While it may have taken some time to get to the point that Sam found himself at now, he knew his parents would sacrifice anything to make their children happy. Sometimes actions didn’t necessarily match up with intentions, but despite everything they’d always been close-knit, even in the midst of small fights. Beyond just watching Elise to free up the young couple’s evening, there was a genuine joy in welcoming Veronica and her daughter into the family fold. And a permanent playmate for Ellie, as well.
“Give me some credit, I was a brother of Pi Kappa Alpha, pledge educator and president during my four years. I know how to throw a good party.” While Sammy had always been more studious, there was a part of him that enjoyed the distance between himself and Wilmington those four years. But had a part of him completely forgotten what fun was until Veronica reintroduced it to him? Absolutely. “Allergic to fun. I’m fun.” Sam grumbled, only for Vee to slip from his grasp and procure her phone. “You know I don’t like photos.” He protested, but still got into position and sporting a wide smile until she stopped snapping photographs. “However, I won’t argue with your knack for aesthetics. My party was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, and the decorations were perfect.”
Veronica rolled her eyes teasingly as he pleaded his case, eyes looming up at him through thick, mascara-clad lashes. “You’re a real treasure trove, Sammy, you don’t have to convince me of that.” Of course, it was all in good fun seeing as she’d yet to find a single bad thing about the man before her. Perhaps there was a large pair of rose-colored glasses perched on the bridge of her nose making all of the red flags blend in, something that she’d been utterly cautious of at first, but after months of dating wouldn’t they have revealed themselves? No -- as far as Veronica was concerned, Samuel Dryden was practically perfect, at least for her.
“You say that you’re fun and then you complain about getting your picture taken. Come on, babe, you know you’ll thank me for all of the Instagram likes we get later,” she reminded him, flashing her best picture-perfect, pearly white grin to her iPhone’s front-facing camera and taking a burst of photographs, only pulling away once she was satisfied. Swiping through each selection, the woman’s cheeks turned a light blush color at his compliment. “Well, like, I obviously had to go all out. Anything less than, like, everything would just be plain gaudy -- and you know that nothing I do is gaudy.” Vee finally looked up from her phone, tucking it back in her purse. “But I’m glad you had a good time. That was the whole point.” She wrapped her arms loosely around Sam’s taught waist, gazing up at him. “You deserve the best, Sammy. You’ve been, like, my rock these last couple of months, it was the least I could do.”
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