“It’s not that I pity you. I’m just sorry your relationship with your dad had to be that way.”
“Do you think I should have forgiven him?” Amber stared at Lovey.
“I can’t say that. I have no idea. I definitely can’t blame you for being hurt. And I don’t know your dad at all. I don’t know if he regrets the things he did. But I do know he lost his beautiful daughter because of them.”
Amber’s nose stung and she lowered her eyes to peer at the bubbly wine. “Yeah.”
“Duncan’s really pissed that this happened.” Lovey’s voice softened.
“Well, sure he is. Now everyone knows the girl he’s seeing is the daughter of a convicted felon.”
“Amber!” Lovey’s shocked tone had Amber’s head lifting. “That is not why he’s pissed! He’s worried about you.”
“Oh.” She believed that Duncan was worried about her, of course, but she knew this affected him too. And she hated that. She didn’t want to be someone who got him the wrong kind of public attention.
“He asked me if I think there’s anything we should do,” Lovey went on. “My job is social media and marketing. In my opinion, it’s best to just ignore it. The article doesn’t say anything that’s not true. Notwithstanding the snarky tone. People will read it and forget it. Responding will just make it worse.”
“I agree,” Easton said.
“I’m fine with that.” Amber took a gulp of wine. “I’m a little worried what will happen if my new employer sees this, though.”
“Yeah. You might get some questions.”
“I might get fired. Before I’ve even started.”
“I can’t see that happening. Again, you did nothing wrong. It’s not like you broke any laws.”
Amber nodded. She knew that. But still.
“They know you and your work,” Lovey reminded her. “They wanted to hire you. They’ll understand.”
“Should I tell them up front?”
The three of them debated the pros and cons of that approach over more glasses of wine, but by the time Amber went to bed that night she still hadn’t decided for sure what to do.
The other thing she hadn’t decided was what to do about Duncan. Should she even keep seeing him? She didn’t want to attract the wrong kind of attention to him. But that thought made her want to cry.
In the end, she did call Naomi the next day and told her about her father and her desire to keep that part of her life private, notwithstanding the recent blog post.
“You’re dating Duncan Armstrong?” Naomi said. “That’s cool.”
“Um, yeah.” That was the part of the conversation she’d focused on? Okay, then.
Chapter 22
Amber leaned on the bar, taking some weight off her throbbing feet. These damn heels killed her by the end of the night, but they definitely increased her tips. She was raking in cash. It had been busy all night and she’d barely had time to kick off her heels and sit for a short break.
Around ten o’clock Duncan arrived with some of the guys: Ryan, Hugh, Olaf, and Brent. As usual, the atmosphere in the bar started buzzing when they walked in. The others stood looking for a table, but Duncan looked for her and as soon as he spotted Amber at the bar he headed straight for her.
Her heart gave a bump in her chest, a happy little leap, and her nerve endings all tingled. He set his hands on her waist and looked down at her. “No shoes. You seem short.”
“Pretty sure nobody’s ever told me that before.” She smiled at him, her bare toes curling on the cool tiled floor. Their eyes met and held and she laid her palms on his chest. He wore a plaid cotton shirt and his body warmth heated her palms through it. “My feet hurt, so I took off my shoes for a few minutes.”
“I give great foot massages.” Heat built between them as they smiled at each other.
“Why am I just learning this now?”
“Possibly because you kicked me in the face the first time we had sex, when I dared to touch your feet.”
She burst out laughing. “Oh yeah.” Warmth moved through her at the memory.
“Wait till we tell our grandchildren that story.”
“We will not tell our grandchildren about the first time we had sex!” She paused. “Wait, grandchildren?” Her forehead tightened, then she gave his chest a little smack. “Duncan.”
He grinned. “Missed you. Sorry I had to give you that shitty news long distance.”
“It’s okay.” She lifted one shoulder. “It is what it is.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Good.” He smooched her lips and her belly did a little flip. “Now get me a beer.”
She laughed. “The only reason I’m not punching you for that is I’m actually being paid to get you a beer.”
He grinned and gave her ass a discreet little tap as he moved to join the other guys.