Chapter 14 Tate #2
“No problem. Want to sit for a minute?”
She nodded and eased away from me. There was a television tucked into the space between two of the big apple crates.
A little table, mini fridge, and the cooler made up a breakroom space of sorts.
The chairs were surprisingly comfortable.
They looked like rejects from someone’s bachelor pad, mismatched and worn in all the right spaces.
Amber sat down without complaint. She surprised me sometimes with how unaffected she was with certain things.
When she leaned down to flip the cooler open, I couldn’t stop my grin.
She pulled out two bottles of Harvest Moon and handed one to me.
She read the label and snicked off the top using her wide ring.
“Impressive.”
She huffed out a laugh. “My friend Cindy gave me the ring a million years ago and taught me the trick.” She twirled the ring with her thumb. “This ring has been to a lot of after-parties.”
“I bet.” It was no issue for my rough fingers, and I tossed the bottle cap in the red cup. “Cheers.”
We clinked bottles and both took a sip. Her eyebrows shot up. “Well, that’s dangerous.”
“Guess we need to make a pit stop at the brewery on our way out.”
“You’ve been very dangerous to my wallet today.”
“Buying local is my motto. I hope to hell it translates to the village.”
“It will.” She gave me an encouraging smile. “It takes a special guy to do what you’re doing, Tate. Most people would take their money and run.”
“And do what with it? Buy a jet?”
“For starters.”
“That’s not me.”
“I’m discovering that.” She took another long drink then sighed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Sure sounds like something.”
She shrugged. “I had a few days where I almost forgot Ambrose.” She picked at the label. “It’s been a long time since I’ve just been Amber. I didn’t realize how much I missed her.”
“You’re not two different people.”
“Oh, I really am. Worrying about what I say so it doesn’t get taken out of context. Wondering if the person I’m with is using me for clout or is a true friend. Hoping like hell the photo taken of me is semi-flattering so people don’t pick me apart about my weight.”
I reached over and touched her leg. “And what does Amber want?”
“She really likes having a hard cider with the hot guy she has rediscovered.”
I smirked. “You think I’m hot?”
She grinned as she brought the bottle to her lips. “Maybe.”
I sat back in my chair and kicked out my legs. “I like the sound of that.”
We drank in companionable silence with the sound of children’s laughter outside. Tinny upbeat music played from somewhere.
Suddenly she shook her head with a laugh. “Can never quite get away from it.”
I frowned. “What?”
She pointed to the rafters. “One of my songs.”
I could feel the heat on my ears. “Sorry, I don’t know a lot of them.”
“You’re not exactly my demographic.”
“Pretty sure the whole world is.”
“Actually, I’m not for everyone and I’m okay with it.”
The familiar rumble of my truck had me popping out of my seat to take a look if Justin was already back. Sure enough, he had all of Amber’s purchases tucked in the bed of my truck. He backed it up to the side door.
I finished off my cider and dumped the bottle in the recycler. “He’s back.”
She rose and met me at the barn door, finishing off her own bottle as Justin hopped out of my truck.
“Sweet ride, man.”
“Thanks. I went a little crazy with the customizations. Pretty sure the dealership was ready to marry me by the time I signed the contract.”
Justin grinned. “Wait ’til you see mine. It’ll be hauling cider out your way in a few weeks. Speaking of, I put a case of Winter Wonderland in your backseat. Let us know how you like it.”
“Saved us a trip.”
Amber came up beside me. “We’re fans already. Harvest Moon was amazing.”
“Glad to hear it. Have a safe drive back. Laverne said she added some wrapping paper to your bags on the house.”
“She didn’t have to do that.”
“Aunt Laverne doesn’t have to do anything. She’s a force.”
“I believe it.” She smiled at him and touched his arm. “I’ll let you guys talk business.” She slipped outside and headed for my truck.
Justin followed her with his eyes. The look on his face was one that I recognized all too well.
I was pretty sure I had been wearing it for the last few days.
When he looked back at me, he cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. You two are...”
“Figuring it out.”
He slapped my arm. “If you have to figure it out, you’re already in trouble.”
“Oh, that’s a fact.”
Justin snickered. “Thanks for stopping in to see us. I’ll see you in December.”
“We had a good time until the stampede. Thanks for the assist.”
“Anytime.”
I waved, then climbed into the cab of my truck. Amber had her phone out and her brow was furrowed.
“Everything okay?”
“Depends on your version of okay.”
“Your parents okay?”
“Oh, they’re fine. The video from this afternoon was only one of a dozen that went viral today. Someone caught me at the gift shop too. I can usually feel when someone is taking a video of me. I’m definitely off my game.”
Unsure what to say, we were quiet on the way home.
She was on her phone most of the time. Sometimes furiously typing, then scrolling. Tension filled the truck as she nibbled on her thumb.
When we were a few miles from our houses, I finally caved. “What’s going on?”
She looked up, her eyes unfocused. “Sorry. God, I failed on the passenger princess duties.”
“You’re fine.”
“It’s not a huge deal, but my label caught wind of the videos.”
“It wasn’t anything bad.”
“No. They just want to capitalize on everything. I’d hoped to keep under the radar for Christmas this year.”
“You’re entitled to a rest.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I was home.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’ve avoided any Christmas specials because I’ve been on tour for the last two years. Now that everyone is talking about me again because of—”
“The orchard?”
She glanced at me.
“The hair thing?”
“The us thing.”
I frowned. “What do you mean us thing?”
“Ambrose spotted with millionaire hometown boy.” She lifted her voice into a parody of a newscaster. “Will this romance be the one to change her luck with men?”
“First of all, I’m not a boy.”
“On that we definitely can agree.”
“Second, how the hell do they know who I am?”
“Oh, honey, they clocked you the first hour we were seen together. My fans are no fucking joke when it comes to research. Evidently you have a Good Morning America story too?”
I groaned. “I knew that was going to bite me in the ass.”
“So your face is already in the social media sphere. I swear TikTok could vie for the federal database when it comes to facial recognition.”
My hands fisted on the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry, Tate.”
“I’m not worried about me. But it feels like a winter romance isn’t enough to get you upset.”
“I knew what I was signing up for when I became Ambrose. I don’t want to hide in my house, dammit.”
“They expect you to?”
She was quiet for a few minutes. “They want me to do a Christmas special in Haven.”