12
Sam
Well this was already turning into a nightmare. Sam didn’t know how Ben thought it was a good idea to escalate their relationship to living together, but at the moment, he didn’t really care. It hadn’t even been four hours and already he regretted his decision to bring Ben along. Not because he didn’t enjoy his company. That hour and a half in the car, after they’d gotten over the money thing, had been great. They had more in common than Sam thought, and Ben had continued to toe the line between friendliness and flirting. But still, Sam couldn’t tell, and it was going to be the death of him.
“I’m happy for you, Sam.” His grandma’s eyes glistened, and Sam realized she was trying not to cry. “I’ve always worried about you in this family. You care too much what other people think—and that’s a good thing, don’t get me wrong—but here in this family, it’s always been about who can out-do the other. But you sure showed them.”
“Thanks, Grandma.”
If anything, her kind words only made matters worse. If there was one person in the family he didn’t want to lie to, it was his grandma. She’d been the one he had always turned to. Every time he didn’t want to go skiing in the Poconos with his parents’ friends or to a charity gala, he went to her house. It had always provided him with a certain normalcy that he craved. There, he could be a little boy. They would go to the arcade and rent movies, and she would let him stay up past his bedtime. She was more of a mother figure than his own mother, who was constantly going to events with the DAR and hosting parties.
“I’m sure it must be difficult for him to meet your family, but you mustn’t let them intimidate him. They got over themselves with Matías and they’ll get over whatever prejudice they might have toward Ben. Between us, I’m happy you didn’t go for someone rich.”
“He does well for himself,” Sam said quickly. He had crafted the lie mostly so his parents would get off his back about his financial situation.
“Well, sure, but I highly doubt he’s making quite what the rest of the family makes. In fact, I hope he doesn’t.”
“Grandma!”
“Well, I do!” She shot him a stern glare. “Why do you think George and Harper are still together? I can tell you now, it isn’t because they like each other. It’s the money. Money ruins people. That’s why I gave most of mine away.”
Sam let out a soft sigh. “Ben didn’t know about the money until we were on our way here.”
His grandma snorted. “You mean he’s been dating you for six months and hasn’t thought to ask? Maybe he’s not as smart as I thought he was.”
“No, it’s not like that. He knew what Dad did, but he didn’t know just how rich the family was.”
He was always careful not to say how rich he was. Even though he had money in a trust fund, it wasn’t money that he had earned, so he didn’t see it as his.
“How did he take it?” his grandma asked carefully.
“About like I had expected. Disbelief, worry, a little bit of excitement. Don’t tell him I told you, but his parents didn’t really have much. Still don’t. They have seven kids.”
“Dear me. How do they support themselves?”
“His mom’s a teacher and his dad’s a truck driver.”
Sam braced himself. Even though she was the closest family he had, he still half-expected her to look down on Ben’s parents’ professions.
He really should have known better, because she smiled. “That’s wonderful that she gets the summers off with the children, but I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to not have their father there every day.”
“I can.”
The words were out before he could stop them. It wasn’t as though he didn’t appreciate the long hours that his dad worked, but his absence was always noted. Birthday parties were missed because of conferences. During his high school graduation, his dad had slipped out to make a call. He’d tried not to be angry, but the resentment was still there.
Reaching across the space between them, his grandma patted his arm. “I’m sure you can. Which is why I think you’ll make an excellent father.”
Sam spluttered for a moment before finding his words. “I…that isn’t something Ben and I have talked about.”
“Why not? You’ve been dating for half a year. Don’t you think you need to discuss it at some point?” She frowned, her appearance almost hawk-like.
“No—I mean, yes, it does, but right now we’re just wanting to take things slow. Get to know each other as people before thinking about marriage or kids or stuff.”
“You do love him though, right?”
The question made Sam’s heart beat quicker. He didn’t know if what he felt would constitute love. How could it? They weren’t even dating—weren’t even really officially friends. But he felt like he could be himself around Ben. There was no need for any pretense or hiding. Ben seemed to like him well enough to flirt with him, even if that flirting was probably platonic.
He could see himself falling in love with Ben, though. It would be so easy if he just let go of all his inhibitions and gave them a chance. They would eventually move in together and have movie nights and get into more fights about elves or dwarves, and Ben would take pictures of the two of them together. It would be domestic and sappy and the kind of love he had always wanted.
“Yeah,” he said, those thoughts still at the forefront of his mind. “Yeah, I love him.”
“Good.” Sam’s grandma nodded, satisfied. “I hoped you would say so. I’ve only known him for fifteen minutes and I already love him.”
There was a knock, and they both looked up to see Ambra standing in the doorway.
“Hey, twerp. I wondered when you were going to get here.”
Sam rolled his eyes. She’d been on vacation not too long ago, judging by her sun-kissed skin. Either that or doing a photo shoot in some exotic location. It wasn’t hard to tell she was a model. She had the height for it, and even when she wasn’t on a runway, she always seemed to be posing. They looked so little alike that it was hard to tell they were siblings. Where Sam looked more like his dad, Ambra got everything from her auburn hair to her full lips their mother. Except the boobs. Those, she’d paid for.
“You know, just listening to you, I would never think you were close to thirty. I mean, who still calls someone ‘twerp?’”
“Me, clearly. Anyway, where’s the boy?” She drew out the last word, her eyes filled with a glee that was, quite frankly, scary.
“He left a few minutes ago for the bathroom. But I wouldn’t blame him if he was trying to run away.”
“Shut up, we’re not that bad.”
Sam would have argued that, but he didn’t want to make the weekend any worse than it was already going to be, so he kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to continue. Clearly she needed something, or else she wouldn’t have come to find them. Sure enough, when she didn’t get any more out of Sam about Ben, she continued.
“Uncle George, Aunt Harper, and the kids are here. So you should probably come out of hiding and find your boyfriend before Aunt Harper breaks out the booze.”
She turned on her heel and headed back down the hall, and Sam groaned. The fun was about to begin.