“I’m staying,” she said. “What if you have a nightmare or something?”
“No. I’m fine. I’ll stay awake.”
She held out a hand. “Toothbrush, please. I’m sleeping on your couch tonight. And don’t worry, I don’t have designs on your virtue.”
That made him snort. He really did like Kayla. And given his experience tonight, she was probably right: it was best if she stayed.
So he got her a bottle of water and an extra toothbrush. Offered to make up his own bed for her, and when she refused, got her a pillow and a couple of blankets.
Then he went into his bedroom and made two phone calls. The first was to Ferguson, a night owl who right away said he and Georgiana could come tomorrow to care for Davey. The second was to his counselor. He got voice mail and asked if he could jump in on the second day of the retreat.
Tonight had taught him that, for real and for sure, he couldn’t go it alone.
SUNDAY MORNING, AMBER dragged her suitcase out of the closet, tossed it on her bed and opened it. She grabbed shirts and shoes and threw them in haphazardly.
And tried not to cry.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Why had she expected anything different from Paul? He was a guy. And she was... Well, she was a girl who was fun for the short-term, but easily forgotten.
You should have known. You’ve been here before.
Except she hadn’t, not with someone she cared about the way she cared about Paul. Somehow, he and his son had wiggled their way into her heart.
It had been bad enough to see Paul and Davey with Kayla last night. When they’d laughed together, when Davey had swung between them, clasping both their hands, she’d died a little inside.
But the heart was absurdly optimistic. She’d allowed herself to hope, when Paul and Kayla left early, that things hadn’t gone well. Not very nice, wishing a bad time on other people, but hey, she was only human.
When she’d gotten home and seen Kayla’s car—a strange car, anyway, and she assumed it was Kayla’s—outside of Paul’s house, her optimism had fled and her heart just hurt.
When she’d gotten up this morning and seen that the car was still there, her heart had turned to stone.
Kayla had spent the night with Paul. Less than a week after kissing Amber in such an extraordinary way that she couldn’t stop thinking about it, he’d slept with someone else.
She threw jeans and socks and underwear into the suitcase, trying to find comfort in the familiar action of packing up. There. That was probably enough clothes for a couple of weeks, so she went into the bathroom and pulled out her travel case, always packed with shampoo and toiletries and a little makeup, always ready to go.
She threw it into her suitcase, then went back to the bathroom for her pill bottles. She had started to forget who she was. Had started to forget she was the girl who was always ready to travel, footloose. Fun and relaxed and uncommitted.
She was not the girl who got together with the reliable, gorgeous homebody of a single dad and his adorable son.
Hannah wouldn’t be happy at the idea of packing up and going on a trip the moment she got home from college. She wanted to relax and bake Christmas cookies and see Erica and Trey and Hunter.
But Amber hoped that, as they drove south, Hannah would be converted to the idea that a Christmas trip to a warmer climate was just what they needed. A new bikini and a couple of beach reads, and Hannah would be fine with the unconventional holiday. It would make for great social media posts.
Her eyes narrowed. Maybe she’d post some pictures herself, show that she was having a great time without Paul. No bikini for her, but she still looked pretty good in a pair of cutoff shorts and a tank top. Hopefully, Paul followed her on social media and would feel at least a moment’s regret for what he was missing.
Would Paul be sad? Would Davey miss her? Well, Davey might. He was a sweet little boy and he’d liked her.
Paul, well...she’d overestimated him. She’d thought that his intense kisses and words of caring meant something. She should have known better, but Paul had seemed different from the casual boyfriends of her past. He’d seemed like the type who wouldn’t say things he didn’t mean.
So much for her great perceptiveness about people’s characters. Paul was just like any other man, only worse because he presented as good and honorable.
In reality, he was quick to forget. He hadn’t meant it when he’d gotten all passionate kissing her. Or at least, the passionate side didn’t mean anything.
Stepping to the window, she looked out at the bay covered with whitecaps from the breezy day. Normally, the sight of it brought her comfort, serenity.
Now she felt as stormy as the roiling clouds coming in from the east.
Something red caught her eye, and she squinted to see Davey’s little jeep driving off down the beach. She looked for Paul, who always stuck pretty close to Davey when he was playing with the toy vehicle. But she didn’t see him. Meanwhile, Davey was cruising. It wasn’t exactly fast, but it was as fast as an adult’s brisk walking. He could get out of sight quickly at that pace.
Where was Paul? Had he tired himself out so much last night, with Kayla, that he couldn’t even take care of his kid?
It would serve him right if... No.
No matter what Paul had done to hurt Amber’s feelings, Davey needed to stay happy and safe. She hurried down the stairs and out onto her own back steps and craned her neck, looking in the direction Davey had been going. She was relieved to see he hadn’t gotten much farther away and was now driving the jeep in circles. She heard a bark, and realized he must have Sarge in the jeep with him. Against the rules
