“Distance,” he said. “I know New York isn’t the other side of the country, but it’s too far to suit me.”
She smiled. “Then isn’t it a good thing that I have a plan that will relieve your mind?”
He frowned. “It doesn’t involve me coming to New York, does it? The city makes me claustrophobic. Too many people crowded into one place.”
“Who knew you were such a small-town guy?” she said, shaking her head as if in despair. “One day you’ll come to New York, and I’ll change your mind. The key is choosing the right neighborhood, finding the small-town atmosphere within the big, impersonal city.”
“Not buying it,” he said. “It can’t be done.”
“Okay, skeptic, that’s just one more challenge for me to deal with,” she said. “But you can cross the worry off your list. New York is not a requirement for the future.”
“Oh?”
“Nope. You’re safe.” She hesitated, letting the moment build before her big announcement, or perhaps stalling for time in case it didn’t go over as well as she was hoping it would.
“Samantha,” he prodded. “Why isn’t New York an issue?”
“Because I’m coming back here. I’ve already started making the arrangements.” In fact, she’d called her landlord earlier this morning and told him to start looking for someone to sublet. Since apartments in her neighborhood were in high demand, it shouldn’t take long.
Ethan looked startled, then worried. “Not because of me, I hope.”
“No, you’re just a plus, at least if you want to be,” she told him candidly. “I want to open an acting school, teach a few classes, maybe eventually open a playhouse.”
She allowed her announcement to sink in, watched as he considered it.
“And that’s why you were so eager to meet Cass?” he guessed eventually. “You think she’s a potential student.”
“Maybe. We’ll have to see if she’s interested. I won’t waste her time or her money, though. I can’t do that to her, Ethan.”
He frowned. “So if these tryouts or whatever the two of you have planned for this next week don’t go well, you’re going to break her heart?”
“Not if I can help it,” she said, then added impatiently, “Give me a little credit. Cass matters to you, so she matters to me. And even if that weren’t the case, I know how tender young feelings are. My goal is to encourage these kids as much as possible, even if I refuse to give them false hope.”
He sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Besides, Cass isn’t the issue right now. This is about you. Is this school something you really want? It’s the first time you’ve mentioned it.”
Samantha nodded. “Actually things started coming together for me the day I went to the high school for that rehearsal. I found myself wanting to jump in to help Mrs. Gentry, to find some way to cure Sue Ellen’s stage fright, to get young people excited about performing onstage the way I used to be.”
He smiled at her enthusiasm. “It’s a good goal.”
“I think so, and potentially a really rewarding one, but it’s not all about that. I want to be around family again. New York has been an amazing experience for me. I don’t regret a single second of it, but I’m ready to come home. And I made this decision before what just happened, so don’t get all paranoid and weird on me, okay?”
“I do not get paranoid and weird,” he protested.
“Oh, please.”
“Well, maybe a little. This is a scary change for me, letting somebody into my life. It was difficult enough when I thought you were leaving. Now that I know you might stay, it’s even more terrifying.”
“How so?” she asked.
“No easy out.”
His candor was surprising, but welcome in a way. “I’m only going to be in your life as much as you want me to be,” she assured him. “I’ll just be in the vicinity in case you decide you can no longer resist me.”
“I thought we’d just settled the fact that I have no resistance left where you’re concerned.”
She beamed at him. “So we did. Want to see if that’s still the case?”
“Why not?” he said eagerly. “As long as you’re right here in my bed, anyway.”
“Just what I was thinking.”
* * *
“We really didn’t think this through,” Samantha said as Ethan drove her back to Cora Jane’s at midday on Sunday. She glanced down at her maid of honor dress and the strappy, high-heeled sandals she was holding in her lap. The dress was a little the worse for wear, and hardly suitable daytime attire anywhere other than a wedding. The shoes, pretty as they were, weren’t made for comfort.
“Afraid everyone’s going to wonder what you’ve been up to?” Ethan inquired, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Oh, they’re going to know exactly what we’ve been up to,” she lamented. “They’re likely to give us a rousing cheer.”
“Think Cora Jane has a shotgun lying around?” he asked, suddenly sounding a tiny bit more nervous.
“If you’re lucky, it’s still locked in the closet,” she told him.
“And your father? What’s his reaction going to be?”
She frowned at the question. “You know, I have no idea. He was never one of those dads who waited up for us to get home from dates. I don’t think he’s especially protective. Then, again, he’s done a lot the past few days that’s taken me by surprise.”
“So he’s the wild card,” Ethan said, nodding. “I’ll do a preemptive strike.”
Samantha laughed despite the awkward situation. “Exactly how do you intend to pull that off?”
“I’ll tell him my intentions are honorable,” he said.
She shook her head at once. “Oh, no. Bad idea. Honorable intentions tend to lead straight to the altar, at least in their view. We do not want to set them up for a huge disappointment just to save your hide today.”
“It’s something to consider,” he argued.
Samantha stared at him incredulously. “What is? Marriage? This from a man who didn’t even want to have sex with me this time yesterday?”
To her annoyance, Ethan laughed. “Oh, I wanted to have
