“Then maybe you should go to him,” Piper said matter-of-factly.
“How can I?” Amanda shook her head.
“Give him a chance, Amanda. Heck, everyone in town knows Nathan’s crazy about you. Why can’t you believe it?”
She wanted to. More than anything.
Walking along the length of the counter, Pam refilled coffee cups, chatted with customers and stopped when she reached JT in his usual spot. “More coffee?”
“Thanks.” He watched her in silence for a second, then said, “Looks like you and Amanda got things sorted out.”
She set the coffeepot down and glanced at her sister. “We’re getting there. I guess you could say I finally grew up.”
All around them, the diner was buzzing with morning conversations, so JT’s words were almost lost in the sound when he said, “It’s about time.”
Pam smiled. “True enough. JT, why are you always so nice to me?”
In answer, he stood up and came around the end of the counter. When he was close enough, he grabbed hold of Pam, pulled her in tight, then bent her over in a dip as he kissed her, long and slow. Finally, he swung her back onto her feet and let her go.
“That’s why,” he said, grinning at her. “Any other questions?”
The whole diner was silent as everyone in the place focused on the drama playing out right in front of them. A second ticked past, then two. Pam lifted one hand and rubbed her fingertips across her lips, then grinned widely. “Only one question, JT McKenna. What in hell took you so long?”
Applause burst into the room as Pam leapt into JT’s arms and kissed him back.
The rest of the day passed quickly as people came and went, and life in Royal marched on. Amanda did her work, smiled and talked with her customers all while trying to breathe past the knot in her throat. Thoughts of Nathan crowded her mind and the emptiness she felt without him left an ache in the center of her chest.
JT had taken up permanent roost at the end of the counter and Pam took every chance she could to stop for a kiss as she passed him. A patient man, JT had waited years for Pam to finally realize that he was the man for her.
Nathan wasn’t patient, Amanda told herself. He didn’t wait. He pushed. He nudged. He ordered and when that didn’t work, just went ahead and did whatever he thought was the right thing to do.
As those thoughts wandered through her mind, Amanda realized that she’d always known that about Nathan. And she loved him for who he was, irritations and all. So how could she blame him for doing everything he could now to make sure she married him?
Sighing, she glanced out the front window toward Main Street and her breath caught when she saw Nathan headed for the diner. Just one look at him and her heartbeat jumped into a gallop. He had his hat pulled down low against the brilliant summer sunshine and his steps were long and determined. She could almost feel the intensity preceding him as he stalked ever closer, people instinctively moving out of his way.
Amanda fought for calm and didn’t find it. Her heartbeat continued to race and her stomach swirled with expectation.
He stepped into the diner and his gaze swept the place in seconds, finally landing on her as if drawn to her by some immutable force. She felt the power of his stare from across the room and couldn’t look away from those dark brown eyes that were filled with heat and charged with emotion.
The crowd in the diner took a collective breath and held it. Excitement fluttered through the room as people shifted positions to get a good view of whatever was coming next. Amanda didn’t care. She wasn’t thinking about anything but Nathan and why he’d come. If he was just here for more of the same, she’d have to tell him no and send him away again, though the thought of that tore at her.
Yes, he was arrogant and pushy and bossy and proud and she loved him desperately.
“Amanda,” he announced, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’ve got a few things to say to you.”
“Here?” she asked. “In front of half the town?”
“Right here, right now,” he told her, and his gaze bored into hers. “We’ve been trying to outrun or hide from gossip and rumor for so long…I think it’s time we just took a stand.” He moved a bit closer to her and his voice dropped a notch or two. “I don’t care what they think. What they say. Let ’em look, Amanda. We’re done hiding.”
A flush of heat swamped her, but she found herself nodding in agreement. He was right. They had worried over rumors. They’d allowed vicious lies to split them up seven years ago. Maybe it was time to just be themselves without worrying over what the rest of the town had to say about it.
“You’re right,” she said. “No more hiding.”
One corner of his mouth lifted into a brief half smile and she saw pride glittering in his eyes. For a second or two, the terrible tension in her chest eased and Amanda felt as if she and Nathan were a team. The two of them against the gossips.
Close enough to touch her now, he started talking. “I thought a lot about what we talked about the other night.”
His voice was low and deep and seemed to reverberate up and down her spine. His eyes were locked on hers and she couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried.
Reaching out, he stroked his fingertips along her cheek and Amanda shivered, closing her eyes briefly to revel in the sensation of his touch. When she opened her eyes again, he was still watching her.
“You were right, Amanda,” he said. “The night you told me about the baby, I said the words you needed to hear to help convince you to marry me.”
It felt as if all the air slid from her lungs at once. The tightness in her chest was painful and tears pooled at the backs of her eyes.
“But—” He cupped her face in his palms, and held her, forcing her to keep looking into his eyes. “That doesn’t mean they weren’t true.”
“Nathan—” She shook her head and tried to look away. He wouldn’t allow it.
“I do love you. I always have.” He bent and kissed her gently on the lips and the taste of him lingered on her mouth. “Maybe telling you when I did was bad timing.”
“Maybe?” she managed to ask.
He gave her a nod and a rueful smile. “You threw me that night, Amanda, but I do love you, with everything in me. If I hadn’t been too young and too arrogant to say the words seven years ago…maybe things would have been different for us.”
Amanda knew the whole diner was listening in and found she didn’t care. The only person she was interested in now was Nathan. “I want to believe you,” she said. “I really do.”
“You can,” he told her, moving into her, until every breath she took drew the clean, fresh scent of him deep into her lungs. “We’re meant to be together, and I think you know it.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, red velvet jeweler’s box. Her gaze landed on it even as her heart took another tumble in her chest. When she looked up at him again, he smiled.
“This is for you, Amanda.”
She shook her head even as he opened the lid to display a brilliant topaz stone surrounded by diamonds and set in a wide, gold band.
“This stone is sort of the color of your eyes,” he whispered, “at least, I think so. Every time I look in your eyes, I fall in love again. You’re the woman for me, Amanda. The only woman. So I’m asking you now. The right way. Amanda Altman, will