by Natalie Ann
“That’s good. I mean, I’m glad it’s working out that way for us. How long will you be working on this location?”
“You mean, how long do I get to spend more time in Lake Placid?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s going to be a few months until the new office is up and running, but a good year before Nick and I are comfortable stepping back.”
“Do you need more space when you’re here?”
Where was she going this time? “I’m good. Why do you ask?”
“I’m just thinking my apartment is kind of small. I don’t even have a spare room for you to put a desk in and work. You’re at the kitchen table.”
“I spend more time at Nick’s, and his office is huge with a few desks and a conference table.”
“Okay.”
It sounded like she was disappointed. “Why the question? Are you thinking of moving?”
“It crossed my mind.”
His heart rate picked pace. “Really? Moving where?”
“Just to a bigger place. Maybe I’ll look for a small house. I don’t know. The apartment is nice and convenient and maintenance-free for me, so it’s probably not that great of an idea.”
“It’s an awesome idea, but I don’t want you making that big of a change for me.”
He really did, but he couldn’t push right now. It’d been a few months, and there was no serious commitment on either of their ends. He’d like to make more of one, but wasn’t sure she did. Until he could figure out a way around her parents’ disapproval, he didn’t feel right adding to her stress by the two of them making bigger changes in her life.
“It’s for me, too. I feel like I’m throwing money away on rent when maybe it could be put to better use on a mortgage. Not too many people are house hunting in the middle of the winter, so I was thinking maybe I could get a good deal on the stuff already on the market.”
So she’d been putting some thought into this. “Have you looked at anything?”
A bit more silence. “Actually, I have. There isn’t a lot available. It’s not a big area for my price range, but I need to stay close to the hospital and work, for obvious reasons.”
He wanted to offer to help. To put his name on the mortgage, or money or something, but figured that wasn’t a conversation for now, or on the phone.
“Shoot me anything you’re looking at.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I’d like to see it. If you don’t mind. I’m a good negotiator, so take advantage of that.”
“That’s what a realtor is for,” she said, laughing.
“We’ll see. Send me anything you’ve got.”
“Will do, boss.”
He laughed again. Their conversations could go from serious to funny in a heartbeat. “Will you be my sexy secretary?”
“I’ve got some red glasses I could put on the next time you’re here.”
Now he groaned. “Yep. One hundred percent a tease.”
Two Toothbrushes
The next visit with Zach came and went, this time with no arguing. Part of Amber was thrilled things were working out so well, the other part wishing they just had more time together.
Zach had returned from Baltimore, spent a week in Richmond, then flew back out to see her for two days on her weekend off, then went back and had been on the road a few days more.
But now he would be here for a full seven days. Five of those days they’d both be working, but she wasn’t on call and they’d have the nights together. She’d take what she could get at this point in time.
When she felt her phone vibrate, she pulled it out and looked at the text from Zach. He’d landed safely and was driving straight to Nick’s, and he’d be home by six at the latest.
Home. It made her heart swell with want and need to see that word come up. But it really wasn’t a home. Not much to her and not to him at all.
Her little apartment seemed to be closing in on them. Her closet had no space left since he’d started to leave a few changes of clothes so he could travel lighter. There were pieces of him all over her place.
Enough that her mother noticed it when she stopped to visit last week and went in the bathroom.
“Since when do you need two open toothbrushes in the holder?”
She didn’t think her mother was that thick, but she obviously was. Or she was looking for a fight.
“Since I don’t use them both. One is Zach’s.”
“He has to leave one here so that anyone who visits knows?”
“Considering he stays at my place each month, I’m sure it’s a common assumption that he’d want to brush his teeth a time or two.”
“Don’t be snippy with me, young lady.”
“I haven’t been a young lady in a long time. Probably not even a lady in your eyes,” Amber said, putting her mother on the spot.
Her mother just huffed out a big breath and moved into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. “What is this I hear…you’re looking for another place? What’s wrong with this apartment?”
Nothing got by her mother. “You’ve never liked my apartment before. I’d think you’d be happy that I was looking for a new place.”
Her mother hated that Amber lived downtown, close to the bars and the action. And action in her mother’s eyes meant anything considered fun.
As always, her mother brushed off that comment and went back to what was really on her mind. “I heard you were looking to buy a house.”
“I am. I’d like some more room. I’ve outgrown this place.”
“You wouldn’t have outgrown it if you didn’t have two toothbrushes in the bathroom.”
It was the most ridiculous comment Amber had ever heard. “Because an extra toothbrush takes up so much room.”
“Obviously it does. Does this move have to do with Zach? Doesn’t he trust you living so close to downtown where you can go out and meet other people?”
Amber opened her mouth, then shut it, feeling her face turn red. “Zach and I trust each other completely. That has nothing to do with it. You may think what you want about me, but I don’t cheat.”
