Chapter Twenty Five

Spencer stood in front of the mirror trying to straighten his tie. "I still can't believe that Socko's getting married!"

"Let me do that; you're making it worse," Sam fussed. "You shouldn't still be in denial; you sat through the rehearsal dinner just like he did."

"As did you," he pointed out.

"But I'm not in denial. I really like Angela; she's awesome. Just perfect for him."

Spencer was afraid he knew WHAT she liked about Angela. He thought back to the moment of their arrival at the restaurant last night. He'd clapped Socko on the back, congratulating him again on landing his lovely bride-to-be. Turning to greet the woman herself, his eyes widened in delight. There was no doubt that was the swell of a baby bump. "Dude! You didn't tell me!" he exclaimed.

"Well you know, she said the clock was ticking. How could I say no?" Socko grinned at his closest friend. Spencer grinned back. Fist bump! "It's a boy," he said proudly. "We're going to call him Miles."

"Congratulations!" Spencer was truly thrilled; he did like children.

"Sam, come here and meet Socko and Angela. And Miles!" he'd added for good measure.

Sam's eyes were drawn at once to Angela's hand laid gently on her belly. Spencer saw the speculative look in her eyes – the slow smile as the idea popped into her head.

"Sam!" he said firmly.

She looked at him sweetly. "Yes Spencer?"

He shook his head emphatically. No. "Not now!"

"Yes Spencer." Just a hint of disappointment.

He had breathed a sigh of relief. Just a hint was good. More than a hint was bad. That would mean Sam had made up her mind.

She finished rearranging his tie and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss. "You look dapper, Love. I'll have to keep a close eye on the bridesmaids to make sure they don't try to steal you away," she teased.

"Sam, there's not a woman in this world brave enough to try to pry me away from you."

"My reputation precedes me," she agreed with a laugh.

"It certainly does. Shall we go?"

"We shall."

They arrived at the Garden to find various members of Socko's clan running hither and yon arranging the last minute details. Socko himself appeared overwhelmed. Spying Spencer and Sam, he sighed in relief. "I don't know how all this happened," he complained. "It was supposed to be SMALL. INTIMATE. She said she didn't want a fancypalooza!"

"Your Dad?" Spencer inquired sympathetically.

Socko nodded in resignation. "He just couldn't help himself. First grandson coming and all that. Poor Angela. Poor me!"

"Suck it up man, it'll all be over soon," Spencer soothed.

"Easy for you to say! You've got a sweet young thing there; weddings are probably the farthest thing from her mind."

"You'd be surprised; Samantha doesn't think small. It's not in her vocabulary."

Sam raised her eyebrows at Socko. She flashed the wicked smile at Spencer. "And that's why you love me so much!"

Spencer had a 'what can you do?' expression on his face when he confirmed, "Yep, I do."

The ceremony was beautiful; Angela glowed; Socko beamed, and all the appropriate people cried. The guests were just beginning to circulate through the buffet tent when Spencer caught sight of the caterer's truck. Cosmopolitan Gourmet. He turned slowly in place, scanning the faces behind the tables. Son of a bitch. There he was, and he had already spotted Sam.

"Samantha Puckett – the one that got away," he started smoothly. He looked her up and down before continuing, "Baby girl, you're looking gorgeous as always. And… well tuned," he added thoughtfully.

"Hello Mark, "she answered politely, but did not return the compliment.

"You know, I think you ruined me for other women Sam. Would you believe I haven't been on a single date since you left me in April?"

"Frankly, no. I don't believe it. And I didn't leave you, since I was technically never with you in the first place. "

"I beg to differ. I think you were with me all the way. Until –"

Spencer walked up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Mark," he nodded coolly.

"Mr. Spencer Shay. I have to hand it to you. I guess you ARE the big dog. I admit I didn't think you had it in you. This one's a firecracker."

"Fortunately, I have extensive experience with spontaneous combustion." He said it with a straight face, but Sam giggled.

"It's true. He does."

"So I guess there's no chance you'd consider a reconciliation?" he gave her his signature look, but Sam was not buying.

"I'd say, oh, less than zero Mark. You can't eat too much candy – it just gives you a stomach ache and promotes tooth decay."

"Ouch," he winced.

"I figured out that I don't just want to live in the moment. I want forever and ever. Amen. Maybe when YOU figure that out, you'll be able to find what you're looking for. It just won't be me. Now if you'll excuse me, we have a reception to attend." She grabbed Spencer's hand and turned to walk away.

Mark nodded to Spencer, acknowledging defeat. Spencer thought that might actually have been a look of regret on the younger man's face, but his male pride had no room for sympathy. "Take good care of her Spencer. She's one of a kind."

"You're not telling me anything that I don't already know." Spencer allowed Sam to tug him back into the crowd, and just like that, the incident was over. A non-incident really. He was very proud of Sam; she was maturing well.

"Ooh look Spence, Angela's going to throw the bouquet!"

"Well we certainly don't want to miss that. Let's go."

Samantha Puckett was used to getting what she wanted. Her methods were many and varied, and under Spencer's hand she was adding a whole new skill set to her extensive bag of tricks. Patience, cooperation and civility…the list went on. She'd even been known to tell the truth if the stakes were high enough. But sometimes the old ways were still the best. "Oh excuse me!" she exclaimed, purposely stepping on a bridesmaid's foot. An elbow to the ribs stopped another woman in her tracks. In no time at all, Sam was in the front row, just in time to catch the bouquet.

Spencer shook his head. She was still Sam. And that's how she rolled.