Vodka and Chocolate Drops: A Blueberry Springs Sweet Chick Lit Contemporary Romance

by Jean Oram

  “Scott.”

  He paused on the threshold, rain roaring behind him, the cool air wrapping around her.

  “I thought maybe…” She crossed her arms, hunching against the cold spray that blew through the doorway. “Well, maybe we could talk here?”

  “All I have is cereal.”

  “I like cereal.”

  Scott shut the door and hung up his coat. Wordlessly, he stepped past her, heading to his kitchen. His moves were efficient and without haste.

  In the kitchen they took out cereal, bowls, spoons, and milk, saying nothing until they were seated across from each other at his small table. Scott watched her, assessing her.

  “I love you, Scott.”

  He slowly lowered his spoon. For the first time since her arrival, the corners of his lips turned up, and his eyes sparkled as they used to whenever he saw her. In that moment she realized just how much she’d missed it, and how much she’d always counted on it. Just as she’d always counted on having her mother’s undivided attention.

  “What do you plan to do about it?” He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.

  Amber bit her bottom lip, shaking her head at him. He wanted to make her crawl, did he? Well, the man didn’t know what he had coming.

  Without breaking eye contact, she pushed her bowl to the side. Standing, she placed one knee on the table, making a quick wish that it wouldn’t decide this was a great time to give up its daily battle against gravity. With her hands flat on the surface, she crawled toward Scott, pausing when her lips were a few inches from his. She allowed herself to drop her eyes and focus on his mouth, tipping her head in a way she hoped was seductive and tempting.

  Scott had lined his lips up with hers, keeping them a fraction apart as he gently threaded his fingers through her locks.

  She was going to kiss the stuffing out of her best friend. Her best friend who had become undeniably hot. The man of her dreams who had been there all along. Through thick and thin.

  “Say it again,” he whispered.

  “I love you, Scott. And I’m here to make you my boyfriend. Beyond today. Beyond tomorrow or even next year. I’m yours until the end of time and nobody will ever replace you. Forever, Scott Malone.”

  He crushed his lips to hers, pulling her off the table and onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, savoring the way he felt strong and right in her grip. Like everything she’d always been missing.

  She’d thought the biggest thing she’d wanted in her life was to know who her father was. As it turned out, what she’d actually wanted was Scott’s love.

  “I’ll never tire hearing you saying those four words,” he whispered, breaking free for a moment, before kissing her again as they let go of the last of their fears and allowed their hearts to finally unite.

  * * *

  “Are you really sure you can handle forever with someone like me?” Amber asked Scott as she toyed with a tuft of chest hair. She’d seen his bare chest while swimming, but never quite like this, moving over her, and now under her as she cuddled him in a we’re-officially-no-longer-just-friends glow.

  Making love with Scott was like nothing she’d ever experienced. And not just because they had moved in sync, as though they’d been programmed to be together. But because she trusted him, and most of all, she trusted herself when she was with him. She wasn’t worried about screwing up or what he was thinking. She’d been able to see it all on his face, feel it in the way he touched her, as though she was the most special and precious thing he’d ever had the honor of touching. She’d felt safe. There’d been no need to be bold or to try and impress him—something she’d always felt with other lovers. She could be herself, and every single second had been special and freeing. It had felt right.

  “Are you fishing for a compliment?” he asked.

  Amber propped her head up so she could watch his expressions—not that he gave much away, but she could still spot a few of his tells. Right now, he felt happy, playful, safe.

  “Maybe.”

  “For you, Amber, forever won’t be long enough to show you the depth of my love.”

  His fingers danced up her back and she shivered, her body pushing against him for more. His arms wrapped tight around her and he took her mouth with his own. He kissed her hard and with such passion she had to cling to his shoulders to keep herself in place.

  He broke away from her, their breath coming in desperate gasps.

  “Will you stay?”

  “The night?” she asked.

