He wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Both.”

  I lunged at him and he caught me with his strong arms. Wrapped around me, his embrace felt like a heavy blanket fresh out of the dryer.

  “Want to start with tea and a movie?” he asked. “Now?”

  I didn’t have to think about it. “Yes.”

  Dean draped the blanket around my shoulders and disappeared into the kitchen, returning with two steaming mugs of tea. We flicked on the tv and I snuggled into the nook under his arm.

  It felt like home.

  We didn’t have to say it, we weren’t going to get naked or sexual with Chloe in the house. And I didn’t care. I was exactly where I needed to be.

  I must have nodded off first and woke up to a blank screen on the television and Dean lightly snoring behind me. While we had gotten permission to date, I wasn’t sure about a sleepover, so I extracted myself from the cocoon.

  “Good night, Dean. See you tomorrow,” I whispered and kissed him on the cheek.

  He murmured but didn’t crack his eyes open. I tucked the blanket around him and tip-toed to the house next door.

  Eighteen

  Dean

  Andy’s house was in the middle of nowhere. Well technically, it was twenty minutes outside of Laketown. Smoke curled up from the chimney of his little white bungalow and snow sparkled in the clearing as I pulled into his driveway. I shut off the car and sent Amber a text.

  Dinner tonight? My house? I attached a picture of the Lady and Tramp spaghetti scene. Cheesy, yes, but I didn’t care. Even if she thought it was corny, there was a chance it would make her smile, whether it was accompanied with a swoon or an eye roll didn’t really matter, as long as the smile was there.

  Andy’s house was never locked, and he was an early riser, but I gave him a courtesy knock before I walked in anyway.

  “Good morning.” Andy was sitting at his kitchen table drinking a coffee. The woodstove glowed and it was easily ninety degrees in his kitchen.

  “How is he?” I asked.

  Andy pointed with his cup to the spare bedroom. “He’s still sleeping. I’m guessing that he’s going to feel a little rough today.”

  I took a seat at the table. “What are we going to do about him?

  Andy shook his head. “I keep thinking that he’s going to snap out of it, but after spending the night in the drunk tank, and now this, I’m not too sure.”

  Andy had found Dylan Moss slumped in a chair in the stands after the game, passed out drunk. There was no debating what to do, we managed to carry him to Andy’s truck and now he was sleeping off his drunken stupor in the spare bedroom.

  “Does he still have a job?” I asked.

  Andy took a sip of his coffee. “The marina laid most of their staff off for the winter. It’s been a tough year for a lot of people.” He stood up and poured me a coffee without asking.

  “Thanks, man.” I took a sip and felt an instant jolt. “Whoa.”

  Andy chuckled. “I like it strong.”

  With the rocket fuel coursing through my veins, I felt like I could take on the world. “When he wakes up, can you bring him to the arena? Maybe I can talk with him.”

  “What about calling Fitzy?” Andy asked.

  Kane Fitzgerald had been one of Dylan’s closest friends when they played together on the Otters. Fitzy had gone on to play in the National League but also was engaged to Dylan’s sister Jessie. “I suppose they should know what’s going on here.”

  Maybe it was serendipity, but I had missed a call from Kane’s father, Kent yesterday. “I’ll put in a call to the Fitzgeralds,” I said.

  I chugged the rest of the coffee and headed back into town. I was worried about Dylan, but I also had other things to think about, like getting the team back on track, and what I was going to cook for Amber for dinner.

  My phone pinged and there was a message from Amber. “You’re almost as cute as the Tramp. And yes, dinner sounds great. I’ll bring wine.”

  We were really doing this.

  The doorbell rang and I threw the tea towel over my shoulder to answer the door.

  “Hi.” It was an official date, but for the first time with Amber, I felt awkward.

  “Hi.” She stepped inside and handed me the bottle of wine. “It smells amazing in here.”

  I waved for her to follow me into the kitchen. “Come on, I want you to try the sauce and let me know if it needs anything.”

