by SJ McCoy
Jade’s phone started to ring as soon as Amber’s stopped. She gave them a wry smile. “I have to talk to her.” She walked away. “Hi, Lenny. Before you say anything, can I explain?”
Austin didn’t know what to make of any of this. Amber looked up at him with a sad smile. “I’m so sorry. If you want to go—if you want to avoid this mess altogether—I understand.”
“No!” He dropped a kiss on her lips. “It is a mess, but I want to help you sort it out, if you’d like me to.”
She smiled gratefully. “Thanks.”
Jade was coming back to them, still talking on her phone. “Yeah. He’s here, too.” To Austin’s surprise, she handed him her phone. “She wants to talk to you.”
“Hi, Lenny.”
“Hello, Austin. I’ll bet you’re wondering what you’ve landed in the middle of.”
“A little bit.”
“Well, I can tell you. You’ve landed in a shitstorm, and if you want to walk away, I wouldn’t blame you.”
“I don’t.”
He could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke again. “I had a feeling you might say that. You like her a lot, don’t you?” Austin glanced at Amber. It felt strange to admit that he did when she was standing right there.
“You don’t need to tell me. But if you do, why don’t you go along with this?”
“Why?”
“Because it’d help her out. It’d finally set her free from what she sees as her obligations at home, and it’d clear the way for you and her to have a shot.”
“I thought it was clear.”
“So did I. It almost was. But if Milo’s telling her folks that he wants to marry her …”
Austin glanced at her. “Then what?”
“Then they’re going to put pressure on her to go back. I’m pissed at Jade, but I understand why she did what she did. I know it’s not in your nature to lie and deceive people. But you might want to think about this one before you make your mind up.”
“Okay.”
Lenny blew out a sigh. “Is Amber okay?”
He glanced at her again. “I think so.”
“Okay. I’ll butt out. Tell her to call me, but I don’t mind waiting until after the two of you talk.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks. And give me back to Jade.”
Austin handed the phone back.
Amber came to him with a worried look on her face. “What did she say?”
“That I should consider going along with it”
Amber looked shocked. “She did? Why?”
“Because it’d help you out.”
“No. I can sort this out for myself. Jade can sort it out by just telling the truth.”
He nodded. He knew she was right, but the more he thought about it, the less of a problem he had with going along with it, if she wanted him to. “When are they coming?”
“Saturday morning. They don’t like to be away too long. To them, a weekend away means leaving Saturday morning and getting home Sunday night.”
He nodded. If he did go along with it, it wouldn’t have to be for long then.
She held his gaze for a long moment then shook her head. “No. Austin. It’s not right. It’s kind of you to want to help me out, but Jade created the problem. She can solve it, too.”
She scowled at her sister when she came back.
“What did Lenny have to say?”
Jade chuckled. “She bitched me out, of course. But then she admitted that it might all work out okay.”
“No! She wouldn’t go along with it?!”
Jade smiled. “She wants you to call her.”
Austin nodded. “She told me that, too.”
~ ~ ~
Amber shook her head. She didn’t know what to do. She should know what to do. She should call her parents straight away and tell them. But she couldn’t make herself do it. She loved them. She’d always done her best to do right by them. She helped in the business because she knew it was the most important thing in the world to them—even if she didn’t get why it was. Well, that wasn’t true. She knew it was important because it made them so much money. What she didn’t get was why money was more important to them than anything else.
“Are you going to come in so I can buy you both a drink?” asked Jade. “It’s the least I can do.”
Amber looked up at Austin. She felt as though their evening was ruined now.
He smiled at her. “Yeah. Come on. We can have one, and then if you want to go home, I can drive still.”
She looked at her sister. “Should I just call them and tell them the truth?”
“No! If that’s what you want. I’ll tell them. It’s all on me. You should text Lenny and tell her you’re going to call her when you figure it out, and then turn your phone off. I told Dad that you were out with Austin tonight, so you might not see his call if he tried you.”
Amber blew out a big sigh. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have told him that. But I didn’t think. I just got mad.”
“I know. I know you meant well. I just don’t know what to do with it. I should tell them the truth.”
“You know what’ll happen if you do though. That’ll open the door for Milo again.”
“It won’t! Why won’t anyone believe me that I’m done with him?” She shot a glance at Austin. She didn’t want him thinking that there was any possibility that she might actually want to get back with Milo.
To her surprise, he smiled. “I think I know why. It’s because you’re such a sweet-natured person, and everyone can see it. He thinks he can use it against you to get what he wants. Your parents don’t know how you really feel because you’re so sweet you don’t want to upset them.”
She couldn’t help smiling back at him. At least, he understood her.
Jade laughed. “I think I’m going to take back my offer of buying you a drink. You two should get out of here. Go off by yourselves and figure out what you want to do.”
“You’re not getting off the hook that easily.”
Jade met her gaze. “I’m not trying to. For me, I’d rather you stayed here and included me in the conversation, but I feel like I’m intruding on the two of you.”
