Page 70 of Anatomy of a Meet Cute
Her mother sashayed inside, all smiles at the porters, then disappeared. As soon as she was gone, Sam exhaled and leaned back in her seat. Tonight might not exactly be the meaningful mother-daughter dinner she had planned. But it wasn’t the end of the world. There was a really good Thai place near the venue. They could just order takeout and get caught up over dinner while they moved her mother’s party stuff.
Sitting up and easing the car back into drive, Sam pulled around to the parking lot and was lucky enough to find a spot near the elevators. At least she wouldn’t have to drag her mom’s suitcase too far.
Sam had just gotten the suitcase out of the trunk when the telltale buzz of a text coming in rattled her purse. Using one hand to push the suitcase, she fished around in her purse as she walked toward the elevators. Finally locating the phone partially jammed under her oversize wallet, Sam saw Grant’s name flash across her screen.
Something about seeing his name made her relax instinctively. Possibly because they’d spent the last three days snuggled in his sheets and relaxing. The time didn’t exactly lend itself to getting stuff like theAnjo progress report done, but it was a hell of a lot more fun. In fact, had her mother not flown in, Sam would likely still be there.
Like Grant was with most things, he’d been secretly prepared with an extra toothbrush and clean towels. All she’d had to do was steal his scrubs when clothes were required to tip the hot-wings delivery person, who’d managed to arrive while Grant was in the shower. Smiling at the phone’s sensor, she unlocked the screen and tapped the text.
Hey! I hope you are having fun with your mom. Just wanted to make sure you saw that Sherilynn emailed over the info for the video shoot tomorrow.
Using a knuckle to press the elevator button, Sam quickly tapped over to her inbox to make sure she had received the email, then flipped back to his text. Sighing as she walked into the surprisingly small elevator, Sam answered,
Just got the email. I’ll give it a read while I’m helping my mom move all her party stuff (she didn’t send it to The Lost Key because “reasons”)
Sam skipped adding the side-eye emoji. Grant knew her well enough to add the eye roll to the text on this one.
Ha. Fun is a strong word, then. Maybe I’ll just say I hope it ends up being a good time?
I think it is safe to say we are having “a time.”
Sam hit send on the text as the elevator dinged to announce her arrival in the lobby. Her mother was still at the counter, looking irked. Deciding it was better to let her mother sort out whatever was going on,Sam quietly wheeled the suitcase over to a set of couches and sat down to read Grant’s next message.
If you want a break, you could always come by my place for dinner after the video is done filming tomorrow. I washed your towel ... and my scrubs if that sways you at all. :-)
Happy little sparks shot through Sam’s chest. Part of her had been worried that she had overstayed her welcome, despite Grant’s reassurances that she could hog three-quarters of his bed for as long as she liked. Things between them had moved so slowly. Now, suddenly they were speeding by, no matter how hard she tried to slow down. Everything just felt so easy and comfortable.
Now that she thought about it, relationships that were easy didn’t come naturally to her. She certainly hadn’t been raised with them. Silly as it felt, she hadn’t trusted Grant the first time he’d said she could stick around. She just wasn’t used to affection without conditions. It still seemed improbable to her that under all those layers of perfection, the only thing Grant seemed truly set on was being fond of her without expectation.
Diana’s voice carried across the lobby, pulling Sam out of her head and redirecting her thoughts on the next few days. She needed to focus on the here and now and fixing things with her mom, even if she had a toothbrush at his place. Sighing, she typed out:
A clean towel very much sways me, but I think that depends on how much of my mom’s stuff I can manage to move tonight. Maybe we play it by ear?
Works for me. Take a picture when everything is set up. I want to know what the party will look like.
Sam could still hear her mom’s voice, but something about his text made her pause. Why couldn’t Grant see the show in person? It might be nice to have him there. A reassuring presence in the storm that was her mercurial family. In fact, since they were all coming to the grand opening earlier that day, Sam reasoned, this wouldn’t even be the first time he met them. Besides, if it was too much, he could always say no.
I could take pictures, or you can always see it for yourself. Party starts at 6:30 if you want to come.
Sam held her breath as she watched the text send, her shoulders creeping toward her ears while the little...signaled he was typing a response. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous. This was a casual invitation. It wasn’t like she was asking him to marry her. And yes, it would be nice to have him there, but she could absolutely survive on her own—
Love to. Do you want me to show up early to help with anything?
Sam’s shoulders dropped so fast that she was almost in awe of how quickly the tension left her body. He would be there. She wasn’t asking too much. Grinning down at her phone, she texted back.
Nope. Just being there is enough.
“Sammy. Can you come here, please?”
Her mother calling her name jerked Sam out of her happy, hazy bubble and back into reality. Tomorrow she could revel in spending time with someone whose needs were much simpler and, frankly, a lot more fun. Right now, her mother needed all her attention. Tucking the idea of time with Grant away in the back corner of her mind for when she needed some joy, she quickly hit send on a see-you-tomorrow text.
Sam hoped Grant would know her well enough to know that much like the implied eye roll about her mother, there was an implied heart at the end of that text.
Yawning as the rideshare pulled up to the Anjo office, Sam fixed a smile on her face. She had spent until well past midnight hauling her mom’s stuff around and having her judgment about the low-key cheese-board catering second-guessed, which put her in a mood. Of course, the fact she’d only managed to get four hours of sleep because she was nervous about being on camera didn’t help much either. On the upside, while her face might look a little tired, she had used the sleepless extra time to deep condition and style her hair, so at least her curls were poppin’.
After checking in with the security guard, Sam stepped into the elevator and waited for the door to close before she let herself relax against its walls. Not for the first time, she wished she had arranged to meet Grant before this. When she’d finally read Sherilynn’s email and the accompanying script last night, she’d realized that (a) someone at Anjo thought she was a professional actor and not a kid who’d gotten kicked out of community theater for forgetting their one line in the second-grade play, and (b) practicing that script with Grant—even in the car on the way over here—would have been helpful. Instead, she was just going to have to hope for the best and pray that the fifteen minutes of choppy practice running her lines while she was also trying to fix her mascara would be enough.
Leaning away from the wall as the elevator dinged, Sam was greeted by a flurry of activity. Sherilynn stood in the hallway, pointing one direction and giving instructions to two people in cargo pants with a large pushcart piled with camera gear. Spotting Sam, they waved and gave the work crew a firm nod. As soon as the people wheeled the cart away, Sherilynn rushed around the corner and rolled her eyes.
