“Hi, honey.”
Amber adored her mother, and she could probably talk to her about anything. But she wasn’t even comfortable talking about intimate aspects of her personal life with her girlfriends. There was no way she wanted to discuss last night, or the fact that she was probably being ghosted, with her mother. She silenced a groan and mustered a smile. “Hi, Mom.”
Reno lifted his head from his bed by the register and looked at Amber.
“Go visit,” Amber said, giving him the okay to socialize.
Reno soaked up her mother’s attention, and then he and Patsy got busy sniffing each other. Her mother often brought the dogs she trained into town for socialization. Reno knew not to run around the store, and he was a good role model for her mother’s pups.
Her mother admired the flowers Dash had given her. “These are lovely. Did you pick them up at Twyla’s?”
“Uh-huh.” It was only half a lie, but Amber didn’t want to bring up Dash. “Where are you headed so late in the day?”
“I took Patsy to the dog park. I was just on my way home and thought I’d see how you were doing after last night.” She lowered her voice when she said last night.
“Can we not talk about that?” Amber started straightening displays, as she’d been doing all day. Nothing in the store was out of place, but she needed to keep her hands busy.
“I’m sorry.” Her mother followed her around the store, speaking in a hushed tone. “I assumed it was okay for us to talk about last night. Just not anyone else.”
“What do you mean?”
Her mother’s brow furrowed. “This morning at the park when Dash gave us a stern talking-to, I assumed that didn’t apply to you and me.”
Amber stopped fidgeting with the books, giving her mother her full attention. “Mom, what are you talking about?”
“Nancy and I have been exercising with him and some other ladies in the mornings. He didn’t tell you?” Nancy Jericho was one of her mother’s best friends.
“He did, but just…What happened? What did he say?”
Her mother exhaled loudly. “Don’t ask me how, but one of the ladies heard what happened last night, and she asked Dash if you were okay. He forbade us, in no uncertain terms, from talking about the two of you. He said anyone who wanted to gossip should leave the group right then. And let me tell you, darlin’, he was adamant. He made us all promise to shut down any rumors if we heard them.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” she said, more to herself than to her mother.
“Of course it does. He likes you.”
Amber scoffed. “A guy who likes you doesn’t ghost you.” She walked away, but her mother stuck with her.
“I don’t know what that means.”
Amber spun around, hurt clawing its way up her chest. “It means he left town without even saying goodbye, Mom, and I don’t want to talk about this.”
“What do you mean he didn’t say goodbye? He told us he was leaving town.”
“That’s just great. You guys rank above me, and I’m the one who kissed him.” Amber breathed deeply, futilely trying to calm down. “He blew into town, pursued me with his charm and that ridiculously engaging smile, talking about his family and collecting acorns, and he convinced me that he really liked me.” Saying it aloud drove the hurt deeper and made her feel stupid for falling for him. “I can’t believe I bought it. I played right into his hands. And last night I thought we’d actually connected on a deeper level while we were out, and I let myself…”
“Open up to him?” her mother suggested carefully.
She nodded. “That’s not easy for me, and last night was really hard and embarrassing. He had to know that today would be difficult for me.”
“I think he did. That’s why he told us not to gossip.”
Amber shook her head. “I don’t think he said the things he did to protect me. I think he was protecting his own reputation. He made a comment last night about it, but I thought he was joking. He probably didn’t want word to get out about what happened. And here I was, waiting all day to hear from him, thinking he’d walk through the door any minute. When it hit seven o’clock, I finally checked his Instagram account. I guess it took the ambulance and the embarrassment for him to show his true colors, because he’s back in New York, like the last couple of nights never happened.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “How can it hurt so much so fast?” She wiped her eyes. “Did he say how long he was going to be gone? Wait. Don’t tell me. If I’m not worth a goodbye, I don’t even want to know.”
“Oh, baby girl. I’m so sorry. He didn’t tell us when he’d be back. He said he’d let us know when we could reconvene.”
Amber crossed her arms, steeling herself against the anger and hurt consuming her. “What’s wrong with me, Mom? Sable kisses guys and doesn’t care if she ever sees them again. Why can’t I be like that? It takes a lot for me to want to kiss a guy. It takes moving heaven and earth for me to actually do it, and yeah, it happened pretty quickly with Dash, but I really thought…” She looked down, trying to keep her tears at bay.
“It didn’t happen that quickly, honey. It only feels fast to you because you’ve always led with your heart, and because of that you take your time to think things through before moving forward. If your sisters were in your shoes, most of them would have been lip-locked with him last Friday night. And don’t get me started on your brother. He would have had the man’s trousers around his ankles in the men’s room at the jam session.”
“Mom.” Amber felt her cheeks burning.
“Why do my children all act like sex is only for young people? I’ll have you know, your father and I—”
“Don’t.” Amber covered her ears.
Her mother tucked Amber’s hair behind her ear like she’d always done in these mother-daughter moments, looking at her with so much unconditional love, it brought a lump to Amber’s throat.
“You listen to me, Amber Mae. There is nothing wrong with you. That man should be an actor, because he had us all fooled, and believe me, you do not want to be like Sable. I wouldn’t change a thing about my confident, tough girl, but I don’t think she’s as unaffected by her actions as she appears.”
“What makes you say that?”
“A mother knows these things. But this isn’t about your sister, honey. If Dash really…ghosted? Is that the right word?”
Amber nodded.
“If he ghosted you, he is not the man he appeared to be, and he is not worthy of my beautiful, smart, big-hearted girl.” Her mother pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I’m going to call Sin right now, and—”
“No, you’re not.” Amber took her mother’s phone. “I’m an adult, Mom. I can handle this. It’s not a big deal.”
“Isn’t it, sweetheart?” Her mother’s gaze softened.
Amber relented. “Fine, it’s a big deal to me, but I guarantee you nobody else would feel this way if it happened to them. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. I hardly ever date, so what do I know? Maybe guys never call the day after. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive.”