“Or what about the outdoor movie night up at the school? Everybody goes to that,” Allie said.
"I'll try my best. It's not like I haven't been mentioning it to him."
An hour later, they were all crowded around Allie’s oversized farm table, stuffed to the brim with meatballs and spaghetti, Amber sat back in her chair and looked around at her family.
"Here, have some more,” Rosa said, giving Davis another helping.
"I don't know if I could eat another bite—okay, thank you,” he said, accepting the plate but not eating.
Allie smiled at him affectionately. Amber noticed her full plate.
"Why aren't you eating? Are you pregnant again?"
"Oh God, no," Allie blanched. "I just haven't been feeling very well today."
Davis rubbed her back. “Tessa seems a little off too."
“Tell us more about your job with the mayor, Amber,” Aunt Sophia said from the other end of the table. She squinted down the table. “I hope you're not dressing like that at the office."
"Like what?" Amber knew her family loved her. Being surrounded by so many smart, sarcastic, and clever women had buoyed her spirits and comforted her throughout her entire life, even if they were a little overzealous sometimes.
"Like that. Your boobs are hanging out, and your skirt's too short. What is that anyway that you're wearing?"
Amber held out the skimpy sundress. “But it has pockets. See?"
While they chatted around the table, Amber studied her mother. As the youngest of her sisters, Annette was the most solemn. She sat at the head of the table, listening and observing the dynamics with a sharp eye. It was hard not to draw parallels between their lives.
When their father left, Annette had transformed her pain into a silent, stoic force that drove her to go back to school and change her life on her own terms. It was hard to believe they were even related if you just looked at how they handled adversity.
But one thing she had in common with her mother was her relationship with men. As far as Amber knew, Annette had never had another serious relationship after their father. Like her mother, men were simply something she enjoyed and kept at a safe distance.
"Amber," Annette said quietly. Everyone at the table, even the little ones, looked up. “Congratulations on your new job.”
“Thanks, Mom.” How was it that her mother could still make her squirm? “I’ll try not to mess this one up.”
Annette sipped her pinot. “Keep that in mind and see that you don’t underestimate yourself.”
Chapter Fourteen
On Monday morning,Theo pulled into the parking lot of his office and swore softly. The sight of Amber’s empty parking spot, missing her little untrustworthy car, shot a ripple of unease through him, unsettling him even more than he cared to admit.
As he walked up the steps and into the office, lack of sleep and a near constant hard-on from Friday night contributed to his frustration. It wasn’t just Amber’s absence that unsettled him; it was the reason behind it. Theo had crossed a line by touching her, and the complete deviation from the man he knew himself to be had left him shaken.
Theo had always prided himself on his control. He was a professional, and he certainly didn’t allow his feelings to cross over into his professional life. Yet all those barriers had crumbled when he’d seen Amber standing on his stairs in his T-shirt, smiling at him with those teasing eyes.
He had reached out to her almost before he knew what he was doing. It was beyond reckless, something he had never been before, but then again, he’d never known another woman that affected himlike Amber.
“Where is she?" he said to Diane, setting down the bag with her chocolate croissant on her desk.
Diane looked him in the eye. "I'm sure she has a good reason. Just give her a little while to show up."
Theo did a double take. In all the years that Diane had worked for him, he had never seen his stickler of a secretary defend an employee who was late.
"You know her car is acting up," Todd said as he walked by the office.
“Remember, Theo, she might stop at the bakery. She loves to bring in donuts for us,” Charlotte said when he paused in her doorway.
When he got to Neal's office, Neal looked up with a smirk. "I hate to say I told you so, but I knew she couldn't handle this kind of job. It's been almost a month. When are you going to realize she needs to go?"