“I never said you did,” her mother said, lifting her nose. “I said he might not trust you.”
“He trusts me completely,” she repeated. And just because she’d had enough of this, she added. “I’m buying a house so that we can have more room together when he’s here.”
“Amber, you’re smart. You have to know how stupid this is sounding. You’ve been dating each other for a few months and you’re going to put yourself in that kind of debt? With no commitment from him at all?”
She laughed, there was no way to stop it. “First off, I wouldn’t put myself in any kind of debt I couldn’t handle. I’m just throwing money away on rent. Second of all, we love each other. Isn’t that a commitment of its own?”
“It’s not the same thing. Again it’s only been a few months. People fall in and out of love all the time,” her mother said stubbornly.
“If you got to know Zach, you’d realize that the time means nothing. The distance doesn’t even mean anything to him. We’re making it work. Why can’t you see that? Why won’t you give him a chance?”
“I feel you’re making a mistake.”
“So noted.” She wanted to bang her head against the wall. “In your eyes, I’ve made mistakes my whole life. I’ve never done anything right or good enough. So give me a little credit that my life isn’t as bad as you think it really is.”
More avoidance from her mom. And that thought didn’t sit well with her, reminding her that Zach said the same thing to her during their fight. She and her mother had nothing in common.
“He’s going to let you spend all this money on a house so that he has more space? That’s kind of selfish of him.”
“It was my idea, not his.”
“But I’m sure he hasn’t tried to talk you out of it,” her mother said.
No, Zach hadn’t tried to talk her out of it. She’d been sending him
links to houses she saw, which so far had only been two from what was available in her price range. He didn’t really have anything good to say about either, but reiterated it was her house and her decision.
She was annoyed over that, as she wanted him to have a say and she wanted him to be part of the decision. But maybe her mother was right—heaven forbid she voiced that out loud—maybe Zach wasn’t as committed as she was hoping for.
“I don’t need a man to tell me what I should do, how to spend my money, or what house I should buy.”
Her mother sighed again. “Amber, I only want what is best for you.”
“Maybe it’s Zach. You’d know that if you’d spend time with him.”
“I get enough of the lecturing from your father and sister. I didn’t come here to listen to it again.”
She was glad her father and sister were in her corner, but it didn’t seem like it was making a lick of difference.
“If you honestly want what is best for me, then you’ll have dinner with Zach and me when he is here next. We’ll take you and Sally’s family out to dinner. It will put us on a time limit and in a public place. If you can’t even agree to this, then I’m not sure what more we have to say to each other.”
Her mother crossed her arms. “It means that much to you?”
Where’s the wall? Where’s the freaking wall to bang her head against? “Yes, it does.”
“Fine, I’ll talk to your father and see if he is agreeable to it.”
“He will be. I know it. The same with Sally.”
Her mother grabbed her coat and put it on, then walked to the door. That was a quick twenty-minute visit; no tea was even consumed. “Call me with the details in a day or so.”
“I will.”
“Amber.” She turned to see Max standing in the doorway of her office, his voice forcing her to blink her eyes back to reality. “Are you okay? You’re just staring at your phone with a silly grin on your face.”
She focused on Max, then laughed. “Come on, Max. You know what the grin is for. You had it for months when you were trying to hide your relationship with Quinn from us. We weren’t stupid. We knew all along.”
“Bull,” he said. “No one knew.”
“Nothing gets past us in this office, Max. We just let you believe you were getting away with something.”
He shook his head. “I’m so outnumbered here.”
“You wouldn’t want it any other way,” she said, watching him laugh then walk back to his office.
Quickly, she typed back to Zach. Can’t wait to see you. I’ll bring home dinner so we’ve got more time together. Because she was going to need all the time she could to tell him about dinner with her parents.
About Time
“I’m calling it a day,” Zach said, then shut his laptop down.
“It’s only five thirty.”
“Yep. Your wife is cooking dinner. My nephew is sleeping soundly, and you and Mallory need some alone time. I’m just in the way.”
“Seriously? Where’s Mallory when I need a witness. Did you just say you were in the way? You? The guy who hounds everyone nonstop when he has his teeth in something?”
“Maybe I’ve got other priorities right now.”
“Good. It’s about time,” Nick said.
“You’re okay with that?”
“Zach, when have I ever said I wasn’t? You work more than anyone should. I appreciate every minute of it, but sometimes you make me feel guilty I don’t work enough and it’s my own damn company.”
“I just want to do my part.”
“You’ve always done your part. More than your part. You don’t need to prove anything to me. Do you think you need to prove something to yourself?”
He’d never thought of it that way. Well, in the beginning he did. He had to prove he wasn’t the poor hick without more than two dollars in his wallet at a time. Now he just couldn’t seem to stop the pattern he’d set up over the last ten years.
