Sam woke up early the next morning with a melancholy feeling in his heart, but with a determined and vibrant attitude. This was Jane's last day in New York, and he was determined to make it a great day for her. He knew that no matter what he did, as long as he was in Jane's company, he would have a good time. She was such a fun and lively person. Sam had an amazing time getting to know her over the course of two short days, and was already so aware of what a wonderful woman she was and what a warm spirit she had.
Looking forward to the day ahead of him, he jumped right out of his bed and the comfort of the satin sheets to take a shower and get dressed. After he was out of the shower, he decided to call Jane to make sure that she was awake and getting ready to go.
Jane answered her phone with a sweet, "Hello?"
"Ah, good morning, Ms. Adler. This is your wakeup call," he replied, smiling.
"Good morning, Mr. Carmichael. I've been awake for quite a while now. I just got out of the shower."
"Oh, great! I just got out of the shower too. Do you think you could be ready in about an hour? I'm almost ready and then I'll be on my way," he said.
"Absolutely. That'll give me enough time to get some packing done so I don't have to do it all tonight," Jane replied.
"Wonderful. I'll see you soon then, beauty," Sam said as he sprayed himself lightly with cologne.
Jane smiled, loving how he was always trying to boost her ego. "See ya."
Sam had been up for most of the night trying to decide where he was going to take Jane the next day, wanting to make sure that her last day in the city was as great as possible. He was sure that Jane would be thrilled with his choices for the day. He hoped so, anyway.
Sam walked out of his building and grabbed a taxi, and when he was close to the Park Regent, he sent Jane a quick text to let her know that he was almost there. When he walked into the hotel lobby, Jane was coming out of one of the elevators. She was looking as gorgeous as ever. Sam thought it was amazing that she could look relaxed and casual but elegant at the same time. Her face lit up with a smile when she saw Sam waiting on her, making his heart lift. He wrapped his arms around her as soon as she was close enough, and he breathed in her sweet scent as he hugged her.
"Jane, you're looking gorgeous this morning. Did you sleep well?" Sam said as he took her hand and walked toward the door.
"Thank you! And I did sleep well, thank goodness."
Sam smiled and nodded. "Well, that's a good thing because I have a rather busy day planned for us. I wouldn't want to be dragging you around totally exhausted." He quickly hailed a cab in the front of the hotel and held the door opened for Jane to climb in first. Sam told the driver to take them to the corner of 5th Avenue and 105th Street.
Jane giggled. "It wouldn't do me any good to ask where we're going to be going today would it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"Absolutely not. I love seeing your face when you're surprised by something," Sam said, gazing into Jane's eyes. "But I can tell you, though, that right now we're going to get some breakfast."
"You try very hard to be mysterious. Did you know that, Sam?" Jane said with a smirk on her lips.
Sam laughed at this observation. "I don't think I do it on purpose."
Jane just nodded knowingly. "It's quite alright darling. Mystery becomes you, I think."
Sam thought about it for a moment. "You know, I'm self-conscious about it now."
"Oh dear, I've made the ever-confident Sam Carmichael self-conscious. Now I've seen it all," Jane said feigning a shocked impression.
Sam poked his bottom lip out in a pout and folded his arms over his chest. Jane laughed at him acting like a child. He could be such a goof. She grabbed his chin, turning his face toward hers, and gave him a sweet kiss, his pouting bottom lip slipping slightly between her own lips. That certainly turned Sam's frown into a smile.
They got out of the taxi and walked a few blocks to a bakery that had wonderful pastries and coffee. It made Jane smile, thinking of her bakery back in Pasadena. After they got their food, they walked across the street and stopped in front of the Vanderbilt Gate that led into a park of Central Park.
"I brought you this far uptown with the sole purpose of showing you this place. I wanted to bring you here last night, but it would have taken us an hour to walk from the other end of The Park," Sam explained to Jane as she took a bite out of her croissant. She nodded in understanding as she chewed.