  She slipped out of her boots and followed me into the kitchen. “Where’s Chloe?” she asked.

  “Sleepover.” I picked up the wooden spoon and stirred the Bolognese. I scooped up some sauce, gave a quick blow and taste, to make sure I wasn’t going to burn all the tastebuds off of Amber’s sweet tongue, and then held the spoon to her lips, my hand underneath to catch any drips.

  She closed her eyes and tried the sauce – moaning before she opened them. My old family recipe was still working its magic. Making Amber moan got me a little hard and any nervousness I had about our date disappeared. While her eyes were shut, I kissed her lips gently and it happened again – the light moan.

  The water bubbled behind me, reminding me that I had a task at hand, other than kissing Amber – which I could’ve done all night long. She looked past my shoulder. “You weren’t kidding about the spaghetti and meatballs.” Her laugh was light and warmed my heart.

  “It’s a good thing I opted for the Cabernet.” She tapped the bottle in my arms.

  “Here.” I rustled around in the cutlery drawer for the corkscrew. “I’ll start the noodles if you want to pour the wine.”

  “Deal.” She took the corkscrew from my hands and opened the cupboard to retrieve the crystal wine glasses. The two of us side by side in the kitchen felt natural and right.

  With dinner and wine plated, we sat down at the table. “To our first official date.” I held up my glass. She met mine with hers and as the glasses chimed, she squeezed my leg under the table, took a sip of her Cabernet, and then kissed me.

  I don’t know what tasted better, the wine or her lips, or whether it was the combination. I wasn’t drunk but felt intoxicated. “I love you,” I whispered, and then my eyes snapped open. “Shit,” I whispered. “It’s too soon.”

  “Dean.” Amber’s eyes shone in the candlelight. “It is too soon…”

  I pursed my lips, cursing myself for the lack of filter.

  “But I love you too.”

  We smiled at each other and then Amber picked up her fork. “I don’t want this spaghetti to get cold.”

  How the hell did I fall in love so quickly? When Kira left me, I thought that my world had fallen apart. Before Amber, the world I had known was black and white – and the one I had just found – was in full color.

  Over dinner, I told Amber what had happened with Dylan. She listened and nodded. “Is he a lost cause?” she asked.

  “I hope not.” I poured us another glass of wine.

  She smiled; her lips were taking on the purple hue of the wine. “I meant, in terms of hockey. From what you’ve told me about your team, you’re not lacking talent, you’re lacking cohesion. Could Dylan bring some camaraderie back to the ice? If he was such a key player?”

  I thought about it for a minute.

  “I shouldn’t have said anything. I don’t know anything about hockey,” she sighed.

  I squeezed her hand. “I was just thinking about it. He was a natural talent, and a leader. I wonder how out of shape he’s gotten.”

  “Why did he leave the team?” she asked.

  “I kicked him off.” I sopped up the rest of the sauce from my plate with a piece of garlic bread. “I wish I hadn’t done that. Maybe he wouldn’t…”

  Amber squeezed my hand. “You can’t do that to yourself.”

  I didn’t know what to say, so I stood up to clear the dinner plates.

  “Let me help you.” Amber stood up. “Oof, I’m full. That was so good.” She rubbed her very flat belly. I knew she was trying to steer the subject away from Dylan and I was thankful for it.

  “Fuck the dishes,” I set the plates on the counter. “Let’s go walk this spaghetti off.”

  “When does it stop snowing?” Amber asked as we walked hand in hand down Butternut Street.

  The flakes swirled in the streetlights above us and were already accumulating on our jackets. I brushed the snow off of her pom-pom hat and chuckled. “There’s usually a snowfall in May.”

  “May!” she stopped in her literal tracks. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  I wasn’t. Historically, the holiday weekend in May was one of extremes, either sweltering hot, or cruelly cold. “And then the bugs come out.”

  “Oh, I’m used to bugs.” She smiled. “This, on the other hand. It’s pretty, but…”

  “You’ll get used to it.”