  “In Blueberry Springs. For real.” There was an uncertainty in his eyes she hadn’t expected. A vulnerability she’d seen before, and it made her want to protect it, protect him.

  “I want to stay wherever you are.”

  His lips curved into a grin. “That sounds good.”

  “As good as forever does to me.”

  His fingers trailed tantalizing circles on her lower back and her body responded, wanting more of him.

  “Promise me something?” she asked.

  “Anything.”

  Hmm. Anything?

  “Can I drive your squad truck?”

  “No.”

  “I had to try,” she said with shrug. “Don’t let my mom and dad convince us to go on double dates with them.”

  “Mom and Dad, huh?”

  She scrunched up her nose. “It still feels really weird saying that.”

  “Is everything okay there? Your mom was pretty worried.”

  “Yeah, it’s all good. Perfect, actually.” Amber buried her head in the crook of his arm and groaned when she realized what she had done. She’d run. Again. Things got tough and she’d freaked out and run away from her parents instead of riding through the overwhelming feelings. “I wanted to come to you as a new Amber, but I’m still the same.”

  “Don’t ever change.”

  She popped her head up, loving how she could feel his bare skin against hers. Soft and smooth, but firm, too.

  “I happen to love the old Amber and don’t want a new one.”

  “Say it again?”

  “I happen to—”

  “No, just the middle part.”

  He stared at the ceiling for a moment. “Old Amber.”

  She went to playfully sock him in the arm, but before she could make contact, he had her pinned under him, her wrists locked in his grip.

  “That’s a fun trick.” She giggled.

  “Wait until you see them all.”

  “I have plenty of time, Officer Malone.”

  “Have I ever told you how much it turns me on when you call me that?”

  “Hmm. You may have to show me just how much. I’m having trouble getting a read on just how much it might…”

  She lost her ability to think as he nuzzled her neck, his warm breath sending shivers of need through her.

  “Know what else I find sexy?” he asked, laying a track of kisses across her clavicle.

  “Your mom’s meat loaf?”

  He scowled at her. “Never. Mention my mother. In. The bedroom.”

  “Yeah, good idea.” She could practically taste the woman’s rock-hard meat loaf just thinking about it, and there were other rock-hard things she’d rather run her tongue over. “By the way, tell your mom I’m a vegetarian.”

  “The first time anyone sees you enjoy a hamburger at Benny’s that gig’s up.”

  “Ugh. How do you eat that stuff every week?”

  “It’s not about the food, Amber,” he said seriously. “It’s about the people. Family.”

  Oh. Family. Right. She had one of those now.

  “Everything’s going to change, isn’t it?”

  “It’ll be good, I promise.”

  His hand was still exploring her curves, and she sighed against him. “Remind me why we’re talking right now?”

  “I was doing something important a moment ago. Now, what was it?” Scott teased, feathering her neck with light kisses.

  “Tell me what else you find sexy, Offic
er Malone.”

  “You.” He sucked her earlobe into his mouth, giving it a light nibble that made her breathing unsteady in all the right ways. “Believing in your own power. That emerald-green dress of yours just about undid my resolve to wait until you were ready.”

  “You liked the dress?”

  He gave a contented moan, his hands running down her bare back. “You could dress up as slave princess Leia and still nothing would be more sexy than you owning that green dress.”

  “Okay, stop talking about other women in the bedroom.” She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips to hers. “We have a date with forever.”

  * * *

  Amber scrambled to tug the out-of-reach zipper into place on her green dress. Mandy and Frankie had announced three hours ago that they were getting married. Today. As in, their guests had four hours notice to get themselves into adequate shape to watch them exchange their vows in the park under the water tower. Thank goodness Amber hadn’t spray painted it. It would be a little difficult to ignore the misdemeanor, with it right above the town as they watched the impromptu proclamation of undying love.

  Forever.

  The word had become her all-time favorite over the past few weeks.