“I don’t know. I’m so used to it now it’s just hard to change.”
“Then try harder. Go home to Amber and enjoy your night. I’ll talk to you in the morning. And don’t get here before nine, please.”
“Are you getting lazy living here?” Zach asked, laughing.
“When you have to get up with a hungry baby a few times a night, then let’s see how you feel.”
“Mallory finishing up a book right now?”
“Yes. She has a deadline to meet and I’m letting her meet it. She should be done by the end of the week, then we’ll be back to normal.”
Zach stopped in the process of leaving. “Is it hard to switch gears like that?’
“Like what?”
“Put your work aside for hers? Change your life so much?”
“I moved to another state without a blink of an eye and you’re asking me if it was hard. No, the answer is no. If you love someone enough, then you make the change work. Any way you can.”
With that thought in his mind, he pulled up to Amber’s apartment. He’d beat her there, so he let himself in with the key she gave him last time.
Once the few clothes he brought with him were put away, he pulled out a bottle of wine and two glasses, preparing himself for the talk he wanted to have tonight with her. Preparing himself for some arguing.
He didn’t have long to wait before she was walking in the door with food in her hand. Looked and smelled like Chinese takeout.
“Let me help you,” he said, walking forward and reaching for the bags. “Are you feeding an army tonight?”
“I wasn’t sure what you liked. We’ve never ordered Chinese before so I got a variety. Besides, we need to load up on carbs, knowing we’re going to burn them off later.”
“Don’t put that kind of pressure on my shoulders.”
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in you.”
***
“I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you wanted to load up on carbs,” Zach said, pushing the empty container of beef and broccoli away from him.
“I love lo mein. It’s my favorite.”
“You ate the whole container of chicken fried rice, too. You aren’t pregnant, are you?” he asked, holding her stare.
She snorted. “No chance in hell. My momma didn’t raise no fool. We’re both protected.”
He just winked at her and let it drop.
She finished chewing the last bite of shrimp from another container. “How good of a mood are you in right now?”
“I’m always in a good mood,” he said, running his toe along the arch of her foot on the couch and making her jump.
“Good to know.” Might as well just lead right into it. “My mother came to visit me last week.”
“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely.
“You don’t even know how it went.”
“Was it any different than any other time?”
“Not really,” she said.
“Then I’m sorry.”
She tapped her foot with his. “Smart ass. So back to what I was trying to say. Because my mother knows everything, and of course knows best, she already heard I was looking for another place.”
“That’s just amazing to me she would know that. Have you told anyone?”
“Nope. Just you. I haven’t even told anyone at work. So that means the realtor I’m using said something.”
“Now I remember everything I hated about small towns. I’m guessing she didn’t approve.”
“She explained that I don’t need any more space for an extra toothbrush.”
He started to cough. “That’s how she referred to me? An extra toothbrush? I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but don’t think it’s ever been that.” He shook his head. “No. I’d remember if someone said that. So that’s a first.”
“Don’t be cute. It’s not funny.”
“I’m trying not to be offended that I’m being compared to a two-dollar piece of plastic that gets thrown out every few months.”
/> “No one is throwing you out,” she said, moving over and crawling into his lap. “Least of all me.”
“Then what happened?”
“She proceeded to tell me I was making a mistake and jumping the gun. That it’d only been a few months.” She wasn’t going to say anything to him about a lack of commitment. “I told her it was my choice. That we loved each other and that I wanted more space.”
“Bet she was just thrilled to know that we love each other,” he said, loosening the bun from her hair.
“Not exactly. But after a few more choice words, she said she wanted me to be happy. So I told her if that was really true, then she’d give you a chance.”
“And?”
“And she grudgingly agreed to have dinner with us and my sister’s family. I said we’d take them out. It’d be in public and there’d be a time limit on it.”
“Seriously? She agreed? I’m going to actually have a chance to convince them I’m not a bad person?”
“Yes. You can prove to my mother that you aren’t a cheap plastic toothbrush, but a nice shiny electric one.”
He hugged her tight, then kissed her head. “If it works with you, how about Saturday night for dinner? I thought we could go look at a house Saturday morning.”
“I don’t have any houses lined up. I looked at the two I sent you. You were right, by the way; they weren’t all that impressive.”
She was trying not to get annoyed that he knew they wouldn’t suit her without even walking in the door. She was resigning herself to the fact that it was going to take her longer to find a house she liked, and could afford, and maintain all at the same time.
“I found a place that is being sold by the owner. Actually, I’m not sure they’ve even made it public yet.”
“How did you find out about it? You don’t even live around here.” She was pretty sure she was on top of all the local news and gossip. Then again, house sales were things that never really interested her before.
“Word of mouth.”
“Which means it has to have come from Nick,” she said, slightly annoyed he told someone she was looking for a house.