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Concern crossed her expression. “Is it Henry? Is he okay?”
“Yes, Henry’s fine,” I assured her, appreciating her immediate care for my son. “He’s playing with some other kids right now. But I need to make sure Sam is okay as well.”
She appeared startled at that. “What’s going on, Ryan? Is Sam in trouble?”
I was growing frustrated, but I didn’t want to snap at Sam’s best friend and make myself an even bigger jerk in her eyes.
Deciding I could likely trust her to want to protect Sam almost as much as I did, I said, “There’s someone who wants to hurt me, and I’m afraid they’ll go after Sam to do it. That person might be in the building right now. I need to know where she is so I can keep her safe.”
Jessica’s eyes widened with fear. “Holy shit! You should’ve led with that. I haven’t seen Sam, Ryan. I just was in the bathroom, and she wasn’t there. Do you think this psycho got her?”
I could see she was starting to spiral into a panic, and I didn’t want that to happen and cause a scene. If Bill was nearby, it would tip him off that we were on to him.
Grabbing Jessica’s shoulders, I firmly told her, “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to Sam, okay? I’m going to find her. I need you to stay calm and not freak out. I don’t want this guy to know we’re looking for him.”
She stared up at me with wide eyes but sucked in a deep breath and slowly nodded.
“Okay, okay, I can keep it together,” she murmured.
“Good. Now, I need you to keep an eye on Henry, okay? Make sure he stays within sight and doesn’t interact with anyone he doesn’t know. Can you do that, Jessica?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. I’m going to go look for Sam. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay,” she murmured.
I let her go and turned to hurry toward the kitchen and prep areas in the hall. I asked the staff if they’d seen her, but no one had. I asked a few more guests, but again, it was as if Sam had just vanished.
Panic and fear began to settle in my chest as my search for her came up completely empty.
Sam was nowhere to be found.
Chapter twenty-six
Samantha
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, sucking in the cool night air. I felt some of the tension leave my shoulders and the pressure leave my head.
It was nice and quiet out here. I’d needed to escape the crowd and the noise of the reception for a moment, so I’d gone outside to get some fresh air. Stepping out of the hall, I’d thought I’d just wander the parking lot a bit, but I’d spotted a little garden with a walking path next to the building.
At that moment, I stood in the middle of the garden, letting my head clear as I cooled down.
I hugged myself, thinking of what Ryan had said to me earlier. I couldn’t decide if I was angry at him or not.
He’d blatantly ignored my wish to not talk about us until after the wedding. For that alone, I should be furious.
However, I couldn’t quite bring myself to be angry with him. He was fighting for me. For us. I knew he was worried about what was happening between us. At the first sign of trouble, I’d pushed him away. I’d ran, convinced I had to handle this situation on my own.
Was I just being stubborn? Was I doing more harm than good by putting distance between me and Ryan?
I wasn’t certain anymore. I hadn’t expected any of this to happen. I hadn’t expected Ryan to come walking back into my life, and I hadn’t expected to fall in love with him.
I froze, that thought catching me off guard.
Love? Was I in love with Ryan?
My feelings for him had been growing and were strong, but I hadn’t realized they’d been growing that strong.