  Warm hands steadied Amber as she tried to stick a foot in a high heel while still struggling with the zipper.

  “Let me,” Scott said.

  She relaxed, pulling her hair off her neck so Scott could help with the dress. He paused with the zipper halfway up.

  “What? Is it stuck? Oh, don’t tell me it’s snagged. I don’t have any other dresses and I’m fairly certain that Wanda’s dress shop and Fran’s boutique are being overrun this morning.”

  “I just needed a moment to take you in.”

  “My back?” She glanced over her shoulder at her boyfriend.

  “This.” His lips grazed a burning trail of heat and longing across her exposed shoulder blade, up her spine to the slope of her neck.

  She shivered and turned in his arms, her lips meeting his. She would never get tired of this man. They’d been dating for two weeks and she was impatient to be with him whenever they were apart. She wanted him for the rest of time, because when they came together it was as though she not only knew herself better, but the world made more sense.

  He ran his hands lightly down her arms, drawing away. “We can’t be late.”

  His eyes promised that they would finish this after the wedding, and she reluctantly turned away so he could fasten her zipper. His fingers brushed her skin as the metallic teeth clicked together, enclosing her in the emerald outfit. She waited, expecting a light kiss on her neck, and peeked over her shoulder in question.

  “We don’t want to be late,” he repeated, and she wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or himself.

  He would be worth being late for. He’d also be worth waiting for. He always was.

  Once she was ready, they walked down the street, hand in hand. Amber tipped her head back, absorbing as much of the sun’s heat as she could. Late spring in Blueberry Springs was a magical time and even better with a man like Scott on her arm.

  “Why do you think they’re suddenly getting married?” Liz asked, popping up beside them and making Amber jump.

  “I think it’s due time,” Scott said, effectively ending the conversation with a stern look. Liz grudgingly fell back, starting the same topic with another couple joining the stream of wedding goers walking to the park.

  “Oh, she’s due,” Liz said, breaking off her new conversation to pop up alongside Scott again.

  “I didn’t say that,” he grumbled.

  “It’s fitting though, isn’t it?” Amber asked, pointing to the water tower, where Frankie had earned his nickname Frankie-Fall-Off-The-Tower Smith back as teenagers. He’d tried to spray paint Mandy’s name on the tower’s side, but her scream of fear at seeing him so high up had caused him to fall. After that they hadn’t dated again until recently—after Mandy had asked him to be hers by painting their names on the tower. And now here they were, getting married beneath the town’s landmark.

  It all fit.

  Just like Amber and Scott. And maybe one day they would have their own wedding here in town, surrounded by family and friends.

  Marriage. She was thinking about marriage.

  Wow.

  She smiled, then prodded Scott’s cheek with a finger. “Smile, Mr. Serious.” She could tell he was thinking about the time he’d had to bust Mandy in the midst of her proclamation—which was also an act of vandalism.

  Scott obliged her with a smile, giving her a look so full of love that she tugged him against a flowering apple tree to give him a thorough kissing.

  “Get a room!”

  Amber turned to see Jen and Rob, grinning, holding hands.

  “Hey, how are you guys?”

  “The three of us are good.” Jen rubbed her stomach lovingly and Amber threw out her hands.

  “You’re kidding!”

  Jen gave a small nod.

  “I knew it!” Liz exclaimed, from up ahead. “My sister owes me supper. Jen is pregnant, everyone!”

  Amber hugged her friend tightly enough to lift her off the ground. The best things were happening in her life and to her friends today. Realizing she was squeezing the mom-to-be a bit too hard, she quickly released her.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  “Of course. I’m not breakable.”

  Rob didn’t seem as certain as his girlfriend.

  “So?” Amber asked Jen, falling into step behind the men, who were chatting about the town’s upcoming sports day. “Are you two going to follow in Mandy’s footsteps?”

  “And get married?” Jen paled. “I don’t know. Having a tiny baby to freak out over seems like enough for now. What about you two?”