Sam opened the elaborate gate and led the way into what is known as the Conservatory Garden. Jane's eyes were met with a lush green lawn with a large fountain at the opposite end. The path that they were walking on forked out left and right, pointing to marvelous terraces covered in bright pink flowers of all sorts. Along the edges of the lawn were stout trees that gave shade to the path.
"Sam, this place is gorgeous!" Jane exclaimed once she had absorbed it all.
"It's one of my favorite places. A lot of people don't even know it's here – it's a bit of a hidden treasure," Sam said.
"This city seems to have a lot of hidden treasures," Jane swooned, looking up at Sam's smiling face.
The pair took a seat on a bench under the shade of a white crabapple tree, where they finished their breakfast and sipped their coffee.
"So what are your children doing today since they're not with you?" Sam asked.
"Shopping, I think. They're certainly making the most of their time in the city. I think they're going out for drinks after dinner… they were going to let me go to the airport all by myself. I'm glad that I have you to see me off tonight," Jane said.
Sam chuckled. "My boys are the same way. They're barely ever home – always looking for something to do and making plans to see people when they could be spending time with their father."
Jane laughed and nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. There was a time when the kids were younger that she would be thankful for days when all her children would be out doing something fun instead of bothering her. That meant that she had time to relax or clean up after them without having them in the way. Now that they were all grown, though, she cherished every moment that she had with them because she didn't get to see them as often.
"Has Jake tried to interrogate you about last night yet?" Sam asked with a snicker.
Jane laughed at the question. "No… but that's only because I haven't seen him since just before we left yesterday. He was very aware that you were taking me out, though, so I'm sure he'll try to give me the third degree later."
Sam shook his head as they both stood up to exit the garden. "I hate that you have to put up with that just because we've started seeing each other."
Something about that sentence took Jane aback. "It's no problem. I can handle Jake," she said with a smile, then she swallowed and took a breath. "Sam, is that what we are? Are we 'seeing each other'? Like dating?"
Sam stopped walking and turned to face Jane, taking her hands in his. "Jane, I'm not quite sure what we are exactly because of how fast this is all going – which isn't a bad thing at all." Sam saw Jane's eyebrows raise in slight confusion. "Look, darling… I enjoy being with you very much. You're an amazing person and I know for a fact that I want to keep seeing you even after you fly back to your home on the other side of the country. If that means that we're dating, then we're dating. Okay?" Sam said with determination.
A huge smile lit Jane's face up. She loved how straightforward Sam could be. "Okay."
Sam nodded and then gave Jane a quick peck on her lips before he dropped one of her hands and continued their walk back to the street. "So when I finally meet your children, you can introduce me as your boyfriend," he suggested coyly.
Jane's eyes widened. "Oh, gosh… I haven't even thought about telling the kids about this. I'll have to figure it out, I suppose."
Sam hailed another cab when they reached the sidewalk outside the gardens, and instructed the driver to take them to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street.
"And where might we be going now?" Jane asked, batting her eyelashes.
"We're going to visit a very old and famous landmark. I think you'll enjoy it a lot."
Jane accepted that he wasn't going to tell her anything else about their destination, so she quickly changed the subject and they chatted as they waited for the taxi to maneuver through the heavy 5th Avenue traffic. They finally got out of the taxi at the corner of 5th and 34th and it didn't look like much of anything until they approached a building and Jane saw the golden signs on the doors.
"The Empire State Building?" she asked skeptically.
"Indeed. Most people consider it the best view in the entire city," Sam gushed.
Jane gulped as a man in a suit opened the door and Sam led her inside to the lobby of the building. She gripped Sam's hand tightly. "So uhh… we're going to the top of this thing?"
Sam shrugged his shoulders. "Well, not the very top… just the 86th floor. That's where the open-air observatory is," he explained, then noticing how uneasy Jane looked. "Are you alright, beauty?"
She bit nervously at the inside of her lip. "Yeah, it's just that… I'm really freaking terrified of heights."
"So am I," Sam said. "But I swear it doesn't feel like you're up that high. There's a concrete wall that's like 3 feet high. You can't really look down, just out. You won't feel afraid when you get up there, I swear to you."
