by SJ McCoy
Jade glanced at him.
He could hardly tell her that they’d no doubt be impressed.
Amber had no such reservations. She smiled at her sister. “That’s the first thing that they’ll love about him.”
“Yeah?” She looked at Austin. “Sorry, but Milo lives in a McMansion in one of the best neighborhoods. That’s hard to beat in our parents’ eyes.”
Amber came to him with an apologetic look on her face. “God. I’m sorry. I feel terrible.”
He slid his arm around her. He didn’t want her to feel that way. He knew she wasn’t attracted to him because of what he had. It wasn’t her fault that he’d go up in her parents’ estimation because he owned a nice house. “It’s okay, sweetie. It doesn’t bother me.” He smiled down at her. “In fact, I’m pleased that I can now finally feel justified in buying a house that’s way too much for just one guy.”
Jade laughed. “Will one of you fill me in?”
“Milo’s place is about half the size of Austin’s. And Austin’s up in the hills with an amazing view.” Amber glanced at him. “And a huge pool that I haven’t got to swim in yet.”
He laughed. “Bring your swimsuit.”
Jade waggled her eyebrows. “Or don’t.”
Austin liked that idea, but he was hardly going to say so in front of Jade. He was going along with this whole fiancé thing against his better judgment. But he needed Jade to understand that this was about more than that for him.
~ ~ ~
Austin took hold of her hand as they walked out across the deck of the restaurant. It made her smile. Most of their friends would be here; breakfast at the Boathouse was just something everyone did on the weekends. She was glad she didn’t have to wonder if he minded them seeing him with her—knowing that they were together.
He smiled at her. “Is this okay?”
“It’s wonderful. Are you ready to face everyone?”
“I’m ready for them to know that we’re together—though, to be fair, they’ve kind of been waiting for it.”
She nodded, glad that he knew it and didn’t mind acknowledging it.
He pursed his lips. “We should have cleared it up before we got here, but what do you want to say?”
“About …? Oh.” She sighed. “I don’t know. We don’t need to say anything yet, do we? Or do you want to?”
“I’d rather not … not yet. It’s no one else’s business. But at the same time, I don’t want to hide it. I think I’d rather we have a better idea of what we’re doing ourselves before we face a barrage of questions.”
“Yeah.” She knew he was right. They’d all want to know more.
He squeezed her hand. “One step at a time. They’re all going to be happy to see us here together. Let’s just roll with that for now.”
“Austin Williams!” It was Logan who greeted them first with a big grin on his face. Amber liked him. He was fun, but he could be a bit over-the-top.
Austin tightened his grip on her hand. “Logan Perkins. What can I do for you?”
Logan winked at Amber. “You can tell us all how you finally managed to get your act together and show up here for breakfast with the lovely Amber.”
She felt heat in her cheeks. It was only natural that they’d assume that showing up for breakfast together meant that they’d spent the night together. And she had spent the night at his place. She just wished that Logan was right, and she’d spent it in his bed.
Austin didn’t get the chance to answer. Luke punched Logan’s arm. “Leave him alone.”
Logan’s fiancée, Roxy, rolled her eyes at Amber. “Sorry. I can’t take him anywhere.”
“Come sit down, guys.” Abbie, who was sitting at the other end of the long picnic table smiled and patted the space beside her. “I can rescue you from nosey Perkins,” she shot Logan an evil look, “and if you don’t mind, I want to pick your brains, Austin.”
Amber sat next to Abbie, and Austin slid in next to her fiancé, Ivan, opposite them.
Ivan grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to embarrass you. I just want to say I’m happy to see you here together.”
“Thanks.” Austin smiled at Amber. “Not as happy as I am.”
“Aww.” Abbie nudged Amber’s arm. “I grew up with these guys, and I have to tell you, you’ve landed yourself the best one in Summer Lake.”
“Excuse me?” Ivan gave her a mock hurt look, but she just laughed.
“You know what I mean. The best of the ones who grew up here. Obviously, I have the best guy in town.”
Ivan laughed. “Okay, I’ll let you off.”
The server came out and poured coffee and took their orders. Once he’d gone, Abbie turned to Austin.
“I know I shouldn’t pester you about work on the weekend, but I wanted to ask you about rental properties.”
“What about them?” Austin smiled at Ivan. “I know you two aren’t thinking of renting. Your place is one of the nicest on the water.”
Ivan smiled back at him. “Nope. We’re set for life, right, Abbs?”
Amber got a warm and fuzzy feeling as she watched Abbie rest her head against Ivan’s shoulder. She had to wonder what it would be like to be so totally in love and so confident in your man.
“You got that right.” Abbie reached up and kissed Ivan’s cheek. “You’ve been sentenced to a lifetime with me.” She turned back to Austin. “It’s about my mom’s place. I’ve been nagging her to rent it out. I don’t mind keeping an eye on it for her, but she could be making some money on it while she’s not here.”
Austin nodded. “Would she rent it out long-term?”
