Sam had been about ready to ask what Lucky meant by his comment when Cameron had returned, complaining that he was hungry. Since then, it had been awkward between them, but they were keeping up appearances for the youngster's sake. He didn't seem to notice anything was going on as Mike sat a plate of crispy French fries on the table. Sipping his bubbly soda, Cameron smiled up at his dad between bites.
"Can I have ice cream when I'm done?" he requested, his wide eyes pleading.
Lucky smiled at his son. "Sure, I think we can do that, but you have to eat all of your dinner first."
"Sam, aren't you going to eat some?" Cameron asked, holding up a fried potato for her to take. Smiling thankfully, she dipped the fry in ketchup and popped it in her mouth.
"Thanks, Cam," she grinned. "Man, these are delicious. I don't know how anyone lives without these things. Forget being fit, you might as well die if you can't eat like this."
"Like you have to worry about that," Lucky murmured as he smiled at her over his cup of coffee. Sam's cheeks flushed scarlet at the compliment. "Do you want mustard on your hamburger, Cam?"
"I only like ketchup, Daddy, you know that!" he giggled. "I want to hear the teddy bear song. Daddy, can I hear the teddy bear song?"
"Sure," he relented, handing his son a quarter. "Mike, do you think you could help Cam? He wants to hear the teddy bear song."
"The teddy bear song?" Sam asked as she watched Sonny's father help Cameron work the jukebox.
"That old Elvis song, you know? Cameron loves it. Audrey sings it to him before he goes to bed. When Aunt Bobbie found out, she insisted that we track down the record for the jukebox. I've probably spent thousands of dollars feeding that thing quarters just so he could hear it."
"You have all these little things, things that are special to you and Cam. I miss having that with someone," she replied. "The inside jokes, the little things that make up everything. You have a real family with Cameron."
"Sam," Lucky murmured softly, "you have a family. You have Alexis and the girls. I know that it is going to take some time, but I think you might be able to rebuild your relationship with your mother. And Nikolas is your family, too. Get to know him; I promise you, my brother is a good man."
"Nikolas has always been very kind to me, and Emily and I got along really well when Jason and I were together," she said. "Maybe he and I could become friends. Eventually, maybe it would even be like we were family."
"I have an idea. Why don't we go to dinner with them? We can just hang out, very casual," he offered. "I'm sure that Nikolas would love the chance to spend some time with you."
"I don't know if that's such a good idea. I know that the four of you always called yourselves the Four Musketeers. With the situation between Elizabeth and Jason, I just don't want to interfere. I don't want to complicate things anymore than they already are."
"McCall, I don't think that's possible," he chuckled. "You are Nikolas' family, and he takes that responsibility very seriously. Emily isn't the kind of person to get caught up in other people's drama. I know that Elizabeth is her friend and Jason is her brother, but I'm also her friend and Nikolas' brother. We can co-exist in each other's lives."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly, averting his gaze. "You told me at the park that you didn't think there was a place in your life. You're sending me mixed signals. What is it, Spencer? Do you want me in your life or not?"
Reaching out across the table, Lucky took her hand in his. "That's not what I meant when I said that. Of course I want you in my life, I thought I had made that much clear."
Elizabeth stopped just short of the door of the quaint café, her cheeks rosy from the cold. Jason was waiting in the limousine for her. He had offered to come, but she planned on only being a second. She could see Lucky at the table with Sam, holding her hand over the wooden surface. She wondered how many times they had spent holding hands in the same place, staring at each other as if life started and ended in each other's eyes.
Cameron came bouncing over, grinning as he climbed into his seat between them. Sam said something and withdrew her hand, handing Cameron a spoon as Mike set a sundae dish full of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce in front of him on the table. Lucky smiled brilliantly as he watched them. They looked so much like a family.
Lucky looked up as the bell dinged over the door. Elizabeth was there to pick up his son, and soon, he would be alone again. Looking at Sam, he knew that wasn't quite true, but he'd be without his son nonetheless. "Hey."
"Hi, Lucky," she greeted him shortly before looking down at their son. "Hey, Cam. Did you have a good day with Daddy?"
Cameron nodded happily. "We played at the park. I built two sand castles. Daddy helped me make a moat and a bridge, and Sam made a tower. Then, we played on the swings and the slide. And then Daddy brought us here, and I had a hamburger with ketchup and French fries and a pop. And Daddy gave me a quarter so I could hear the teddy bear song, and then Mike brought me ice cream."
Liz took a deep breath. "Whew! Sounds like a busy day," she chirped, resting her hand on top of his dark hair.
"Excuse me," Sam said suddenly, pushing her chair back. She knew she didn't belong there, it was only making it more awkward for everyone.
"Sam, you don't have to go," Elizabeth started.
"No, it's fine," she insisted. "Cam, it was great hanging out with you. We will have to do it again sometime."
"Cool!" he cried, dropping his spoon. Throwing his arms around Sam's neck, he laid a sticky, wet kiss on her cheek.
"Well, aren't you two cozy," Elizabeth commented as soon as the petite woman had disappeared upstairs.
"Elizabeth, don't," he warned.
"Cameron, why don't you see if Mike has some of those chocolate chip cookies back there? The baby is hungry," Elizabeth told her son. When they were alone, Liz turned to Lucky. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm staying at Jason's until Grams is back. If you need anything, you can call me there. I'm sure Sam has the number."
"I thought you got past this."
"I thought I had," she admitted. "But then I saw you with her and my son, Lucky. It was like you were a family, and she took my place."
