“Hey, I remember you,” he said with a huge, genuine smile, not even bothering a glance at the broken-down vehicle. “Amy, right?”
She returned his friendly smile, but couldn’t for the life of her remember his name.
“It’s Matt,” he told her, cocking his head to the side. “We met a few weeks ago when some guy rear-ended you.”
“I remember,” she said, widening her grin to offer a bit of reassurance. That was the same day on which she’d met Trent. Crazy how much had happened in her life since then. Meanwhile, here was Matt just the same as she’d left him, as if no time had passed at all.
“Good.” He cleared his throat several times, then turned to examine the car. “What seems to be the problem?”
She told him about the weird noise under the hood and all the dashboard lights flashing on together.
“Definitely good you brought it in,” he said, bobbing his head as he spoke. “Go ahead and pull her around back. I’ll go grab one of the mechanics to take a closer look.”
Amy breathed a huge sigh of relief, all the while hoping her problem could be fixed with just the quick press of a button or twist of a knob. “Thank you,” she said, shifting back to the driver’s side door but pausing when she realized that Matt still stood watching her.
“Do you need something?” she asked, waiting awkwardly. She didn’t like the way his eyes moved up and down her body, or the fact that he hadn’t left when he’d said he would. Did he even realize he was staring?
“Okay, so this may not be the best time to ask and you can totally say no.” Matt took a few steps closer and leaned against the other side of her car, his blond hair blowing softly in the chilly winter breeze. Something in his eyes shifted and he no longer smiled as he rushed to get all the words out. “But last time I really wanted to ask for your number. But you were so upset. I mean, understandably, and I didn’t want to—”
“Matt,” she interrupted with a laugh. “I’d be happy to give you my number.”
“Awesome,” he said with an enormous grin that didn’t leave his face even for a second. Why was he so happy about her agreeing to give him her number?
Amy certainly didn’t feel like any kind of prize, but Matt looked as if he’d just won the lottery. He continued to stand, stare, smile.
“Um,” she said gently. “If you take out your phone, I can tell you my number.”
“Oh, right, right!” He groped about his pocket, laughed, and finally extracted his phone. Which he immediately fumbled. “Sorry,” he said, catching it just before it crashed into the asphalt. “I don’t know why I’m still so nervous.”
Amy had two choices then—be flattered or be creeped out.
She chose to be flattered, because, really, life was far too short for anything else.
Chapter 34
After a quick chat with the mechanic, Amy called Hazel to see if she could pick her up from the dealership. As nice as Matt seemed, she wasn’t too keen on the prospect of hanging out with him all night while waiting for news on her car. The half hour she’d spent waiting inside the garage had been awkward enough already. Matt kept sneaking glances at her, which she assumed he believed were undetected. She noticed every time his eyes drifted her way, though—the smile he got as if she were some kind of dream girl come to life.
By the time Hazel finally arrived, Amy already sorely regretted giving him her number. She jumped into the green SUV the moment it appeared and shut the door firmly behind her.
“Hey, you. I’m having a work-from-home day tomorrow, so I figured you could drop me off there and keep my car for a day. Save you some money on a rental,” Hazel said while she waited for Amy to buckle up.
Matt waved goodbye from across the shop and made a dorky phone gesture before waving again.
Amy forced a smile, then sank lower in her seat, wishing she could disappear.
But Hazel turned toward her with open amusement rather than peeling the heck out of there as Amy would have preferred. “Um, what was all that about?”
“He asked for my number,” Amy mumbled, finally caving and waving back to Matt. “Can we please go now?”
“Wait. Aren’t you still hung up on Trent? Why would you give someone else your number?”
“Trent and I aren’t a thing,” Amy insisted. “Please drive now.”
Finally, Hazel switched the car into drive and pulled to the end of the parking lot. “But you were crazy about him,” she pointed out once she’d safely merged into oncoming traffic.
Amy shrugged, wishing her friend would just back off, but, as always, far too nice to tell her so. “It wasn’t the right time,” she said instead.
