“We don’t get many cancellations, but lucky for you,” Sam said as she stepped back into the sitting room. He set down her bag on the armchair by the TV, then took off his cowboy hat again. She stopped herself from smiling, thinking about who had raised this boy right.
“Well, you should be all set here. Tanner’s on until five a.m., if you need anything. Enjoy that bed.”
“Actually thought I would take a bath and then pass out, but I’m wide awake.”
“Hey, I know it would involve hanging out with me, but if you want you’re welcome to come back to my brother’s place. My cousins are over there and we were doing a Friday the Thirteenth marathon. We were partway through Jason X when I left and we were gonna watch Jason Takes Manhattan next. You’re welcome to join us.”
Amanda glanced toward the bed and considered the sleep she could desperately use. And then she thought for a moment if what she really wanted was to be alone. “You sure your family won’t mind? I don’t want to just bust in on their movie night.”
“Nah, it’s all good. For real, if you want to come, come. The rest of the dogs are there, hanging out.”
“Oh well, why didn’t you say that?”
“So you’re coming?”
“Yeah, why not.” Amanda grabbed her purse and double-checked that she had her keycard. “Lead the way.”
“Alright. Let’s go, Poppy.” He scooped the dog off the floor and tucked her under his arm. Amanda followed as Sam opened the door for her. She stopped before she stepped out into the hall.
“Listen. It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you. I just—”
“You don’t have to explain. I read my cousin’s copy of He’s Just Not That into You when I was in high school.”
“No, Sam,” Amanda laughed. “I just didn’t expect to see you again. And not so soon. Not under those circumstances. It was a lot to process while trying to be present for Helene and Ignacio.”
“I get it.”
“Sometimes you’re—you have no vision for something and then it lands in your lap twice. I was overwhelmed.”
“So was I, but I just rolled with it.”
“Hmmm,” Amanda replied. She could admit to herself that maybe Sam was also handling this wild situation as best he could. Maybe she wasn’t the only one feeling a little out of sorts. “Did you know you were inviting me down here for Valentine’s Day weekend?” she asked with a smirk.
“When I invited you, no, I didn’t, but my brother let me know I was potentially playing myself, but hey, here we are.”
“Here we are.”
“Pals.”
“Pals.”
“Who might sleep with each other again.”
Amanda rolled her eyes and started walking down the hall, back toward the lobby. “Let’s go, Tex.”
“After you.”
Chapter 11
Amanda watched the road as they made their way back to Sam’s brother’s house. Absently she made note of every landmark and turn, the changes in fences as they passed different farms and fields. Soon the landscape cleared again and it looked like there were miles and miles of open desert between them and the snowcapped mountains up ahead. The small pup in her arms shifted and rested its head in the crook of her arm. It took all she had not to let out the most ridiculous, contented sigh. She didn’t need a spa to relax, just a clear night with a big moon in the sky and the cutest dog ever in her arms.
“She likes you,” Sam said, over the low-playing music.
Amanda looked down and scratched the scuff on the back of Poppy’s soft head before she glanced over at Sam and flashed him a confident grin.
“What’s not to like?”
“You got me there.”
“I didn’t know cowboys drove luxury sedans,” she said, changing the subject. Every moment she spent with Sam Pleasant felt like she was gambling with her self-control. She knew what she’d said and wasn’t foolish enough to lie to herself about how pushing Sam away was in direct contradiction to how she was starting to feel about him. But she knew it was less than a good idea to bring attention to the way he looked at her or the fact that they both couldn’t seem to stop flirting with each other. The car. The car was a safe subject.
“It’s a little cold for us to take the ATVs.”
“I’m just messing with you,” she replied even though she was trying to marry these two images of Sam Pleasant she had in her head. The cowboy hat and the worn jeans cut quite the figure behind the wheel of a sleek new Tesla.
“My agent told me to stop showing up for meetings in my truck after I started getting real jobs. Also I don’t know if you’ve tried to park an extended cab anywhere in LA but—”
“Actually.”
“Oh, word? Actually what?” His warm laugh filled the car.
“Back in my set PA days I drove a ten pass van for, like, three months. Finding places to park that thing was such a pain in the ass.”
“So you get it.”
“I do.”
“I gave my truck to my cousin.”
“That’s nice of you.”
A soft smile touched the corner of his lips, making Amanda think there was more to that story, but she didn’t push. “So who am I meeting tonight?”
“I think you met my brother Jesse before the wedding.”
“Briefly, yes.”
“It’s his house we’re going to. My brother Zach and his fiancée, Evie, are doing regular date night before date night extreme tomorrow. So they won’t be around.”
“Okay,” Amanda laughed.
“My cousin Lilah will be there. She’s the youngest of all the Pleasants. Well, the grandkids. There are four great-grandkids now.”
“Oh wow, how many grandkids are there?”
“Fifteen. Lilah’s the youngest of eight.”
“Double wow.”
“Did you just say double wow?”
“Sure did. So your brother and your cousin.”
“And my play cousin Corie, she’s Miss Leona’s personal assistant, but we’ve known her her whole life so she’s family.”
“Okay. Got it.”
“And Corie’s kinda girlfriend, Vega.”
“What’s the kinda about?”
“They’ve been doing the will-they
