Page 87 of Cluelessly Yours

“Shocking, I know,” she says with a giggle. “But Sammy Baker finally knows exactly what she wants.”

“Shit, Sam.”

She kneels on her booth seat and leans over the table toward me. “Come here,” she whispers.

Once we’re nearly nose-to-nose, Sammy presses her lips to mine. The kiss is soft and sweet and brief, but it’s still a million layers deeper than I’ve ever had with any other woman in my entire life.

With my fingers beneath her chin, I lock my eyes with hers and whisper the words I’ve long since known but, as of right now,needto say. “I love you.”

Her eyes search my steady gaze, excitement and affection and tears brewing in a storm of blue-green.

“I love you, Sammy,” I tell her explicitly. “I’ve been in love with you for a while now.”

She pauses for the longest moment, so much so that the breath in my chest goes stale from holding it in. But then, finally, the sweet relief of reciprocation frees me from my temporary hell. “Yeah, actually, I know you do. And more than that, I love you too.”

I cup her face eagerly, and I kiss her again before raining playful kisses all over her pretty face.

“Okay. Okay.” She giggles and teasingly slaps my hands away. “We better stop, or else everyone in this diner is going to lose their appetite.”

“Good. Then we’ll have the place to ourselves,” I counter as she moves to sit back down in her seat.

Sammy squeezes my hand once more, but the sound of warring text notifications fills the air between us before I can persuade her anymore.

She tilts her head to the side in confusion. “Was that my phone or yours?”

“I don’t know. Both, I think.” I snag my cell out of my pocket, while she pulls hers out of her purse.

Brooke: I’ve decided that the boys and Dolly are spending the night. You’re not allowed to pick them up until tomorrow. And, you know, if you want to extend your date night into, like, a nightcap, you definitely should…?

“Did my sister seriously start a group chat with us and then cryptically encourage we have sex tonight?”

“Yeah.” I lift my eyes from my phone to meet hers on a laugh. “I think she just did.”

Sammy’s fingers furiously tap across the screen of her phone, and a second later, my phone vibrates with a new message.

Sammy: Actually, do you mind keeping the boys and Dolly for an extra four days? Noah and I have decided to run off to Vegas and get married.

“Ohno,” I comment, but I’m also laughing my ass off. “I think your sister’s head might explode after reading that.”

Not even a second later, Brooke confirms the explosion with a resounding shock wave.

Brooke: SAMMY. YOU BETTER BE JOKING RIGHT NOW. I SWEAR TO GOD, I WILL STRANGLE YOU IF YOU RUN OFF TO GET MARRIED BEFORE ME AND WITHOUT ME THERE.

Sammy grins at me over the screen of her phone. I snort.

“You think I should let her off the hook?”

“Yeah.” I nod.

“You’re such a softy, Noah,” she teases, but she also types out another message with a sweet smile on her face that tells me she appreciates it.

Sammy: Relax, sis. I’m just kidding. But we will take you up on your offer to keep the boys and Dolly so we can have sex all night.

I don’t wait to discuss whether she’s joking or not before making my move. Because as far as I’m concerned, spending the night having sex with the woman of my dreams is no joke at all.

“Check, please!”

“I think we left our to-go boxes in the cab,” Sammy says, her lips basically fused to mine for the thirtieth minute in a row.

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