“But it’s the right time with that guy?” Hazel snorted and wrapped her hands tighter around the steering wheel.
Amy’s cheeks burned with an intensity she hated. Why couldn’t everyone just drop the thing with Trent and let Amy move on? “I don’t know. Maybe,” she murmured when it became clear that Hazel wouldn’t settle without an answer.
Hazel groaned and began to turn red herself. “Yes, you do know. So stop being ridiculous already.”
“What? I’m just not looking for anything serious right now.” Amy hated this. Yes, if she could go back, she’d have found a nice way to let Matt down easy, but it wasn’t fair for Hazel to berate her like this.
Fair or not, Hazel continued to press the issue. “So, you’re looking for a fling? With that guy?”
“Stop,” Amy warned. “He’s a nice guy.”
Hazel deadpanned as if she were suddenly too disappointed with Amy to care anymore. “So, you are looking for a fling?”
“No!” Amy cried. “I’m not like that, and you know it!”
Hazel cleared her throat, but kept her eyes focused on the road before them as she spoke. “You know, I wasn’t looking for anything serious when I met Keith, either, but that doesn’t mean he’s not the love of my life.”
“That’s you. This is me,” Amy grumbled, folding her arms over her chest and feeling every bit the moody teenager while Hazel acted out the part of the disappointed parent.
“Oh, for the love of... !” Hazel cried, slowing the car to a stop at the side of the road, then whipping toward Amy with fire in her eyes. “I’m not buying it, and honestly, you aren’t even trying that hard to sell it.”
Amy refused to look her friend in the eye, but Hazel focused all of her attention directly on Amy as she launched into an even more heated diatribe than before.
“Just because you aren’t looking for something serious, doesn’t mean that something serious hasn’t found you, anyway. Have you ever felt about another guy like you do Trent?” She paused briefly, took a quick breath, then resumed with even more anger directed at poor Amy. “And don’t you dare tell me you’re over him, because we all know you’re not.”
Okay, that crossed the line. Amy couldn’t play this nice any more than Hazel could. If her friend had come here looking for a fight, then she wouldn’t be disappointed much longer.
“So you all talk about me behind my back? Why can’t you just back off already? All of you, just leave me alone!” Amy’s hands trembled as she tried hard to keep from crying. Anger was better than sorrow. Anger meant she still had fight in her, that she still had something worth fighting for.
Now that Amy had finally decided to fight back, Hazel’s tone softened. “You know we do it because we’re worried about you. Now please just answer the question. It’s for you more than for me. Have you ever felt about another guy the way you did for Trent?”
Amy shrugged and let her hands fall loosely into her lap. “I really liked Trent, and I got a little infatuated. That was all.”
Hazel shook her head and frowned. “You know, I’ve always considered you to be the smartest in our group, but right now you are being so, so stupid.”
“Hey!” she cried as she balled her hands into fists instinctively.
“No!” Hazel shot back. “Stop talking and just listen, because I’m sick of rep
eating myself already.” She widened her eyes at Amy in an unspoken challenge, then licked her lips and continued with more passion and conviction than Amy had ever seen from her friend before.
“You have something special with Trent, and you’re kidding yourself if you think you can push that aside to date some other guy who frankly isn’t even your type. I liked Keith right away, too. And, yeah, the timing was awful. My dad was dying! But he was the one who pushed me to follow my heart, because he wanted me to be happy, he wanted to know I would still have love even after he was gone. I know your mom would have done the same for you had she gotten the chance to meet Trent.”
Amy felt her walls crumbling, and she hated that. Every time she managed to push Trent out of her mind, one of her friends turned up to drag him back into focus. But even if they could somehow change Amy’s mind about Trent, that didn’t mean he’d change his mind about her.
“I barely know him,” she whispered, already feeling broken by this conversation. “And you’re way too practical to believe in love at first sight. So, please, can we just drop it?”
