I Loved Her First

Chapter Fourteen

Saturday afternoon Sam and Jay head to Dana's party at her and Matt's house. They arrive early, which is expected of the always punctual Sam. Matt greets Sam and Jay at the door and lets them in. 

"Now why did I know it  was going to be you at the door?" Matt jokes when he answers. 

"Because you know me." Sam giggles. "Jay is here too." She adds and nudges Jay standing next to her. 

"I figured as much." Matt nods. "Come on in, Dana is dying to see you, Sam." He steps away from the door and lets the pair inside. "And I'm sure she's eager to meet you too, Jay." 

"Right. Thanks for letting me come, Matt." Jay nods. 

The trio makes their way through the house and to the kitchen where Dana is taking drinks out of their cardboard box and setting them on ice to get cold. She stops when she sees Sam come through the door and rushes over to her with a wide smile. 

"Samantha!" Dana rushes Sam. 

"Dana! Happy birthday, sweetie." Sam opens her arms to Dana for a hug. 

Sam and Dana are incredibly close for in-laws. Sam's always found Dana sweet and kind, a perfect match for Matt. So she always paid attention to make sure Matt didn't mess it up before he got to marry her. 

"Thank you. I am so glad that you could make it." Dana lets Sam go. "And you must be Jay. Nice to finally meet you." She moves on to Jay standing behind Sam. 

"Pleasure is all mine, Dana." Jay flashes her a dashing smile. 

"Hey! Watch it, White." Matt intervenes. 

"Oh, he was kidding." Sam rolls her eyes. 

"Matt honey, it's fine." Dana laughs, agreeing with Sam. 

"So, what can we help with?" Sam claps her hands together. 

The group gets back to work and waits for guests to arrive at the party. Everyone falls into a task that Dana gives them so everything is ready by the time the party starts. About an hour later Adam is the first one to arrive besides Sam and Jay. 

"Guys, Adam is here!" Nick shouts from the front door when Adam arrives. 

"Hey, Nick." Adam greets him. "Who's all here already?" He asks as he comes inside. 

"Let's see," Nick replies and shuts the door. "Matt and Dana are here, of course, then Sam and Jay got here about an hour ago to help out with stuff." He rattles off a few names. "Those two are in the kitchen helping Dana. And Matt is out back cleaning the grill." 

"Great, thanks." Adam nods and heads for the kitchen. "Dana! Happy birthday, so good to see you." He walks into the kitchen and over to Dana. 

"Adam!" Dana stops working and hugs Adam. "Thank you, and it's good to see you." 

Adam and Dana hug and then chat for a moment before Adam walks over to Sam and Jay standing by the far counter. He wedges himself between Sam and Jay and turns to Sam. 

"I love the dress, Sam." Adam eyes Sam's gold dress. 

"Thanks!" Sam grins and does a little twirl. "You can set that gift over on that counter." She points to an empty counter where her gift is already sitting. "Then you can find something to help out with if you want." 

"Yeah, no problem." Adam nods and does as told. "I'm happy to help out." 

Everyone falls back into work for a while and it isn't long until Jay walks away from Sam for a bit to help Nick with something. Adam jumps at the opening and slides over to Sam so they can talk without Jay being around.