by Jane Porter
“Yeah. It’s our thing.”
Amanda laughed, and impulsively gave him a squeeze, feeling incredibly lucky, just like the Irish.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, quietly.
“It’s the dress—”
“No, it’s you. You are beautiful.”
He’d paid her compliments before but tonight she felt the warmth and appreciation wrap her heart. She wanted this to work between them, she really did, and she thought it could, if he lived here. If being the key word. “Thank you,” she murmured, eyes stinging, chest tender with emotion she wasn’t prepared to analyze, not tonight, not here, not when she felt so much like Cinderella at the ball.
Tyler held out her chair and she was just about to sit down when a hard voice spoke behind them. “What did you do to that house, Amanda? You ruined it. Why would you paint it pink?”
Amanda tensed at the sound of the hard, bitter voice, not at all happy to hear it. It’d been months since she’d last seen Kirk. Why did she have to bump into him now, and here of all places?
“What’s wrong with the pink exterior?” Tyler said, shocking her, because she knew Tyler wasn’t a big fan of the pink, either.
“You must be the new boyfriend,” Kirk answered, giving Tyler the once-over as he extended his hand. “Kirk Jackson, founder and president of Jackson Construction. And the old boyfriend.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say he’d never been her boyfriend, but before she could speak, Tyler did. “You don’t look that old,” he said jovially, taking Kirk’s hand, and giving it a firm shake.
Kirk didn’t smile. He let go of Tyler’s hand as quickly as he could. “Didn’t catch your name.”
“Tyler Justice.”
“Any relation to Don and Bette Justice?”
Tyler nodded toward Bette at the table. “Grandson.”
“Didn’t know Bette had family in town.”
Tyler didn’t answer, and Kirk shifted uncomfortably before shooting Amanda a narrowed glance. “You never called me back.”
She frowned, perplexed. “When did you call?”
“Right around the holidays.”
“If you called, I didn’t get the message.”
“I called, and I left a message.”
Amanda told herself to ignore his tone. She told herself to ignore everything about him. He wasn’t her problem. Yes, she’d gone out with him a couple times, but it was a mistake and a long time ago.
“Maybe you should talk to your receptionist,” he added. “She promised to give you the message.”
Her chin lifted. “I will speak to her. Enjoy your evening. Take care, Kirk.” And then she moved to sit, and Tyler was holding her chair and Kirk had no choice but to move on.
After sitting down, Amanda and Tyler were quiet for a long moment.
Tyler broke the silence. “Interesting guy,” he said, his tone casual, and yet she sensed he wasn’t as disinterested as he appeared.
“Think so?” she replied, glancing up at him.
“He has a strong personality.” He paused. “Especially when it comes to you.”
“Unfortunately.”
“Were you together a long time?”
“We went out a few times, a couple years ago. He wasn’t for me, but he’s had a hard time letting it go.”
“You’re kidding.”
She shrugged. “I try to ignore him, but I confess, he makes my skin crawl.”
“I came really close to punching him.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I don’t think your grandmother would approve.”
“Oh, Gram would approve, especially if she knew how much he bothered you.” Tyler turned his head to watch Kirk move through the room. “And now he’s bothering me.”
Amanda smothered a laugh. “No fighting allowed. This is a ball. It’s supposed to be fun.”
Tyler’s attention was still on Kirk who was now waiting in line at one of the bars in the corner of the room. “Tell me about him.”
“There’s nothing to say. We went out a few times. He was loud, and opinionated, and I chose not to go out on with him again. He didn’t like it. I admire confidence, but his is misplaced. He’d stop by my work uninvited and just kind of… be Kirk.”
“And these dates were when?”
“Two years ago in May.”
“And he’s still a possessive jerk?”
She exhaled. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.” Tyler’s brow creased. He was clearly baffled by something. “What did you like about him? Why go out with him in the first place?”
She fidgeted in her seat. “Marietta is a small town. He was new. He’d moved to the area to build that new shopping area on the outside of town. He came in to the old salon I managed on Main Street for a haircut. He returned the next day and asked me out. I said yes.”
“But he’s a jerk.”
“I didn’t see it right away. And when you know everyone in town, it’s kind of exciting to be asked out by someone new. I was hopeful, and flattered.”
“Huh.”
“You asked.”
“I just can’t believe you’d be flattered by the attention of someone like that—”
“You’ve grown up in cities where you don’t know most of the people around you. Everyone is new, and interesting. The world is filled with possibilities. It’s not the same for me. Most of the men in Marietta I’ve known since elementary school.”
He drummed his fingers on the table. “Is that why you went out with me? Because I was the new guy in town?”
“No. And if you recall, I didn’t want to go out with you. If you recall, I was only being nice to you because I had to be, for Bette’s sake.” She arched a brow. “You weren’t someone I wanted to like. And for your information, I still struggle with the fact that you are just visiting, and any day now, you could leave and not return.” She met his gaze and held it. “True?”
“I don’t know the future, no. But no one does.”
“But most people know if they want to live one place or another. I know I want to live in Marietta. You can’t say that, though.”
