Free A Date to Remember by LeTeisha Newton

on,” Sam said then.
    “But you love him, don’t you?” Maddox asked, and something in the way he watched her reminded her of Joel. Fresh tears slid down her face. She seemed to always be crying lately.
    “It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t deserve her,” Natalie said then, all protective over her childhood friend.
    “When you told me about what was going on, you swore that Joel wouldn’t hurt my friend,” she said to her husband. The two had eloped while Sam was gone, something that Sam was still a little sore about missing, but she understood their haste. It seemed that in a few months, they’d already be starting their family.
    “I thought he wouldn’t. I didn’t think they’d fall for each other,” Maddox said.
    “He didn’t fall for me. I fell for him. End of story,” Sam said with a groan.
    “Do you want it to be?” Maddox questioned, ignoring her.
    “What else can it be, Maddox? He sent me away. We haven’t had any contact at all, and he hasn’t even attempted to reach out to me through you,” Sam finished.
    “I know my friend, and something just isn’t right. I think you did more damage than you thought when you didn’t tell him who you were. His mother carried on an affair for nearly ten years while she was married to his father. When it came out, it devastated his father. In the two years after their divorce, his father nearly drank himself into the grave. Only Joel’s support, and some intense therapy, turned things around for him. Joel sees lies between partners as the ultimate betrayal,” Maddox explained.
    “I didn’t know about any of that,” Sam said, hurt for Joel.
    “I’m sure you didn’t,” Natalie said kindly.
    “But we weren’t meant to be like this. It was only a deal between us. If we had decided on a relationship, I may have told him, but we didn’t. I thought he’d want nothing more from me than my body. Why would I have thought to tell him who I really was if there was no future?” Sam asked.
    “Because somewhere along the line, you fell in love with him, and when you love someone, you don’t keep things from them, no matter what can happen on the other side,” Maddox said then quietly.
    The man was wise beyond his years. Yes, Sam realized that, but things were so different now. If she had the chance, she’d go back and change that day in the bedroom. She now knew that was what he’d been asking of her, that he’d known she wasn’t Natalie but still wanted her. He may have wanted a relationship then but hadn’t even known it. Sam’s refusal of his questions, even unwittingly, had pushed him toward steeling his heart against her. But she hadn’t known.
    “I would change it if I could. I swear to you, Maddox, I would. But it’s too late now,” Sam said, tears clogging her throat.
    “I don’t know about that,” Maddox said then.
    “What are you thinking? I can always tell when the wheels are turning up there,” Natalie questioned.
    “How about we take it back to the beginning? Reverse time, so to speak.”
    “What the hell are you talking about, Maddox?” Sam asked, confused.
    “It all started with a date, didn’t it? A date where you weren’t who you said you were. How about you have one again, where you are you? No subterfuge, no lies, just the two of you.”
    “You think he will agree?” Natalie asked.
    “Who knows, but at least you can say you tried, right? I’ll set it up. I won’t promise anything so there aren’t any expectations. If he doesn’t agree, you’ll know you’ve tried. If he does, but doesn’t want more than that night, then you’ve gotten closure,” Maddox said.
    “But if he wants what you want, then you get the whole cake. Honey, the question is, what are you willing to do to get that chance?” Natalie asked.
    What was she willing to do? She was lost without Joel. Maddox was right. If she could just get the date with him, then she could at least see him again, get what she needed to off her chest. For that,