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Chapter Ten
Over the next two weeks, Sammy and Olivia settled into a comfortable routine. Their unexpected late-night bonding overFriendsreruns had erased some of the tension, and the longer Sammy lived with her, the easier it was to pretend they were just roommates with a history but no hard feelings. He even invited Olivia to his friends’ annual Fourth of July party. The fact that she accepted after only a brief hesitation spoke volumes about how far they’ve come in such a short time.
They weren’t back to the way things used to be before their breakup—Sammy didn’t think that was possible. But they were friendly, and that was a helluva lot less exhausting than hostile.
Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t have his fun. He saw the way Olivia looked at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. She was attracted to him, and he took advantage of her attraction by walking around the house shirtless more often than he would’ve otherwise.
A little regret and longing never hurt anyone, and it was fun seeing her squirm.
Sammy smiled a diabolical smile as he pulled up in front of Aaron’s house.
“What’s that look on your face?” Olivia eyed him with suspicion.
He smoothed his features into a mask of innocence. “I’m excited for the food. Aaron is a grill master.”
“That wasn’t a look of excitement. That was a look of pure deviousness.”
“Deviousness? Me?” Sammy doubled up on the innocence. “I would never.”
“Hmph.” Olivia didn’t look like she believed him, but a golden blur distracted them before she could continue her interrogation.
“Hey, buddy!” Sammy laughed as Milo, Aaron’s huge golden retriever, nearly knocked him off his feet in its excitement. He scratched the dog behind the ears, and Milo’s tail wagged with enough speed to whip up a Category One hurricane. “Excited today, huh?”
“Sorry about that. He’s been jumping on people all day.” Aaron strolled out of the house and shook his head good-naturedly. “Big fan of parties, aren’t ya, bud?”
Milo responded with an enthusiastic bark.
“I’m Aaron.” He addressed Olivia and stuck out his hand. “Sammy didn’t mention his date was so beautiful.”
Sammy snorted. Aaron had been the class player in high school, and though he was happily married now, he could no less turn off his flirtatious nature than a leopard could lose its spots. Aaron would never cheat on his wife, though, and Melissa was confident and good-humored enough to put up with his indiscriminately charming ass.
“Olivia. Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand. “I’m Sammy’s plus one, but we’re just friends.”
Friends, huh? Sammy supposed that sounded better than “we’re just roommates.”
Aaron threw his head back and laughed. “Friend zoned. Ouch.” He nudged Sammy in the ribs.
Sammy nudged him back. Hard.
“He’s a tough guy. He can take it.” Olivia bent to pet Milo. “Your dog is adorable.”
“He knows it, too. Uses those puppy-dog eyes on us every time he can—usually when we’re at the dinner table. He can teach you a few things about picking up girls,” Aaron added, grinning at Sammy.
“Hilarious.” Sammy sighed in exasperation but smiled. “If you’re done ragging on me, let’s join the party. I’m starving.”
The guests had gathered in the backyard, taking advantage of the state-of-the-art grill and pool. They were mostly Sammy’s friends from high school, but since it was an open invitation party, there was a good number of significant others, coworkers, and friends of friends in the mix.
Sammy introduced Olivia to everyone he knew and left to catch up with Aaron and Trey after a group of women drew Olivia into a discussion about Stanford and the best brunch spots in the city.
“What’s the deal with Olivia?” Aaron flipped a hamburger patty with a deft motion. “Don’t give me any of that ‘friends’ bullshit, either. I can cut the sexual tension between you two with a butter knife.”
Sammy cracked open his beer. “I don’t think so. Like she said, we’re...friends.”
“You hesitated.” Trey pointed an accusing finger at him. “Didn’t he hesitate?” He directed his question at Aaron.
“He did,” the host confirmed.
“Nothing isgoing on between us. We’re friends,” Sammy repeated.
