Amber’s smile froze. “Okay! Maybe I’ll see you there.”
The other women left, and Amber stomped across the worn hardwood floor and smacked Easton’s shoulder.
“Hey!” He jumped back and looked offended. “What the hell?”
“Do you know who that was?” She set her hands on her hips and glared at him.
His eyes shifted around like he was looking for an escape from a crazy person. “Why yes, yes I do.” He frowned. “What’s up, boo?”
“That was Melissa Cayne!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Duncan’s ex-girlfriend!”
“Oooooh.” His forehead smoothed. “I see.”
“She used him and broke his heart!”
Easton blinked. “Really?”
Ugh. She hated to think that Duncan had been in love with that woman. “Well, Lovey said he probably wasn’t in love with her, but still, it hurts when someone uses you for your money or fame or whatever. Bitch.”
Easton’s eyebrows flew up into his hairline. “Boo, are you jealous?”
She frowned. “Dammit, yes.”
He smiled and shook his head. “Boo, baby, he’s with you now.”
Her lips pursed. “Is he? I don’t know. We hang out and have sex.”
“Sounds like a relationship to me.”
Now she laughed. “Easton!”
“Whatever. Plant your butt in that chair and smile.”
—
“How’d your exams go?”
Duncan had Amber snuggled up against him on the couch in his living room. She’d just consented to watch Duck Dynasty with him and had laughed her ass off. So that was good.
“I think they went okay.”
“Good.”
“I’ve been sending out resumes. For jobs.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. You have to start early. There aren’t a ton of jobs. Money’s tight with nonprofit organizations.”
“Tell me about the places you want to work.”
“Well, I’d really like to get on with CCP. I interned with them and I love the work they’re doing. I like their beautification projects and the inner-city schools and parks programs. But I’ve seen a few other jobs that sound interesting too, like one at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and another at a new group called Urban Innovations.”
“You want to make the city better.”
“In a nutshell, I guess that’s it.” She smiled. “Over half the world’s population lives in cities. We love cities, but we hate them too.”
“Huh.”
“Well, some of us love cities.” She poked his chest. “We love the entertainment, the restaurants, the shopping, and, of course, the people. But we hate traffic jams and bureaucracy and some of the environmental problems cities cause. We hate crime. But there are solutions to those problems, if we think creatively and work together.”
Damn. He loved hearing her all passionate and smart about her work.
“Sometimes it feels like the challenges are overwhelming,” she continued. “But I think if we can solve the problems of cities, then we’re solving a lot of the world’s problems.”
“I play a game for a living.”
“What?” She turned to peer at him.
“You humble me. You make what I do seem small.”
She blinked at him. “Really? Because what you do is actually pretty huge.”
He kissed her nose. “Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “So, um, my parents are coming to visit the big city this weekend.”
“Oh yeah? That’s nice.”
“I’m getting them tickets to the game Saturday night. You wanna go with them?”
“I don’t even know them.”
“You will. Lovey will be there too.”
“Uh…”
He felt the tension entering her body and gave her shoulders a little squeeze. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” Although why he wanted her to meet his parents, he had no idea. No, wait. It wasn’t that he wanted her to meet them—he wanted them to meet her. He wanted them to know her and like her as much as he did.
That was seriously fucked up, considering they’d known each other only a few weeks.
“You won’t even be there!”
“Yeah, I know. Hey, my parents aren’t intimidating. Dad’s a farmer. Mom’s a farmer’s wife.”
“Should I be picturing Phil Robertson? No, wait, wait! American Gothic!”
“What?” He frowned.
“You know, that painting by Grant Wood. The farmer…oh wait, that’s his daughter in the picture. Never mind.”
Duncan laughed. “Oh yeah, I know the one you mean. Yeah, no, that’s not them.”