Tyler didn’t answer, thinking he hadn’t seen any of this coming. One moment everything was wonderful, and she was smiling up at him, making him feel like he was on top of the world, and now everything was tense and strained.
“How did that Kirk guy hijack our night?” he asked, trying to make a joke of it, thinking they needed to turn things around, and quickly.
“I don’t know if he did, or we have finally bumped against reality.” She adjusted her tiny star earring, the star made of rhinestones. “It was bound to happen. We are so different—”
“What are you doing?”
“Just laying all the cards on the table. I think we should, don’t you? Better do it now, before someone gets hurt.”
He leaned toward her, his gaze locking with hers, challenging her. “I think you’re running scared. I think you’re afraid to fall for me, because you’d be vulnerable, and you’d be risking your heart.”
“No one wants to be hurt.”
“You’re right. I don’t want to be hurt. It’s not at all appealing. But do you know what’s even less appealing? Losing you. I’m not ready to let you go, Amanda, not when we’re just beginning to figure this out, because I think we have something good here. I think we have something special. Don’t you?”
He saw the different emotions cross her features, the hurt and fear, waging war with hope and tenderness, and in between the different emotions he saw her, and just how vulnerable she was. Amanda put on a good front, and she had a successful business, but underneath, she was far more fragile than he’d expected.
“I like you,” she said finally, her voice pitched low.
“Good, because I really like you.”
“I don’t want to be hurt.”
“I have no desire to hurt you.”
“But you could very well leave tomorrow.”
“Probably not tomorrow, but yes, I could leave.
But if things worked between us, I could ask you to come with me. Go somewhere new. Have an adventure with me.”
“I’d go on a vacation, but I don’t want to move. This is my home. This is where I belong.”
“You wouldn’t move, even for love?” he asked.
She paled, and drew a shallow, shuddering breath. “That’s not a fair question.”
“Why not?”
“Because the reason I live here, is for love. I love my sister, Charity, dearly. I love my parents—even as difficult as they are. I love my friends like your grandmother. I belong here because they’re here. We’re not just a family, but a community.”
He could see she was getting upset. Tears filmed her eyes and he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her brow. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m not,” she answered, blinking hard.
Maybe she wasn’t crying, but she was definitely fighting tears, and watching her struggle to maintain control did something to him, making his chest tighten and ache. He was so used to her smiling and laughing, and he loved her laugh because it was warm and husky and impossibly happy, that her sadness wounded him, making him want to better protect her.
Amanda Wright was so much more than a beautiful face. She was smart and kind, generous, and optimistic, and he wanted more of her in his life, not less.
She was habit-forming. Charming, maddening, fascinating, intoxicating—
He liked her. Possibly loved her.
Probably loved her, as he couldn’t remember when he last felt this way about anyone.
In just a matter of weeks, she’d become as—if not more—interesting than his work. Instead of focusing on games, he found himself thinking about her. Analyzing her. And every time he was sure that he finally figured her out, she surprised him, and showed a different side to her. She wasn’t shallow. She wasn’t vain. She wasn’t self-absorbed. If anything, she was the exact opposite. She loved others and gave of herself unstintingly. She didn’t wait for others to do the right thing. Amanda seemed to be the first to volunteer, and the last to leave.
Tyler had spent the past fifteen years designing bestselling games, games that reviewers called dangerously addictive, but Amanda was far more meaningful and engrossing than anything he’d ever created, and if she loved Marietta so much, could he come to love it the way she did? Could he possibly make it his home?
Chapter Nine
The meeting with Cormac ended up happening very differently from how Tyler had imagined, coming about Tuesday as Tyler walked out of Java Café with a cup of coffee and Cormac was just heading in.
Tyler recognized Cormac right away, and was wondering if he should say something when Cormac stopped him. “Aren’t you Tyler Justice?” Cormac asked.
“Yes,” he answered, extending a hand. “You’re Cormac.”
“I owe you a couple phone calls and a meeting. I’m sorry. I’ve been on the road more than I’ve been home lately. My family isn’t happy about it, and I’m just trying to get caught up with everything on the desk. You should know you’re near the top of the list. I was going to give you a call today. Or do you have a few minutes right now?”
“I do.”
“Let me get some coffee and then we’ll sit down and talk.” Cormac opened the door to Java Café, and Tyler followed him in.
Their conversation lasted far longer than either of them anticipated. Cormac told him a little bit about why he wanted to buy Justice Games, and then they discussed the industry, and how changing technology kept changing the way people played games, and not just where they played them, but how. They ended up speaking for close to two hours and when it was over Cormack asked bluntly, “So what do you want from me?”
“I want to continue my work,” Tyler answered, just as direct. “I want to remain with Justice Games, and while I understand I no longer own the company, I don’t see why I couldn’t remain involved in some capacity. Either as a lead designer or as a creative director.”
“Why did you sell to TexTron in the first place?”