“No, that’s the trouble. I told her we’d put everything in storage for her, and she could put it up as an annual unfurnished rental, but she doesn’t want to do that. She still wants to come back and be able to stay there sometimes.”
“Hmm. So, she’d want to do vacation rentals?”
“That’s what she said, but I wanted to ask what you think. It’s not really a vacation type of house, is it?”
“No, but I might be able to help her out, at least with something short-term to get her started. I talked to a guy the other day—I know him, Zack does, too, so it wouldn’t just be some random stranger. He’s thinking about moving up here, and he wants to rent somewhere that’d give him an idea of what it’d be like to live here—not just visit on vacation.”
Abbie nodded. “That sounds perfect. If he wants to see what it’s like to live in a regular house on a regular street, then my mom’s place would be ideal for him. How long does he want to stay?”
“He said he’d like to try a month at first.”
“Awesome. Do you know when?”
“Not for another few weeks. He said next month originally, but he had some other plans fall through, and he might want to come sooner. I’m waiting to hear back from him. There’s not much available that’d work at the moment; all the vacation rentals are booked out.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure Mom would be okay with it—depending on when it is.”
“Do you vet people who are only staying short term?” asked Ivan.
Amber loved that he was looking out for Abbie’s mom. She didn’t know him that well, but he seemed like a good guy, and she knew he’d helped Abbie and her mom through a rough time.
Austin was smiling. “I don’t, no. It just wouldn’t be practical for short-term rentals. But I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about with Manny. Like I said, I know him, Zack knows him, Zack’s dad knows him. And if we’re not enough to vouch for his character then perhaps the fact that he’s the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Sacramento might be enough to convince you.”
Ivan laughed. “Okay. I’m good with that.”
Abbie wasn’t smiling anymore. “Do you think he’d want to stay at my mom’s place?”
Ivan put his arm around her shoulders. “He’d be lucky to. It’s a great little house.”
“It is,” said Austin. “I know what
you’re thinking, but Manny’s not looking for anything fancy. He’s getting ready to take early retirement, and he just wants to live a peaceful life in a place where he already knows a few people.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll talk to Mom and see what she thinks and then … what? Should I take some pictures or …”
“How about I come over one day in the week? I can take a look at the place, and we can get some photos.”
“Great.” Abbie smiled at Amber. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to drag him into work conversation.”
Amber smiled. “It’s not a problem. I like hearing about it.”
“What about you?” asked Ivan. “What are you going to do for work?”
“I’m still at the post office.”
“I know but I thought now that Lenny’s back on her feet … Does she still need you and Jade?”
“She needs someone. She wants to go part-time. She’s asked if I want to stay on.”
She could feel Austin watching her and realized that she hadn’t told him that yet. She also remembered that she shouldn’t be getting too relaxed. There was a lot she’d have to get him up to speed on about herself and her life if they were going to be able to fool her parents next weekend. And there was the minor detail that she had to call them and face the music about having supposedly gotten engaged without even telling them she’d met someone.
Chapter Fourteen
It was almost noon by the time they left the Boathouse. Most of the gang had the morning free, and they’d all ended up sitting out on the deck hanging out and catching up for hours. Austin loved it. And he knew Amber had too. His life had always been here. He loved Summer Lake, and he loved that he helped other people to become part of it—helped them find homes to live in. He hoped that she was going to grow to see this place as home. He’d helped her find the apartment she lived in now, and … no, he wasn’t even going to think about maybe helping her find her next home.
She looked up at him as they walked back across the square to his truck. “What time do you have to go to work?”
He’d forgotten that he had a showing to do. He laughed. “It’s a good thing you reminded me. I have to show a house at one-thirty.”
“Okay. What do you want to do then? There’s no point going all the way back out to your house and then coming back again.”
She seemed edgy.
He put his arm around her shoulders. “What do you want to do? Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She blew out a sigh. “I’ll be better after I call my parents, though.”
“Damn! I’m sorry, sweetie. I was having such a good time this morning, I forgot. You should have said. We could have left.”
“No! I was enjoying myself, too. I completely forgot about it—which just shows you how much I was enjoying myself. But now that we have to decide what to do next, I can’t do anything until I’ve talked to them. I’m dreading it, but I don’t want to put it off any longer. If I don’t call them soon, they’re bound to call me.”
He nodded. “Do you want me to leave you to it? Would you rather I’m with you?” He didn’t know how she’d want to play it, but he wanted to support her in whatever way he could.
She smiled. “I think I’d rather do it by myself. Maybe you could drop me off at the apartment? I’ll call them and catch up on a few things at home while you go to work.”
“Okay.” He should probably check in at the office anyway. “I’ll call you when I get done and see if you’re ready to head back to my place?”
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll be more than ready.”
He smiled. “Do you want to bring your PJ’s and your toothbrush this time?” As soon as the words were out, he wished he’d said it differently. He sounded like a kid inviting his friend for a sleepover.
She seemed to like it though. Her eyes shone as she nodded. “I would.”
“And don’t forget your swimsuit.”