  Amber watched the men in front of them, zeroing in on Scott. She knew Jen was leery about marriage due to her own parent’s messy divorce, but all Amber saw when she looked at her own parents was love. Lots of it. She turned to her friend with a mischievous shrug. “We’ll see.”

  In her books, there was only one way to do forever.

  * * *

  Amber held hands with Scott as Mandy and Frankie got married, Mary Alice performing the ceremony. Mandy looked amazing in her simple gown. With her blond hair smoothed into a cascade that ran down her back, and a few meadow flowers tucked in here and there, she looked like a designer-clad nymph. The sun shone on them, a gentle breeze swaying the grass and flowers behind them, the mountains a larger-than-life backdrop. It was picturesque and everything anyone would wish for a good friend’s big day.

  “Well, this sucks,” said a voice behind her.

  Amber turned to see Nicola scowling at the bride and groom.

  “Why?” she whispered, aware that Scott wasn’t impressed with the distraction.

  “Nothing.” Nicola crossed her arms, her body one big frown in the cute pencil skirt she was sporting with her new figure. “It’s just so sappy,” she complained. “Who needs love?”

  “Apparently, you.” Amber pulled Nicola away from the ceremony, gesturing to Scott that she’d be back soon and to ignore them. When they were away from the crowd, she asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

  Nicola shrugged her off, suddenly way more interested in the couple exchanging rings and looking as delighted as if they’d just been given free everything for the rest of their lives.

  “What?” Amber pressed.

  “Nothing.”

  She watched Nicola trying to ignore her, then said, “Nope. Definitely something. Everybody wants to be loved. You still haven’t talked to Todd, have you?”

  She didn’t need Nicola to reply in order to know she’d hadn’t.

  “Well, we can fix this,” Amber declared.

  “No, we can’t.”

  “Why not tell him the truth?”

  “That would be a disaster.”

  “And this agony isn’t?”

  “We’re best f
riends.”

  “And?” Amber made a sweeping gesture to the two best friends who were now officially husband and wife. Not to mention her own boyfriend, who was part of her personal friends-to-lovers happily ever after.

  “I broke a rule. I kissed him on Valentine’s Day. He hasn’t called me. We always talk.” Nicola fidgeted with her fingers and wouldn’t meet her eye.

  Amber had seen Todd around Nicola last February. He’d been possessive. Protective. He was a man in love. Amber was sure of it. “He loves you.”

  “Not like that.”

  “He hasn’t called?”

  Nicola shook her head forlornly.

  “And have you called him?”

  “No.”

  “Oh, geez. The two of you need to take off your scaredy-pants and get into each other’s, if you know what I’m saying.”

  Nicola tipped her head back in surprise.

  “No, really. You’re unhappy. Missing him. Avoiding him. It really doesn’t sound like there’s much left to lose.”

  “Are you sure?” Nicola expression was both hopeful and terrified.

  “Of course. What could be worse than this torture chamber you’re currently locked in?”

  Amber gave Nicola an encouraging smile as her friend wandered off, seemingly dazed, to join the line congratulating the couple.

  “Were you just giving dating advice?” Jen asked, joining her.

  “Yep. And it’s going to work out totally awesome. People spend way too much time being afraid of putting their true emotions out there, and that’s such a load of bullcrap.”

  “Well, now aren’t you Miss Big now that you’ve conquered your fear of true love.”

  Scott joined them. “Did I hear that right? Dating advice?”

  “Amber’s trying to convince Nicola to run after her own happy ending. Aka Todd.”

  “Ah.” Scott hooked an arm around Amber’s waist, bringing her close enough to kiss her on the end of her nose. “Sounds like good advice.”

  “I thought so,” she replied, going up on tiptoes to kiss him. She was glad she’d finally stopped running from her own fears and claimed what was hers—love.

  Scott tugged her away from the group, murmuring things about her green dress and how it looked hugging her curves.