Jane bit her lip and thought about his words for a moment. Sam was rubbing the pad of his thumb against the back of her hand, encouraging her to comply. She sighed deeply and nodded. "Okay. Let's do it then."
Sam gave her a quick hug. "Wonderful! I promise you won't regret it. And if you get too uncomfortable, we can come right back down."
They got their tickets scanned and then they went through security and bag check before they took a short elevator ride up to a museum type area where you could learn the history of the building and find out more about its structure. At the end of that area, they got into the line for the elevator that would take them up to the 86th floor observatory.
When they were in the elevator, Sam put his arm protectively around Jane's shoulder. "Watch how quickly the elevator goes up," Sam said, pointing to the digital counter that told them which floor they were currently on. It was actually going up by multiples of 10. Jane buried her face into Sam's shoulder until the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. They were let out into a room that had huge windows that allowed you to look out over whole island of Manhattan. Jane had to admit that the view was incredible.
Sam walked Jane over to the window. "It's great, isn't it?"
Jane was truly astonished. "It's nothing short of amazing. I'm in awe."
Sam smiled as he saw her relaxing and coming back around from her frightened self. "Want to walk outside? It's even more unbelievable from out there." Jane simply nodded.
They pushed the door opened and were met with a gust of cool and seemingly fresh air. It took their breath away and they were both left speechless. Jane slowly walked over to the edge of the wall and placed her hands on it, looking toward the southern part of Manhattan. Sam walked up behind her and made his presence known by pressing himself against her back and placing his hands near hers on the top of the cement wall. The new contact made Jane draw a sharp breath.
When Sam spoke, Jane could feel the vibration of his words close to her ear and it made chills run up and down her spine and arms. "See that land over there across the Hudson River?" he asked, pointing to the right. Jane only nodded. "That's New Jersey. And that," he said, pointing over to the left, "on the other side of the East River, is part of Long Island… Brooklyn and Queens are over that way." Jane leaned back slightly into his chest as he pointed to the Statue of Liberty, which looked like a little ant from where they were.
"C'mon, I want to show you something," Sam said. He grabbed Jane's hand and walked around to the other side of the observatory so that they were then looking out at the northern part of the city.
"Oh, is that Central Park, Sam?" Jane asked, trying to take in every part of the view.
Sam nodded, and then walked over to one of the coin-operated binocular machines that were all over the observation deck and put in a few quarters to make it work. He adjusted the view and motioned for Jane to come over and look into it.
"See that tall brown building that it's zoomed in on?" he asked as Jane nodded. "That's your hotel."
Jane giggled. "Oh, it looks much more impressive from the inside."
Sam laughed at her. "I agree. Now let me show you something else," he said before Jane moved out of the way and let him adjust the binoculars again. "Okay. Look at this," he said as she moved her face to the binoculars again. "That big grey building is my apartment building. I live at the very top of it."
"Very fancy, Mr. Carmichael," she said with a funny accent.
Sam laughed at her, always pulling out her sense of humor at the best times. He pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek and she turned to look at him. "Let's take more pictures," she suggested as she took her phone out of her purse. Like the night before, Sam took Jane's phone and snapped a few pictures of them together with the view in the background. They walked around the observatory deck once more and Sam pointed out a few more buildings, like the Chrysler Building and the Freedom Tower before he felt his stomach grumbling.
"Ready for lunch?" he asked.
Jane looked out at the city one last time, as if trying to decide whether or not she wanted to part with it. "Yeah. Let's go," she said with a sweet smile.
Sam picked out a cozy Italian restaurant called Paesano in New York's Little Italy for lunch. It was an attractive little hole-in-the-wall type place that was dimly lit and made you feel like you were in the heart of Italy. Jane ordered a fresh salad topped with the restaurant's specialty oil and vinegar dressing, and Sam ordered a Panini. They each drank a glass of wine and then switched to water, not wanting to drink too much at lunchtime. They held hands across the table, and Sam would run his thumb along the back of Jane's hand every so often to let her know that he appreciated the contact. Jane told him stories about her crazy friends, causing the nearly empty restaurant to become filled with their laughter.
