No explanations were necessary. Darla had run the other man off.
“I hope you’re all happy.” Amy glared at her family members.
“I didn’t mean any harm,” Darla said, sounding sincere and embarrassed at the same time.
Roper actually felt sorry for her.
He felt worse for Amy.
She lowered herself into her seat and the rest of the meal passed without a word from her. Her mother and aunt behaved-at least well enough not to get them kicked out of the restaurant.
His mother picked up on the tension and told stories about Hollywood, distracting Amy’s family enough to pass the time.
“I heard your daughter is getting married,” Rose said to Cassandra at the very end of the meal.
His mother nodded. “She’s marrying a wonderful man and they’re having a
Since the day Roper had laid down the law, his mother had backed off his sister and stopped meddling in the wedding plans. Of course, the fact that Sabrina had a check in her hand meant there was nothing Cassandra could do but accept her daughter’s wishes.
Just as Roper had intended.
And perhaps sensing she was at a crossroads with her son, Cassandra had changed her behavior where he was concerned, as well. Roper was sure Harrison played a strong role in his mother’s turnaround and he appreciated the man more than he could say. Harrison obviously made his mother happy, in her own dysfunctional way, and that pleased Roper, too.
Roper gestured to the waitress, who picked up the credit-card slip, fully signed. They could leave whenever they were ready. And he sensed Amy had been ready a long time ago.
“Weddings are wonderful,” Rose said with a sigh.
Roper nodded. “I’m going to give my sister away and we’re looking forward to Kevin becoming part of the family,” he said.
“Speaking of weddings,” Rose said, leaning across the table and staring Roper in the eye.
“Oh, no,” Amy said. “We’re leaving before you can go there.” She correctly guessed her mother would begin to pump Roper about his intentions regarding her daughter.
Roper knew his own intentions. Unfortunately Amy didn’t share them. Instead she wanted to run from him, far and fast.
After tonight’s dinner, he was starting to understand why. Now that she couldn’t blame Roper’s family or his choices for coming between them, she had it in for the press. But there was so much more to her feelings. When she’d first come to New York, she’d been uptight, diligently planning his life as if her career hinged on his getting it right. At the time he’d chalked it up to the fact that he was her first assignment. But their trip to the lodge proved him wrong.
Only when she’d gotten away from the pressure of her job and her family, when she’d stopped worrying about what people were going to think of her, had she been relaxed and happy. She’d enjoyed life.
There was no enjoyment in Amy now.
Her family pulled her strings the same way his family had with him.
Amy stood and he followed. Everyone at the table did the same. They left the restaurant, at which point Cassandra and Rose exchanged phone numbers. Everyone survived the embarrassment of the evening no worse for wear. Everyone except Amy.
She was barely speaking to anyone. He wished he could help her through what was going on with her family. Unfortunately, he’d learned from firsthand experience that the only person who could fix Amy’s situation was Amy. After all, she’d tried desperately to change his and nothing worked until he’d stood up for his own personal space.
She needed to do the same.
AMY COULDN’T BELIEVE HER luck. Yank had arranged for an entire day’s worth of activities for her family. Curly, one of his and her uncle Spencer’s poker buddies, was taking some relatives into town to see the sights and they asked Amy’s mother and aunt to join them. Amy showered, dressed and headed for work, determined to forget the events of last evening.
She cringed, her stomach cramping at the memory. She wondered what her father would think of last night’s episode. Pushing those thoughts aside, she collected her notepad and pen and headed for the conference room for the weekly meeting. The room filled up quickly, everyone present and accounted for.
As usual, Yank called the Hot Zone meeting to order. Amy, having already learned the drill, remained standing, hands and coffee off the table until he slammed down the gavel. Then she seated herself and prepared for the list of new assignments.
Yank’s first words weren’t about business per se. “We’re gonna have a firm party at one of the upstate country clubs,” he announced without preamble. “It’ll be before the start of baseball season and after the NFL draft, so nobody can make excuses. Micki’s got media lined up and we’re gonna make a splash just because we can,” he said proudly. “Everyone needs to be there.”
“This is going to be an annual event,” Annabelle said. “We have corporate sponsors who want to meet our clients. It’s a win-win for everyone. Date to follow soon.”
“Amy and Spencer, be sure your family’s back home before then. Otherwise we might have a bomb scare,” Yank said, laughing.
Amy cringed.
Until her uncle added, “Similar to the fire drill you arranged New Year’s Eve?”
Then Amy laughed.
“He’s blamin’ a blind man for trippin’ over his dog! Can you believe that?” Yank asked, rising from his chair.
“I’m blaming you for being a klutz. Being blind’s got nothing to do with it,” Spencer said.
“Here they go again,” Micki whispered to Amy, leaning close. She grabbed the gavel from her unsuspecting uncle’s hands and rapped it on the rubber mat. “Move it along,” she ordered.
The men sat down, obeying her without question. Another half hour passed with routine business until Frannie burst into the room without knocking. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, huffing and out of breath. “But I have news that can’t wait.”
Amy’s stomach churned. She had a distinct feeling of deja vu, taking her back to her first meeting in this room.
“Let’s hear it,” Yank said.
“Well, I need to see Amy privately,” Frannie said, suddenly realizing all eyes were on her.
Now Amy’s stomach churned again, but for good reason. Frannie wasn’t the type to get so worked up. This must really be something. Amy rose from her seat, but Micki placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’re family here. Nobody is in this room except Uncle Yank, Spencer, myself, my sisters and Amy. We want to help.”
Amy sat down again.
Frannie nodded. She leaned forward until she was between Amy and Micki. “There’s something on the Internet Amy needs to see. Nobody else should see it,” Frannie said.
That was the moment Amy realized her uncle’s secretary had a laptop beneath her arm. She placed it on the table, opened it and Amy immediately recognized the banner for Buckley’s blog on the top of the screen.
Everyone in the room was silent, obviously recognizing something huge was going on. Amy had never been so sick in her life.
“Ready?” Frannie asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” Amy muttered.
She scrolled down slowly until the headline caught Amy’s eye.
A prominent link promised to lead to “an eyeful.”
She clicked.
She looked.
And she immediately wished she hadn’t.
