“This is like being hugged by Jesus,” Amanda whispered. “This is the hug I’ve been dreaming of my whole life.”
“I find the hugs help calm the excitement,” Miss Leona replied, her voice light and causal. Like she might in fact be our Lord God herself. Amanda soaked in her grandmotherly love just long enough for it to seep into her heart. She took in her light floral perfume and the softness of her flowing top. Who made thousand-thread-count tops? She logged it all deep within her mind so she could conjure it up in her darkest moment. When things got really bad, she usually turned to her mom, but from now on, she’d think of the time Leona Lovell took pity on her and gave her the best hug in the history of hugs.
She took the hint when Miss Leona started to release her and stepped back out of the elderly woman’s personal space.
“Isn’t that better?”
“Much. I still might ask you for an autograph for my mom before I leave. If that’s not too much. I know I am being rude. I am so sorry.”
Miss Leona patted her hand. “Oh, you’re fine, baby. We’ll make sure you get that autograph before the day is over. You want something to drink? Lilah, get her something to drink.”
Lilah was already hopping off her seat before Amanda could make up her mind. “Let’s see.” She opened the industrial-size fridge, revealing a wide variety of beverages. “What can I get for you?”
“Water is fine.”
“And you should try some of the pomegranate punch Lilah made. It is delicious,” Miss Leona added.
“And I will also have some of that punch,” Amanda added obediently.
Lilah grabbed a fancy glass pitcher out of the fridge, then whispered, “Don’t worry. She’s my grandma and I still think it’s all pretty cool.”
Normally Amanda wouldn’t have believed her, but it was Leona Lovell. She absolutely did.
* * *
Brunch turned into a late lunch, but Amanda didn’t care at all. She was just happy to be a part of the gang. She sat at the island with Lilah and helped her pick out some dresses she was shopping for online. When Evie came back, fresh as a daisy and as gorgeous as ever, Amanda got to watch her in action as she and Miss Leona followed through on cooking enough food for a small village and Jesse. Amanda had caught Evie in a few clips of The Dish and faithfully followed her on Instagram for years now, but the real thing was impressive as hell.
Sam and Zach joined them and then Corie arrived with Vega soon after. She was still a bit overwhelmed being in Miss Leona’s home, but Sam was right. She felt completely comfortable hanging around with him and his family. She insisted on helping Lilah and Zach set the table and when Jesse finally arrived from some meeting in town, they sat down to eat. Amanda found herself between Sam and Vega and directly across from Evie and Zach. Jesse and Miss Leona were at either end of the table.
“So, my grandbabies. And friends. Who has news for me?” Miss Leona said after Jesse delivered the grace.
“Oh, I do,” Lilah perked up. “Well, it’s not my news, but it’s news.”
“Go ahead,” Miss Leona chuckled.
“Well. You know we do the date auction every year—” She looked Amanda’s way. “Jesse and I work with the chamber of commerce to raise money for various things. We helped take over this date auction that raises money for seniors in the area.”
“Lilah’s been crushing it actually,” Jesse said in his strong, deep voice, though he didn’t take his eyes off the loaf of French toast piled on his plate. “They already asked her if she could help with some of the summer programming this year.”
“I said no, because there is power in no and if I wanted to work full-time for the chamber I would, but that’s not my news,” Lilah said. “Last year Diana Foster and her friends pooled their money so Diana could bid on Omar Harrison—Amanda, he’s a super-hot firefighter, amazing single father. All that. Well, Omar’s proposing to her tonight.”
“Aww, that’s awesome, Li,” Evie said.
“That’s wonderful news,” Miss Leona replied. “Blessings on the happy couple.”
“I told him to send us the pictures or video. However they capture the moment. I’m really happy for them. Omar told me his daughter is really excited too. She loves Diana.”
“When’s this year’s auction?” Amanda asked.
“April. It’s kind of a spring fling sort of thing. People really seem to enjoy it. And we made a real love connection this time.” Lilah was practically glowing. Genuine pride in a job well done. Amanda briefly considered what that would be like before she forced her brain to temporarily erase Dru’s existence again.
