“What? Why?” A perplexed crease appeared between Mom’s perfect eyebrows.
“I don’t want a car from him! Mom, what you said…I’m not going out with him because of his money. That is not what this is about.”
“But, honey…”
“Mom, you’ve been looking for a rich husband to support you. I haven’t. I’ve been busting my butt to get an education and a job and do it on my own. I don’t need a man to support me. I don’t want a man to support me.”
Mom just blinked.
“I keep telling you that! And I can’t support you for the rest of my life either. I’m exhausted.”
“I don’t expect you to support me.” Mom sank down into an armchair.
“You know I’ve been paying your bills! How did you get here, anyway?”
“I used my credit card. But there was only enough credit left for a one-way trip.”
Amber’s eyes flew wide. For a moment the pressure inside her head was so great she thought it might explode. “Seriously?” she managed to say. “A one-way ticket? Oh my God.”
She collapsed onto the couch, covering her face with her hands. They were both silent. “How did you hear about Duncan and me?” Before the words even left her mouth she knew the answer.
“It was on the Internet. Someone at work saw it and asked if that was you. And it was! Then we Googled him. He’s very good-looking. I don’t know much about hockey, but apparently he gets paid a lot of money.”
Amber didn’t even know what to say. She was so angry at her mother for assuming that’s why she was with Duncan, and she was even more furious at Duncan for believing that. And not only furious…she was hurt.
She’d been so hesitant to get involved with someone like him, but stupidly she’d done it. She’d been falling in love with him. Okay, okay, she was in love with him, and that was what made it hurt all the more. She’d been afraid to care, because if he walked away it was going to kill her, and now…he’d done it.
She swallowed, her throat aching, that feeling of pressure rising in her face, her eyes burning.
He’d bought her a stupid car. She’d told him not to. Why had he done that? She did not want stuff like that from him, but obviously he thought she did. At first he’d judged her based on what had happened with Melissa and others before her. Evidently, he was continuing to judge her like that.
That really burned.
She’d fallen in love with a guy who thought she was a gold-digging bitch.
“Amber…are you okay?”
She shook her head, her face still buried in her hands. “No.”
Mom was apparently clueless about what she’d done. But whatever. She’d only reinforced what Duncan already thought of her.
“I have to take the car back to him.”
“No! You haven’t even seen it!”
“I’m not keeping it, Mom. I don’t care what it is.” She thought more, everything inside her aching. She needed to move, but her muscles felt stiff and frozen. Finally she lifted her head. “And I won’t be seeing Duncan anymore.”
“I don’t understand.” Mom’s eyebrows sloped down.
“I know you don’t. And I don’t know if I can ever make you understand. I’m going to get dressed. Then I’m going to take the car and drive it to Duncan’s place and leave it there. Then I’m coming back and booking you a flight to L.A.”
Mom blinked.
“Then we’ll go out for lunch or something.” As if she felt like eating. Blerg.
She stood and trudged to the bathroom. In a fog, she washed her face and brushed her teeth. She pulled her hair into a knot, then dressed in a pair of jeans and a sweater. When she emerged from her room, Easton’s door was ajar. He must have heard her, because his face appeared in the door opening.
“What’s going on?” he whispered. Then he frowned at seeing her. “Are you okay?”
“Not really.” She attempted a wobbly smile. “I have to go out for a while. My mom’s going to stay here, is that okay?”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Uh, sure. Why is she here? Is everything okay?”
“With her, yeah. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“Okay. I’ll get, uh, reacquainted with your mom. Julie, right?”
“Right.”
He’d met her mom years ago when Amber’d started modeling.
She followed her plan. She located the little red BMW Coupe easily. Yeah, it was nice. It was so beautiful she was afraid to drive it. The blustery weather didn’t help either.
She parked in the visitor parking at Duncan’s building and left the keys with the doorman to give to him. Then she called a cab to take her home.
Sadness pressed down on her as she sat in the back of the taxi, tuning out the sounds of the driver talking and his radio crackling. Then she was home again. She sucked in a deep breath in the elevator, preparing to deal with her mother. That was the immediate problem facing her. She needed to put Duncan out of her mind.
Mom and Easton were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee and talking. Easton gave her a look full of curiosity and concern.