The Golden Couple (The Samantha Project Series, # 2) (21 page)

Allie jumped up from her chair. “Sam! Your birthday! I almost forgot! I have a gift for you. I’ll go get it.” Allie headed for the stairs, then stopped. “You don’t have to leave right away, do you? Please say no.”

I checked the clock on the wall. “I’m sorry, Allie, but we do have to get going soon.”
 

Allie’s face turned sad. “Oh, then let me get your gift. Stay right there.”

Mrs. Taylor smiled at Colin and me. “My daughter is going to miss you both terribly. She talks about you all the time.”

“We’ll miss her, too.” Awkward silence filled the room as I struggled to find more to say. “So, where were you traveling back from?”

“California. I had some business out there.”

Silence again. “You work in banking. Is that right, Mrs. Taylor?”
 

“Call me Eve. And actually, I work in investment banking.”

“Allie said you travel overseas a lot.”
 

“Yes, my company has offices around the world. Because of that, I’m often stuck traveling to different countries. I get very little time at home. I wish it weren’t that way. I rarely see Allie and soon she’ll be off at college.”

We heard Allie running down the stairs. “Okay, here you go.” She handed me two boxes, neatly wrapped. Allie loved giving presents. “I got these before you left. This one is a graduation gift. The other one is for your birthday.”

I unwrapped the graduation gift, which was in a wide, flat box. Inside was a laptop bag made from soft brown leather. It looked very expensive.
 

“Allie, this is way too much. I can’t accept this.”

“You’re taking it. I searched forever to find one you’d like. So what do you think?”

“I love it! But it’s still more than you should’ve spent.”

Allie rolled her eyes at me. “Open the other one!”

Inside the smaller box was a silver necklace that had a pendant on it. The pendant looked like the capital letter I with an open circle around the middle.

I held it up to see it better. “Thanks, Allie! This is really cool. Is this a Greek letter?”
 

“Yeah. It’s the letter phi, the twenty-first letter in the Greek alphabet. I learned all about when I was going to school there. It’s got like all these different meanings in math, science, art. I can’t remember them all.”

“It represents the golden ratio,” Mrs. Taylor explained. “The ratio is found in nature, and it’s been used to create some of the world’s most beautiful architecture and paintings. In fact, you can see it in the works of Da Vinci and Dali. The ratio is even employed in the financial markets.”

“See? It’s really cool,” Allie said. “You can look up all the other meanings on the Internet. I know you don’t like sparkly stuff, so I thought you might like this. I got it at a store in Athens. But it’s all silver! I didn’t get it at one of those tacky tourist shops.”

I put the necklace on. “I love it, Al. Thanks!”
 

Colin got up. “Well, we should really get going, Sam.”
 

“Yeah, okay.” It was time to go but I didn’t want to. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
 

As we walked to the door, Allie ran ahead of us. “Do you really have to leave? When will I see you guys again?”

I looked at Colin. “We don’t know, Allie.”

“Take lots of pictures at the wedding, even if it’s at the courthouse.” She said it quietly so her mom wouldn’t hear. “And next time I see you, I’ll give you guys your wedding present.” Allie grabbed me for another hug. “I’ll miss you so much.” Her voice was shaky and almost made me cry.

Allie cleared her throat and let me go. Then she hugged Colin. “I’ll kill you if you don’t take care of her. You know that, right?” She spoke just loud enough for me to hear. “And make sure she still goes to Stanford.”

Colin smiled. “Got it. We’ll see you later, Allie.”
 

Mrs. Taylor came over to the door. “I know you two are adults, but the mother in me can’t help worrying. Do you need anything? Food? Money?”

“No,” I said. “We’ll be okay. But thank you.”

She smiled. “Well, please call us if you do.”

“I guess this is it.” Tears were now running down Allie’s face as she spoke. “Now promise me that we’ll see each other again.”

“We promise,” Colin and I said in unison.

“Oh, Sam, your bag.” Mrs. Taylor went to grab the laptop bag I’d left on the sofa.

“Thanks,” I said, taking it from her. “I got so caught up in the goodbyes that I almost forgot it.”

Colin tugged on me to leave. “We really need to go. We’ll see ya, Allie. Bye, Mrs. Taylor.”

