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Stephanie knew she and Adam would talk about Wes eventually. While she didn't have Merriwick intuition, even she could see this coming and wondered why they hadn't discussed this already. She thought for sure Adam would bring it up before she went to the cabin, but he only kissed her good-bye and texted to make sure she arrived safely.
Her boyfriend didn't seem to be jealous of her ex-husband at all.
Which, she reminded herself, was a good thing.
Wasn't it?
Her thoughts wandered while she tested a new recipe after-hours at The Bistro. She'd planned for squash ravioli (not only butternut) in a creamy brown butter sauce. Since she'd made the ravioli during the day all she had to do was put the sauce together...
Really, she should be happy that Adam trusted her so much. Stephanie had a long history of insecurity in her relationships, on both sides, so this was just new and she needed to adjust. But what if it meant that Adam didn't care as much as she thought he did? He was such an all-around kind man that it might be difficult to catch any emotional distance. Her mind went over their dates, their one-on-one moments, realizing he always listened as “the chaplain” and rarely shared his own stories. Of course he told her about his family and his life up until that point, but how well did she know him?
At least she'd already met the ex-fiancee, so hopefully there'd be no more surprises on that front. But she remembered how, while she'd tried to act like an adult, she'd been a mess worrying Adam would go back to his ex.
Then again the situations were very different. She and Adam had barely started dating, and the ex purposely returned to win Adam back.
Then again Wes did reveal his feelings for her, so maybe Adam should've at least been suspicious...
A banging at the Bistro's front door made Stephanie jump. Since she'd almost finished the dish anyway, Stephanie turned off the burners and debated if she should answer after hours. Her assistant chefs were in the back going through inventory so she hoped they'd run in if there was trouble. Not to mention, in Middleton she'd more likely face Martha with some sort of hosting emergency than a criminal.
In the time she hesitated she noticed a new text.
Sam:
Lost watch Cassie gave me (long story), need surprise dessert, please help!
Stephanie laughed because, whether through coincidence or Merriwick magic, she'd whipped up her best friend's preferred chocolate cake that very morning. She brought the cake out to the counter on her way to open the door. “You are one lucky guy,” Stephanie said by way of greeting. “Not only am I still here, Cassie's favorite cake is ready to go.”
“You're my dessert guardian angel,” Sam enthused, taking a seat at the counter. “Thank you, I appreciate this.”
Stephanie shrugged as she cut generous slices of cake. “Don't worry about it, at least this is one relationship problem I can fix.” She glanced back at the kitchen. “I'd let you try this new ravioli dish I made but I'm guessing you need to go find your watch.”
At that, Sam sighed and crossed his arms on the counter. “Actually I know exactly where it is, and I know Cassie already ate. I don't have it in me to turn down readily-available food so please and thank you.” He tilted his head at her while she plated up the ravioli. “What relationship problem can't you fix? Is it about your ex and the cabin?”
Stephanie smirked as she put the plate in front of him. “You're really starting to sound like Cassie sometimes.”
“Yeah, people have mentioned that.”
“I'm not surprised,” Stephanie replied with a laugh. “And yes, it is about my ex. It's just strange to me that Adam wasn't bothered by Wes showing up. I know I should be happy but, it's weird right?”
To her confusion Sam laughed. “You two really are perfect for each other.” Then his eyes widened after he took a bite of the ravioli. “Oh my God, this is amazing. I'd feel the same way even if I weren't starving right now.”
“Thank you.” Though flattered, Stephanie was too distracted to talk about food. “What do you mean, did he say something to you?”
Sam nodded while he finished chewing. “He's worried about not being worried. I told him if he had to ask, he must be at least a little nervous. He talked to me about it while you were away so I'm sure he'll bring it up.”
As Stephanie took this in, she realized a weight had been lifted. Adam did care. He'd even cared enough to talk to Sam about it. “You know, I feel better now.”
“That's pretty much what he said.”
Stephanie's relief was short-lived when she stumbled across another, startling realization. All this talk of exes shook loose a memory she'd tried to suppress. “Oh my God,” she whispered, staring at Sam with wide eyes. “I never told Adam we dated.”
The hand holding the fork paused mid-air as Sam gaped at her. “Dated? To be clear, when you say 'we' you mean the two of us ?”