  I started to walk, but she held me back. “Dean. That’s the thing.” She sounded serious.

  “What’s the thing?” The evening had been going perfectly, why did I feel like it was about to go sideways.

  She sighed. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I want to be totally honest with you.”

  This definitely wasn’t good. “Shoot.” I tried to sound lighthearted and held both of her hands.

  “Mel D. Designs. If she doesn’t… if we don’t get any new clients, she’s going to have to lay me off. And I don’t know how long I can afford to stay here without a job.”

  The idea of Laketown without Amber felt like Laketown without a lake. I crooked my arm around her neck and kissed her cheek, urging her to keep walking. “We will figure it out.”

  We walked to the pier, the lights from the ice huts glowed eerily in the darkness. “It’s so beautiful here,” she murmured. “Even with the snow.”

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I didn’t want to answer it, but I pulled it out of my pocket. “In case it’s Chloe,” I explained. But it wasn’t. It was Kent Fitzgerald for the second time in two days. “Amber, I hate to do this, but I think that I have to take this call.”

  “Go ahead.” She stared dreamily out over the frozen surface of Lake Casper.

  The conversation with Kent was quick and to the point. I ended the call and turned to Amber.

  “Is everything alright?” she asked. “Was it Chloe?”

  “It wasn’t Chloe.” I slipped the phone back into my pocket. “But Amber. I think I just figured out a way for you to stay in Laketown.”

  Nineteen

  Amber

  Dean’s idea had promise, but I didn’t want to get excited or tell Melissa or Faith until I had the business plan in writing. We were soaked when we got home from our walk and I couldn’t stop shivering. We took a hot shower together, our hands exploring the few parts of each other’s bodies that they hadn’t come across yet.

  When we made love for the first time that night, it was sweet and tender. We rocked together, our bodies establishing their own sweet rhythm. He stopped a few times, whispering and nipping at my ear, “I want us to come together.” By the way his legs were trembling, I could tell that he was on the brink many times, and when I whispered in his ear that I was about to come, he thrust into me, his grip on my shoulders hard and we moaned and shuddered together.

  After he had fallen asleep, I couldn’t stop the ideas from coming into my head. His soft snore soothed me as I lay awake. This could turn things around for Mel D. Designs. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of it sooner.

  When I finally fell asleep my dreams were full of cedar garlands, sparkling white lights, and a naked Dean Covington kissing me between my legs. My eyes blinked open. The twinkle lights and pine trees disappeared, but the Dean part, that was real. I moaned and writhed as his beard tickled between my thighs. When I turned my head, I realized that daylight shone outside.

  “Dean,” I rasped. “What time is Chloe coming home?”

  He kissed my belly and then each of my nipples before responding. His eyes glinted. “Noon,” he growled.

  As much as I wanted him to keep going, my body ached to feel him inside of me again. “Make love to me again, Dean.”

  He kissed my jawbone and whispered. “No,” he growled, into my ear, “I made love to you last night. I’m fucking you this morning.”

  It was the sexiest thing I’d ever heard, and I wrapped my legs around his body. He reached into his nightstand, rolled on a condom, and then flipped me over. I buried my face into my pillows as Dean’s strong hands left fingerprints on my hips as he thrust into me. I couldn’t see him, but I felt the warmth of his chest on my back as his hand reached between my legs. Those strong fingers I’d admired on the first day I’d met him, working in time with his perfect cock. This morning it was my turn to pause. I had to slow him down three times so we could climax together, and when we did, the world went into slow motion and my vision flashed white.

  Dean collapsed onto me, his chest expanding against my back as he breathed heavily from his exertion. He ran his hands along my arms and entwined his fingers with mine. “I love you, Amber.”

  I smiled into the pillow and turned my face so it was inches from his, morning breath be damned. “I love you, Dean.”

  He pressed up onto his hands so I could turn to face him. I wanted him to stay inside of me all morning, so the second he drew away, my body ached for him to return.

  “Oh, shit,” he whispered.