Hazel shook her head, but her eyes remained kind. “Maybe not love, no. Love takes time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t know from the start that you’ve met someone special, someone who could change your entire life for the better. I saw that with you and Trent, and whether or not you want to admit it, I’m pretty sure you felt it.”
Amy wiped at the tear that had finally broken loose, keeping her gaze at the distant mountains on the horizon. “So what if I did?” she challenged. “Life isn’t a fairytale. Sometimes things just don’t work out.”
Hazel sighed and shifted her SUV back into drive. “Yeah, and sometimes they do,” she murmured softly as she pulled back onto the main road.
They drove in silence for a couple minutes before Hazel spoke again. Her words came out so quietly, Amy almost didn’t hear them. Maybe they weren’t meant for Amy at all, but were rather Hazel’s way of getting the last word in, of saying all she needed to say whether or not Amy wanted to hear it.
“As long as you don’t stand in your own way,” Hazel murmured, and her words shot straight through Amy’s heart.
Chapter 35
Amy considered Hazel’s words carefully over the coming days. The fact that her normally level-headed friend had gotten so angry said more than the actual words themselves.
But no matter how much time she spent considering Hazel’s advice, Amy still didn’t know what she wanted to do about Trent. One place she had gained perfect clarity, though, was with regard to another man, who most definitely wanted to date her. She knew it wouldn’t be fair to go out with Matt, seeing that she just didn’t return his interest. When he called, she tried her best to let him down gently, then also made sure to collect her car from the dealership at an odd time to cut down on their chances of running into each other again.
Her auto problems now hopefully resolved for good, Amy spent the rest of her week building a new home schedule for the animals. After dinner, she and Darwin took a quick walk through the neighborhood. They usually lasted only about ten minutes in the cold, but she figured they were both building up stamina that would come in handy for the warmer months. Before turning in for the night, Amy would invite both animals to snuggle up with her in bed as she read a few quiet chapters by lamplight. Belle generally stayed across the room, watching Darwin and Amy as she swished her tail in agitation.
By Friday, her persistence paid off in one huge and surprising way. Belle finally joined them for bedtime reading and also ventured out of the bedroom to spend the larger part of the evening relaxing in her favorite spot on top of the old afghan Amy draped across the couch just for her. Darwin had learned to accept the cat’s presence, just as much as she’d accepted his. He no longer barked at the very sight of her, and while they would probably never be friends, they’d figured out how to respect each other’s boundaries.
Darwin didn’t bark, Belle didn’t hiss, and Amy didn’t stress.
At least not about any of this.
As life continued to settle around her, Amy finally began to settle, too. Oh, sure, she still had flashes of guilt, grief, and insecurity, but they grew fewer and farther between. It became easier to focus on the good stuff, now that she no longer questioned every single decision.
Getting a dog was a big decision, but she had done it and done it well.
Choosing to live her best life was an even bigger decision, but it was one she tried her best to stick to each day.
Another Sunday came and this time it was Bridget’s turn to host the friends. To celebrate, Amy brought out the blowtorch and made a decadent caramel cr+ème brûlée. No store-bought cookies this week, no sir.
When Amy showed up at Bridget’s apartment that evening, she was more than a little surprised to see they weren’t alone. Nichole and Hazel were still en route, but Bridget had company in the form of two large and wildly hyper canines.
“Down, boys!” Bridget laughed as she grabbed one dog’s collar with each hand.
More frantic barking sounded from behind the closed bedroom door as Amy stepped around Bridget into the kitchen to unload her dessert offering. “What’s going on? Did you start a doggie daycare or something?”
Bridget laughed again. “Ha! I wish. That would be such a fun job. These are my new babies. I made the adoption official yesterday and wanted to surprise you all.”
“Well, I’m definitely surprised,” Amy said, returning to the living room and letting the dogs sniff her by way of greeting. “Rosco and Baby, right?”
Bridget fell back on the couch with a sharp breath in followed by a slow one out. The massive Rottweiler jumped up onto her lap, tongue lolling—and dripping—from the side of his maw. “Yup, the original applicants never came through, so I decided that me and them were meant to be.”