“Because it’s awfully hard to build a company, and continually design new games, and I realized I couldn’t do justice to both—” He paused, cracked a smile. “No pun intended. I realized over time that my passion is for design. I’m a nerd. I’m happiest when coding and doing my graphics, not crunching numbers or worrying about market share or market dominance.”
“Was it difficult for you, working for TexTron?”
“The only time it was truly difficult was when they sold to you. I had no idea it was coming, and I was caught off guard. I felt powerless and I didn’t like it. I still don’t.”
“But if you worked for me, you’d still be powerless. I could decide to offload Justice Games tomorrow.”
“You could, absolutely. But you might also end up keeping the company, realizing it’s exciting and rewarding and twenty years from now we could be sitting here again, congratulating ourselves for making it even more successful.”
“What do you want financially?”
“What I had with TexTron. A base salary and then a percentage of profits.”
“Your base salary wasn’t significant.”
“But the potential is there if the company is run right.”
“You didn’t earn significantly while you were in Austin.”
“Justice Games wasn’t properly managed, no.”
“Why don’t I just give you a bigger salary?”
“Because my compensation should be tied to the success of my games. I’ve always said that, and I still believe it.”
Cormac studied him for a long minute. “When would you want to start?”
“Tomorrow.”
For the first time since they sat down, his firm mouth eased and Cormac smiled. “How about Monday? We’re still sorting out relocation details and trying to find adequate office space.”
“I can tell you what we need.”
“I’m sure you could.” Cormac’s smile broadened. “By the way, I hear you ride.” He must have seen Tyler’s confusion because he added, “Mandy told me you snowboard.”
“I haven’t for a couple of years. Texas isn’t known for its slopes.”
“No vacations for you?”
“I have a hard time unplugging. Something I know I need to work on.” Tyler hesitated. “When did you see Mandy?”
“Saturday. She cut my hair the day of the St. Patrick’s Day Ball. I told her to introduce us at the hotel, but I guess it didn’t work out.”
Tyler remembered how Amanda had offered to introduce him to Cormac at the ball, and how he’d rejected the offer because he’d wanted to handle it himself. “She’s pretty amazing.”
“She’s been through a lot. Take care of her.”
Tyler left Java Café feeling better than he had in weeks.
He’d be working again come Monday. He was enjoying being in Marietta. And then there was Amanda.
She was incredible, and she made him wonder if they could go the distance. Life was so much better with her in it. And while he’d never found the idea of marriage particularly appealing, not after his parents’ marriage had fallen apart, Amanda made him want to try.
He needed to talk to her. There were things they needed to discuss. Even before today’s conversation with Cormac, Tyler had been thinking of remaining in Marietta. He’d even poured over the Copper Mountain Courier classified ads, looking to see what was available in terms of office space.
Settling down in Marietta was a new idea, something that had only come to him recently, and it was still so fresh that he wasn’t sure what to think of it, and he didn’t want to say anything to Amanda until he knew for certain it wasn’t an impulsive decision.
But something she’d said to him a couple weeks ago had stayed with him.
Why did his grandmother have to leave all of her friends? Why should she be the one to move? Why couldn’t he move here?
There was no reason for him to live in Texas now. He’d never truly settled in, and even though he h
ad a house in Austin, it wasn’t home. California was home. Or once upon a time it had been home. But he’d cut a lot of ties when he’d moved to Texas, and he’d let a lot of relationships go. He didn’t feel any burning desire to return to California for that matter.
He could buy a big house in Marietta and have Gram move in with him. Or, he could stay with Gram in her house until they figured out what the right thing to do was, because the more time he spent with his grandmother, the more he’d come to appreciate her independence and spirit, as well as her dozens of friends.
He imagined trying to tell Gram that he had decided to move to Marietta. The first thing she’d ask is why, and he’d be honest with her. It was Amanda. She’d changed him. And with all her projects and dreams, she seemed to be changing Marietta, too.
“Come for dinner tonight,” Bette said Tuesday afternoon, as she dropped into her pink chair at the salon, the one reserved just for her. “I’m making chicken something,” she added before looking at her reflection and lifting a curl, trying to give it a little height.
Amanda checked her smile. Most of Amanda’s clients were used to Bette coming and going. “Eileen, you know Bette Justice, don’t you?” she said, introducing her client in her chair to Bette.
Eileen gave a small nod, unable to do more with Amanda adding silver highlights to her salt-and-pepper bob. “Oh yes, our sons grew up together, and played football and baseball at Marietta High.” Eileen’s eyebrows arched as she tried to look toward Bette. “I heard your grandson is back, isn’t he?”
“Tyler, Patrick’s son, yes.” Bette stopped fussing with the curl and folded her hands in her lap. “I haven’t seen you since you filled in for the duplicate bridge club. Are you still playing?”
“Not as much as I used to. Howard hasn’t been well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I suppose it’s inevitable at our age, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”
For a moment there was silence, and a poignant resignation to the inevitability of life. Amanda swallowed around the lump filling her throat. So many of her clients were older women and she loved them fiercely because they had been through so much, and were so impossibly resilient. She didn’t know how they did it. She wasn’t sure she could ever be that strong.
