Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
W hen Scott pulled onto Main Street, he felt a twinge of nervousness. The two of them had been invited as a couple. He knew Amy would have fought against that as few as two days ago, but last night, she’d loosened up. He didn’t dare hope it was because she was interested in him.
He had to admit that he was more than a little interested in her. He had only a handful of days left to win her over. Then reason took over, and he asked himself if he should try. He’d be leaving town, and this was a woman with strong roots in Two Hearts, roots that were growing deeper every day. His entire life had been in the Chicago area.
They ended up being the second couple to arrive. Everyone milled around, talking, the volume of laughter and conversation increasing as each couple joined them. Bella and Micah arrived last and filled out the guest list.
Nick took charge of the chaotic situation. “Everyone!” he called out. “I have eight appetizers for you to test. I want your opinions on all of them. And if you think something needs to be changed a bit, tell me that too. I want to come up with a top-notch list for summer weddings. Maybe we can catch some of those elopements that will take place in the next few months. Right, Cassie?”
Cassie grinned. “I’m happy to pack the schedule with last-minute weddings.”
Paige snapped photos of the food before they started eating, so Scott knew Amy would have good photos for the article.
Halfway through the tasting, Amy’s hand brushed his. He wasn’t sure if it had been an accident, but he rubbed his hand over hers. She stilled but didn’t move away. The moment was broken when Nick announced the next appetizer.
He was sure that melted brie topped with what looked like strawberry preserves would be delicious, but he was so distracted with Amy at his side that he wasn’t able to give an opinion as everyone around gave enthusiastic reviews. Scott took a bite. “This is really good.”
After sampling six options and Cassie raving over all but one that Scott knew would be nixed from the menu, Greg said, “That was almost enough for dinner, but not quite. Would there be anything else at an actual wedding?” Greg asked.
Everyone but Cassie felt the undercurrent of his question. He really meant, would that be enough at his own wedding?
“You each only had one. At a normal event, we’d portion at least two per person.”
Cassie spoke up, “I usually up that to two and a half each per person. That seems to round out for the people who don’t want to eat much and those who eat more.”
Amy asked, “Could I put that statistic in the article? It might be interesting to people. I can quote you saying it, Cassie.”
“Please do. I’ll see if I can come up with another tip or two about appetizers for the article.”
“Perfect. I’m going to finish writing it in the next few days. You’ve all given me so much great information that I may need to turn it into a series of articles.”
Nick brought the moment back to the food. “Now that you’ve all tasted one, there are more. Please come back for seconds.” He turned toward Greg with a smirk. “I wouldn’t want you leaving my establishment hungry.”
After the laughter, they loaded their plates. Everyone treated Amy and him as part of the gang with no awkward moments. They also seemed to believe they were dating. Being together as a couple made his heart sing and filled him with uncertainty about his future plan.
After they’d been there a couple of hours, Amy yawned. “I can walk home if you’d like to stay.”
He wasn’t going to miss more time with her. “I’m ready to go whenever you’re ready.”
As they said their goodbyes, Greg made an odd comment. “There’s a full moon tonight. It should be beautiful over at the lake park.”
Then Scott realized he was giving him a romantic place for them to go. The men were as bad as the women when it came to matchmaking.
Amy beat him to a reply. “I’m sure it will be beautiful. But I have work to do. The rest of you can watch the moon.”
Scott smiled as they went out the door. Her friends were trying to make romantic comments, and she just bounced them right back to them. While he drove her the short distance to her house, he tried to think of a way to end up at that park. Nothing short of the classic excuse of the truck running out of gas came to mind, so he dropped her off and continued on his way.
Amy arrived home after the appetizer party, walked in the back door as she often did, and discovered a kitchen sink full of dishes. Dexter was in the living room watching TV with a friend. Standing in the doorway, she could tell they were watching a movie. The dishes would have to wait until he was free.
In bed, she went over her long day. She hoped tomorrow would be simpler. And that whatever Mrs. Robinson was going to say turned out to be good news. With her living and business situations, she desperately needed good news.
Amy felt as if the weight of the world was pressing down on her. The fact that she was helping Cassie get married was a bright light in the confusion. But she felt responsible for it all going well.
The next morning, she found Dexter in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee. The dishes were still there.
“Hey, bro, we’ve talked about the dishes before. I hate having a cluttered kitchen.” She hated a cluttered anything. Homey was fine, but stuff just sitting around didn’t work for her. She’d started to notice that her brother’s lifestyle leaned more heavily toward clutter than away from it.
After a big sigh, he set the cup of coffee to the side and filled up the sink with soapy water. But he didn’t say a word.
“Dex—”
“I’m on it. I don’t need any more reminders.” As she started to leave, he said, “Amy, it seems to be getting harder for us to live together, doesn’t it?”
She’d had the same thought. The most important thing to her was family, and it felt like they’d have a strained relationship if they didn’t move apart. And quickly. “I agree. And I’m working on it. I’ll be out of here soon.”
“That’s great!”
When she turned to look at him, he made a face and said, “That sounded as if I’m pretty happy that you’re leaving, didn’t it?”
He was hard to be mad at. “It did. What’s with that?”
“The buddy I had over here last night is looking for a place to live. He was from Two Hearts and, like us, has just moved back. He’s living with his folks now, but?—”
“He wants to get out of there.” Not for the first time, she wondered if she should just put a cot in the newspaper office. She had a full bathroom. If she added a hot plate and maybe a microwave, she could get by. There was no way to put a curtain on big storefront windows that wouldn’t look odd, but maybe she could curtain off a corner of the room for privacy. With that plan in her pocket, she headed to the office.