“Not really. He’s been wonderful, and I know if I told him my worries, he’d make sure I was asleep at a reasonable hour every night and change everything. Including his own wants and needs. But would any of you want to tell the hottest, sweetest, kindest guy on the planet—the man of your dreams—that you need to slow down and ruin his fun, or that you can’t have sex with him if the urge hits late at night?”
“No, but this is different.” Grace leaned closer to the screen. “You’re not saying you don’t want to be with him. You’re suggesting you do what’s best for your health. Is there a part of you that’s afraid you might lose him over this? Even a small part? Because if that’s the case, then that’s an issue in and of itself.”
“No, that’s not it, Gracie. I know he loves me for who I am and he accepts all of me. I’m meeting his family in two weeks, for Pete’s sake, and he’s taking me to meet his friends at a big fundraiser in New York City. I mean, think about it. He told me he loved me right after my seizure, when I was literally lying in my own urine.”
“That was pretty incredible,” Lindsay said. “We could all feel his love for you.”
“He was upset that he didn’t get to make the first time he said he loved you a magical event,” Sable said. “I’m not into all that touchy-feely stuff, but that got me.”
Amber looked at her curiously. “He said that?”
“Sure did, when he got back from the signing looking like he hadn’t taken a breath since you went down,” Sable said.
“I love that he wanted it to be special for you,” Morgyn said.
“I must be missing something,” Jillian said. “If he’s that crazy about you, why can’t you tell him you might need to slow down? Isn’t that what being a couple is all about? Compromise? Doing what’s best for each other?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to tell him because it would be a lie,” Amber said. “If we cut our intimate time short, I’d probably lie awake wanting him anyway and negate the purpose of telling him in the first place. And as far as the rest goes, he’s always on the go, and he enjoys doing things for others, like I do. I love that about him. I don’t want to take any of it away from him or limit him. I want to be part of those things with him.”
“He does seem to like doing things for others. Mom told me she’s been walking with him and a bunch of women in the mornings,” Pepper said. “She very proudly told me that she can do two pull-ups.”
They all laughed.
“I’m sure that’s more than I can do,” Amber said. “Did she tell you that Dash made exercise schedules for the group, and he’s making time to video chat with them while he’s on the book tour?” There was a round of surprised murmurs. “Now do you see why I’d rather jump off a cliff than hold that man back?”
“Well, I can’t help with that,” Brindle said. “But I am an expert at fitting sex into busy lives. I think you should skip dinner and go to bed early sometimes. Sex always trumps food in our house.”
“You don’t even need to skip dinner. Just go to bed a couple of hours early when you want to fool around,” Morgyn suggested. “Sometimes Graham and I go to bed at six.”
“And you stay there until noon the next day,” Lindsay said. “The entire town knows this about you two.”
“You know, Amber,” Pepper’s serious tone drew everyone’s attention. “Everything you just told us is enough to stress any of us out. Talk with your doctor about your concerns. I’m sure you’re not his only patient who’s gone through this.”
“You’re probably right. I’ll talk to him and figure it out one way or another. And I think I will talk to Dash after his book tour is over. He doesn’t need relationship stress on top of his chaotic schedule, and if they do tweak my medication, that’ll give me time to adjust to it. That way we can enjoy the weekend with his family and the fundraiser, and then he can finish the last two weeks of the tour, and once he can breathe again, we’ll figure it out.”
Everyone agreed that sounded like a solid plan.
“Thanks, you guys. I feel a lot better getting it off my chest.”
“I had no idea you and Dash were so serious,” Grace said. “I’m really happy for you.”
“Me too,” Pepper said. “Meeting his family is a big deal.”
“I know.” Amber told them about her conversation with his sisters and how she remembered his mother from Boyer. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, but between that and meeting his friends at the fundraiser, I’ll admit that I’m a little nervous. I don’t have any idea what to wear to either.”
Jillian’s hand shot up in the air. “Fashion afficionado to your rescue.” She was a sought-after fashion designer and owned a high-end boutique. “I have several perfect meet-the-family dresses that you’d look gorgeous in, but tell me more about the fundraiser.”
“It’s hosted by Brett Bad’s family to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.” Amber told them about the old-Hollywood themed casino night.
“I’m jealous. You’ll get to see Sophie and Brett,” Lindsay said. “I wish I could go to the fundraiser, but I have an event that weekend.”
“Amber, you’ll get to meet Harlow Bad,” Grace said excitedly. Harlow was the actress playing the lead role in the movie based on their friend Charlotte Sterling’s book, Anything for Love, for which Grace had written the script. Charlotte was Amber’s LWW sister, and she was married to Graham and Nick’s oldest brother, Beau. “You’ll love Harlow. She’s super sweet. She’s been apologizing to the director for the last two weeks about taking that weekend off to go to the fundraiser.”
Jillian scoffed. “At least one of the Bads cares about their career. If Johnny is supposed to go to the fundraiser, he’ll probably cancel at the last minute.” Harlow’s brother Johnny was a bigger rock star than Axsel. He’d hired Jillian to design his wardrobe for an upcoming tour, and after she’d put off the release of her new clothing line, he’d canceled it.
“I think you mean at least two Bads care about their careers. Their brother Kane owns half of the East Coast,” Grace pointed out.
Jillian sighed. “Okay, fine, whatever. Johnny Butthead aside, I have great old-Hollywood gowns. You should come to Maryland next weekend and check them out.”
“Yes, please,” Trixie pleaded. “I want to see you guys.”
Amber let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Jilly. That sounds great. I’ll get Phoenix to cover the bookstore.”
“I’m going with you,” Lindsay exclaimed.
“Me too,” Brindle and Morgyn said.
“Have fun with that,” Sable said.
After they made plans for next weekend, Grace told them about the filming of Charlotte’s movie, and then they chatted about costumes for the Jerichos’ Halloween barn bash next weekend. For the first time ever, Amber wasn’t counting down the days to one of the barn bashes. Now that she had someone special in her life, she knew she’d spend the whole time thinking about how much more fun it would be if Dash were with her.