She ran past the newspaper stand, barely glancing at the headlines. Theo’s name was still plastered on the front page, just as she feared.
She didn’t spare a single thought for Neal’s scandal. She chose not to press charges when she found out he was leaving town. He had brought that on himself, and was paying the price, but Theo’s years of hard work and dedication had been reduced to tabloid fodder, undermining everything he had worked for. It was everything she had feared would happen, and she didn’t know how to fix it.
Annette’s interior design studio lights were on when she ran past. Impulsively, she jogged up the stairs and found her mother in the back office looking at her computer screen with her glasses perched on the end of her nose.
“Hey, what are you doing here? Don’t you have to work—?” Annette started, but when she looked up, she stopped and half stood. “Oh, honey. What’s wrong?”
Amber collapsed in the chair across from her mother’s desk. “I’m fine,” she said automatically. Smiled, even though her breath came in fast pants, making little puffing noises like she couldn’t get air deep enough in her lungs. Theo would tell her to slow down, control her breathing. She panted harder.
“Here,” Annette said, walking around her desk with a bottle of water. “Drink this. What’s going on? And stop smiling, for the love. It’s just me.”
The smile dropped from her face. “I don’t know,” Amber said. “I just...I feel...God, I’m so tired.” She bent her head and rubbed her eyes.
Annette sat on the chair next to her. “What are you tired of?” Annette asked gently. Knowingly. She rubbed Amber’s back in light, soothing circles like when Amber had a nightmare as a little girl.
Amber was quiet a long time. “Everything,” she finally said. “I’m scared to chase my dream because I mightsucceed.” She paused. “I’m afraid to love because I might fail. I’m so tired of being stuck.”
Annette sighed. “I know, honey. I see so much of myself in you.”
“You do?” Amber looked at her disbelievingly. “But you’ve never run away from anything in your life.”
“Oh, I have. When your father left, the fear was paralyzing. Alone with four girls depending on me and no job, no money, no education. Those were the scariest years of my life. I didn’t know which direction to go in or which career to go back to school for, but I didn’t have any other choice except to move forward.”
Amber listened quietly, shocked to her core to hear her mother had felt exactly like she did. All her life, Annette was an indomitable force of nature, almost superhuman in her strength. She felt like Dorothy seeing the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain now.
“I had no idea,” Amber finally said.
“I made sure you didn’t. I wanted you to see me as strong enough to take care of you girls and not need to rely on anyone.” She paused. “But maybe, in teaching you to be independent, I inadvertently taught you not to let anybody else in.”
Amber dropped her gaze. Talking about Theo was still too painful.
“But we can change that, hmm?” Annette said. She reached over to squeeze Amber’s hand. “Like Allie and Davis? You’re allowed to choose happiness too.”
“Do you ever see that for yourself?”
Annette looked out through the window behind her desk. “I think I’m too set in my ways now to make room for anyone else.” She shrugged ruefully. “But a mother always wants better for her children, and I think there’s something better out there for you.”
Amber lifted her head and stared at Annette, her smart, talented mother, while something solidified within her. The parallels between her and her mother’s approaches to life and love were stark and suddenly undeniable. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
Annette smiled. “Start with yourself, of course.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The stepsof the juice bar were already packed with the residents, business owners, along with reporters and news crews waiting for the press conference when she got there.
Theo stood in front of a podium with Charlotte and Todd flanking him. Amber took him in eagerly. His dark suit was perfectly pressed, his white shirt and red tie crisp in the heat of the midday. So achingly handsome.
Her heartbeat slowed down before speeding up again, so fast she put the heel of her hand to her chest because, oh, it was so good to see him.
She studied him eagerly, noticing that the tiny lines around his eyes were more pronounced, and the corners of his beautiful mouth pinched. She wondered if he had been sleeping.
She had spent the last few weeks planning and working to make her dream into something tangible with Charlotte’s help. Charlotte had listened to her ideas about the boutique and had helped her write a solid business plan. She even went with Amber to the bank to apply for a loan. They were still waiting for an answer, but Charlotte said she had a good feeling.
Start with yourself,her mother had said.
Nothing was signed yet, but it felt good to finally stop wishing and start actively working for something she wanted. There was just one more thing...
Amber wove closer through the throng of people, waving hello to Allie and Davis, who stood next to Lily and Evie. Annette and the aunts all stood nearby, listening. Everyone was waiting to hear what the mayor had to say about his campaign. She found a spot next to her family where she could see him.
