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Sammy cleared his throat, feeling hot under the collar. Whoever invented the tuxedo needed to die; he could barely breathe in the damn thing. “Can we talk?” Cardi B. came on, and the crowd went wild. He grimaced. “Somewhere a little less loud?”
“Um.” Olivia appeared flustered. She glanced at Courtney, who pushed her in Sammy’s direction.
“Go. I’m starting a conga line,” the brunette announced. “If you think you can’t conga to Cardi, you haven’t seen me in action.” She marched off, leaving the ex-lovers alone.
After an awkward silence and a few false starts, Sammy and Olivia walked through the reception in silence until they reached the line of marble statues and hedges near the castle’s main building, where the music became a distant beat instead of a deafening roar.
“So—” They spoke at the same time.
Their nervous laughs mingled in the sweet evening air before they fell silent again.
The last time they’d seen each other, they’d been high on adrenaline and charged emotion. Now, after weeks apart, they were subdued—like they finally understood the import of what had happened, what they’d done.
WhatSammyhad done.
“I heard about what happened with that Twitter guy,” Olivia said. “I’m glad you sorted it all out.”
In exchange for Sammy not filing charges, Bulldog—Bobby—had gone on record to confess he’d made up the roach claim. He’d been fired for his actions and destroyed online; meanwhile, Crumble & Bake’s business spiked back up immediately. They were doing even better now than before the PR crisis.
Edison, whose role Bobby had explained in crystal-clear detail in his public statement, had also gotten fired, not to mention shunned by most of the Yu’s. Sammy’s family had been shocked but not necessarily surprised by Edison’s actions, and Sammy hadn’t seen or heard from his cousin since the day he confronted him.
Good riddance.
“Thanks.” Sammy rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t see you leave that day. My house, I mean. I thought you weren’t moving out till later.”
He remembered the blow to his gut when he woke up to find her gone like it was yesterday.
Olivia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I checked into a hotel for the night. It didn’t seem right for me to stay after what happened.”
“You should’ve stayed. I wouldn’t have kicked you out.”
“I know.” A tiny shrug paired with an uncomfortable expression. “It was just one night.”
One less night I had with you.Though they’d broken up that same day, so it wasn’t like they would’ve binge-watched Netflix or cracked jokes over dinner like they usually did. But even when they weren’t speaking to each other, Sammy wanted her nearby.
“I didn’t see you on the plane,” Olivia added. “I thought—I wasn’t sure whether you were still coming.”
“I changed my flight. Figured you wouldn’t want to be near me for that long. I am sorry, Liv,” Sammy said, his voice quiet. “I was an ass. I shouldn’t have decided for you.” His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. “I miss you. I know that doesn’t change anything, but I wanted you to know. I didn’t put up a fight because I thought I was doing the right thing—making it easier for you—but I never want you to think it was because I don’t care enough. Because I do. The moment I set eyes on you in that crappy orientation room in Shanghai nine years ago, I was a goner. Not a day has passed since that I haven’t thought of you, and I wish...I wish I could run away with you and hole up in the mountains somewhere, just the two of us. No Internet, no meddling families, no overreaching bosses...just us.” He laughed softly. “That sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all.” Olivia’s eyes glistened. “I understand why you did what you did—with the email. I’m still upset about it...but I understand. And even though I hate that you decided for me, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you.”
And then her lips—lips he thought he’d never taste again—were on his, and everything disappeared except this woman, right here, right now.
Sammy tasted her greedily, his tongue delving into her mouth like they’d been apart for centuries instead of weeks. His hands snaked around her waist and snagged her dress in two tight fistfuls. She felt so good, soright,that a pack of wild horses couldn’t have dragged him away.
After an eternity that ended far too soon, they broke apart, panting for breath.
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. He never wanted to leave. He’d give up everything—his business, his family, his life—to stay here with her, in this magical place where the world couldn’t touch them, forever.
“I love you.”
Three simple words. He’d said them before, a lifetime ago, but they took on new resonance now. Sammy was no longer a young, naïve college student caught up in the magic of a new city and first love. He was older, more battle-weary from the ups and downs of life. The joys and hardships, the many women his mother had thrown his way—none of whom had inspired an iota of what the woman in front of him did with a blink of her eyes or curve of her lips. That Sammy loved Olivia as deeply, as truly, and as irrevocably as he once had, even after all they’d been through, spoke volumes.
This was end game.
Olivia’s eyes widened a fraction of an inch, but Sammy barreled on before he lost his nerve. There was more he needed to say, and he wanted to get the words out before Olivia reacted to his confession, since he had no ideahowshe’d react. “It’s selfish of me, but when I woke up after you left and realized you weren’t there, I was devastated. I thought I could handle being away from you, but I can’t. I’ll always need you in my life. I know we have the issue with your company to think about, and I know I messed up, but I was hoping, maybe, we could figure it out together. For real.” His throat bobbed with a tight swallow. “That is, if you still want to.”
“Sammy.” A tear slipped down her cheek. He rubbed it away with his thumb, his chest aching. “I love you too. With all of my heart.”