His genuine shock made Stephanie roll her eyes. It certainly wasn't her favorite memory but she recalled that it happened. Most of the time. “Seriously? I know you fell for Cassie right after but I didn't think you hit the ground that hard.”
“Okay, now it's coming back to me.” Sam ran his hands over his face, so Stephanie couldn't tell if he was annoyed, bothered, upset somehow...
Without warning he burst into uncontrollable laughter.
This time Stephanie's jaw dropped. What about this was funny? “Seriously?”
Fighting through laughter, Sam sputtered, “I'm sorry, it's been a long day. And I'm remembering how much of a disaster that was. I swear, the universe itself forced us to see how much we weren't meant for each other.”
“Hey, we had some chemistry!”
“No we didn't.”
“You're right, we didn't.” Then Stephanie began laughing too, beginning to see the humor. While embarrassed by her desperation, she'd reached a point where she could laugh about her misguided pursuit of him. Towards the end it'd been clear as day that Sam should be with Cassie. With the benefit of hindsight, she liked to believe that was the real reason she'd given up so fast after a humiliating amount of effort.
Still, Adam didn't know any of that.
“So you don't think I need to tell him?” Stephanie prodded, waiting for Sam to recover from his laughter.
To his credit Sam considered the question. “I'm a little surprised you haven't already. Romantic history is basic dating stuff.”
“Maybe you're not the only one who blocked it out,” Stephanie muttered, making Sam laugh again. “It was a fling, barely a fling...”
“Never even flung,” Sam agreed.
“Exactly. Plus you and Adam weren't friends yet so I honestly didn't think to bring it up. It never seemed that important and I didn't want to potentially drive a wedge between you and Adam over nothing...” Stephanie trailed off, aware she was rambling. “Now it's too late and he'll think I hid it from him for a bad reason.”
Appropriately somber again, Sam resumed eating his ravioli. “Look, when you and Adam talk about Wes, tell him about us too while you're on the topic. I'm sure he won't care once you give him the whole story.” He chuckled again into his meal. “Just stress nothing happened. So much nothing that we both pretty much forgot it happened at all.”
Stephanie shook her head in amazement. “I'm trying to be insulted but I think it's for the best. I'm honestly so happy for you and Cassie and now the four of us can be friends. As long as Adam doesn't mind that his girlfriend once dated his best friend.”
“Literally only once.”
“Oh my God, you're right, it was one date.” Stephanie and Sam laughed again as she finally sampled the ravioli herself, acknowledging it was ready for the menu. She paused as more of her memory came together. “Wait, was Nick there for some reason?”
“He was. And before Cassie intervened I almost burnt down the house trying to make dinner.”
“I do remember smelling smoke, and thinking it odd that Cassie would let something burn on her watch. Mystery solved.”
The big talk with Adam had been much more simple than Stephanie expected. She reassured him, they hugged, and that seemed to be the end of it. But Stephanie couldn't shake her chat with Sam. If there was ever a time to rip off this particular Band-Aid, it was now. “Adam, wait. There's something else you should know.”
“About you and Wes? What happened at the cabin?” Adam frowned as he sat on the stool she indicated, and she took the one next to him.
Well, if she'd decided to be honest... “I did get the impression Wes still had some feelings for me,” she confessed. “But I meant what I said – you have nothing to worry about. I promise. Frankly I have no intention of seeing him again any time soon.” Before they could linger on the subject too long she pressed forward. “All this talk about exes made me realize I never told you about someone I dated, someone who's still in Middleton. It's Sam.”
Adam responded with a blank stare. “Sam who?”
Stephanie couldn't blame him for asking, not when the idea sounded absolutely ridiculous now. “Sam Radford. Cassie's Sam.”
“Dated? You and Sam?” Adam's reaction gave Stephanie a severe case of deja vu. “Like, dated, dated? How...when...why wouldn't you mention that? Why has no one mentioned that? At all?”
“Because it wasn't worth mentioning!” Hoping to prevent his imagination from getting carried away, Stephanie put a hand on his arm and quickly provided more detail. “Adam, I swear to you, my unfortunate barely-a-fling with Sam had less to do with him and more to do with my one-track desperation at the time. I don't even think I was serious about it, or really considered what would happen if we became a couple. He was simply the first decent eligible bachelor to move to Middleton in years.”