"You're his mother," Lucky. "You know that's silly. You don't love me anymore, Liz. You know that. You knew it this afternoon at the park, I could see it in your eyes. And that's okay. Maybe this is how it was supposed to happen… If Jason makes you happy and he can take care of you, I won't begrudge you the opportunity to make a life with him."
"How can you do that so easily? After months of trying to get me back, you just moved on. You actually want what's best for me. You should hate me, Lucky."
"I told you, anger won't do anyone any good. I hurt you, and now, you hurt me. We're even. I just want us to be able to be the best parents we can to Cameron."
"I want you to be happy, Lucky, I really do," she revealed. "This is just hard."
"I have a favor to ask you."
"What's that?"
"I'd like Sam to get to know her family, and that includes Nikolas. She's really worried about putting Emily in the middle, considering your relationship with her and the fact that she is Jason's sister. Nikolas is her cousin. She needs to have people around her that love her, just like we all do."
Elizabeth smiled. "I would never get in the middle of that. I'll talk to Emily, tell her that I give them my blessing," she retorted. "Cam, we have to go. Give your daddy a hug."
"I love you, Cam," Lucky murmured as he embraced his son, showering his face with paternal kisses. He reveled in these moments, well aware that he would be too old to accept such affection before he knew it. "I'll call you tomorrow. If that's okay?"
"That will be perfect," Elizabeth assured him as she bundled Cameron into his coat. "I will have my lawyer draw up papers on the adoption."
Lucky watched as the two started to walk out of the restaurant hand-in-hand. Just before they got to the door, Cameron stopped and dropped his mother's hand. Running back, he hugged his father again. "I love you, Daddy."
Sam sat down at her desk and pulled the phone closer to her. Picking up the receiver, she listened to the dial tone for a minute, trying to gather the courage to make the call. After a few minutes, she finally dialed the number. "Hi, Alexis."
"Sam."
"I was hoping that I could come by and see the girls. Maybe we could have a tea party or something," Sam offered. "I miss them."
"I'm sure that Kristina would love that," Alexis consented. "Why don't you come by tomorrow afternoon? I should be at the hospital getting treatment, so I'm sure they'd welcome the distraction. Viola will be here to help if you need anything."
"Thanks…"
"Is there anything else?"
"Jason and I broke up. For good."
"Oh, Sam."
"Please don't pretend to be sorry. I know that this is what you wanted."
"I wanted you to be safe, not unhappy," Alexis retorted. "I've never pretended to like Jason, but I know that you love him deeply. No matter what has happened, you are my daughter. I don't want to see you in such pain. Tell me what happened."
"Elizabeth is having his baby," she said simply. "We found out after Elizabeth was in a car accident. She told all of us – Jason, Lucky and me. Jason tried to reassure me that we would be fine, but I could see right through it. Eventually, he would want to be with her for his child."
"How's Lucky taking it?"
"He's probably taking it the best of all of us, actually," Sam began. "He and I have started to become friends, commiserating in our mutual bad fortune. He even encouraged me to get to know Nikolas."
"That sounds like a good idea. I really hope that you can build a relationship with my nephew, he is a good man. And I hope that you and I can find a way to peacefully get along for the sake of the girls as well as him."
Touched, Sam figured she better get off the telephone before they said anything bad. "Well, I will see you and the girls tomorrow. Maybe we can all have dinner after. I could call Nikolas and see if they're free? We could do it at Wyndamere."
"That would be nice," Alexis stated. After exchanging pleasant goodbyes, Sam hung up the phone, feeling better for the first time in months about the relationship she had with her mother.
Sam replaced the phone on the cradle and smiled to herself as someone knocked on her door. Shooting daggers at the closed door, she knew who it was without having to ask. "Go away, Spencer."
"Let me in, Sam."
"What? No McCall?" she teased as she pulled the door open. Lucky's eyes were serious as it swung open. "What's wrong?"
Lucky looked at her intently, trying to decide if he had the courage to do it. Then, just like that, his hands were on the sides of her face, pulling her mouth hungrily to his. Running his tongue across her bottom lip, his tongue easily invaded her mouth as they danced backward into the room. Lifting her into his arms, his lips crashed down on hers as they wrestled for control. Setting her on the edge of the table, she wrapped her legs around his torso. Pulling away, he gazed down at her swollen lips, hungry for another taste. "Damn," he murmured. "You are beautiful."
"You," she taunted, running her finger down his chest playfully, "are sexy, Spencer."
"But we should stop."
"You don't want to kiss me?"
"I want to kiss you more than anything in the world, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I don't think we should have sex," he said.
"You can't come in here and kiss me like that and then tell me you want to be friends, Lucky!" she spat angrily.
"That's not what I meant," he said, stroking her hair and pulling her close to him. "I want to be more than your friend, which is why I think we should wait. We need to slow down, do this the right way."
"Why do you have to be such a good guy?" she pouted.
Lucky leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Would you really have it any other way?"
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around his back. Burying her face in his shirt, she inhaled his woodsy scent. "I'll take you however I can get you," she said against his chest. "Just tell me that I have you."
"You have me," he whispered, drawing her face up toward his. "You look exhausted, I should let you sleep."
"I could sleep," she yawned involuntarily. "Tuck me in?"
Lucky grinned, hoisting her into his arms again. Kicking back the comforter, he laid her on the mattress and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Kneeling beside her, he caressed her face lovingly. "I'll see you in the morning. We'll have breakfast before work."
"Goodnight, Spencer," she said sleepily as he turned off the light.
Looking back at her, he smiled in the dark. "Goodnight, Samantha."
Her entire life, Sam had dreamed about her prince, and in all her dreams, he had called her Samantha. No one had ever called her that, not even Jason. As she touched her fingers to her still-swollen lips, she couldn't help but pray that her prince had finally come.