* * *
Josie woke as sunlight streamed through the window. It felt so amazing to wake up like this�wrapped in Sam's arms, their bare legs tangled. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at the man she loved. "God, he's beautiful," she thought, "and for some unfathomable reason, he's mine." She cupped his face in her hands, loving the feel of his morning whiskers. She placed a feathery kiss in one of his dimples. His eyes popped open.
"Morning, my love," he said.
"Good morning, my fianc�," she said, gazing in wonder at the diamond on her left hand.
Sam grinned. "That has a nice ring to it."
Josie groaned at his sorry pun. "What's for breakfast? I'm starving."
"Why don't you jump in the shower and I'll whip you up one of my world famous omelets?"
* * *
After her shower, she found him in her kitchen. He stood at her stove wearing a pair of faded Levi's, shirtless and barefoot. She embraced him from behind and pressed a kiss into his shoulder blade. "Smell's good," she said. "What can I do?"
"Actually�it's almost ready�you could pour the coffee, though." Josie filled two mugs with steaming coffee, carried them to the table and sat down.
"Breakfast is served, mademoiselle," he said as he presented her plate with a flourish.
"Wow," she said, taking a bite "this is really good! How'd you learn to cook so well?"
"I just got tired of pizza and take-out�so I taught myself some basics."
"A man of many talents," she teased.
"Sweetheart, I have talents you can't even imagine," he threatened.
"I'm starting to," she said, remembering the night before. "I'm starting to." She smiled dreamily as she planned a very special ending to tonight's date.
They arranged to meet the realtor, Sandy Smart, to see the house they'd fallen in love with the previous night. She was an attractive, forty-ish blonde who was delighted to have Chicago's most famous lovebirds as her newest clients. She told them that the house had belonged to an elderly widower who'd died about four months ago. His only daughter inherited it, but since she now lived in Boston, she was eager to sell. She had two teenagers who wanted to go to college and she figured the money from the sale would come in handy.
The house was lovely, a rambling, three-story white Victorian with high ceilings. It had four bedrooms, a country kitchen, a den with built-in bookshelves and a stone fireplace in the living room. They especially loved the wide front porch, complete with a cozy porch swing. It did need some work, but nothing that some fresh paint and wallpaper wouldn't fix. And the price was right.
"It's perfect," said Sam, "Josie�what do you think?"
"I love it�it feels like home�like our home!" she said. "Let's do it!"
"Great,' said Sandy. "So, you'll be making an offer?"
"Absolutely," they said in unison.
"We'll stop by later this afternoon with the financial information you requested," said Sam.
"Looking forward to it. And�may I say�you make a charming couple?"
They laughed. "Remember, Sandy�no one knows that we're engaged�or that we're buying this place," Sam reminded her. "We're trying to keep a low profile."
They stopped by Sam's apartment so he could dig out the paperwork that the realtor had requested. As he searched through his packed up files, Josie picked up the hockey trophy that had been wrapped in her story. It was dented and a little tarnished, but Josie smiled as she read the inscription, 'Most Improved Player, 1979.'
"We'll have to find a special place for all of these," she said.
Sam looked up from his task. "And for all of your spelling awards," he joked.
She smiled. "Hey, do you have anything to drink left in your 'fridge? I'm thirsty."
Sam shrugged. "There might be a couple of cans of soda�"
She headed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It was empty except for three cans of soda and one beer. "Cola or ginger ale," she called.
"Cola�we'll have to drink from the cans, though�all the glasses are packed."
Josie turned and paused as something on the bare kitchen counter caught her eye. She set down the cans and picked it up. It was the picture of her and Sam taken while they'd been painting the backdrop for the prom. Sam's arm was lightly around her shoulders; they were laughing, covered with paint. She hugged the photograph to her chest. Picking up both soda cans in her other hand, she went to kneel by Sam and handed him a cola.
"I'm surprised you kept this," she said, "all things considered."
Sam glanced at the picture. "I tried to throw it out about a thousand times, but I just kept pulling it back out of the trash. That was an incredible day�" he said, remembering.
