Page 31 of Riding the Waves

“It is. I just can’t stand the idea of getting used to having them all there and then being alone again at the end of the summer. It’s hard enough when the kids leave, but this time it’ll be Amy as well. So I reckon the less time I spend with her, the better. Family dinners can’t be something we do.”

Leo looked thoughtful and opened his mouth to say something before closing it again.

“It would never work,” Damian said. “We have amazing physical chemistry, but I was never enough for her in the ways that mattered.”

“I’d love to see everything work out for you,” Leo said after a pause. “But I’m also nervous about you ending up heartbroken again.”

“You and me both. Which is why I came to hang out with you two for the evening.” Alice pumped her legs until Damian supported her to stand on his lap. Happily, she bounced up and down while grabbing at his hair.

“Sorry,” Leo said. “She’s a hair puller.”

Jerking forwards, Alice opened her mouth wide over Damian’s nose, making him laugh as she slobbered all over his face.

“You’re disgusting,” he told her affectionately.

“That really is gross,” Leo agreed.

It took a moment for Damian to untangle his hair from her tiny fists. When he sat her back on his lap, she proceeded to hiccup and follow it through with a mouthful of milky vomit all down his T-shirt.

“Lovely,” he said. “This is why I don’t bother with nice clothes.”

CHAPTER 14

Despite attempting to distract herself with the reading material for Hope Cove Press, the week dragged for Amy. She’d agreed to have dinner with Damian and the boys again on Friday evening, but wasn’t sure if it was really with Damian or if he was going to take the opportunity to go out on a date again.

Not that he’d admitted to going on a date. He’d coyly told her he’d been out with a friend, but he’d come home in different clothes and with his hair sticking up in tufts, as though someone had been sinking their fingers into it, so Amy had drawn her own conclusions. Spending the summer in Hope Cove wasn’t feeling like the best idea she’d ever had.

At least she had her meeting with Lizzie, Emily and Scarlett on Friday afternoon. It kept her mind from the evening at Damian’s place. They met in the offices again and launched straight into a lively discussion about a crime thriller, which Emily and Lizzie both loved and Scarlett was decidedly lukewarm about.

Amy had her laptop balanced on her knees with her notes about the various books open in a document. Since crime wasn’t a genre she enjoyed, her only comment was that it was well written. She’d put it aside after the first three chapters. With the discussion whirling around her, she wished she’d read it in its entirety so she could offer more input.

“We already agreed we should be on the lookout for a new crime author to take on,” Lizzie finally said. “This is the best we’ve seen by far.”

“Let’s put it in the maybe pile,” Scarlett said, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her laptop. “What next?”

Emily turned to Amy with an encouraging smile. “Was there anything that stood out for you?”

“There were two that really grabbed me.” Amy scanned the file in front of her. “Firstly, the memoir by Charlene Motberry. I absolutely loved it. It sucked me straight in and I couldn’t put it down until I’d finished.”

“I loved it too,” Emily said without enthusiasm.

“Me too,” Scarlett agreed. “It totally cracked me up.”

Amy smiled, thinking about it. “It’s hilarious.”

“The bit about the guy and the spicy nuts!” Scarlett said, eyes lighting up.

“I laughed so much at that bit.” Amy beamed, thinking of the outlandish incident in the book. “I was worried the neighbours would think I’m bonkers because I was laughing away to myself on the patio.”

Lizzie nodded solemnly. “It’s a great book.”

“That’s easy then, isn’t it?” Amy asked. “If everyone likes it, is it a definite yes?”

Emily rubbed at her belly. “It would be if it was fiction and not a memoir.”

“Memoirs are difficult to sell,” Scarlet explained to Amy. “There’s not much of a market for them.”

“That explains why I couldn’t find much to compare it to online then. But isn’t there an advantage to that? Like you could start a trend? It’s fresh and new and different?”

---