Ali was excited.

When Sam greeted her in the restaurant, she could see the crinkle in his forehead signalling that something was on his mind. Her first thought was it was bad news about Jack.  She was so relieved when it was a request for help. And elated when Sam wanted her to work with the Harrington Foundation.

She smiled at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Sam believed in her.

It felt good to be valued for what she could bring to the table. And it felt amazing that Sam wanted her to manage such an important event.

This would be Sam's chance to show the world what his intentions were with the Harrington Foundation, make his mark. And he had just put Ali in charge of it all. There was no way she was going to let him down. This party was going to be the toast of the town.

The downside was she was going to have to work with Victoria. The woman had been ticking her off all lunch, with her barely subtle innuendos and crude comments. Ali was doing her best not to spit back, biting her tongue for Sam's sake.

Still, Ali thought, maybe this was an opportunity to dispel the myth of the woman. Try to understand Victoria so that she could remove this dark spot on her heart that worried about the power Victoria had over her boyfriend.

Despite Victoria's rude behaviour, Sam defended her. He still had so much guilt over the way he treated Victoria. Maybe this would be a chance to dispel it and set Sam free.

Besides, she didn't have to really worry about Victoria. She was in the past. Ali was Sam's present. And future. The woman could try all she wanted. Ali trusted him. Sam would not fall for her tricks.

And then the past walked in the bathroom. "So Ali, guess we'll be working together." Victoria's loud voice echoed off the marble walls.

Time to turn on the charm. "I know, isn't it great!" Victoria made a sour face and Ali resisted the urge to slap it off of her. Switching tactics, Ali faced the woman head-on. "I appreciate your support. You obviously know what's what around here. Sam speaks so highly of you."

A range of emotions filtered across Victoria's face, but Ali wasn't sure what they were. For all her brashness, this woman was hard to read. But her words had some effect because Victoria responded quietly, "Um, yeah, thanks."

Ali plopped her lipstick back in her purse and closed it. As she brushed past Victoria she added, brightly, "I'll call you to set up some time to chat." She didn't wait for the brunette's response.

Afternoon light flooded the restaurant, betraying the cold winds that were blowing outside. Ali scanned the now sparsely populated space for Sam in his handsome grey suit. He looked so sexy in that suit; it was hard to keep her hands off him when he wore it. But the suit and Sam were nowhere to be found. 

Spotting Noah by the door with her coat in hand, she headed towards him. "Where's Sam?"

"Went to see a man about a dog, pet." Ali rolled her eyes at Noah's not so elegant reference to going to the washroom. "Shall we head to mine and we can talk logistics for this soiree? I have some great ideas on how to use the space."

"Sounds good. I just want to say goodbye to Sam first."

Holding up her coat, Noah helped put it on, carefully doing up the buttons as he had done in the shop weeks ago. Taking the scarf out of her hands, Noah stepped closer and wrapped the long strip of material thoughtfully around her neck, taking time to tuck it in. Then he put his hands in her hair, pulling it out from beneath the collar and arranging it on her shoulders.

Ali felt a shiver of uneasiness trickle down her spine. She turned around to find Sam staring at her with a strange look on his face. "Sam?"

Calling out his name seemed to break the trance. Sam walked up to them and slipped his arm around her waist, tugging Ali towards him. "Ready to go?" The question was aimed at her, but Sam was regarding Noah.

"I was going to head downtown with Noah to his gallery. We need to assess the place." Ali felt Sam stiffen beside her.

"I thought we could go back to my office and go over some details."

Ali tried to catch Sam's eye but he was intent on Noah. "If you want, my love."

Sam finally turned towards her. "It's up to you." Ali bit her lip. Why was Sam making this a big deal? "Can I have a minute with my girlfriend...alone.?"

Noah nodded. "I'll just step outside."

Ali twisted out of Sam's grip so she could look straight at him. "Sam, what's wrong?"

Sam reached a hand towards Ali but seemed to change his mind midway and raised it to adjust his tie instead. Ali stepped closer to him, taking his other hand in hers. Sam sighed, "I think Noah is a little too interested in you."

Ali chuckled. Was Sam jealous? It would be kind of cute if it wasn't so silly. "Hardly."

"I saw him. Just now, " Sam took a lock of her hair and curled it around his finger, "playing with your hair. It...It's..."

"Sam, Noah is an artist. He was just sculpting his world. " Sam looked skeptical. "The first time Jonathon met me, he played with my hair. It's just a thing artists do." She shrugged her shoulders. "Certainly, you don't think Jonathon had the hots for me."

"No..."

"So, it's the same with Noah."

"Is it?"

What had at first seemed like a fun thing to tease Sam over was quickly turning into a conversation that was irritating her. Why was this bothering him so much? "Yes. Of course."

Sam didn't say anything.

"Even if he did," she continued, "why would it matter?"

Sam looked at her, mute.

"Sam?" Dropping his hand, Ali took a step back. How could he think such a thing? "Do you not trust me?"

"Ali," Sam leaned towards her. She had been expecting immediate confirmation. But instead, she got hesitation from the man she loved.

How could this be?

Why did he doubt her? Was it her past? How could he think she was even capable of cheating on him?

"It's him I don't trust. Promise you'll be careful."

"Oh, I'll be careful alright." Ali failed to keep the resentment in her voice. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had given her heart and soul to this man, never doubting him. And now he was standing before him questioning her loyalty. She would be careful indeed.

"Ali, you....I...oh I don't know...this all came out wrong. Of course, I trust you." But Ali wasn't listening anymore. The pounding in her ears drown out what Sam was saying.

"Let's talk about this tonight when I get home." She moved for the door to the restaurant.

"No, Ali wait..."

But she didn't wait.