The fact that Adam stayed quiet made Stephanie nervous. Finally he looked up at her towards the end of her speech. “You said if we became a couple.”
“One date,” Stephanie replied with a small, sheepish grin. “And it might've been the most awkward date in history. His son was there.”
A knot loosened in Stephanie's stomach when Adam laughed. “Wow. I guess that's why there was no second date.”
“One of many reasons,” Stephanie assured him. “I mean, by then even I noticed that Cassie and Sam had a connection. Then his ex-wife showed up and I gracefully bowed out. Trust me, that is one decision where I have no regrets. Sam and Cassie are obviously destined.”
Adam nodded in agreement. “I think so too. More than that I'm relived you think so.” He gave her a sideways glance. “What was Cassie's reaction to all this? It had to cause some friction if she also had feelings for Sam.”
Oh. Oh. Logically Stephanie knew Cassie must have liked Sam as more than a neighbor from the beginning. But during most of her “crush,” she'd been so focused on reeling Sam in for herself that she'd pretended not to notice Cassie's feelings. In fact she remembered purposely not going down that road knowing she wouldn't like what she'd find. She only decided to “let Cassie have him” when dating Sam became inconvenient.
God. First of all, could she be more dense?
And second – how did Cassie put up with her? Why did Cassie put up with her?
Noting Stephanie's grimace, Adam reached for her hand. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories.”
“No, that's the problem,” Stephanie muttered, wrapping her arm around his. “She never said anything to discourage me. Typical, Cassie provided endless support while I ignored all her advice and made a fool of myself.” She sighed when she reached another realization. “Maybe Cassie and I are the ones who should be talking about this.”
After Cassie surprised Sam again with his “new-old” watch, he surprised her with the cake from The Bistro. They lounged on the couch with their dessert and hot beverages of choice – coffee for him, tea for her as always. While he and Cassie caught up, his mind kept going back to his conversation with Stephanie and the oddest, most uncomfortable dating experience of his life.
When he couldn't hold back a chuckle, Sam tried to hide it with one of the last bites of his cake. Of course Cassie noticed. “Sorry,” he mumbled with his mouth full, putting his plate on the coffee table. “Thinking about something else that happened today.”
“Clearly,” Cassie teased. “Care to share?”
In the car Sam had debated whether he should tell Cassie, and really, there was no reason not to. She probably already knew about Stephanie's ex showing up. “Luckily for me, Stephanie was testing a recipe when I stopped by. Squash ravioli in a cream sauce – delicious,” he added, knowing she'd want to hear about The Bistro's newest dish. Sure enough Cassie's eyes lit up. “Anyway, since I already heard about Wes from Adam...”
Cassie sat up slightly in her seat and set her plate down next to his. “Adam talked to you about Wes? Stephanie texted me that her ex-husband stopped by but I didn't hear any more about it.”
“Oh, I did,” Sam replied. “Adam didn't want to admit it but he was a little nervous about Stephanie going to the cabin alone with her ex. In fact he thought it was weird he supposedly didn't mind. He felt better when I told him asking me meant he minded.”
“That was very intuitive of you, Dr. Radford.”
Sam chuckled. “Maybe one day I'll be Middleton's most popular advice guru.”
“Not so fast, I've got a few more years of practice under my belt. What happened after that?”
“This is where the humor comes in,” Sam answered. “Stephanie was troubled about the Wes situation, but we ended up talking about exes. Specifically, that she and I are exes and Adam doesn't know.”
This revelation made Cassie lean forward with interest. “She never told Adam? You never told Adam?”
Sam paused at her second question. Should he have mentioned this to Adam once they became friends? It was a thin line to walk – his duty as a friend versus Stephanie's right to privacy. At the very least maybe he should have talked to Stephanie about it sooner. Though in his defense it wasn't like he purposely avoided the subject. “I honestly forgot until she brought it up tonight,” Sam confessed with another laugh. “Stephanie was not amused. At first, anyway.”
“I'll bet,” Cassie replied, shaking her head at the thought. “So that's why you're still laughing.”
“Uh huh. I think she forgot too, either that or suppressed it. If I were her I certainly would. Not that either of us looked our best in that situation.”