“I’m trying to get Jesse to enter the auction this time, but he refuses.”
Jesse put down his fork and fixed Lilah with a hard stare. Amanda didn’t know whether to freeze or hide under the table. She never wanted that look from Jesse Pleasant turned in her direction, but Lilah just glared right back. “And I told Lilah I would do it if she also joins the auction.”
“And I. Said. No. I’m not in the mood to date.”
“Well, neither am I.”
“We got our first review from the Post,” Evie broke in, grabbing everyone’s attention from Lilah and Jesse’s back-and-forth. “Didn’t love our choice in light fixtures. But the menu was awarded stars all around. The carbonara that Brit helped me perfect was the big hit.” Amanda had seen little bits and pieces about Thyme, the restaurant Evie was opening in Manhattan, on her Instagram, but it wasn’t open to the public yet and of course, she hadn’t been to New York recently. Not without She Who Would Not Be Named.
“That’s wonderful, sweetheart. Very proud of you,” Miss Leona said.
“Any word on Celia or when the doc will be released?” Vega asked.
“Celia Lamontagne filmed a documentary on Evie’s recovery and what it took to get Thyme off the ground,” Sam said, filling her in.
“No firm release date yet. We still have more to film, but don’t worry, when I know I’ll make sure everyone knows,” Evie said. “Sam, she told me Larry Johnson asked about you. Did he get in touch with John?”
“Yeah, he did,” Sam said, letting out a heavy, frustrated breath. “I met with him on Tuesday and he had another biopic that would have me cast as the supporting character in my own story. He wasn’t the only one though. We got about twenty scripts this week. Which is great. I want those calls. I want those meetings, but I also want to play a leading man or at least an equal man in an ensemble in something with some heft or some humor. I don’t want to play a sidekick and I definitely don’t want to play a cop.”
“Amanda,” Jesse suddenly said.
“Yes?”
“You look like you were about to say something.”
“Yeah, girl. You have no poker face whatsoever,” Corie added.
“Oh,” she swallowed. “Sorry.”
“Both of you, just chill,” Sam warned.
“Seriously. Why are you trying to start stuff with the girl? She’s been here a whole hour,” Evie laughed.
“Excuse his lack of manners, sweetheart,” Miss Leona chimed in. “At my table you are not required to sing or offer a penny for your thoughts for your supper. Or your French toast.”
Amanda took a deep breath. “Well, I was hoping to save this conversation for our first—yeah, um, but I would maybe ask Sam to be more specific in what he does want?” She looked over at him cautiously. He looked back at her, waiting for her to go on. “It sounds like you’ve been doing the appropriate rounds. No harm in hearing people out even if the project isn’t right for you, but you are in a position to ask for things. And I’m guessing in a position to pitch some ideas of your own.”
“Bloop!” Corie said as she reached for more diced fruit.
“Quiet, you,” Sam said with a playful glare, before he turned his attention back to Amanda. “I’m with you. Go on.”
“I guess just be super honest with yourself, go for the big asks and if this all goes belly-up and your career is ruined, I heard a rumor t
hat your family owns a ranch. Might make for a softer landing.”
“Bloop, bloop, bloop! Girl called the whole family out,” Corie laughed.
“No. I just mean you’re lucky, right. Having a supportive family is great. My parents have my back and they’ll never know how much I appreciate that, but what you guys have here is amazing, from what I’ve seen so far. If you take big risks and they don’t pan out, Big Rock Ranch doesn’t seem like a terrible place to start over.”
“She’s right,” Zach said with a shrug.
“I didn’t say she was wrong.”
“It’s not a bad thing,” Amanda scrambled to say. She bit her tongue so often with Lady Voldemort, she forgot how freeing it was to speak her mind, but maybe this wasn’t the right time or the right place.
