As Amity loads the drinks onto her tray, I discreetly kiss her neck. She emits a soft, low moan, so quiet only I can hear it. I'm looking forward to this summer, when I'll get to see her in a bikini practically every day. We're going to rent a tiny cabin on the Triple Marsh side of Lake Everclear, where we can swim and lounge and love all day. By night, we'll serve drinks to tourists and wear funny hats.
On the weekends, Amity will be an intern in the pediatrics department at Jasper Heights Community Hospital, the same hospital where her mother worked. It was actually Brenda, one of her mother's friends, who got her the job. She's glad that she'll be able to spend time somewhere her mother was so well loved.
It's ten minutes to noon. Time for me to go. I hurry to the break room and go to my cubby. As I'm I transferring its contents into my gym bag, Amity appears behind me. I can smell her citrus perfume and feel her strong, slender hands rubbing my shoulders and filling me with warm, liquid desire.
"Have a good practice," she whispers.
She flashes me a smile and heads back to the main kitchen. She still walks with a limp, but her movements are more fluid than they used be. Happier. I think of the black, velvet box hidden in the bottom of my bag. I'm hoping it will bring her even more joy.
Of course, I couldn't afford a new ring. Or even a used one. But I have something better. Mom left me her engagement ring—a chunky emerald flanked by diamonds—and a terse note that simply says, For the right one. For me, that's Amity.
And I think Mom would approve.
the end
Enjoy this book?
If you enjoyed this book, I hope you'll sign up for my very occasional email list. You'll receive updates on new projects as well as free books from my backlist (published under other pseudonyms), review copies, and links to fun giveaways.
E.J.'s notes on Amends: A Love Story
I wrote this book under the name Shanda Fisch. Basically, it's two novellas smashed together (e.g., Book One and Book Two). If you check out the reviews on Goodreads, you'll see how this approach worked for some readers and not for others.
About E.J. Swenson
E.J. Swenson is a business journalist by day and a writer of quirky, romantic, and downright dirty stories by night. She writes under a pseudonym because her colleagues and family would be shocked―SHOCKED!―to see the dark and twisty places where her imagination likes to roam. When she's not tethered to her computer, she's avidly reading all kinds of genre fiction, baking (and resisting the siren call of excess baked goods), and keeping track of her two small children.
How to find E.J. online
Email: [email protected] (I love to hear from readers!)
Website: http://ejswensonwrites.com
Blog: http://ejswensonwrites.com/e-j-s-blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ejswensonwrites
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJSwensonWrites
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8122710.E_J_Swenson
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/ejswensonwrites/
Amends: A Love Story Page 19