When he laughed again Cassie reluctantly joined in. “I can vouch for that,” she admitted. “From what I remember you were both vulnerable. Stephanie... really wanted a relationship and you'd just arrived in Middleton. If you want to look at the silver lining...”
“Oh, I'd love to hear this one.”
Cassie smirked. “You cleared any tension out of the way so you can be friends now. So all of us can be friends. I've never once doubted your strictly platonic love for Stephanie.”
“That's the truth,” Sam agreed. “Even back when we 'dated' I never actually kissed her.”
“You didn't?” Cassie sent him an innocent smile, falling just short of batting her eyelashes.
Sam grinned at her. “Come on, Merriwick intuition aside, Stephanie would've told you if we did. The point of this is I hope Adam believes us when we tell him it's all in the past.”
“I'm sure he will.” Cassie kissed Sam's cheek and settled into his arms. “You know they're both going to come to us, right?”
“Absolutely. We're the best advice gurus in town.” They laughed yet again as Sam wrapped his arms around her. Keeping Cassie's reassurance in mind, Sam hoped Adam's reaction would be as lighthearted as theirs.
Adam wanted to believe he had a real reason to stop by Bell, Book and Candle. His mother's birthday was coming up soon and she'd love some of Cassie's tea. But he couldn't deny hoping Cassie would also have some advice. The expected next step would be for Adam to talk with Sam, and he'd get there. The problem was he needed to sort through his feelings first.
And he didn't have any. No anxiety whatsoever.
He knew with absolute certainty that Stephanie would never cheat on him. And in the totally-imaginary scenario where she'd consider it, it wouldn't be with her best friend's husband. Sam's complete devotion to Cassie ensured nothing romantic would happen between him and Stephanie ever again.
Again, the apparent lack of emotion worried Adam. He should feel something, right? He'd just found out his girlfriend dated his closest Middleton friend first. If Adam were to be truly honest, Sam already cast a pretty long shadow. Dr. Radford happened to be one of the most popular guys in town – especially at the hospital where Adam also worked. Any time Sam left a room female nurses and staff would all comment on his “unfortunate” happily-married status. There'd even been men who joined in. Adam wondered if this partially fueled the nasty, strange rumors he sometimes heard about Cassie.
Anyway, it was hard for the guy next to Sam not to feel a little inferior. And Adam generally liked to think of himself as secure. So to find out his girlfriend had expressed interest in Sam as soon as he arrived in town...
Oh, okay. He did have feelings. That was a start.
Since he stopped at Cassie's shop right before work, she'd just opened for the day and didn't have any other customers yet. He couldn't have timed this better. When he walked in, she was at the other end of the store and had her back turned to him. He started to say hello when she beat him to it without even turning around.
“Good morning, Adam.”
“Good morning, Cassie.” Adam shook his head as he walked over to her. While he didn't believe the rumors, he'd noticed her odd knack for knowing everything. “Really though, how do you do that?”
Cassie grinned at him. “Do what?”
So that was her game. “Right. So, I'm hoping you can ship a gift to my mother.”
“Of course, all my tea selections are over here.” Cassie waved him over to the display, then pointed to a collection of floral teas – his mother's favorite.
“How did you...never mind.” He'd be there all day if he kept asking pointless questions.
They spent the next few minutes picking out his mother's gift and setting up the shipment. As Cassie rang up the purchase, she gave him a sideways glance. He'd been fidgety during the entire exchange. “So, since you're not bringing it up, I'll have to ask how you feel about Stephanie and Sam's history.”
Busted. Adam gave her a sheepish grin. “Stephanie?”
“She texted me this morning, but she also talked to Sam and he told me first.”
“Right.” Adam chuckled at her blunt response. Then he let out a deep breath and got right to the point. “For the record, I don't believe for one second anything would ever happen between Sam and Stephanie. That hasn't changed.”
Cassie smiled wide. “I'm so glad you feel that way, and I know Sam will be relieved. I was there so if you want my view of things...”
“Yes please,” Adam quickly interrupted.
“How should I put this? Sam and Stephanie weren't the best match. As friends, yes. But their short-lived romance was...”
“A disaster?”
They both laughed at his interruption. “While it's not my place to comment on Stephanie's past relationships, especially to her current boyfriend, let me put your mind at ease. She felt like she needed to be in a relationship, so it ultimately had little to do with who Sam was as a person. She's grown a lot since then and I know she truly cares for you.”
