***
“Sallie is driving me crazy!” Amanda walked around her studio, waving her hands in the air. She stopped behind Dunc’s chair and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Amanda leaned forward and rubbed her cheek against Dunc’s with a happy sigh. He grinned nervously. Then she lifted a hand and ran it over his chin. He had not shaved since Amanda had told him not to, and he felt weird about it. He preferred a cleaner look. At the moment, he had a good, even, thick layer of hair that had only recently stopped itching. Dunc was also getting used to the feel of hair beneath his nose.
Dunc consoled himself, reasoning that he could shave it and hoping that Amanda wouldn’t want him to keep it in a few days. He was very self-conscious about keeping it clean and groomed. Dunc had an appointment on Thursday morning with Lola to get it styled. He planned to wear his costume all day for Amanda.
“Any idea what’s wrong with her?” Dunc tilted his head to look up at Amanda. She didn’t answer, choosing to kiss him instead. Then her hands were running over his neck and his shoulders. “That feels nice, but don’t do that.” Dunc grinned, gently pushing her back.
“I want to.” Amanda squeezed her arms around him.
“This is new,” Dunc mumbled, looking down at his laptop. He kept seeing Sallie’s teary-eyed face and hearing her words begging him to forget about Amanda. “Let’s be careful. There’s no hurry, is there? I love you. My mother is crazy. Don’t let her get to you.” Knowing that Sallie was pregnant was a complete and total mood killer.
“I just want to touch you.” Amanda kissed his cheek. She ran her fingers through his beard again, which felt incredibly good. Then she kissed the back of his neck, and Dunc shivered uncontrollably. “Well, that’s interesting.” She ran her fingers down the middle of his neck, and he did it again.
“Stop that!” Dunc rolled his chair away from her with an amused grin. “Don’t you have work to do?”
“Work is boring! You’re far more interesting!”
“And I want to stay interesting.” Dunc closed his laptop and got up. He was smiling, but Amanda’s playfulness was overwhelming him. “Take it slow, Amanda.”
Amanda sat in her chair with a sigh. “Sit down, Dunc. I’m just anxious. Please, don’t leave.”
Dunc nodded and scooted his chair next to Amanda’s. “I’m here for you. I’ll never leave you.”
“Sallie threw a fit this morning when I told her about us,” Amanda whispered.
“Yeah, she showed up on my doorstep and told me I wasn’t the right man for you.” Dunc sighed.
“She what?” Amanda bolted upright and out of her chair. “I cannot believe her!” She started for the door.
“Whoa! Amanda!” Dunc leaped to his feet and grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her to hold her in place. “Sallie seems a little stressed. Don’t yell at her. She spent fifteen minutes crying in my living room.”
Amanda tried to struggle out of Dunc’s grip. “You better let me go, or I’m going to use my taser on you!” Dunc released her immediately and stood in the doorway.
“Be reasonable, Amanda. She was worried about you.”
“She has no business going up to you and telling you that you should leave me!” Amanda shouted. Her face was red with anger, and Dunc remained standing in the doorway. “Get out of my way, Duncan James McCormick!”
Dunc’s face cracked into a smirk. He began to laugh. “My mother told you to say that if I ‘misbehave,’ didn’t she?” Amanda was not amused. Dunc was desperately searching for a way to defuse her. “Amanda. Please. I’m fine. I’m not leaving you.”
“She has no business interfering in my relationships.” Amanda’s angry face contorted, and then the tears began. “She’s my sister! She’s supposed to support my decisions!” She grabbed Dunc around the waist and cried against his chest. “She has Dew! Why can’t I have you?”
Dunc tentatively began rubbing Amanda’s back, letting her cry against him. These crying women were going to be the death of him. What was with all the tears today? “I told you, I’m not going anywhere. I love you.” He whispered. “What can I do to make you feel better?”
“Marry Me. I’m making bad decisions right now, so I might as well decide on that one.” Amanda tilted her head up and rested her chin on Dunc’s chest to look at him. She seemed completely serious.
“Amanda.” Dunc shook his head. “Several days ago, you couldn’t even tell me what you wanted out of us. There is no need to rush. Let’s slow down. I don’t want you to do something you might not want in a few days.”
Amanda pushed him back. “Dunc! I am not some fickle child!” She began moving around the room at a furious pace glancing up at Dunc occasionally. “You have been driving me crazy since the day I moved in! You would not get out of my head! Not even when you were singing that stupid song on my porch! I have not gone a day without thinking about you and looking for you! I didn’t even know that much about you, and I had to keep looking for you! I had to see you every day. Even if I didn’t see you, I would dream about you. Every. Single. Night. I didn’t want to, but I did.”
Dunc stared at Amanda, not able to comprehend what she was saying as she continued. “When you told me you had always loved me, that’s when I knew what I wanted! It’s not normal! I have never met anyone who entered my