She waggled her eyebrows, and he knew that she was remembering what Jade had said—or not!
They reached the SUV, and he held the door open for her. Another few hours—that was all he’d have to wait now. He’d get through his appointment. She’d face her parents, and they’d be free to spend the afternoon—the rest of the weekend—together. He shifted in his seat as he pulled out onto Main Street. They could hang out, spend some time in the pool, and hopefully, some time in bed.
~ ~ ~
Amber let herself into the apartment and went to the window to wave at Austin as he drove away. Her chest flooded with warmth when he blew her a kiss, and she blew him one back. He was wonderful!
She spun around at the sound of Jade laughing. “You’re so loved up you didn’t even notice me!”
“I didn’t, sorry. I’m not going to deny it.”
“Good. He’s awesome.”
“He is.”
“So, what are you doing back here?”
She blew out a sigh. “I’ve come to face the music. I’m going to call Mom and Dad.”
“Shit! You haven’t talked to them yet?”
“Nope.”
“Ugh. You’d better do it then. Get it over with.”
“I know. What exactly did you tell them?”
“I didn’t really say much to them. I told Milo that you’d met a great guy who’d swept you off your feet. That he’s really good to you and you’re head over heels in love with him. And he’s asked you to marry him.”
“And what did Dad say?”
“He wanted to know why you hadn’t said anything to them. I told them that it’d all happened so fast, and I told them that you know they like Milo and you didn’t want to disappoint them.”
Amber made a face.
“I thought I might as well try and get some truth in there.”
“What did he have to say about that?”
Jade cringed. “He said you’d disappointed him by not telling them … and that he was disappointed that this Austin guy hadn’t asked for his permission first … like Milo did.”
“Oh, crap! I didn’t even think about that.”
“Neither did I, but it’s not a big deal, is it? It’s just some old-fashioned tradition.”
“Not to Dad.” Amber didn’t like to say it to her sister, but she suspected that Austin was the kind of guy who would honor that old-fashioned tradition—if he got the chance. Well, if he ever asked a girl to marry him. It wasn’t as though he’d actually asked her.
“What’s up?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just being stupid. I know we only just started seeing each other, and who knows where it might go. But I just realized that … nothing.”
Jade smiled. “Are you wishing that he had asked Dad’s permission, for real?”
She shrugged. “It’s stupid. I know. I just got carried away for a minute.”
“It’s not stupid. I think it’s quite likely. Which just makes me feel even worse for running my mouth in the first place.”
“Don’t feel bad. You meant well. I know that.”
“I did. But come on. Make the call. Once it’s done, you can relax a bit until this time next week when they come. If you ask me, I think you should spend the week with Austin at his place. Get to know each other so you’ll be more convincing.”
Amber smiled through pursed lips. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Jade laughed. “I knew it! You should do it. You can spend the whole week role-playing what engaged couples do.”
Amber had to laugh. “I’d love to. But it wouldn’t be right. It wouldn’t be fair to Austin.”
“Ha! Wouldn’t be fair? The poor guy must have the bluest balls on the planet right now. You didn’t sleep with him last night, did you? You haven’t slept with him yet?”
“No.”
“And it was obvious, that he wanted to do you the first time you met! How would it not be fair to put yourself in his bed every night for the next week? I think it’s only fair. He’s going along with this for you—the least you could do is show a little gratitude.”
“You do? That’s awesome. And once you have, there’s no reason you shouldn’t keep doing it.”
“I’d love to. But you keep distracting me. What I need to do is call Mom and Dad.”
“Yeah. Sorry. Do you want me to go out?”
She shook her head. “No. You can stay.”
~ ~ ~
Austin let himself into the office and smiled at Crystal. “How’s it going?”
“Better, now that you’re here. I was starting to think you must have forgotten about your one-thirty.”
He checked his watch. “It’s not even one yet.”
She laughed. “I know. But you’re usually here a couple of hours before a showing unless you’re out on another one.”
“Yeah. I was busy this morning.”
She glanced up at him. “I heard.”
“Let me guess, the whole town noticed that we all stayed at the Boathouse all morning?”
She shook her head. “Your brother told me that he wasn’t allowed to go home last night.”
Austin pursed his lips. “He’s been in here then?”
She nodded.
He didn’t have many reservations about bringing Dallas in to work with him, but he did have a few. One of them was about the way Dallas was with women. He had a way with them, no doubt about it. But he wasn’t into anything serious, or long term. He charmed them, slept with them, and then moved on. Crystal had taken a shine to him the last time he’d been home to visit. That was a complication Austin didn’t need.
Crystal ran the office for him—and she ran it like a well-oiled machine. He didn’t need Dallas having his way with her and upsetting things around here.
“Problem?” she asked.
“I hope not.”
“He told me that he’s going to be working with you.”
“How would you feel about that?”
She smiled. “He’s fun.”
He gave her a stern look. “I know it’s not my place to say anything. But if you had fun with him, it wouldn’t last for long.”
She smiled through pursed lips. “Who says I’d want it to?”