Adam didn't want to admit it, but the insecure part of him felt much better. “Yeah, 'desperation' was mentioned. I really do understand. I just...” He trailed off, uncertain about voicing his jealous feelings to Sam's wife.
As if reading his mind, Cassie assured him, “I promise, this conversation stays between us.”
“Thank you.” Adam hesitated again, putting his thoughts together. “Look, I think we can both agree that Sam's kind of perfect. Almost everyone in this town would agree with me.”
Cassie smirked. “He's perfect to me. Objectively speaking, no one's perfect, not even Sam.”
“Okay but he's pretty close. This didn't affect my relationship with Stephanie, but now I know she had a strong attraction to him as soon as he moved to Middleton.” Adam held up a hand when Cassie began to protest. “Regardless of how it ended, or how deep that attraction went. I can't help wondering, if we were all single and she had to choose between me and Sam, would I be her first choice?”
As she crossed her arms Cassie narrowed her eyes at him. “You realize it doesn't help anyone to ask that question.”
“Your point?”
Cassie chuckled. “Here's how I see it. I believe Sam and I are meant to be together. You and Stephanie are a great match. Isn't that what matters?”
In Adam's mind, that was Cassie-speak for “please steer clear of the rabbit hole.” And of course she was right. He finally picked up the receipt for his mother's gift she'd put on the counter. “Thank you for everything, Cassie. I know Sam and I were friends first but I hope you consider me one too.”
“I do,” Cassie assured him. On his way out the door she called, “Sam's in his office now, you should be able to catch him when you get to work.”
“How...forget it, thanks.” As he put the receipt in his pocket, Adam reasoned she could've gotten a text from Sam. Or Sam might've mentioned when he'd be in the office that day. There could be any number of ways Cassie knew where her husband was from across town.
Or maybe Adam should accept that some things, especially those concerning Cassie Nightingale, would always be a mystery.
Since Adam had some time before his shift began, he went to Sam's office right away. Sure enough his friend's door was partially open. Adam noticed that Sam's greeting sounded more hesitant than friendly, and he didn't wave Adam in like usual. “I'm not mad,” Adam announced. At Sam's skeptical expression he added, “I promise, I'm really not.”
“Are you sure? I was thinking if you were, we could take this outside and I'll let you land one punch for free.” Sam paused while Adam laughed. “Below the face only. Too many questions.”
With the ice broken, Adam finally sat down across from Sam. “I don't want to punch you. I'm just trying to wrap my my around all this. Am I really supposed to believe neither of you told me because it was that forgettable?”
“Yes!” Sam exclaimed to Adam's surprise. “It's like I told Cassie, Stephanie and I never even kissed! We had one terrible date. It began with me setting my kitchen on fire, and ended with Stephanie practically running to her car after an hour of forced small talk. In front of my son.”
Adam chuckled. “She mentioned that part. Why in the world was Nick there?”
“He was going through this rebellious phase and I grounded the both of us. Long story.” Sam shook his head at the memory. “Trust me, I don't think Stephanie was even that interested in me at the time. Now we're friends, but back then she barely knew me outside of 'Doctor Radford.' And I guess the same could be said for me. I didn't know her either, but I figured, if she was Cassie's best friend maybe she shared some of the same qualities.” Sam's eyes widened. “Wow.”
“What?”
“I'm just realizing the last part now. Okay, don't tell Stephanie I told you that. Clearly I was wrapped up in Cassie more than I would admit at the time.”
“Clearly,” Adam agreed, already glad he'd talked to Sam. Stephanie, Sam and Cassie all insisted there'd been no chemistry between his girlfriend and his best friend. And really, he'd never noticed any hint of attraction between the two. The fact that this had been such a shock proved it was all in the past. Then again that was never really the issue. “I guess I'm more weirded out that Stephanie was romantically interested in you, at any point. Not that I think anything would ever happen,” Adam quickly added. “More that you and I are friends and we both dated her, I don't know...”
Sam sighed. “She likes you way more than she ever liked me, I swear. It's so different with you two. You and Stephanie work really well together. Don't jeopardize that over a total non-issue like this one.”
