She ended the call and tucked her phone into her purse as a tear spilled from one eye. Great, now she had to go to a meeting with her thesis adviser. She needed to duck into a ladies’ room and get a grip before she could do that.
The conversation with her mother had not gone how she’d expected. She felt slightly dazed as she cleaned up a little smudged mascara and washed her hands. Geez mama, she probably should have had that tough love conversation with her mom years ago, if Mom was going to finally get it. Or maybe this was just how long it had taken her to get it. Who knew?
Amber couldn’t beat herself up over it. She’d been trying to help, doing what she thought was the right thing.
Now knowing that Mom actually acknowledged it and appreciated what Amber had done made her lift her chin and straighten her shoulders. She sucked in a long, shaky breath and stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Now she just had to get through her thesis meeting, and then the meeting with her dad.
At least Duncan would be there.
Her insides warmed at the knowledge that he would always be there for her. She’d never ever wanted to have anything to do with professional athletes again, but somehow she’d found this amazing, talented, honest, and honorable man who happened to play a sport for a living. And he loved her too.
Duncan picked her up at home later to drive to Dimple’s Diner. She told him about her adviser’s advice on her thesis, that she was on track and nearly ready for the presentation coming up. He talked about practice that morning and the upcoming road trip.
When they walked into Dimple’s, she looked around, remembering that first night Duncan had brought her there. This time they sat on the same side in the booth, waiting for her dad to arrive.
Duncan picked up her hand and rubbed his thumb over it. “I think I fell in love with you the night we came here.”
Her mouth fell open. “What? Really?”
“Yeah. When you blew the straw wrapper at me—I was a goner.”
She laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “Oh, Duncan. Truthfully, I probably started falling in love with you that night too. You were so not what I expected. Bringing me to a place like this. I loved talking with you, and then…going back to your place.”
He lifted her hand to his mouth and touched his lips to it. “Oh yeah.”
“Hi, Amber. Duncan.”
Dad appeared next to the booth.
“Have a seat, Mr. Johnson.” Duncan stood and gestured, and Dad slid onto the seat across from them.
She studied him. Last night had been such a shock, she’d been kind of out of it. Dad looked older, with grayer hair and more lines on his face. He wasn’t as big as he’d once been, though he was naturally a big man, but he still appeared fit. She looked for signs of drug or alcohol use but he seemed completely sober and straight.
“I guess I surprised you last night.” He met her eyes. “Sorry about that. Like I said, I didn’t know how else to contact you.” He paused. “I didn’t hear from you all the time I was in.”
She shook her head slowly. “No.” She almost felt she should apologize, but stopped herself. She was totally justified in not wanting anything to do with him.
“That hurt,” he said quietly. “But I know I deserved it.”
Her chest ached and Duncan gave her hand a little squeeze.
“You folks need a few more minutes?” The waitress beside the table flashed a red-lipped smile.
“Yeah.” Duncan smiled back at her. “Just a few. Thanks.”
They all picked up menus but Duncan set his down right away.
“Bacon cheeseburger?” Amber murmured.
“Yep.”
They shared a smile.
“I think I’ll have the cheeseburger this time too.” She laid down her menu also. “And definitely fries. And a milkshake.”
Dad’s gaze moved over the menu. “Sounds good to me too.”
Amber remembered the last time they’d been there, how she’d tried to imagine her dad eating somewhere like this. And now he was sitting right across from her in the booth, ordering a cheeseburger and milkshake.
It was surreal.
“Life is weird.” She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but she had, earning smiles from both men.
“That is true,” Dad said. “So. Tell me about your life, Amber. I want to know what you’ve been doing. Why you’re in Chicago. How you two got together. I got the impression last night this is something new…?”
Amber nodded, looking down, hair falling over her face, gathering her thoughts. “Yes, pretty new.” She glanced sideways at Duncan, who reached for her hand again. “We actually had our first date here in this diner. About…two months ago?”
Duncan nodded, smiling.
“Wow, so much has happened.” Amber shook her head. “I moved here to go to college. I, uh, didn’t want to stay in L.A. after what happened, though I did for a while. Mom pretty much fell apart and I felt I needed to stay and make sure she was okay. It took a while for her to get back on her feet.”
She tried to keep her tone neutral and not accusatory, but Dad’s mouth tightened and he dropped his gaze to the coffee cup in front of him.