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But he’d sure wanted to.
Sam was quiet as he followed Allie home. He’d insisted on taking her to the ER, where the doctor had examined her and reluctantly cleared her to drive, on the condition that Sam follow her home in his car to make sure she got there safely. Sam had tried to insist on driving her himself, but she could be damn stubborn, and with that doctor’s permission, he hadn’t stood a chance of convincing her.
He did, however, succeed in insisting he check out her house before leaving. After scoping it out for anything suspicious, inside and outside, he was satisfied nothing was out of order. Allie should be safe.
All the same, he was extremely reluctant to leave her.
“You know, it really wouldn’t be any trouble for me to stay the night. If you’re afraid to be here alone, that is.” They were standing in her front room. Allie’s face was turned from his, focused on a message that she must have received on her phone. “You won’t even know I’m here, camped out on your couch.”
No response. He was about to repeat the offer when she finally glanced up.
“Thanks for the offer, Sam. But I’ll be fine. I’ll probably draw a hot bath and then crash. Nothing to be worried about.”
With great reluctance, he nodded, reminded her to lock the door behind him, and left.
Guess his charms had grown rusty. Rusty? Hell, more like completely eroded.
After he figured out who was trying to destroy so many lives, he was going to have to do something about that, too. Because there was something here. With Allie. Something he wanted to explore. And not just sexual—although too many thoughts had passed his mind on that score for him to deny the physical attraction. No, he not only was lusting after this woman, but he genuinely liked her. A lot.
And unlike with some of the other women he’d dated, where he ended things when he reached that same realization, with Allie, he only grew more intrigued. Maybe it was because, for the first time ever, he felt he could trust the woman.
Allie couldn’t help herself. She always told him the truth, no matter how brutal.
Trust in relationships was something he’d given up on long ago.
It felt good finding someone who was different.
The question was, did she feel the same about him?
…
Despite Sam’s powers of persuasion, Thursday after school was the earliest Meredith could fit an interview into her tight schedule. Allie sat in the corner of the newsroom, trying to be unobtrusive and to focus on what they were there for today. Not on Sam as he sweetened Meredith up.
“Thanks for helping out.” He delivered the other woman a wide smile that crinkled his eyes at the corners. Charming was completely out of character…but it worked for him. They’d decided he would do the actual interview because Meredith would only shut down if Allie was asking the questions.
“Anything for an old friend.” Meredith leaned forward and touched Sam on the arm.
Allie almost felt guilty knowing Sam was laying it on thick so they could pump Meredith for information. Almost.
Then she thought about all those days and weeks—okay, years—she’d spent miserable because the guy she adored had slept with…Meredith. Or so she’d believed.
It had been a knife to her heart for so long, it was liberating to look at her former friend and not feel that pain any longer. But Meredith wasn’t aware of their conversation, that Allie now knew it had all been a big, fat lie. So the bitch continued to preen, to pretend for Allie, and for Sam, and maybe even for herself, that she and Sam had some kind of history.
And for the first time, Allie actually felt sorry for her. How empty her life must be today to cling so tightly to decades-old petty triumphs…
Allie turned her gaze back to Sam. Last night, when he’d offered to stay the night, she couldn’t deny her heart had fairly leapt from her chest. She’d known the offer was purely platonic, and his comment that he would sleep on the couch confirmed it, but for a blissful, thrilling moment, she’d really wished he’d meant something more.
Now it looked like they were destined to be just friends.
If only she could convince her heart.
Sam had been there again for her last night. Not that she’d needed saving. She’d told herself that a million times, trying not to get too worked up over the fact someone had actually knocked her out with a blunt object. If they’d wanted to kill her, she would now be dead. But other than the painful lump on her head—which reminded her she needed more Tylenol—she’d been unharmed.
The person had obviously been looking for something, and she’d gotten in the way. Or…
There was also the possibility they had been trying to warn her off. Again. Because the fire and vandalizing her car hadn’t been successful. The problem was, Allie didn’t scare easily. Not at this point. Instead, she was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this murder.
She glanced over to the camera. Meredith was talking about some of the people who’d gone to school with them and what they were doing now. Name-dropping kids from the more popular crowd to show how “in” she’d been, and that Allie, sadly, wasn’t. The thing was, Allie barely even knew who they were talking about, and she didn’t care in the least. More importantly, she could tell Sam didn’t, either.
