He held her gaze, caressing her cheek. “Are you sure you’re not feeling funny about me leaving tomorrow?”
“Mm-hm.” Her eyes drifted away from his, focusing on his mouth instead. “I’ll miss you, but we’ll talk on the phone and it’s only a couple of weeks. It’s not a big deal. I’ll be busy at the store and with the book club. I need to finish reading the book for it, and the Halloween bash is coming up, so I need to figure out a costume…”
She was so cute when she was nervous, he was tempted to let her keep rambling.
“I’m going to hate being away from you, sleeping in hotels without you,” he said, bringing her eyes back to his. “All the while knowing the cowboys around here will probably be trying to get you to ride off into the sunset with them.” That earned him a soft laugh. “I’ll even miss my buddy sneaking up on the bed after we’re asleep.” He glanced at Reno stretched across the foot of the bed. “But I’ll miss this the most, getting to hold you, read your thoughts through your beautiful eyes. I think you’re worried about me leaving, but if I’m totally off base and you’re cool with being apart, then I guess I’m just reading you wrong.” He started to move off her.
“Wait.” She grabbed his arms. “I am nervous about you leaving. I’m going to miss you a lot, and I don’t know what to do with those feelings. I got used to you being here and seeing you every day. I’ve never had to deal with this before, except with my sisters and Axsel, but that’s different. And now I’m rambling, and getting all worked up, and you’re not even gone yet. I can’t think about it or I’ll be a mess at the signing, and keeping myself busy is the only way I can stop thinking about it.”
“I know a much better way to keep your mind busy.” He lowered his lips to hers, tangling his fingers in her hair, desperate to heal her sadness, to fill the void he knew he’d leave behind. And if he was lucky, there might even be a little bit of them left to fill the emptiness he’d carry with him when he was gone.
AFTER A MORNING spent lavishing each other and an incredibly sensuous shower, they were both riding high when they arrived at the bookstore two hours early. He watched her hustling around the shop, gorgeous in a pretty paisley dress that hugged her waist and skimmed her thighs, the mix of golds and greens bringing out her eyes, and knew he could spend morning, noon, and night loving her, and he’d never get his fill.
“Babe, where do you want the glass jar for the raffle?”
“On the table by the front door, which reminds me. I have to print the entry forms. I’ll be right back.” She headed into her office.
Dash set the glass jar on the table by the door just as the flowers he’d ordered arrived. The delivery man wheeled in a cart with two large bouquets of Amber’s favorite flowers and an empty mason jar with a pink ribbon around it. Dash put one bouquet by the register and the other near the table where he’d be signing books.
After the delivery man left, he locked the door and brought the mason jar into Amber’s office. “Hey, babe?”
“I was just thinking about the setup. Do you think there’s enough space around your signing table?” She turned from where she stood by the printer. “Where’d you get that?”
“I knocked out a guy who was delivering flowers and took it from him.” He set the jar on her desk.
“You knocked him out, huh?”
“Yup. We needed someplace to keep this.” He reached into his pocket for the acorn they’d picked up when they were at the creek and dropped it in the jar.
“Dash,” she said with a hint of disbelief. “You saved it.”
“Of course I did. It’s the start of our many wonderful things.” He gathered her in his arms and kissed her. “As I recall, we have notes to write, and the guy I decked didn’t have any paper.”
“I think I can cover that.” She grabbed a pink notepad from the desk drawer and cut out two hearts, handing one to him.
“I like your style, wild thing.” They wrote their notes, folded them in half, and as they put them in the jar, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Dawn’s name on a FaceTime call. “It’s my sister.”
She grabbed the papers from the printer. “Talk to her. I’m going to put the entry forms up front.”
He pushed the green icon to answer the call and followed Amber out of the office. She said, “Oh, Dash! They’re beautiful!” as both of his sisters’ faces appeared on the screen.
“Look at that, Andi. We got the toddler grin,” Dawn teased.
“Who was that? Shea?” Andi asked.
Dash watched Amber setting up the raffle table. “No. Shea and Hawk should be here in a little while. That was the most beautiful girl in Oak Falls, the one and only Amber Montgomery.”
Amber looked up, pink cheeked.
“That sounds like she’s someone special,” Andi said.
“I knew that cake meant something!” Dawn exclaimed.
Dash held Amber’s gaze, closing the distance between them. “Yeah, it meant something, all right.”
“Hello? Dash! We’re over here,” Andi teased.
He looked at the phone as he reached for Amber’s hand, drawing her into the camera frame. “Sorry. Dawn, Andi, this is Amber. Amber, these are my sisters.”
“Hi, Amber,” they said in unison, beaming curiously.
“Hi. Dash has told me so much about you guys.”
“Well, it’s good to know he didn’t leave us all in the dark.” Dawn gave Dash her best scowl, which always made him laugh.
“Chill out, Sis.” He put his arm around Amber and kissed her temple. “You’re meeting her now.”
“I almost forgot,” Amber exclaimed. “Dawn, thank you for the tiramisu crepe cake. It was delicious. I’m a huge fan of your show.”
Andi’s brows knitted. “You made her a crepe cake? You’ve never made me that crepe cake.”
“You get everything else I make,” Dawn said.
“Yeah, leftovers from the show,” Andi complained.
“Pfft.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “You want a crepe cake? I’ll make you a crepe cake, but you have to set me up with Sutton’s boss.” Sutton worked for Clay Braden’s younger brother Flynn.
Andi’s jaw dropped. “I will not set—”
“Hey!” Dash snapped, silencing them. “Did you call to talk to me or to bitch at each other?”
“Sorry,” Andi said with genuine regret, while Dawn gave him a smug look.
He narrowed his eyes at Dawn. “You’re not going out with Flynn. That would be a nightmare waiting to happen when you got bored of him after two dates.”
“Whatever.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “Clay’s looking awfully good this season.”
“Dawn,” he warned.
“I’m kidding. We called to say good luck at your signing, but now that we know about Amber, how about you go sign some books and let us get to know her?” Dawn motioned with her hands, shooing Dash away.
“How long have you two been going out?” Andi asked.
Before Amber or Dash could respond, Dawn said, “Did he win you over with his toddler grin?”