Allie and I had a final hug, then Colin and I left. As soon as the door closed behind us, I started crying.
 

Colin held my hand as we walked. “Sam, we’ll see her again someday.”

“No, we won’t. That was the last time I’ll ever see her.”

He knew it was more true than not, so we continued in silence until we got to Fisher’s SUV.
 

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Erik asked when he saw me crying.

Colin answered for me. “She’s upset about saying goodbye to Allie.”

“Because I know I’ll never see her again,” I said, wiping my tears.

“Was she the only one home?” Jack asked Colin.

“No, her mom was there. But we didn’t tell either of them the truth. Sam made up this story about her and me running off to get married.”

“Oh really.” Erik smiled at me. “And when is this happening, Sam?”

“I had to tell her something. And that’s the only thing she’d believe. I told her we didn’t want anyone else to know. Oh, and she promised to call off the investigator.”

“Where did you get this?” Erik picked up the leather laptop bag.
 

“Allie gave it to me as a graduation gift. And she gave me this for my birthday.” I held out the necklace for them to see.

Jack turned back. “Is that phi? The Greek letter?”
 

“Yeah. Allie went to school in Greece last semester. She got this when she was there.”

“That’s the symbol for the golden ratio,” Jack said.
 

“Yeah, that’s what her mom was saying.”

“Did you have any trouble with the van?” Colin asked Jack.

“No. It fit right into the storage locker. There were plenty of empty ones. I paid the guy enough to cover the next six months, just in case we’re gone for a while. And if we don’t come back, I guess the guy gets a van and some very sophisticated equipment.”

“I can always go and pick it up for you,” Fisher offered. He seemed to be in a better mood than when he’d dropped us off. And more trusting of Jack.

About an hour later, we arrived at the small airport. As everyone unloaded the SUV, I went inside to present the reservation number. Two pilots were waiting at a front desk area. When I read off the numbers and letters, they nodded and one went outside to prepare the plane.
 

The other one stayed behind. “I can get your things. Go ahead and board. If you need a restroom, it’s right down the hall.”

“Wait. Some other people will be coming with me.”

“Older man and his son?” the pilot asked.

“Yeah, how did you know—”

“Is there a girl, too?’

“Yes. And one more guy,” I said.

He nodded. “I was told they might be coming with us. Tell them they can board. I’ll get their things loaded on.”

The pilot went out to the plane as Jack and the others came into the small building. “Did you tell the pilot about us?” Jack asked.

“Yes. But he seemed to already know about everyone. Doesn’t that worry you?”

Jack glanced out at the plane. “Everything worries me, Sam. But at this point, we don’t have any options. We have to trust your instincts that the letter was really from Dave.” He went back outside to let Fisher know it was okay to leave.

As we boarded the private jet, Brittany couldn’t contain her excitement. “Look how big these seats are! Ooooh and they’re leather,” she said, running her hand along the first seat.
 

The jet had three rows with two seats on each side of the aisle. Brittany took a seat in the second row. “Just a few weeks ago, I was dirt poor living in a trailer and now I’m riding on a private jet! This is so amazing!”
 

I hadn’t heard Brittany mention the trailer since leaving Texas. She hadn’t said a word about it, at least not to me.

I took the seat in front of Brittany, and Colin sat across the aisle from me. Erik and Jack sat in the last row.
 

Before we left, the pilot went over safety procedures. He ended his speech by pointing out a metal cabinet that was next to his leg. “If you need any drinks, they’re in this cooler. And you’ll find some nuts, chips, and other food in this drawer here. Enjoy the flight.”

He returned to the cockpit, where the other pilot was waiting. “Sam, did you hear that?” Brittany whispered from behind my seat. “We even get snacks! This is so awesome!”

When we got into the air, a screen unfolded from the ceiling. Brittany’s excitement continued. “No way! Are we getting movies, too?” The beginning of a movie started to play, answering Brittany’s question. “This is like the best thing ever!” she squealed, grabbing a blanket from a storage area above her seat and making herself comfortable.

“Well, she’ll be entertained for the next six hours,” I said to Colin.