The pit mix named Baby sat and placed his paw on Amy’s knee. His smile was so large it looked like it wrapped all the way behind his head. They were sweet dogs, but . . .
“I thought your building doesn’t allow dogs?” Amy couldn’t hide the frown that took over her face. Once again, she was worried that Bridget had lost her mind.
Her friend stroked Rosco’s head, unperturbed. “It doesn’t.”
“And now you have two huge ones,” Amy pointed out. How was Bridget not getting why this was a problem?
“Not just two,” Bridget corrected with another naughty smile.
“I thought everyone else was adopted!” Amy cried, startling Baby. “Sorry,” she told the dog. Bridget had made a mess of things, all right, and here Amy was making them even worse.
Bridget snapped her fingers and motioned for Baby to jump onto the couch with her and Rosco. “They were,” she told Amy, using a hand to pet each dog. “But it didn’t seem fair to keep Teddy at Dad’s, what with me adopting these two. I put him in the bedroom, because I didn’t know how these guys would be about greeting everyone and I didn’t want him to get stomped.”
Amy panicked on her friend’s behalf. It felt as if a vise were closing in around her throat as she struggled to find the right words that could finally communicate what Bridget failed to understand on her own. “Oh my gosh, B. You are going to get yourself evicted,” she gasped.
Bridget shrugged as if none of this mattered; meanwhile, Amy felt as if she were falling in a downward spiral toward the ground even though she hadn’t moved an inch from her seat. “Who says they’ll even notice?”
“Are you serious? I could hear them from the parking lot.”
Bridget wrapped both arms around Rosco’s shiny black and tan neck, and bent forward to give him a kiss on his giant, blocky head, then turned to do the same for Baby. “If they kick us out, they kick us out. We’re family now. I made a commitment, and I’m not giving them up.”
Amy bit her lip and forced down the argument she wanted to make back. “If you’re sure,” she said after a beat. Could Bridget see the fear in her eyes? Did she have any idea how bad this could en
d up?
“I’m sure,” Bridget said, her smile returning. “Sometimes the best things in life come from breaking the rules.”
Well, as a teacher, Amy didn’t appreciate this sentiment one bit, but she knew it was true for Bridget. That girl loved with her whole heart and then some. Maybe bringing these three dogs home gave her enough to focus on that she didn’t have to confront her grief.
Maybe.
Amy had thought her worries for Bridget had come and gone with the big adoption event, but it seemed that her friend had just found another way to fill her schedule to the brim. Did she even know what she was doing?
And would this shocking triple adoption be the end of it, or would Bridget’s behavior become increasingly over the top until finally she fell over the edge? Moreover, would Amy go tumbling with her?
She hated the anxiety she felt, hated it so much.
She wanted to yell and scream until Bridget realized just how badly her actions could end up hurting her in the end. Was this how Amy’s friends felt about her, too? On the one hand, Bridget crammed her life with far too much, while on the other, Amy found ways to empty hers. Could both be just as destructive in the end?
Amy didn’t want to find out, and she doubted Bridget did, either.
“Will you help me explain it to the others?” Bridget asked, staring at her so intently, Amy almost wondered if she could see right through her forehead and into her private thoughts.
“I’ll try,” she promised. “But you owe me.”
“Fair enough,” Bridget answered with a Cheshire grin that seemed out of place in this home now filled with contraband dogs.
Oh, Bridget. When will you go back to the way you once were?
Amy had to believe that one day she would, because that would mean Amy could finally be all the way better, too.
Chapter 36
Unsurprisingly, Hazel and Nichole were just as shocked with Bridget as Amy had been. But as promised, Amy jumped to their youngest friend’s defense and steered everyone toward the much safer topic of Hazel’s upcoming trip to Hawaii. By the end of the evening, Amy was utterly exhausted and more than ready for bed.
The Sunday Potluck Club Page 15