“I didn’t say it was a bad thing either,” Sam replied. His hand slid back over her thigh, giving her an encouraging squeeze. “You’re right, I’ve been . . . rushing. That’s the right word. I’ve been rushing to find the next project because I want to keep up the awards-season momentum, but I don’t want to follow up this win with just another project. I want to do something I’m proud of and something I’m excited for.”
“You have two brilliant actors, in your grandmother and your father, right under your nose. And all of this to come home to. I say use this time and combined resources and experience to really chase after what you want. Or maybe I’m wrong and I should have just sat here and ate my crepe tart.” Amanda dropped her eyes back to her plate and shoved a nice forkful of said tart into her mouth.
She tried not to shiver when Sam leaned over and kissed her on the side of her head. “That was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.”
“I’m so glad we could do this on Valentine’s Day,” Miss Leona said as she poured a healthy amount of champagne into her glass. “Get to spend some quality time with my babies and my babies’ friends.”
Zach went on outlining new plans for the ranch once the weather warmed up again and it seemed like everyone had moved on from Amanda’s brash comments. She latched on to the comfort of Sam’s strong fingers as they occasionally brushed her thigh throughout the meal. He’d clearly forgiven her, but she hoped she hadn’t accidentally gotten herself banned from all future Pleasant family functions. Not that she and Sam were working on a real future or anything. They hadn’t even been on a real date, but still. It would be nice to be invited back.
Chapter 14
Lunch went on smoothly after Amanda extracted her whole foot from her mouth. She enjoyed spending time with Sam’s family and envied how close they all were. And he was right, well, kinda. She wasn’t exactly sure Miss Leona loved her like one of her own after one meal, but she was extremely kind and gracious and made Amanda feel very welcome. By the time Jesse was full and everyone else was well on their way to being drunk on carbohydrates, Amanda felt significantly less awkward.
She sat back, with Sam’s arm draped over her shoulders, while Zach and Lilah debated the finer points of LeBron James’s shooting average. If his affection toward her made their new situationship a thing with his family, they didn’t mention it.
“Any hot plans for you tonight, Miss Leona?” Vega teased just before she finished her glass of juice. Jesse made a weird noise at the end of the table. Amanda didn’t miss the glance Zach shot in Jesse’s direction. Jesse didn’t look up, but his jaw clenched. Amanda was dying to know what was happening there, but of course she kept her mouth shut. Sam got her attention with a gentle squeeze to her arm. She turned and met his handsome smile, smiling back at him as a few dozen butterflies fluttered their wings in her stomach. His wink told her he’d let her in on the dirt later.
“I’m going out with Mig and Pam tonight,” Miss Leona said.
“Gonna tear the club up?” Corie replied. She stood and started clearing her and Vega’s plates.
“You know Mig’s granddaughter bought the Gutierrez farm and she set up a wine and cheese tasting for us. I will be skipping most of the cheese and enjoying all of the wine and the conversation.”
“Corie, can you get her number for me?” Jesse said. Corie set down the plates by the sink, then pulled out her phone and a moment later Amanda heard a ping from Jesse’s end of the table. “Thank you.”
“Well, since I guess we’re all done here, Corie,” Evie said.
“What? I was just putting our plates up.”
“Like I said, since we’re all done here, I’m really glad we could all do this together and I’m glad Amanda could join us. I don’t love all the flying back and forth, but I’m glad we could grab this time together.”
“Amen to that.” Zach playfully pulled her closer and laid a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Evie nudged him away, but that didn’t change the massive smile on her face. They all started helping with the cleanup. After Amanda turned down Miss Leona’s seventy-fifth offer to take some leftovers back to the ranch with her, she was starting to feel all the pleasant weight of everything she ate. She tried to hide her yawn, but the yawn won. Sam rubbed a smooth hand down her back as he came around the counter.
“You want to head to the ranch?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty tired. I could use a nap or a massage. Or a nap while I get massaged.”
“We can work all of those things out.” He turned to his brother.
“What are you two getting into tonight?”
“We’re going to Claim Jumpers?” Zach said, sounding unsure.