“Don't worry, I won't.” Adam meant it too. Spiraling deeper into this would only ruin the best relationship he'd ever had. It was good he knew the truth, because it would make his foundation with Stephanie stronger. But now that he'd spoken with her and his friends, he felt comfortable moving on.
Stephanie wasn't too surprised when Cassie invited her and Adam over for dinner. Her best friend would want to smooth things over before the situation became awkward. Since she and Adam went to Grey House separately, each leaving from work, Stephanie left The Bistro a half hour early to squeeze in some time with Cassie.
When she knocked the back door, Cassie stood at the kitchen island putting the finishing touches on her baked Brie appetizer. “Hey Cassie, hope you don't mind I used the back door, figured you'd be in the kitchen and thought I'd help out.”
“Of course I don't mind, you really don't even have to knock.” Cassie gestured to the seats by the counter. “Have a seat. I will mind if you lift a finger to help after cooking all day.”
“Oh come on, you know I can't sit still in any kitchen. Can I at least pour us wine?”
“Now that I'll allow.” While Stephanie took out the glasses, Cassie briefly looked up from the dipping sauce she'd been mixing. “I'm guessing you're here early to talk about Adam and Sam.”
Stephanie froze with the wine opener in her hand. “I wasn't subtle at all, was I?”
“Not so much,” Cassie replied as they both laughed. “But neither was I since I invited you over for dinner. I'm hoping we'll be able to clear things up and enjoy a nice evening. If they haven't been cleared up already – Sam said he and Adam had a good talk at work.”
Stephanie smiled while she handed Cassie some wine. “Yeah, I heard that went well. I'm really happy they're okay. To be honest I'm here early to make sure we're okay.”
“Us two?” Cassie stopped mixing again to look up at her. “Why on Earth wouldn't we be?”
“I dated your husband!”
Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Stephanie, I was there, I've been aware of what happened between you and Sam.”
“Yes, I know, you had a front-row seat when the both of us crashed and burned.” Stephanie shook her head at her past behavior. “But that's the point. I'm sure you had some feelings for Sam right from the beginning. The very beginning.” When Cassie paused again, her mouth open to protest but no words emerging, Stephanie smirked. “Exactly. So why didn't you...I don't know...tell me to shut it? Obviously I was totally oblivious that you liked Sam too. Sure, I wanted a boyfriend, but I like to think if I knew you were ready to date again I would've backed off.”
Sipping her wine, Cassie remained silent for a minute while Stephanie waited for an answer. “It's true, I had complicated feelings for Sam. But you wanted a boyfriend more than I did.”
“Cassie! You could've told me! I would've moved on to someone else!”
“There wasn't anyone else,” Cassie reminded her. “I did say I wasn't romantically interested in Sam, so it wouldn't have been fair to expect you to pick up on my underlying confusion.”
Stephanie stared down at the counter island, unable to look her friend in the eye. She must've been a real mess back then if Cassie Nightingale didn't have faith in her. “I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I swear, at first I honestly didn't see it. But towards the end...I avoided looking too closely. I should've been a better friend. You were going through a lot and per usual I could only think about what I wanted.”
“I'm perfectly capable of speaking up for myself, and I chose not to,” Cassie insisted. The Brie forgotten for the moment, she drank more of her wine while she chose her next words. “It wasn't only that you wanted a boyfriend more. I didn't want a boyfriend at all, not yet. It would have been wrong to 'claim' Sam when I wasn't ready to actually date him. Remember, Sam and I didn't immediately start dating as soon as you lost interest. And I had other options – nothing serious, but Sam wasn't the only single man in my field of vision.”
Stephanie paused as she put together the big picture herself. It made her feel much better to know that while Cassie technically “had feelings” for Sam, she hadn't wanted to act on them just yet. “You're right, I forgot about all that. It's probably for the best that Sam wasn't your first romantic interest when you started dating.”
“He sort of was,” Cassie corrected thoughtfully. “I often went out to dinner with Ryan but I wouldn't say we dated, though he might disagree. Same with John. But it's true, if Sam wasn't distracted things might've happened faster than I was prepared to handle.”
“Glad I could be a distraction for you, then.”
Cassie held up her wine even though they'd both consumed some already. “We'll toast with the guys later, but here's to good friends.”
“The best.” They clinked their glasses, and drama of the past two days was instantly forgotten.