Page 41 of Vodka and Chocolate Drops

“No?” He quirked a brow, leaning on the console, practically daring her to argue.

“I’m ready and I demand you be my boyfriend. Now.” She pointed at the floorboards of the truck.

Scott’s lips turned up.

“And you love me?” he asked, his tone half teasing, half full of some sort of magical heat that turned her mind to mush. The pads of his fingers grazed the back of her neck, sending shivers through her core.

Amber tried to form words.Love. She loved the way he was touching her. His voice. The way he made her feel when he was around.

“As a friend?” he offered. She nodded, before catching herself and shaking her head. No. That wasn’t right, was it? That wasn’t what he was looking for.

Her heart felt dizzy and her mind had lost its bearings. What did she want? What did she feel? She loved him as more than a friend. She had to. How could she not, after a kiss like that?

He took one glance back at her before steering the truck into the now-flowing traffic, his jaw set with determination. “When you’re truly ready, Amber Lynn Thompson. But I won’t take you a moment before.”

6

Waitressing was the most difficult job Amber had ever had. It didn’t help that the only thing she could concentrate on was Scott, their kiss, and the way he’d told her she wasn’t ready. Of course she was ready. He hadn’t even given her a chance to say she loved him.

The customers at Benny’s were demanding and impatient. They wanted to chat her ear off, while having her magically bring them their meals at the same time. If she wanted a tip--and she did--she had to stand there with a smile and listen to them discuss how alike she and her mother were. That and the book. When were she and Scott going to get together, anyway?

If one more person asked that, Amber was going to cry. She’d tried. She’d been rejected. And every time someone mentioned the subject it felt as though the knife was being driven in a little deeper.

The lunch rush finally ended and the restaurant quieted down to the point where she could sit for a minute to eat her own lunch. Amber had no idea how her mother did this all day. Every day for decades.

Benny came over with a cup of coffee and sat across from her. “Looks like you’ll make out okay for tips.”

“Because they feel sorry for me and I’m Gloria’s daughter.”

“You did well, though. Not many errors. A natural, like your mom.”

“Yeah, like my mom.” Amber squelched the volcanic eruption inside her that fought against the idea, and picked at her salad before finally pushing it away.

“It’ll start getting busy around three for the coffee break, and then again around five-thirty for supper. You know what it’s like. You’ve spent almost as much time in here as your mom. When you’re done lunch, I’ll show you a few things you can do ahead of time to make it easier when the next rush hits.”

“Thanks.” Amber tried to smile and look grateful for the help. She’d seen her mother do pre-rush prep and had a pretty good idea what needed to be done, but didn’t want to screw things up or make it harder than it already was.

A while later, Mary Alice and Liz came in for an early supper. Since the dawn of time the two had met up at Benny’s every week to chat and laugh. Amber couldn’t help but wonder if one day she and Delia would have weekly or monthly get-togethers, too. She kind of hoped so. It would be nice to have a sibling to lean on and build a history with. And Delia seemed so together that she’d be an ultimate big sister. She’d barely been fazed at finding her sister on her neighborhood street, and had assumed the best, not that Amber was creepy--thankfully.

“Amber, hon.” Mary Alice waved her over. “We’re ready to settle up.” She dipped a hand down the neck of her blouse and rummaged through her bra, finally pulling out a tin of mints as well as a small change purse that contained a few bills.

Amber passed them their check, pleased to have remembered to give them a discount for the daily special.

“You are so much like your mother,” Mary Alice said, reaching up to pat Amber’s cheek. “Although Gloria doesn’t need a notepad to remember our orders.” She gave Amber a playful look.

“It’s her first day,” Liz said, coming to Amber’s defense. “Plus you always order the same thing and have for the past fifteen years.”

“Say…” began Mary Alice, changing the subject. Amber figured she was warming up to start running interference in someone’s life or else divulge the latest gossip. It was amazing how many people had told her things “confidentially” today. Being a waitress was similar to being a storehouse for secrets. No wonder her mother felt so at home with the job.

“Nicola--our niece--needs a distraction,” Mary Alice finished.

Amber sure could use one, too. She couldn’t stop thinking about Scott and the way his quads had flexed under the cover of his jeans as he’d driven them home last night. The way his shoulders rounded when he was fed up with her. How he’d said no.

How would she ever show him she was ready?

Maybehewasn’t ready.

Now there was a thought.

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