"I know," she said. "It felt like we were the only two people on the planet. I didn't even notice when everyone else left."
"Me either. But�that paint fight nearly killed me," he admitted. "I started to imagine all sorts of things�things like brushing your face with kisses instead of paint�things I knew I shouldn't even be considering�since I thought�"
Josie was startled by his admission. "I'm so, so sorry for what I put you through. If it's any consolation, I felt a bit like I was dying with every fabrication�every lie I told you. You once said that disguise can be liberating, can get you to do things you never thought possible�and you're right. But being in disguise, for me, was also constricting, choking the life out of me. I never want to try to be anyone other than myself ever again."
"I certainly hope not," he said lightly, "'cause I happen to think you're practically perfect in every way."
"Great�now I'm Mary Poppins," she laughed.
"Maybe�but much sexier," he said with a crooked grin. "Finally," he said triumphantly pulling out a folder, "of course it had to be on the very bottom. Let's go."
"Umm�don't you think you ought to check your machine�that light's blinking pretty fast�"
Sam pressed the play button. "You have eight new messages," said the electronic voice. He groaned.
"Message one: Monday, ten AM�"
"Sam, it's your mother. Did I really see you on the news kissing that pretty reporter that you described to me only days ago as a heartless liar? Call me." Sam grimaced and looked at Josie. She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes twinkling.
"Message two: Monday, ten ten AM�"
"Yo�Sam�buddy�Jon�I think I'm hallucinating�but I'm pretty sure your picture was in this morning's paper�kissing a real knockout at a baseball game�actually�if it was you�then I'm sure you'll be too busy to call me back�looks like things are working out after all...I'll catch you later."
"Message three: Monday, ten fifty nine AM�"
"Sam�Abby again�hey�call Mom�she's freaking out a little bit�and you know�I realize you've got your hands full�sorry�that came out wrong�but could you pick up the phone and call your big sis�I'm dying to know what's going on!"
"I like her already," Josie whispered.
"Message four: Monday, two oh three PM�"
"Sammy�Mom again�I really wish you'd call�"
"Message five: Monday, five PM�"
"Samuel James Coulson�where are you?"
"Guess I'm in trouble�she only uses my full name when I've been really bad," he said grinning.
Josie giggled.
"Message six: Monday, eleven PM�"
"Sam�it's your father�your mother and I are quite concerned. Last we heard you wanted to get out of Chicago for a while�we were expecting you last night�then we see you on the eleven o'clock news�and we can't reach you."
"Message seven: Tuesday, eight oh three AM�"
"Sam�Abby again�still not home�I see�yeah�I know�I'm stating the obvious�but I'm dying out here in California�"
"Message eight: Tuesday, eight fifteen AM�"
"Sam�it's Mom again�I really wish you'd call�"
Sam picked up the phone and carried it over to his favorite leather chair. He grabbed Josie's hand and pulled her into his lap. He punched in the number.
"Mom."
"Sammy!" she said with relief. "Where've you been!? I've been trying to reach you since I saw you on the news! Are you okay?"
"Mom," he said looking tenderly at Josie, "I'm way more than okay. Remember I told you about Josie�"
"The heartless liar?"
"Turns out I was wrong about that. Did you see her story up there?"
"Yes, son, I did�it's everywhere�very talented young woman."
"Did you read the part about the teacher?"
"Of course, I read the whole thing."
"I would be the teacher. The one she's in love with. And�I'm in love with her, too! Mom�you and Dad are going to love her!"
"If you love her, of course we will. So where is this young woman now?"
"She's right here, Mom�on my lap! Wanna say hi?" He handed the phone to Josie.
Josie whacked him on the arm. "Hello, Mrs. Coulson, I'm Josie Geller."
"Hi, Josie. So�you've pretty much announced to the Chicago metro area, not to mention most of the rest of the country that you're in love with my son."
"Yes," said Josie, "I have�and I am�deeply."
"Why?" she asked, "You haven't known each other very long."