When they were finished with their lunch, they strolled out into the streets of Little Italy and walked toward Chinatown, passing all of the little shops and food stands. "So, what time are you meeting the kids for dinner?" Sam asked.
"6 o'clock, I think," she replied with a sigh.
"Good, that gives us enough time."
Jane looked at him with a raised brow. "Enough time for what, Carmichael?"
"You'll see. I'll explain on the way," he said as he hailed a taxi.
Sam told the driver to take them to 7th and 44th and then turned to face his gorgeous date. "Have you ever seen a show on Broadway?"
Jane thought about it. "No, I've never seen a live show, but I listen to the music. I love it."
Sam smirked. "And if you had to pick one show to see, which would you pick?"
"Hmmm," she pondered. "I don't know… something old and iconic, I suppose."
"Liiiiiike The Phantom of the Opera?" Sam suggested.
Jane's eyes lit up at the mention of one of her favorite shows. "Yes! I adore Phantom… the music, I mean. I've never seen it, unless you count the 1925 silent film version."
Sam laughed. "I've seen it live three times."
Jane's jaw dropped. "What? I'm so jealous! Was it wonderful?"
Sam couldn't help but laugh at how excited she was. "Why don't you wait and see for yourself?"
Jane tilted her head slightly to the side. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
"If you think it means that we're on the way to the Majestic Theater to see Broadway's longest running musical, then it is exactly what you think it means. I have two tickets to the matinee, darling," Sam said.
Jane gasped then threw arms around Sam before placing a series of quick pecks on his lips and cheeks. "You're so wonderful, Sam. Seriously. I can't believe it."
Sam laughed and breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he'd correctly picked all of their activities for the day – especially this one. "I would love to do something where we could talk, but I really wanted to take you to see this show. Nothing affects you quite like a Broadway show and I wanted to let you experience it before you leave," he explained.
"No, it's perfect."
The taxi took them as close to the theater as possible, but when traffic looked really bad up ahead, the pair decided that it would just be better to get out and walk the rest of the way. They waited outside the theater in line for a while until the doors were opened. They pushed through the crowd to get to their seats which were in the front row of the balcony. Jane was immediately excited by the props for the first scene, including the chandelier, sitting on the stage waiting to come to life. Sam explained that he got tickets for the balcony because he thought that they were the best seats in the house and even seats near the orchestra couldn't beat the balcony. They chatted amongst themselves as they waited for the show to start. Finally, the lights dimmed and the orchestra began playing the Entr'acte. Jane was on the edge of her seat for the entire show, watching everything with intensity. Sam was enjoying watching her reactions to different things in the show. By the end of the first act, Jane was sat still and quiet with tears streaming gently over her prominent cheek bones. Hearing the pain or rejection and betrayal sear through the Phantom's voice evoked emotions that she wasn't even aware that she had.
When the curtain closed for intermission, Jane clapped ferociously and then discreetly wiped her tears. When she looked over at Sam, he had a soft smile on his lips. "What are you grinning at?'" she asked with a giggle, already knowing the answer to that question.
Sam draped his arm over her shoulder and she leaned into him a bit. "You're crying. It's admirable – and very cute."
Jane laughed and turned her head up to look at him and he captured her lips in a lingering kiss that took her breath away for a moment. "Well, I'm glad that you think that my misery and emotion is 'cute', jerk," she said sarcastically, turning her head away.
Sam snickered then grabbed her chin and turned her face back toward his. "You know what I meant, gorgeous," he mumbled against her lips before kissing her again.
When the kiss broke, "I know what you mean. And you're pretty cute too, you know that?" she said, rubbing the tip of her nose against Sam's.
He laughed as they parted their rather intimate public display of affection. "Believe me, babe. I know I'm cute," he said feigning arrogance. Jane just chuckled and slapped him playfully across his chest.
Shortly after, the lights dimmed again and the second act began. The second act was much more emotional and passionate than the first, leaving Jane in a puddle by the time Christine left the Phantom's lair. She was literally blubbering as the Phantom sang his last line, and the curtain closed. "It's over now, the music of the night…" She couldn't even stand up at the end to give the performers an ovation because her legs were shaking, so she just clapped and clapped until she couldn't anymore.