  It wasn’t a good ‘oh shit’. I propped myself up on my elbows. Dean was silhouetted in the morning light.

  “The condom broke,” he clarified.

  “Oh shit.” It was my turn to say it. It was also time to tell him my biggest secret.

  “Are you on anything?” he asked. “I mean, I haven’t slept with anyone since Kira, and after I found out she cheated I got tested, I know that I’m okay.” He was rambling.

  I sat up and held onto his arm. “Dean. It’s okay. Everything is going to be fine. My ex cheated on me too, and I did the exact same thing.” I took a deep breath. “And the other thing. I had a miscarriage, and the doctors don’t think I can ever get pregnant again.”

  The words were going to have to come out at some point, I supposed it was better now than a year or two down the road when Dean decided he wanted to have another child.

  Dean relaxed beside me. He propped his hand on his chin and traced my arm with his fingertip.

  “Is that going to be an issue? For you?” I asked.

  He kissed my arm where his fingertip had left goosebumps. “I have Chloe. That’s all I need. But if you wanted to have a baby, I’m sure we could figure something out. Adoption. Other stuff. I don’t know how it all works.”

  “Dean.” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

  He kissed me and I kissed him back.

  Things were going to be okay. Things were going to be more than okay; they were already perfect.

  When I met Faith later that day, I was still shaking. Dean and I spent the morning in bed together and I was exhausted and starving.

  “Hi.” I slid into the booth. “Thanks for meeting me on the weekend.”

  She smiled. “I was out meeting with local businesses, so this is a welcome break.”

  “Any bites on renovations?”

  “Not yet.” Faith shook her head and studied the menu. “I can’t wait for the summer, I don’t even know why I look at this menu, I know the damn thing by heart.”

  I glanced at the menu of deep-fried specialties, also excited at the prospect of the seasonal restaurants opening up… in six months. The cute waitress delivered our glasses of wine and took our order, and we both went with the spinach salad. The only thing relatively green on the menu.

  “Cheers.” I raised my glass.

  “Your hands are shaking.” Faith set her glass down and reached to grab my hand.

  “I’m just a little hungry, I haven’t eaten yet today.”

  She looked at her watch, “But it’s one o’clock.”

  I could feel the heat in my cheeks and took a sip of the pinot grigio.

  Faith leaned back in her chair and gave me a huge grin. “Someone spent the morning in bed.”

  I looked around to see if anyone had overheard. News that Coach was dating was sure to be a hot piece of gossip. “How did you know?”

  Faith sipped her wine. “You’re glowing. And your hair has that, I just had an amazing night and all morning sex with one of the hottest bachelors in town look.

  If my face wasn’t an inferno before, it was now.

  She leaned in conspiratorially, “How was it?”

  I couldn’t help it. I also leaned in and whispered. “The best I’ve ever had in my life.”

  “I had the feeling he’d be a champion in the sack.”

  “Faith!”

  She gave an offhanded shrug and a sly smile. I wondered, had I just bagged the number one bachelor pick in Laketown?

  “So…” Faith crossed her legs, her eyes following a couple of the Otters whose names I didn’t know as they entered the Brew Pub. “What’s this big plan of yours?”

  Our spinach salads arrived, and I unrolled my cutlery and draped the napkin across my lap. “Kent Fitzgerald called Dean yesterday.”

  Faith nodded and took a dainty bite of her salad. She made a twirling motion with her fork, signaling me to continue while she chewed. “The Fitzgerald family is coming to Laketown for Christmas to celebrate. Apparently, they always go to the Bahamas, but this year, Jessica…”

  “Jessie.” Faith interrupted.

  “Right,” I continued. “Jessie, Kent’s son’s girlfriend wants to celebrate in Laketown.”

  “She’s a Laketownie.” Faith said. “Kind of a loner.” It seemed like Faith wasn’t a fan of this Jessica.

  “They want to get a Christmas tree for each of the buildings, but I guess they don’t have a winter custodian.”