Using Michael as a distraction, I walked over to his activity mat and lay him on it. Her eyes again focused on me as I tapped at the hanging elephant, sending it swaying back and forth. More importantly, I took the opportunity to change the subject. “This booger is all tuckered out from crying so much.”
“You’re a natural with him. If I were a paranoid person, I would think Jade and Max asked you to come over because they didn’t trust me.”
But with my mind stuck on the possibility of Amy being affected by my work, it wasn’t until she hollered, “Nate,” that I snapped out of my thoughts and looked her way. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?”
She studied me for a moment. “I just asked you a question.”
“Oh… sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Not knowing if it revolved around my client’s ex or not, I swiftly asked, “What made you become a romance author?”
“That’s from left field,” she responded with her brows raised. When I propped up my head on a bent arm and waited, she sighed. “I always knew I wanted to write, and after my father died, seeing my mom become so distraught sparked a need to document their love somehow. So my first novel was loosely based on their relationship.”
The rare flash of vulnerability I sometimes saw appeared in her expression, and then it was gone.
“Are you close to your mom?”
A pained expression crossed over her features. “Not anymore. How about you? Why divorce law?”
“I actually started in corporate and made the switch.”
As I had, she remained silent, waiting for me to elaborate, and when I didn’t, she prodded, “Why?”
Reluctant to retell that part of my life, I decided to give her a benign version. “I had one long-term relationship about five years ago.” Amy didn’t need to know that I had fallen hard and fast for Zoe and assumed her love was as intense as mine. “Turns out she was married…” I continued. “And I was a pawn in her revenge against a cheating husband.”
Amy’s mouth gaped before she recovered. “Wow, that’s… um…”
“Shitty,” I said, filling in her blank. “But they say things happen for a reason. I’d been so angry I decided to play a part in financially ruining the cheating population of this city, and I’m doing a damn fine job at it.”
“Are all your clients a victim of cheating?”
My eyes held hers while I considered that loaded question.
“Not all. Some are just basic irreconcilable differences.” Fuck, I’d already said too much and again changed the subject. “Your dad died suddenly?” On her nod, I offered, “Mine too.”
“Yeah, I remember Jade telling me. Heart attack, right?”
“Yep. My mom hadn’t taken it well either. They made so many plans for when Dad would retire from the firehouse. He was right there… a year or two away. Travel plans to Europe, becoming snowbirds in Miami, all of their hopes were gone in a flash. If Mom hadn’t met Mitch, I’m not sure what state she’d be in right now.”
“My mother wasn’t as lucky. Although her motive was to find someone to fill the hole, she’s been bouncing from relationship to relationship ever since.”
“Is that why you are hell-bent on avoiding them?”
She almost seemed affronted by my question. “I’m not avoiding them. I’m just not interested in that for myself.”
“Right.” I wasn’t buying that. Something had Amy sheltering behind a wall. She was the opposite of what her profession so shamelessly shoved down the throats of romantics everywhere. At some point, if only to gain understanding, I’d find out the real reason she pushed men away—more specifically, why she pushed me away. In the meantime, I decided to play with her and said, “That’s why we’re a great match, Jersey. Sex is so much less complicated than emotions… and so much more pleasurable.”
Once Michael was finally asleep in his crib, we got comfortable on the couch while eating the gourmet sandwiches I had picked up for dinner. We started to watch a movie, but it took no more than five minutes for Amy to conk out with her head on my lap. Why, I had no idea, since I did most of the work. Still, better she got her rest now, because Max’s text a little while ago saying that they were almost home had me anxious and eager to get her to my place.
Deciding to let her sleep until they arrived, I looked down at Amy and absentmindedly fingered a thick lock of her hair. I seemed to watch her more than the thriller playing on the TV. She hid her vulnerabilities well. Hey, so did I. But in her case, it made me want to peel every layer of indifference she piled over herself to hide the real Amy Delton.
When my phone buzzed beside me, I quickly snatched it up to see a text notification from Brad.
Prepare yourself. Mom is working on a date for you to take to Hilary’s wedding next weekend.
With one hand, I typed back: Shit, I forgot all about that wedding. And who does Mom think she’s setting me up with?
The bubbles appeared before: Mitch’s coworker’s daughter. She tried to push her on me first, but I stalked the chick online and after seeing that she’s fresh off a very bad breakup, I’d rather have my balls waxed.
Jackass. Thanks for that visual… and for the warning. But I already have a date.
You just claimed you forgot about the wedding. Liar. But before I could respond, those dots danced again, and he added, Wait. Is it Amy? I didn’t respond, and a few seconds later he texted: You’re truly trying to torture me, you fucker.
My chuckle caused Amy’s head to bounce where it lay on my lap. “What’s so funny?” she asked groggily while I threw him a: No comment.
“Brad… he’s getting his balls waxed.”
“Eww.” Stretching her arms, she sat up, looking a bit dazed. “What time is it?”
“A little after eight.”
“It feels like midnight.”
When she rose off the couch, I said, “I need a favor, Jersey.”
Her eyes homed in on my crotch. “I’m not sucking your dick, Nate.”
“That’s not a favor; that’s a gift I don’t take for granted. My cousin’s wedding is next weekend, and I want you to go with me.”
“You want me to?” she shrieked, stopping her trek toward the kitchen. “Why would I do that?”
I stood, walked up to her, and wrapped her in my arms. While running my nose along her jaw, I then landed a soft kiss on her neck. “Because I’d rather that you be my date than the random woman my mom plans on setting me up with,” I whispered suggestively into her ear. When I straightened, her expression altered a tad. “Unless you’d rather that I go with the random woman.”
Ignoring my comment, she fisted her hips. “Nate, I’m not keen on meeting your entire family.”
“You’ve already met my parents. Anyone else is inconsequential.”
“I won’t even have Jade there,” she said, trying another excuse while rushing toward what was left of the wine she had opened. “They’re leaving for Miami come Monday.”
“You’ll have me… Brad, and whoever he’s currently fucking. It’s not a big deal. The wedding is small… farmhouse chic, whatever that means. Somewhere upstate.” I resumed teasing her a bit, bringing my lips to hers for a chaste kiss. “We’ll stay at an inn, fuck our brains out through the night into the next morning, and then come back to the city. Really, it’s just a change of geography for our arrangement.”