Sam and Jane were the last to exit the theater, never wanting to leave that experience behind. Jane stayed fairly quiet as they walked a few blocks and then tried to hail a taxi.
"Jane, where are you going now? Back to the hotel or are you meeting your kids somewhere?" Sam asked, so he could tell the driver where to go.
She snapped out of her daze. "Oh, uh… back to the hotel. We're all meeting there and then riding to the restaurant together."
He told the driver to take them to the Park Regent and then turned his attention back to Jane. "Are you alright, sweetheart? You haven't said much lately."
Jane shrugged. "I guess so… I'm just still thinking about Phantom. I've never been affected like that by anything before. I'm also thinking about how our perfect day is coming to an end and I'm going to be leaving you very soon," she explained with a frown.
Sam took her hand in his. "Everything's going to be alright, darling. I'm still taking you to the airport tonight, so we have that to look forward to. And I'm going to miss you a lot, but we'll see each other again very soon. I can fly out to see you and then you can show me around your corner of the world. And you can introduce me to your children and feed me some of that fabulous food that you make at your bakery. Okay?"
That made a smile come to her face. "Okay. That sounds wonderful. And I'll text you tonight after I finish dinner with the kids and then you can meet me at the hotel." Sam nodded, playing with her hair.
Sam pressed a quick kiss to Jane's lips before she climbed out of the cab when they reached the hotel, and then he went to his apartment to freshen up and return some calls that he had missed while he was out for the day. Meanwhile, Jane was at a laid-back, upscale restaurant with her children and Harley. They had already made plans to go out for drinks after dinner, and they were rambling endlessly about everything that they had done that day. Jane had also figured out, from their chatter, that Jake, Agnes, and Pedro had flown back to California on an early flight that morning. She silently thanked God for that, glad that there was no chance of her seeing him when she went back to the hotel, or worse – on her flight back home. When Gabby asked Jane about what she had done all day, Jane tried to play it off like she had just gone shopping and grabbed a late lunch, not ready to tell her children about the man that she had met a few days prior that was steadily trying to sweep her off of her feet… and that she was quickly falling for.
After they finished, Jane walked out of the restaurant with her children and they all hugged her and told her goodbye, knowing that she was about to fly home, and telling her that they were all going to fly back the day after tomorrow. They walked a few blocks to a club while she grabbed a cab to head back to her hotel to finish packing and check out. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and found Sam's name in her contacts, pressing the call button.
Sam smiled when he heard his phone ringing in his pocket and was pleased to see that it was Jane. "Hey, finished with dinner already?"
A smile curled on Jane's lips at the sound of his voice on the other end of the phone. "Yep. The kids couldn't wait to get out of there and hit the bars," she said with a sigh. "Bless their hearts."
Sam chuckled. "Are you back at the hotel yet?"
"No, I'm in a cab on the way back. But if you want to, you could come over here early and talk to me while I finish packing," she said in a sweet, convincing voice.
"Good idea, Ms. Adler. I'll be over soon. Which room are you in?"
"Room 816. See you soon, handsome," she flirted.
"816," he repeated. "Okay. See you in a second, doll."
When Jane made it up to her room, she found that she actually had very little to pack – just the stuff in the bathroom, a few dresses from the closet, and her makeup and hair products that were laying on the vanity table. She heard a knock on her door about 15 minutes after she arrived, and smiled knowing it was Sam. When she flung the door opened, he was standing there with a single red rose in his hand.
Jane took the rose from him and stuck it to her nose. "Always trying to charm, aren't you, Sam?"
He shrugged and stepped into Jane's room. "Pretty ladies deserve pretty flowers."
"Well, I appreciate it. It's lovely," she said, closing the door behind them and watching Sam walk over to the couch.
"I would have bought you a whole dozen, but I knew you wouldn't be able to take them on the plane with you, so I had to settle," he explained with a chuckle.
