feet. And she managed to walk and talk in a generally sensible manner as she went over to say a few words to her mom and let her know she was leaving.
Robert was waiting for her at the door.
“I don’t think I should drive,” she said as they left the building and stepped into the parking lot.
“Definitely not. I’ll take you home. You can get your car tomorrow.”
“Are you okay to drive?”
“I haven’t had anything to drink for more than two hours now. I’m good.”
She trusted him. He sounded good. He sounded like he knew what he was doing and he could take care of her.
At the moment she needed that since it didn’t feel like she could take care of herself.
She fell asleep on the drive home, waking up only when he opened the passenger door and shook her gently by the shoulder. Then she had to lean on him as he helped her up the front walk and into her townhome.
She’d bought the place a couple of years ago as a new build. It was nice and she kept it neat, so there was nothing to worry about as he helped her down the hall and into her bedroom.
She fell onto the bed, her skirt flouncing around her. “I’m going to sleep in my clothes.”
“If you want. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take off your shoes.”
That seemed sensible. She lifted one foot to let Robert slide the heel off and then did the same with the other one.
“Thank you.” Her eyes were closed, so she couldn’t see his expression. She was starting to feel a little weird about his being in her bedroom like this.
“You’re welcome. I’m going to get you some water to put here beside you. Whenever you wake up during the night, drink some.”
“I know what to do when I’ve been drinking.”
“Get drunk a lot, do you?”
“Almost never,” she admitted.
“That’s what I thought.” He disappeared for a little while. Maybe a few seconds. Maybe long, tedious hours. Then he returned with a bottle of water.
“Are you sure you don’t want to get out of that dress?” Robert asked after setting the bottle on her nightstand.
“I do.” She couldn’t seem to move except to open her eyes. “Can you help me?”
He shook his head and leaned over. “You’re kind of a pitiful drunk. You know that, right?”
“I am not pitiful!” In spite of her words, she meekly let him help her unzip and unfasten the skirt. Then pull the bodice off her chest and untangle the skirt from her legs.
She thought his eyes might have slipped down to inspect her body, but he was clearly trying to be a gentleman about it.
It was kind of nice. That he was being that way.
It was nice that someone was nice in this world.
She sniffed as he got an oversized T-shirt out of the drawer she indicated and helped her put it on. When she collapsed back onto the bed, there were tears in her eyes.
“There’s nothing to cry about,” Robert said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, there is. I loved him.”
“It was a dream. It wasn’t love.”
“It was too love!” She forgot about her tears as she mulled over his puzzle. “At least I think it was.”
“It was a dream. It was real to you, but it wasn’t real. There’s a difference. You’ll see that soon enough.”
“I don’t think so. I think I’m going to live the rest of my life with this heartbreak.”
“No, you won’t.”
“How do you know?”
He gave her a little smile. “Because I won’t let you.”
It felt like the final word. She liked the sound of it. She nodded and closed her eyes, fumbling until she freed up enough covers to pull over her. “I’m going to sleep now.”
“Good night, Amanda. Drink the water.”
“I will if I want to. You can’t tell me what to do.”
He was chuckling as he left the room, and she fell asleep before he made it to the door.
three
THREE WEEKS LATER, Amanda perched on the edge of a stool in Ri Kensington’s bridal shop, waiting for her friend to find a bridesmaid dress in the back room.
Ri’s given name was Ariana, but no one back in school had called her that. Amanda had known her as Ri since the two of them had sat next to each other in fifth grade. Last year Ri had moved with her brother Charles to the small town of Azalea, and she had liked it enough to stay and open this bridal shop.
Amanda couldn’t imagine