to place an achingly gentle kiss on my parted lips. I wait two heartbeats before opening my eyes to look up at him.
“You better go deal with Amber,” he says, backing away from me as I lean forward, wanting more of him. “I’m pretty sure she’s got a bag full of teddy bear heads stashed somewhere.” Sam turns to leave but looks back over his shoulder as he reaches the end of the tents. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, watching his back as he disappears. “I’ll see you.”
I place a shaking hand to my lips and lightly trace the places where Sam’s lips touched mine. Every cell of my body is humming at the memory of his touch. I know I can’t abandon Amber, not after the sacrifice those teddy bears made for the sake of my love life, but the thought of make-up sex with Sam James doesn’t make the decision to go back to work an easy one.
I walk slowly around the back of the tent and enter the booth by pulling back the heavy canvas. Amber is back in her corner, her svelte body still a source of fascination for me. “Thank you for the warning about Tim and for the distraction, though I regret any teddy bears had to be harmed during my rescue mission.”
“Whatever. But you should really be thanking Brook. She’s the one with stuffing on her hands.”
“What?” I gasp, looking over to Brook who turns at the sound of her name. “It was you?”
Brook raises her shoulders and kicks at a lumpy trash bag on the ground by her feet. “Well, when I saw Tim goin’ ‘round the side of the tent, I knew there was gonna be trouble. I can’t have two men fightin’ at the back of the booth when my bottom line’s at stake.”
“I can’t believe you did that for me. I thought Amber…” I allow my sentence to trail off as declaring my belief in Amber’s evilness goes without saying.
“What can I say?” says Brook. “You can’t work around Amber for three years and not pick up a trick or two.”
“Wow, thanks, Brook,” Amber says, a smile threatening the corners of her mouth.
Amber and I walk to the front of the tent, joining Brook at the picked-over table. Products are scattered all over the place thanks to the rush of afternoon shoppers. We’re going to have to restock the booth before tomorrow. Another day in this ridiculous uniform with Tim’s unyielding stare adding ten degrees to the already high temperature.
“Does this mean you’ve forgiven me for the uniform, Amber?” Brook asks.
“Not even close. But if I were you, I’d avoid drinking from your water bottle for the rest of the day. In fact, go ahead and put it through the dishwasher a few times before you use it again.”
For a moment, Brook looks as though she’s going to tell Amber off, but a frustrated cry meets our ears and we all lean over the table to witness Tim in the middle of the thoroughfare spiking a headless teddy bear to the ground. I look at Brook and Amber and we can’t stop the hysterical laughter from overtaking us at the sight of Tim’s frustration. Amber retrieves the bag full of bodiless heads from beneath the table and hands me one. I turn the sweet, fuzzy face over in my hands. I don’t know what’s going to become of my love life, but I know I’ll never be alone. There’ll always be a friend around to behead a stuffed animal for me when I need it.
Chapter 15
I can’t decide if I should burn the pink hot-pants or wear them under my clothes from now on. On one hand, it’s the most hideous, ridiculous piece of clothing I’ve ever worn. On the other hand, their unforgiving thinness and lack of appropriate coverage kept me at an arm’s distance from the funnel-cake stand all weekend. I proceed with folding the dainty material and bury the shorts in the back of the dresser drawer Luanne’s loaned to me. I guess it’s time to start thinking about where I’m going to live. I’ve been a houseguest for nearly a month now, and the smell of fried-rice has permeated my entire wardrobe.
The scent and sound of sizzling bacon draws me out of the bedroom and through the living room toward the kitchen. Luanne had a late night, and it was going on 3:00 a.m. before I heard her key turn in the door. The