Jane placed the rose gently on the vanity table and went back to her closet to pull the rest of her clothes out of it and into her suitcase. "I actually don't have a lot to pack – I'll be done in a minute. You can get some wine out of the refrigerator and we can have a drink if you want."
When Jane was done packing, she still had a little time before she had to leave for the airport, so she sat down on the couch and had drinks with Sam. She rested her head on Sam's shoulder, her hand holding onto the bend in his arm. "Today was perfect, Sam Carmichael. I never got the chance to thank you earlier, but you have no idea how much fun I had with you today. Thank you – a million times."
"You are very welcome. I was thankful for another day that I got to spend with you," he said, leaning his head over to rest on top of Jane's that was on his shoulder. "Are you in love with New York yet?" he asked, remembering his bet from the day before.
Jane giggled and raised her head to look at him. "I think I might just be in love with your city, Carmichael. Congratulations, you succeeded."
Sam pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "It doesn't take much."
They sat quiet for a few seconds and Jane reflected on the past few days. "Sam, do you realize how crazy this is?"
He raised his eyebrows at her. "How crazy what is?"
"The fact that I met you like two days ago in a hotel bar and now I'm honestly so sad to have to leave you and go back home. The fact that I feel like I've known for years… the fact that I'm so comfortable in your company… and the fact that I can't get enough of your kisses," she added, laughing when he attacked her with his lips.
"I know it's crazy, but doesn't it just feel kind of right?" he asked, running his index finger along her jawline.
Jane took a deep breath. "It feels very right. That's what scares me."
"This is one of your first attempts at a relationship since your divorce… it's okay to be a little scared, but you don't have to be, you know. You deserve to be happy and have fun."
Jane sighed and leaned into him again. "I know. I'm trying to learn that. I'll get the hang of it eventually."
Sam and Jane talked things over for another half hour and then Jane decided that it was time for them to head over to the airport. She had a car waiting to take them to JFK International, and Sam helped the driver load her bags in. It took about a half hour to get to the airport, and the whole time, Sam held Jane close to his warm body and stroked her honey blonde hair as she talked about anything that came to her mind. He was truly going to miss her company. She'd come in and out of his life so quickly and unexpectedly that it was hard for him to even wrap his head around what he was feeling for this woman, but if he was willing to stay in contact with her when she lived on the other side of the country and make plans to fly out and see her, then it had to be something serious, right?
Sam carried Jane's bags into the airport and stood with her as she checked in and sent her things to baggage. Her flight was beginning to board, meaning that she didn't have much time left. She turned to Sam with a somber smile on her face. It was time for goodbye.
"I guess this is it, Carmichael," she said with a shrug.
Sam cupped her cheek in his hand and gave her one of his beaming smiles. "Don't be sad, darling. You'll be seeing me again very soon. Don't forget to text and call often. You'll be three hours behind New York over in California, but call me any time. Day or night, I won't mind."
Jane chuckled. "I'll be sure to call you during daylight hours, darling. No one likes getting woken up by the telephone."
Sam wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. "I'd be thrilled to receive a mid-night call from you, beauty," he said, kissing her tenderly.
She responded with a throaty laugh. "Yeah, we'll see how thrilled you are when I call you at 2 a.m."
Jane was leaning up for another kiss when she heard he flight being called over the intercom. She sighed deeply and threw her arms around Sam's neck. "I have to go, Mr. Handsome. I'm going to miss you."
Sam placed a hand on the side of Jane's neck and pressed his plump lips to hers, capturing their parting moments in a searing kiss. Jane felt that kiss in every part of her body from her head to her toes. She let out the softest of moans and parted her lips slightly and ran the tip of her tongue over his bottom lip, silently begging Sam to give her just a bit more. She felt his lips curl into a little smirk before he gave in and met her tongue with his own, feeding their passions as he felt Jane's body relax in his arms. One thing was for sure, they had wild chemistry.
When they finally parted for air, Sam rested his forehead against Jane's. "I'm going to miss you too, beauty. I'll see you soon." He placed few more tender kisses on her lips and then watched as she gave him one last feeble smile and then walked away.