on as they gazed at each other, and suddenly she was highly aware of how close he was sitting next to her on the couch. She could make out a thin, faded scar on his chin that was already darkened with stubble. He broke eye contact first, staring down at his hand as he flexed it in front of him.
“I need a refill.” He came to his feet abruptly and held up his glass. “Can I get you more?”
“Sure,” she barely managed to say before he sprinted into the kitchen. A minute passed, and she almost called out to him when he returned with the bottle. Without a word, he refilled her glass.
A car door slammed out front, and within a few moments, someone wriggled the front door knob. Sam stopped pouring, his body tense as he looked toward the entry. Allie rose, not particularly concerned, especially when she spotted her sister’s Honda in the driveway.
“Just a second,” she called out and turned to explain to Sam. “It’s my sister, Laney. She tried calling after hearing about the fire on the news, along with half my family. But since I was about to speak with the detective, I told her I’d call her back. As you can see, she’s not a very patient person.” When the doorbell began ringing incessantly, Allie yell
ed louder, “I said I’m coming!” Shaking her head, she hurried to the door and flung it open. “Hold your horses, would ya?”
“A fire? What the flipping heck is happening at that school of yours?” Laney cried and threw her arms around Allie. For a woman with three percent body fat, she had an amazing grip. “Murder and now arson?”
“I should probably go and leave you two to theorize,” Sam said and set the wine bottle down.
Laney jerked away from her and looked across the room. The smile of relief on her face evaporated, and her eyes widened, then narrowed. “You must be Sam Fratto.”
“Oh, sorry.” Uneasy at the fierce intensity in her sister’s eyes, Allie said brightly, “Sam, this is my sister, Laney. Laney, Sam.”
“Pleasure to meet you. Glad you can be here for Allie. She probably shouldn’t be alone tonight.”
If Sam had noticed the sudden chill in the air, he wasn’t letting on.
“And you’re the expert, huh?” Laney retorted. “I have a mind to tell you exactly what a selfish jerk I think you are, but I’m not going to sink to your level. You might print it in your next book.”
“Cool it, Laney. Sam saved my life,” Allie broke in with a cringe, using her best big-sister, chastising voice. “If he hadn’t been there to kick the door down, I’d be a toasted marshmallow about now.”
That seemed to touch a nerve, and Laney got all teary again. “Oh, Allie…”
“I’d better be going,” he tried again, this time moving more quickly toward the door. He didn’t look leery, fortunately, which she would have in his place. From the twitching of his mouth, she’d have guessed more…amused. “If you need me to help look through the boxes tomorrow, or give you a ride to your car in the morning, or whatever, just call me.”
“I will. Thanks again for your help, Sam.”
He raised his hand in farewell and headed out the door.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten Jared’s welcome home party tomorrow,” Laney reminded her as it closed behind him.
“Crap. I nearly forgot. What time is it, again?”
“It’s an open house between one and three, but you should try to be there by one, at the latest. Mom wants pictures, and Dad is counting on you being there since he missed seeing you at the airport. He’s doing much better, but he’s still a little weak. And the kids would hate to miss you, as would Jared…” Her sister was obviously laying on the guilt so Allie couldn’t wiggle out of going.
Outside, Sam’s car door slammed shut, and the engine came to life.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t coming.” Before Laney could bring up any more family drama, Allie waved her into the living room. “Come sit down, already. I was about to have some pizza. Hungry?”
Laney tossed down her purse and peered out the window at Sam’s car as he drove away. “So what’s the real deal? What’s going on between you two? Surely, you’re not falling for the guy all over again, are you?”
Allie sighed. “No. I told you. He really did save my life.” She relayed the story about being trapped in the basement with the fire raging. By the end, Sam may have earned a brownie point or two with her sister for his valiant efforts.
Laney hrumphed anyway. “Still. Don’t think you owe him more than gratitude. I saw how he was looking at you.”
Allie straightened. “How was he looking at me?” Crap. That came out more desperate than she’d intended.
“See! I knew it. You still like him!” Laney burst out. “Why else would you care how he was looking at you?”
She had her there. Even so…was Laney only saying that to test Allie’s feelings? Or had she really noticed Sam looking at her in a special way? Lord knew, he hadn’t said a word about being interested in her during the time they were in the archives. He’d been as reticent as ever, until the fire.
