Page 73 of Love Story

To you.

None of it felt like enough, and it was a list of things I couldn’t promise.

I sat on the edge of the bed, scrolling through my photos instead.I couldn’t bring myself to delete them.The tree at Sweetheart’s Haven, with its heart carving.The overlook where Sam had pointed out the Lakeside Inn, his voice full of pride.A shot of me holding one of the sap buckets, grinning like an idiot.And then one of Sam.He wasn’t looking at the camera, caught mid-laugh, his face lit up with that quiet joy that seemed to radiate from him effortlessly.

I sighed, tossing my phone onto the nightstand.Messaging him would only pull him into this mess, and wasn’t that what I swore I wouldn’t do?Hell, what I wasn’t allowed to do?

I leaned back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling.Maybe Sam didn’t want to hear from me anyway.Maybe his silence was his answer.If I messaged him now, I might ruin whatever good memories we’d made together.

And what if he asked me to come back?What if I said sorry I hadn’t said goodbye—would he forgive me?

The phone rang loudly, shattering the quiet of my room.I stared at it for a moment, taken by surprise.Nobody had ever called the hotel’s internal phones, right?With a sigh, I picked up the receiver.“Hello?”

“Mr.Marshall, there’s a delivery for you at reception,” the voice on the other end said.

“Right.Thank you,” I replied, rougher than I intended.I stood there momentarily, staring at the phone as if it might explain itself.A delivery?It had to be something else from Theo’s office—more paperwork, more forms to sign, more reminders of the mess I’d dragged myself into.

I took my room key and headed for the elevator.The ride down felt endless, and the soft hum of the elevator only intensified the miserable feelings I was losing the battle against.I didn’t want to see more documents suggesting I knew more than I was saying.

The polished floors and warm lighting felt almost too bright as I entered the lobby, but I went to the reception desk and smiled politely.“Hi, I’m Ben Marshall.I was informed there’s a delivery for me.”

The receptionist glanced up and nodded.“Yes, Mr.Marshall.It’s behind you.”

I turned, expecting to see a courier with a stack of documents or a bland envelope waiting on the desk.But instead, I sawthem—Conor, leaning against the wall, scowling.Haider, arms crossed and staring—Ryan with a half-friendly smile.I’d take the friendly part and ignore the rest.

And then I sawhim.

Sam.

Standing a little behind the others, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, looking nervous.Perfect.Gorgeous.The kind of man who could ground me and make my heart race all at once.The sort of man I never thought I’d have in my life.

He was here.Right in front of me.And for a moment, all the noise in my head—the doubts, the fears, the endless cycle of what-ifs—just stopped.My breath caught, and I had to grip the counter to steady myself.

“Hey,” Sam said and stepped forward, his voice cutting through the haze of my thoughts like a lifeline.His eyes locked on mine, steady and warm, and for a moment, all I wanted was to grab him, hold him, and never let him go.

“What are you doing here?”The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.My face burned, my pulse raced, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.But then I saw that flicker of hurt crossing his face, twisting the hope I’d clung to into something broken.

“You left,” he said, his voice low, but the confusion hit me harder than I expected, like a punch to the gut.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry.“I had to,” I managed.

“Why?”

The weight of the word hung between us, crushing me under its sheer force.My reasons seemed feeble now—excuses more than explanations, and it wasn’t a conversation to be had here, not in front of everyone.

“I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Why did you then?”

“If people… I can’t… I don’t want to hurt you.”

Sam’s gaze dropped, and then he moved back toward his friends.They were all watching me, their expressions ranging from confusion to outright hostility.I should let Sam go.I should let him walk away because I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.Tomorrow, I’d either be sitting across from Brad, risking the chance of being set up by a man who had reasons to hate me, or I’d be back in court, testifying and trying to get myself out of this mess.

Panic surged through me.He’d almost reached Conor, Ryan, and Haider, and I couldn’t let him go.

“Don’t go!”I called out, my voice cracking.My legs moved before I could think, closing the distance between us.“Sam, please—can we talk?”He paused but didn’t turn around.His shoulders tensed, and I felt the ground slipping from under me.“I love you,” I blurted, louder than I intended.“Please don’t go.”

A collective gasp rippled through the lobby.From the corner of my eye, I saw Haider clutch his chest dramatically as if he were swooning.Conor muttered something sharp, and Ryan nudged him with an elbow.And not once did Ryan stop glaring at me.Sam didn’t turn.Instead, he spoke to his friends in hushed tones, too low for me to hear, and my heart twisted.

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