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With a sigh, she pushed Vic from her mind as she combed her hair back from her face. It was probably time to change the color of it. It was a rather dull brown. A new year, a new color. She always liked purple this time of year.
Brother Iz’s voice played out loud and strong from her cell phone, breaking into her thoughts. She smiled and grabbed it up.
“Kind of early for you, Mandy.”
Her best friend laughed over the phone. The joy she heard in her voice made Addy’s heart happy. Her business partner and friend had been through a bad first marriage. Now that she’d found happiness with US Navy SEAL Malachi Dupree, Addy couldn’t help but be happy for her.
“I’m married to a SEAL, Addy. They wake up at the crack of dawn.”
“It’s New Year’s Day. I thought you’d at least sleep in a little,” she said, glancing at the clock. Calculating the time, she realized it was early.Very early.“Whatcha calling for?”
There was a beat of silence. “I just wanted to check on you.”
Of all the people in the world, Amanda understood. They’d met in a survivors’ group, and she knew this time of year was hard for Addy.
She sighed. “It’s okay. Getting ready to head over to Dad’s.”
It wasn’t the house she had grown up in. They had both decided to move after they’d lost so much. The memories had been too painful to deal with every day. And there was comfort in that house. They had both healed there.
“I called last night at midnight, but you didn’t answer.”
Dammit. Mandy could always sniff out when Addy was doing something stupid.
“I was at Dad’s.”
Mandy chuckled. “No, you weren’t. I talked to your father last night. He claimed some very dark, sexy, and mysterious man took you home.”
A sharp burst of heat lanced through her, but she doused it with enough water to cool it off somewhat. She didn’t need a man who couldn’t accept her the way she was. She’d been down that road so many times before, and Addy had promised herself to never do it again.
Her yearning for Vic was too much…way too much for her to handle. She needed time to get her head straight before making a mistake. “My father used those exact words?”
“Stop trying to keep me from discovering just what went on.”
She sighed. “Nothing happened.”
“You’re telling me that Vic took you home on one of the most romantic nights of all—”
“Romantic. Who says New Years is romantic?”
She continued on as if Addy hadn’t said a word. “And you didn’t get some of that?”
“Really, Amanda Dupree, you’re embarrassing yourself. Does Mal know about this preoccupation you have with my sex life?”
“I wouldn’t worry about it if you had one.”
“So says the woman who didn’t have one until she made her move on a very sexy Dom.”
“Exactly.”
Dammit, she’d walked right into that one. “Anyway, Vic brought me home, end of story.”
“Oh, no. There was no end of story.”
Addy sniffed. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard something in your voice.”
Her irritation from Vic’s demand and now Amanda’s interrogation crawled beneath her skin. Still, she kept her voice normal. Or at least, she thought she did. “You need some more sleep.”