Amber looked up at Austin, and he nodded. “I like that idea better.”
Wow. She’d half expected him to want out of the situation completely. “Okay.”
Jade touched her arm. “I’m so sorry. Call me if you figure out what you want me to do. And don’t forget to talk to Lenny.” She looked at Austin. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
Amber watched her disappear back into the Boathouse, then looked up at Austin. “Where do you want to go?”
“We could pick up a pizza from Giuseppe’s and take it back to my place.”
“Okay.”
Chapter Twelve
Amber was surprised to see a Jeep in the driveway when they got to Austin’s place.
“That’s Dallas. I’m surprised he’s still here. He’s going to the Boathouse tonight. I thought we’d see him there.”
He parked next to the Jeep, and Dallas came out the front door. He looked puzzled as he trotted down the steps with Roscoe on his heels.
He smirked at Austin when he reached them. “Did you change your mind?”
Amber didn’t miss the evil look Austin shot him. “We had a bit of a change of plan.”
Dallas nodded. “So, I see. I’ll be on my way.” He grinned at Amber. “It’s good to see you again.”
“You too.”
He gave Austin a meaningful look. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” They watched him drive away before Austin turned to her. “Come on, let’s eat. And I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a drink.”
She nodded. She wasn’t a big drinker, but she could use one tonight.
They sat at the breakfast table to eat the pizza. As soon as they sat down, Roscoe came and stuck his nose up Amber’s skirt. She c
ouldn’t help but laugh as she pushed him away. “I’ve told you; you’re not supposed to do that.”
Austin rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry. He seems to be pretty taken with you.”
She smiled. “I like him, too. But …”
Austin chuckled. “Just because you like him doesn’t mean he gets free rein to perv on you.”
She had to laugh. “I’m glad you understand that. In my experience guys tend to think it does.”
His smile disappeared and she had to wonder why on earth she’d said that.
He pursed his lips. “Milo?”
“Yes, but he’s not something I want to talk about. I wanted to forget about that for a while and just enjoy having dinner with you.”
“I’d love to. But I don’t think it’s possible—either to forget or to enjoy dinner if we don’t talk about it.”
Her heart sank. Maybe he’d brought her back here because he didn’t want to dump her in front of everyone. No. That wasn’t true, and she knew it. She’d given him the opportunity to walk away, and he’d refused to take it. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I didn’t create the situation, no, but you’re only in it because of me.”
“I’m only in it because I want to be. You gave me the option to leave earlier if you remember.”
“I do. And I’m glad you didn’t.”
He reached across the table and took hold of her hand. “I am, too. You know me. You know I’m not into drama, but I think you’re worth it. I don’t want to walk away from you, Amber. I want to help you get through this. I want to put it behind us so that we can have a chance.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “Thank you. I want us to have a chance, too. I wish I was a better person. I wish I was stronger. I should have closed the door on him and been straight with my folks long before now.”
“That doesn’t make you weak.” He held her gaze. “But now you have to decide what you want to do.”
“I want to stay.”
“I know that. I mean you have to decide how you want to handle this.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to go along with Jade’s lie?”
She shook her head slowly. “I don’t think I can.”
“Just so you know, I’m willing to do it if you want me to.”
Her heart raced in her chest. “You would?”
“Yeah. I’m not comfortable with it. And if it was just Jade, I don’t think I would. But the fact that Lenny told me to consider it …” He shook his head. “I’ve known her all my life. She doesn’t stand for any nonsense. I know that. So, if she thinks that this wouldn’t be a terrible idea, then I have to believe her.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
She bit her bottom lip. “Lenny’s the only reason that I haven’t already called them. You’re right. She’s a wise woman. And I know she cares about me.” She frowned. It felt wrong to say it, but she knew it was true. “She cares about me more—and knows me better—than my parents do. If she thinks there’s a good reason …”
No. She looked at Austin. She couldn’t be … they couldn’t seriously be considering going along with Jade’s lie.
“Maybe you should call her after we eat.”
“Yeah. She didn’t want to spend her evening with Austin on the phone with her grandmother, but she couldn’t see them doing anything else until she figured this out.
~ ~ ~
Austin watched her walk around on the back deck while she talked to Lenny. He rinsed the dishes and set the dishwasher running. He didn’t know what to make of all this.
Roscoe came and nosed his leg.
“What’s up, buddy?”
Roscoe pawed at him and then went to the patio doors that led out onto the deck.
“No. You can wait in here with me. You need to leave her in peace to talk to Lenny.”
Roscoe came back and pawed at his leg again.
“I said, no.” Austin smiled. “But I’m glad you like her. She’s pretty awesome, huh?”
Roscoe wagged his tail.
“Maybe later we can sit on the sofa and you can sit on the other side of her. Just don’t go humping her leg, okay?”