I watched the movie for a while, then quit because it was so bad. It was a botched attempt at a romantic comedy. But Brittany seemed to like it.

Colin was reading a newspaper. When he was done, he came over and sat next to me. “Hey, how are you doin’ over here?” He kissed my cheek. “Still sad about Allie?”

I put my head on his shoulder. “Yeah. I hate thinking that I’ll never see her again. It’s like when I thought I’d never see you again.”

“But you did,” he said, taking my hand. “I showed up right in front of you.”

“Yeah, with a gun to your head.”

He laughed. “Okay, the circumstances could have been better, but we did find each other again. And someday, we’ll find Allie again.”

“I hope so.”

“So how did you come up with that story? Because I hope you know, I would never propose that way.”

I turned to face him. “Hey, I thought it was cute. The movie theater postcard. The title with our names in it.”

“Ugh, no way. That’s not my style at all. I can’t believe Allie even bought that story.”

“She loves that over-the-top romance stuff. I knew she’d be so distracted trying to imagine the scene in her mind that she’d forget all about whether it was something you would or wouldn’t do.”

“I guess it’s a girl thing then. I wasn’t imagining anything. I couldn’t get past the whole postcard idea. I’ve never even bought a postcard, Sam. Not even on vacation.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. You didn’t like my story.”

He started laughing. “And why would I give you a bucket of popcorn with a dozen roses? The smell alone would make you sick. Butter mixed with flowers? And where would I get a bucket of popcorn?”

When he put it that way, it was kind of funny. I laughed, too. “Okay, I get it! It was stupid.”

“I’m just giving you a hard time. And just so you know, if I ever do propose, you’ll have a much better story to tell.” He kissed me again, then headed back to his seat.

“Hey, where are you going?” I asked, wanting his shoulder back.

“I’m going to sleep.” He smiled at me. “Maybe I’ll dream of popcorn and roses.”

I threw a pillow at him. “I hope you do! It’s very romantic!”

I watched the last few minutes of the movie. Afterward, Erik came over and sat with me. “So what’s new?”
 

“Well, let’s see. I recently found out that I’m part alien, I’m losing my superhero abilities, and I’m heading to Iceland.” I paused. “That’s about it.”

He smiled. “Wow. Sounds just like me.”
 

“I shouldn’t joke about it.”
 

“Why the hell not? Worrying hasn’t helped us. Might as well try to laugh about it.”

“Seriously, though. Maybe Jack was right. Maybe you two should’ve stayed behind. This trip might be a total waste of time. And you don’t have time to waste, Erik.”
 

“I wasn’t gonna let you go without me.” He lowered his voice. “We may not be as, uh, close as before, but I still care what happens to you, Sam. And I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.” He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I’d kind of miss you if you weren’t around.”

I backed away, glancing over at Colin, who was now asleep. “I just don’t want this trip to take us off track. We have to get this timer fixed soon or—”

“If this trip doesn’t lead anywhere, we’ll keep going till we find the answer.”

Another movie began on the screen above us. We heard Brittany’s voice behind us. “Oh, I love this one!”
 

Erik looked up at the screen. “
Doggone Love
? Seriously?” He leaned over to whisper. “Twins don’t share the same taste in movies, do they?”

“No, we’re definitely different that way,” I whispered back.

“Did you watch that last one?”
 

“Part of it. I lost interest when that girl lured the guy back with her voodoo spell or whatever it was.”

Erik laughed. “Yeah, that was so stupid. I mean, do you girls really want to be with a guy who is only with you because he’s under some magic spell? Some fake attraction?”

“No. At least I don’t.”

“I’m gonna go talk to my dad. Enjoy the movie, Sam. I’m sure this one will be way better than the last one.”
 

The movie was so boring that I fell asleep, waking up right before we landed. When I looked out the window, all I could see was the ocean. As we got closer, I started to see land and little houses. I knew nothing about Iceland, other than that it was an island. And not a warm one.
 

We arrived at the airport at 11 p.m. Iceland time. The tiny airport was empty except for a lady working at the desk.
 

We got our bags and waited by the door for the car that would be picking us up. Five minutes passed. No car showed up. Then another five minutes. I started to get nervous and went over to talk to Jack. “Someone should be here by now. What should we do?”