“The fuck?” Sam laughed, then quickly ducked his head, probably worried his grandmother had heard him swear, but she was busy tinkering with a large iPad on the counter. “That’s where you’re going on your first Valentine’s Day as almost–husband and wife.”
“Speak to Evie,” Zach replied with a shrug.
“They’re doing a nineties high school dance thing. I thought it would be fun. Plus, Brit and Delfi are going,” Evie said.
“What are you two doing tonight?” Sam asked Vega. She and Corie were working on loading the dishwasher.
“Uh, we’re going on a proper date,” Vega said.
“To where?”
“I don’t know,” Vega replied with a saucy smile. “She said it’s a surprise. We’re leaving at seven.”
“It’s freaking Valentine’s Day!” Corie said, throwing her wet hands in the air. “I’m not taking my date to a bar. I’d ask who raised you bums, but I know Miss Leona, Nana Buck, and your parents aren’t to blame for this mess. Tsk.”
“You don’t have to ask me. It’s okay,” Lilah said snarkily.
“Do you have plans?” Sam asked his cousin.
“You know I don’t. It’s just nice to be asked. I think I’ll help Jesse out with bingo though, since everyone is busy.”
“Come to Claim Jumpers. I bet Chris will be there,” Evie teased.
“Ugh. No thank you.”
Sam turned to Amanda, eyebrow raised. “You wanna go to a cowboy dive bar for the most romantic night of your life?”
“Sure,” Amanda laughed. “But is it truly a dive bar, ’cause the nicest thing I brought with me is my comfy cardigan. And by nice, I mean off the Old Navy clearance rack. I don’t want to show up and your idea of a dive bar is Hamptons casual.”
“Oh no. It’s a real shithole,” Zach said.
“Try again, young man,” Miss Leona called from across the room.
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry. It’s a somewhat remodeled dump, but all the locals hang out there. Friends from high school, a lot of our people from the ranch. Cheap drinks and the music is usually good.”
“You could go in what you have on now and you’d be fine,” Evie added. “You guys should come with us.”
“You down?” Sam asked.
“Yeah, let’s do it.”
“Great.”
Amanda said her goodbyes, collecting hugs all around except from Jesse, who was still seated at the table doing something on his phone. He did however stand and shake her hand. “Here until tomorrow?” he asked all businesslike.
He just nodded, then went back to his phone. Amanda had no clue what to make of him. She followed Sam outside and across the cul-de-sac. Only two dogs followed them this time, but they happily trotted back to Miss Leona’s when Sam told them to get on.
“So?” Sam said when they got into his Tesla. “That wasn’t bad.”
“Oh, you missed the part where I basically confessed my undying fangirl love for your grandmother.”
“When was that?” Sam said, chuckling a bit.
“When you were in the shower. She handled it well, thank God, but yeah. I was pretty sure I’d blown it right then and there.”
“But you didn’t. She really likes you.”
“Well, I like your whole family. And Vega.” She didn’t mention how homesick it made her for her parents.
“They all liked you,” he insisted. Amanda couldn’t help but notice the sudden softness to his voice. She looked up at him through her lashes and fought the urge to sigh at what she saw. Sam Pleasant was looking at her, really looking at her. Not her tits or her ass, which were both amazing, but really looking at her and she couldn’t ignore what she saw reflected back at her. Sam liked her. Or he was starting to. She hadn’t been on the receiving end of that look in a while, but she knew when it was real. She took his hand and scooted a little closer even though the center console stopped them from getting as close as she wanted.
“I want to apologize for what I said, about your career.”
“You kidding? I was serious. That was exactly what I needed to hear. Listen, I talk to Zach about this every day and of course I talk to my grandma and my dad, but they are more on that basic encouragement tip.”
“Oh man. That must be awful,” Amanda whined before she smiled back at him.
“You know what I mean. Miss Leona is exhausted with Hollywood. She’s just chillin’ waiting for grandchildren, waiting for Rory’s War checks to roll in. And my dad—he’s great, but he’s really focused on his own shit now. And he should be, but you were right. I am in a unique position.”
If the Boot Fits Page 14
