She didn’t know how to feel when she saw him leaning against his doorway. She swallowed and matched the hesitant smile that stretched across his face as she made her way down the hall. The last few days made it pretty clear, but the emotions warring in her were proof that life wasn’t fair. She walked up to him, forcing her hands to stay by her sides.

“Good to see you, Cha-Cha.”

“Likewise, Tex.”

“Come on in.”

“Thanks.” Amanda slipped by him as he held the door open for her. She couldn’t help but brush his bicep as she went by. He followed, letting the door close behind them. She looked around, thinking of how modern and sterile white this place was compared to his grandmother’s palatial home. It made sense for a young, single guy who had suddenly added a lot more zeroes to his checks. But it wasn’t Sam. The white paint and the gray furniture lacked his warmth. The black-and-white art on his walls, while gorgeous, lacked his joy. No wonder he went back to Charming every chance he got.

“You’re not here much, are you?” she asked as she turned to face him. She instantly forgot her own question when she saw the look on his face. It was close to the same look he gave her when he saw her standing in the middle of that hotel room in nothing but a towel. This time though, there was something more behind it. More heat. More care. More need. She was powerless against that look.

“I am here to have a very important, very adult conversation about our future, our mutual expectations, how I can issue a formal apology to your family, especially your grandmother, but right now all I can think about is the way you’re looking at me and how much I missed you and how a good, dirty make out session that leads to the bedroom is what I really need,” she blurted out.

“You don’t owe my family an apology. They aren’t upset with you. We should definitely talk about our expectations and our future. I’m hoping that conversation involves whether you wanna have kids and where you think is the best place to honeymoon.”

Amanda laughed and kinda hoped he was only joking a little.

“We can definitely move things to my bedroom, but I wanna check in with you first. Are you okay?”

“No,” she said honestly. “Are you? Your privacy was violated by a madwoman with an unearned grudge.”

Sam chuckled a bit, then held out his hand as he nodded toward the gray sectional in the middle of the living room. “Come sit down.” Amanda joined him on the couch, resisting the urge to climb into his lap so she could soak up all his warmth and maybe kiss him a little.