“No, you’re not. You’re doing what we taught you to do. To know your self-worth and not settle for anything less than you deserve. It’s not about the number of hours that have passed. It’s about how his lack of action makes you feel. The right man will know in his heart what you need, and he’ll see to it before he does anything else.”
“Those men only exist in romance novels.”
“Thirty-plus years with your father tells me you’re wrong, and I think Grace, Morgyn, and Brindle would give you an earful about just how wonderful their men are. Do you want me and Patsy to hang out with you tonight? We can watch a Hallmark movie and pig out on Chunky Monkey ice cream.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got some bookkeeping to do, and then I’m going to walk home and snuggle up with the one guy who never lets me down.”
“Is your father coming over?”
Amber smiled, feeling a little better. “No. I mean Reno. Thanks for talking me off the ledge.”
“I didn’t talk you off the ledge, honey. You hadn’t stepped onto it yet. You were still deciding if Dash was worth climbing up or not. And right now, I’m sure glad you’re not Sable.”
“Why? At least she wouldn’t be sad.”
“Because she’d push Dash off the ledge, and we’d be having a hide-the-body conversation instead of a my-heart-hurts conversation.”
THE REST OF the evening dragged by. The bookkeeping took twice as long to do half as much work because Amber’s mind kept trailing back to Dash, her hopeful heart not wanting to believe she’d misread him so badly. She finally gave up on getting much done and headed home just before ten o’clock.
The moon hung high in the blue-gray sky, casting dusky light on the sidewalks as she turned off Main Street toward home with Reno ambling beside her. A car turned down the street, its headlights illuminating their path. It slowed to a crawl beside her, and she looked over. Dash’s smiling face came into view, sending her pulse into a frenzy, then tightening the knots in her belly.
“Hey, beautiful, want a ride?”
He sounded happy, as if he hadn’t let her down. Was he really that clueless about her feelings? It was ten o’clock at night. In what world was that an appropriate time to show up to see a woman after a date that had gone haywire? “No, thank you.”
“You’d rather walk?”
No. What she wanted was answers. Why hadn’t he reached out to her earlier? Why had he taken off? What was he doing back in Oak Falls? But her mother’s words halted those thoughts—The right man will know in his heart what you need, and he’ll see to it before he does anything else—bringing others. Was it fair to expect him to know what she needed after knowing her for only a short time? Ugh. What was she doing? She was not going to be one of those women who rationalized being low on a man’s priority list.
Holding her head high despite the ache in her chest, she stared straight ahead as she made her way down the sidewalk. “Yes. I like walking.”
He continued talking through the open window, the car barely crawling along the curb. “Are you okay? You seem annoyed.”
“I’m fine.” She hated acting this way, but hurt could turn even the nicest of girls into witches. “It’s late. You should go on your way.”
He threw the car into park, but she kept walking. He caught up to her on foot, blocking her way. “Amber, what’s going on?”
The concern in his voice and confusion in his eyes had her throat thickening, but she didn’t hold back. “I thought we connected, and that’s on me, but I’m worth a two-second text. Especially after a night like we had that ended so embarrassingly.”
“A two-second text?” He looked at her like she was crazy.
Her heart sank. “You sound like it’s asking for the world. I guess we’re just too different. Like I said before, you’re a big-city guy who’s used to women waiting around for you, and I’m a small-town girl who wants a guy I can rely on. A guy who will worry about my reputation ahead of his own. And before you say anything, my mom told me what you said this morning to the ladies at the park. Don’t worry. As near as I can tell, you scared them silly, and your rep isn’t tarnished.”
DASH COULD SEE how difficult it was for Amber to say all that she had, and hearing it stung. But that didn’t change the urge to bend over backward to take away the sadness in her eyes. The trouble was, he’d thought he’d already done that. “Wow. I don’t know what’s worse—that you think so little of me or that the letter I left you wasn’t enough.”
She shook her head. “Letter?”
“The one I put on your car this morning before I went to the park.”
“You left me a letter?” Her brow wrinkled. “Oh my gosh, Dash. I’m sorry. I never saw it.”
Relief swept through him. “I was wondering what the heck was going on.”
“Sorry. What did the letter say?”
“Romantic things that I hoped would leave you as excited to see me tonight as I am to see you.” He drew her into his arms. “Because you, Amber Montgomery, are worth way more than a two-second text.”
A nervous smile played on her lips. “I didn’t want to believe that I’d misjudged you, but then I saw your post on Instagram about going home to New York, and it seemed like you were done with us, with Oak Falls.”
The emotions he’d been wrestling with all day rushed out. “How can I be done with the woman I can’t stop thinking about? The secret sexy reader whose kisses left such a mark on me, I’ve been getting turned on just thinking about them?”
She blushed fiercely.
“You have done something to me, Amber. You brought out a protectiveness I’ve only ever felt toward family. The idea of anyone gossiping about you made me crazy, and you’re right, I probably did scare the ladies this morning. But that wasn’t my intent, and I sure as hell didn’t ask them not to talk about us to protect my reputation. I wanted to be sure you were respected and that you didn’t have to deal with any gossip while I was gone.”
She looked like she might cry and lowered her eyes.
“Amber.” He waited for her to meet his gaze. “I didn’t go to New York because I was done with you. I went because I want more time with you. I have to leave for LA in the morning, and I didn’t want to go before giving you something I had back at my place in New York.”
“You went all that way just to get me something?”
“Do you really think I’d leave the greatest woman I’ve ever met empty-handed and expect her to wait for me in a town full of burly cowboys?”
She laughed softly. “That was a smart move, because guys are lining up at my door as we speak.”
“Then I’d better up my game.” He took her in a slow, sweet kiss, and as their lips parted, one look in her trusting eyes drew out more of his emotions. “I was on the road for twelve hours, and all I could think about was getting back to you and doing more of this.” His mouth came hungrily down over hers, and just like last night, they quickly got lost in each other. She went up on her toes, and he deepened the kiss. When she went soft in his arms, he remembered they were still standing on the sidewalk and drew back, leaving her dreamy-eyed.