"Because we're meant for each other�somehow�we always were. Do you know what Sam did for me? He got on the Ferris wheel with me, even though he's afraid of heights, because I was being teased. The moment I realized what he'd done for me�I knew I was in love."
"Sam's a lucky man, I think. It's nice to know you, Josie."
"You, too, Mrs. Coulson."
"Please, call me Sarah. Put Sammy back on a minute."
Josie handed the phone back to Sam. "Sammy?" she mouthed, grinning.
"So, Sam�we'll expect to see you two here Saturday morning, right?"
"Of course, Mom. We already talked about driving up�We'll see you then. Love to Dad. Bye."
"Mom's right, you know. I am a very lucky man! Think you can stand one more Coulson today?"
"Abby?" she asked, "That would be nice. You two seem close, like Rob and me."
"She's a sweetheart," he said as he dialed.
"Hello?"
"Abby? It's Sam!"
"'Bout time you call me. So�how's Josie?"
"Wonderful�you always did get right to the point�I'm in love, Abb!"
"That's pretty obvious judging from that kiss I saw on TV�they even printed her story in the San Francisco papers today. What she did�that took guts�she must really love you to put herself on the line like that."
"Why don't you ask her yourself? Mom certainly wasn't shy about it." He handed the phone to Josie.
"Hi, Josie�wow�you must be quite a woman�I've never heard him like this before! I just wanted to say hi�I can't wait to meet you�oh�and your story was incredible�I couldn't believe you were talking about my baby brother�the whole thing's just so romantic! So�how'd you do it�we'd about given up hope�thought he was going to settle for being Lara's trained poodle�"
Josie laughed. "I didn't do anything�something just clicked, right from the start�even though it seemed completely impossible at the time�I couldn't help myself."
"From the little I've heard of the story, neither could he�hey�I've got to go, Emma wants me�oh sorry�that's my daughter�Sam's niece�It was nice talking with you, Josie�next time I'll dish you all the dirt on Sam�the growing up years!"
"I can't wait�here's Sam back."
"Hey, sis�you better not be planning on telling tales to Josie," he threatened.
"Moi?" she asked innocently, "I've really got to go�"
"Give Em a kiss from me�and Abby�thanks�love ya."
"Bye, Sam�and Sam�one more thing�"
"Yeah, Abb?"
"I think she's a keeper!"
"I know."
* * *
"So�what should I wear for our date tonight?" Josie asked after leaving the real estate office.
"Casual."
"Mind if we stop by the mall? I've got something I need to pick up."
"You shop?" he said, surprised that it was a pastime that Josie enjoyed.
"Well, I did spend several weeks hanging out with Kirsten, Kristen, and Gibby. They may not know much about Shakespeare, but those girls do know shopping! I've developed a whole new appreciation for the wonders of the shopping mall. Besides, there's something I need�want�for tonight," she said mysteriously.
"The mall it is. I've got a few things I need to pick up as well�for our big first date," he teased.
Josie wasn't surprised to spot the three girls they'd just been talking about as soon as they entered the mall; they practically lived there.
"Josie," they yelled and ran over to hug her.
"Hi, guys. Fancy meeting you here."
"What's up, Josie? Mr. Coulson?" asked Gibby.
Sam grinned and leaned over to whisper conspiratorially to the girls. "You can call me Sam, now�since I'm not your teacher anymore."
"That could take some getting used to," said Kristen, "but we'll try Mr.�I mean Sam."
"So�girls," said Josie, "how would you like to help me with a special mission?"
"Awesome!" said Kirsten.
"Josie," said Sam, "what are you up to?"
"It's a surprise. Just meet me back here in an hour for our date, okay?"
"Will I like the surprise?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah," said Josie, "most definitely, yes."
"Okay�I give up�you win�see you in an hour," he said, "just remember one thing�"
"What's that?"
"This." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply.
"Wow!" said Kirsten, Kristen, and Gibby in unison.
Sam strode off down the mall. "One hour," he reminded her over his shoulder.
"So�where to Josie," asked Kirsten.
"There," said Josie, blushing, pointing to the entrance to Victoria's Secret, "I need to go in there."
* * *