Chapter Twenty-Four

And Sami had thought getting the words 'I do' to come out of her mouth had been hard.

No, having to kiss Brady was much worse. She stared at his lips distastefully. She knew that less than a week ago, those lips had probably been all over Nicole. Ew. Not to mention the stuff he put into his mouth. She had once caught him eating broccoli covered in peanut butter. There was something very wrong with that.

But it wasn't just the fact that the idea of kissing Brady repulsed her or that exchanging saliva with her step-brother in front of all these people would be incredibly humiliating. More than anything else, it was the fact that Brady wasn't Lucas. Thinking about the way Lucas' hands had caressed her skin and the way she had felt when he kissed was enough to make her forget where she was. He was the only one she dreamed about at night, the one who made an appearance in every single one of her fantasies. It was him. Always him.

Brady leaned down slightly and Sami shrunk back in response. Everyone watched as Brady advanced on Sami, who took another step backwards.

"What is she doing?" Kate mumbled to herself, "Why doesn't she just kiss him and put us all out of our misery?"

"Sami, what are you doing?" Brady hissed through clenched teeth. Sami walked backwards so far that she knocked over a potted flower that had been decorating the front of the garden. The pot fell over with a loud crash and dirt spilled out the pot.

The priest looked confused, "Is something wrong? I just said you may now kiss the-"

"Everyone heard you the first time." Sami cut him off, "But there is no way in hell I am kissing that." she pointed to Brady, who scowled petulantly.

John smiled proudly at his step-daughter, "That's my girl."

"John, you do realize that she is making a fool out of your son in front of all of Salem, don't you?" Marlena asked and John just continued grinning. He knew that one of them had to back out, he just couldn't fathom the idea of those two actually going through with this wedding.

Phillip, who was sitting in one of the front rows, couldn't resist pointing at Brady and laughing, "Oh, man, you just got shot down. I knew she didn't want you. I knew she still loved my brother!"

Mimi turned around to look at the person who was rushing up to the altar, "Speaking of your brother, it looks like he's finally decided to make an appearance."

Everyone turned to watch as Lucas rushed up to the altar, "You're not going to marry her, Brady!" Lucas shouted. Sami's eyes lit up when she saw Lucas and she tried to step off the altar to meet him but Brady grabbed her arm.

"We had an agreement." Brady reminded her, not letting go of her arm. Will dropped the pillow that had been holding the rings and kicked Brady hard in the shin.

"Leave my mom alone." he said, while Brady stared at him in shock.

"You're definitely Sami's son." Brady muttered, watching as Sami caught up to Lucas. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Lucas, I'm sorry." she murmured, oblivious to the stares and hushed whispers everyone was directing at them. Lucas stroked her hair.

"It's okay, Sami. I know what happened. We can talk about more once we get you out of here. Come on, let's go." he took her hand and he lead her over to his car, where Nicole was waiting for them.

Kate was trying to wriggle out of John's gasp as Lucas and Sami walked away, "Get your hands off of me. I must save my son!"

"Your son doesn't need to be saved, Kate. Leave it alone." John said hoarsely, watching as Nicole, Lucas and Sami drove off in a dark blue Lambourgini.

"How could you pull something like that, Sami?" Brady demanded, pacing back and forth on her kitchen floor. He, Nicole, Lucas and Sami were all standing in the kitchen a few hours after Lucas had arrived at the wedding and ran off with Sami. Brady had finally tracked them down and was very upset.

"You were the one who practically forced her to marry you. Thank God we got there in time. If you guys had kissed and then signed the marriage license, I don't know what I would have done." Nicole broke in. Brady turned to glare at her.

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Why should I? I heard you and Sami talking and I know all about your little bet. And Lucas knows too so there's no way your plan to turn him against Sami is going to work." Nicole retorted hotly.

"Nicole! Why are you helping them?" Brady asked, stunned by her outright betrayal.

"Because I feel like it!"

"Fine." Brady directed his attention back to Sami. He pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and held it up, "You see this? This was your check for half of the money Victor left me. But because you did this, you're never going to get it- hey!" Brady yelped in outrage when Nicole snatched the check out of his hand. She handed it to Sami, then stood in front of both Sami and Lucas.

When Brady tried to take a step towards Sami, Nicole held up her hands threateningly, "Stay away. Sami oozes disease and she's highly contagious."

"Then why are you and Lucas standing so close to her?" Brady shot back.

Nicole smiled enigmatically, "Me and Lucas are safe. We already ooze."

"Speak for yourself." Lucas spoke up.

"Sami deserves that money after everything you put her through." Nicole added, turning serious, "Why would you try and ruin not one, but three people's lives by marrying Sami? You don't even like her."

"He did it so you would leave him alone." Sami answered for Brady. Nicole looked at Brady for confirmation and Brady was unable to stop himself from looking guilty.

"If that is what you wanted, you didn't have to bring Sami and Lucas into it." Nicole said, her voice quivering, "But if that's what you want, fine. I hope you're happy now." she hurried out of the apartment. Brady threw Sami a horrified look before turning to chase after Nicole.

"Brady's an even bigger jerk than I thought he was." Lucas shook his head in disgust, "Did he really blackmail you into marrying him just to get Nicole off his back?"

"Yes." Sami looked a little worried, "What do you think Nicole is going to do?"

"She'll probably scream at him for a while. But if Brady apologizes and stops acting like such an ass to her, then they'll make up." Lucas predicted, "Nicole's going to end up giving him another chance, even if he doesn't deserve it. She really cares about him, although I'll never be able to figure out why."

Sami shifted uncomfortably before speaking, "Lucas, I really am sorry about putting you through everything with Brady and for making you keep our relationship a secret for so long. When I first made the bet with Brady, I thought I could handle it but then everything got out of hand. I didn't think it would be so hard to stop myself from falling for you. But the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you."

Lucas placed his thumb on her chin and turned her head so she was looking at him, "Sami, it's okay. I just wish you would have told me about the bet, we could have worked something out. But I can't stay mad at you for what happened because the truth is, I made a bet too."

Sami looked at him in amazement, "With who?"

"Nicole." Lucas lowered his eyes to the floor, "I had to get you to fall for me and be affectionate with me in public by the beginning of May. That was why I was sort of pushing you to start telling people. It was wrong and I never should have been so hard on you. So, I'll forgive you if you can forgive me."

Sami narrowed her eyes, "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"That neither of us ever make another bet for the rest of our lives." Sami responded, smirking at him.

Lucas grinned, "Sounds good to me." he slowly lowered his head and brushed against her lips in a gentle, lingering kiss, "I love you."

"I love you too, Lucas."