His tail wagged even harder at that, making Austin laugh. Roscoe used to try to hump Nadia any time she sat down here. At first, Austin had thought that he liked her, but over time he figured out that he was smarter than that. She usually left in a huff and expected Austin to go after her to apologize. He used to do it at first, but toward the end of their relationship, he used to let her go, preferring to stay home with Roscoe and only having to listen to her complain over the phone.
Amber came back in and stopped in the doorway.
“What did she say?”
She looked uncomfortable. “She thinks we should do it.”
“Why?”
“Same thing she told you. That it’d put a stop to Milo once and for all and that it’d make Mom and Dad understand that I’m really not going back. She’s right. I know she is. But I feel like I should do all of that myself—that I already should have … but I haven’t … so …”
Austin’s heart started to pound. Was she saying that she wanted to go along with it? He raised an eyebrow at her.
She blew out a sigh and came to him. “I don’t know! I’m not a liar. I know you aren’t. I don’t want to put you in that position.”
He slid his arms around her waist. “If we’re going to consider it, let’s consider what it would actually mean.”
She looked up at him.
“What would it involve?”
“You’ll have to speak to your folks tomorrow one way or another. So, if we do this, that would mean you’d have to lie to them tomorrow. Then … would you talk to them again before they came?”
“Probably not. They’ll fly up here on Saturday morning.”
“Okay. So, we’d drive down to the airport to get them?”
“Oh. No!” She gave him a worried look. “I … you know I said that they’re the kind of people, that money’s important to them?”
“Yeah?”
“They fly in a private jet. They don’t own it or anything. It’s one of those timeshare things where they get to use it so many hours a month. We wouldn’t have to pick them up; they’ll land right here.”
Austin nodded. “Okay. So there wouldn’t be an awkward couple of hours in the car with them on the way up here.”
She smiled. “No. They’ll arrive Saturday morning. They’ll want to go straight to the lodge and have some lunch. Then they’ll want to come over to the apartment and see how we’re keeping it.”
He raised an eyebrow at that.
She made a face. “Appearances are important.”
He was liking her parents less the more he heard about them. “Okay. Would they want to have dinner with us?”
“Oh, yes That’d be the main interrogation.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Remember I’m trying to figure out if I can stand to do it here. Interrogation doesn’t sound too appealing.”
She looked serious. “It wouldn’t be. It’d be awful. Thanks, Austin, but I just don’t think we can—”
His phone started to ring. He didn’t want to take it, but she smiled. “Go on. Take it.”
He picked it up from the counter to check the display. It wasn’t a local number, or anything he recognized. He should probably take it. He looked at Amber and she nodded, then bent down to pet Roscoe. Lucky dog.
“Austin Williams.”
“Austin. This is Milo Hall.”
“I’m sorry?” He only asked to stall for time. He couldn’t believe the guy was calling him.
“Milo Hall,” the voice repeated. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am.”
He shot a glance at Amber, and as if sensing his unease, she looked up at him.
“I know who you are, Milo.”
Her eyes widened, and she came toward him, reaching for the phone. He shook his head.
“
So, she told you about me?”
“She did. What can I do for you?”
Amber was watching him wide-eyed.
“It’s what I can do for you. I’ll let you fuck her one more time, then you can send her on home to me. You might have enjoyed that sweet little pussy for a while, but it belongs to me.”
Austin’s blood boiled that he could talk about her that way. That any man would talk about a woman that way—a woman he claimed he wanted to marry!
“You hear me? Go find your own woman.”
Austin glanced at her. “I have found my own woman. I thought you knew. We’re engaged. She’s not yours. She’s going to marry me.”
Amber’s hand flew up to cover her mouth and her eyes bulged over the top of it.
“Don’t bank on it. Asshole.” The line went dead.
“Oh, my God! What did he say? Why did you say that?”
Austin went to her and closed his arms around her. “I’m sorry. I know I just made it worse, but damn, Amber. The guy’s a jerk! If you’re parents are okay with you being with him, then he has them well and truly fooled.” He shook his head. “Fooling them that we’re engaged will be easy to do. If they’ll fall for that guys spiel, they’ll fall for anything.”
She looked up at him. “What did he say that made you so mad?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
She stepped away from him. “It does, Austin. One of the things I value most about you—about the way we are with each other—is that there are no secrets. It feels like we’re in it together. I know you think you’re protecting me from him, but I don’t want to be protected. I want to face it—with you.”
He blew out a sigh. “You really want to know?”
“Probably not, if I go by the look on your face. But I need to. Tell me—word for word—what did he say?”
Austin closed his eyes, he’d been about to paraphrase, make it more …
Her eyes bored into him. “I know the way he talks. I’m used to it. You’re not going to shock me.”
“Okay.” He watched her face closely, wondering if she really was used to hearing this kind of thing. “You heard me ask what I could do for him.”
She nodded.
“He told me it’s what he can do for me. That he’d …” His fists balled at his sides, but he forced himself to repeat it word for word. “He’d let me fuck you one more time, then I could send you on home to him. That I might have enjoyed that sweet little pussy, but it belongs to him.” He couldn’t believe he’d said those words to her.