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They talked during dinner, and talked as they sipped champagne, and toasted the bride and groom, and then talked after the cake had been cut. They talked about their families, and the things that they’d learned in life, as well as the things that disappointed them.
“What matters most to you?” he asked, as the waiter passed out the squares of wedding cake.
“Besides, this delicious cake?” she teased.
“Which do you like better? Frosting or cake?”
“Both. I like them together.” She smiled at him. “Honesty matters to me. I value honesty, integrity, and the ability to live within one’s means.” She saw his expression and she shrugged. “The opposite of catastrophe. I’m not a fan of catastrophe.”
“But you seem to enjoy chaos.”
“How so?”
“Aren’t you a bit of a rebel?”
“Actually, I’m not.” And then she understood that he was referencing her pink house. “You mean, because I painted my salon pink? I did that just because it was fun. It made me laugh. I was sure that after the shock wore off, you’d laugh, too.”
“I did.”
Amanda grinned. “But it’s been a good business decision, too.” She reached for her phone and typed in a link and showed him the article. “See? That pink paint job? The very thing you mocked? It’s gotten me thousands of dollars of free publicity. The salon has been in the paper, and on the evening news.”
He read the article, only looking up at her when he’d finished. “This article is not flattering. They said your house is tawdry and demeaning, reminiscent of a cheap paperback romance.”
“Exactly.”
“And you like that?”
“I can’t buy this publicity. The phone is ringing off the hook with new bookings. If this continues, we’re going to finally be able to expand our services, adding a masseuse and an aesthetician. By summer we’ll be Marietta’s only true day spa and salon.”
“That is impressive,” he agreed.
“Now I just need to get the mobile salon up and running and I’ll be ready to take over the world.”
He raised his champagne flute. “To a pink universe.”
She laughed and they clinked rims and then Amanda didn’t know how it happened, but the flutes were down on the table and he was pulling her toward him and kissing her, his hand in her hair, his mouth slanting over hers, making her feel a thousand wonderful things. He wasn’t just smart, with a gorgeous face. Tyler Justice could kiss. And she didn’t know if it was the champagne bubbles or Tyler’s influence, but she didn’t care that it was a public kiss, and that all of the wedding guests could see. She just wanted the kiss to go on and, oh, it did, hot, provocative, as well as maddeningly sweet. She lightly brushed his jaw with the bristle of a beard and loved how warm he felt, and wanted to be even closer than this.
“Talk about something,” he growled, breaking the kiss off. “Distract me. Otherwise I’ll kiss you again.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Only if stories get back to Gram.”
“And knowing Bette, she’ll jump ahead and start making assumptions and plans for the future.”
“You think?”
“Absolutely. Another kiss like that and she’ll be telling people we’re engaged and planning a June wedding.”
He laughed and rose, extending his hand to her. “Dance with me.”
Tyler led her onto the edge of the dance floor, not far from the huge arched window, which had been the backdrop for the ceremony earlier. There was no one in that particular spot, nearly everyone else choosing the middle of the dance floor, where it was brightly lit. It was a slow song and Tyler pulled her close, and she moved into his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And maybe it was, she thought, as he held her securely, his body hard and warm, strange and yet also familiar. They danced in the shadows, and it felt as if they had the entire barn to themselves, even though it was just a few feet, while outside the big arched window, huge white snowflakes slowly tumbled from the sky.
It had been a long time since she’d danced, and even longer since she’d danced with someone that made her feel like this. He was so warm, and he smelled delicious. It was all she could do to keep from nuzzling his chest, or trying to get closer to his neck, and when their steps slowed even more, so they were barely moving on the edge of the dance floor where the light was dim, and shadows crept across the old planks of the barn floor.
This, she thought, gazing out the window at the glorious world of white where the only movement was the fall of lazy, lacey snowflakes, had to be the most romantic date she’d ever had, and it wasn’t even supposed to be a date. It’d just happened.
And it just happened to be perfect.
Chapter Eight
Monday morning Tyler woke up eager for his call with Cormac Sheenan despite having spent the night tossing and turning, playing the call out in his head, trying to imagine all the different outcomes, even while cautioning himself to remain calm and cordial no matter what Cormac said.
Cormac had all the power right now and Tyler just hoped Cormac would hear him out, because there were things Tyler hadn’t done yet, games he hadn’t created, ideas he hadn’t shared. If Cormac was interested in doing something new, and developing innovative games and software, Tyler could help him get there.
After half a cup
of Gram’s tragically weak black coffee, he headed out for a run, his path taking him past the little pink house on Church Street. It was impossible for him to go anywhere without passing Amanda’s place. Her lights were on upstairs. He wondered if she was out for a run now. Just thinking about her, and the possibility of seeing her, made him run a little faster, adrenaline pumping.
He hadn’t seen her since Saturday night. It had only been a day and yet he missed her. He wasn’t used to missing people. He wasn’t accustomed to this impatient desire… the missing rather like an ache in his chest.
He loved kissing her. She had incredible lips. She had incredible eyes. When she smiled her entire face lit up, and that smile and the light in her eyes did something to him. It made him feel protective, as well as strangely possessive, and he wasn’t a possessive person. But every time he saw Amanda something inside of him wanted to claim her, and, yes, it was unreasonable because he hadn’t known her all that long, but she felt like his, and the little voice inside him whispered mine, mine, mine.
But she wasn’t his, at least not yet. And it was unlikely she’d want to be his if he acted like a caveman around her. Amanda was a gorgeous, smart, funny, kind woman, but also a very independent woman, and he was going to have to figure out a way to win her heart while keeping all the other males in Marietta away.
Amanda was approaching the courthouse on her return from River Bend Park, footsteps crunching the packed snow on the trail, when she spotted Tyler heading toward her.
She knew the moment he recognized her, because his expression changed, his hard, square jaw easing, his lips lifting in a crooked smile.
That crooked twist of his lips tugged on her heart, and suddenly she felt breathless when moments ago she was fine. And yet, she was so glad to see him. She’d half-hoped she’d bump into him on her run, and now here he was.
“Hey,” she said slowing as she approached him, her breath clouding on the cold morning air.
He stopped, too, and they faced each other in the middle of Crawford Park, each smiling a rather goofy smile for so early in the morning. “How was it?” he asked.
