LITMIR.BIZ

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truly infatuated with Amber Montgomery.

      That meant Matt and Haley had paired him with Marnie for the evening. Paul wasn’t opposed to that. He enjoyed speaking with her at church. With her pretty smile, bubbly personality and her way with children, Marnie was an attractive woman. He’d never believed in love at first sight or any of that romantic nonsense. People got together because they were compatible. And Marnie got along well with Jonathan and Sutton. That was a good place to begin.

      He moved into the small circle they’d formed for grace and looked at Marnie again. She smiled as she leaned over, telling Haley something. Paul nodded to himself, silently agreeing with the not-so-subtle matchmaking.

      Maybe he would ask Marnie out to dinner and a movie. For some reason, though, Paul’s eye kept wandering to the aloof blonde with the haunted eyes. On the pretense of moving a chair, he shifted his position toward her.

      Amber had been standing next to Matt, but when she bowed her head, a strong hand clasped hers. Her gaze flew to her right. Paul Evans stood there, tall, strong, his head bowed in prayer, his hand holding hers. Warmth suffused her.

      She cleared her throat and tried to ease her hand from his. But he held on as the minister started to pray.

      “Thank you, Lord, for bringing good friends together to share good times and good food. Amen.”

      Amber opened one eye to peer at Cliff. That was it? That was his idea of grace? What about blessing the hands that prepared the meal, and three minutes of other supplications and prayer-time clichés? She knew them all.

      “Amber?”

      She glanced up at Paul. “Yes?” she said, surprised that he didn’t know you weren’t supposed to talk during a prayer or moment of silence.

      “You can let my hand go now.”

      Her gaze swept the room. The others, already having broken away from the prayer circle, headed toward the dining room. Amber’s face flamed. She dropped Paul’s hand and hastened a safe distance away.

      “Steaks are ready!” Matt called out from the kitchen before she could think of a good reason to leave the dinner party.

      Rain may have chased the cookout indoors, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm inside. Since the evening was supposed to be informal, everyone grabbed a plate and helped themselves from the feast Matt had laid out on the dining room table. Instead of settling there, Haley led the way back to the living room, where the guests spread out wherever they felt comfortable.

      For Nancy Baines and Marnie, that meant the floor with the coffee table pressed into service.

      Caleb perched on the edge of a chair near them. “I’ll grab some napkins for you ladies.”

      When Paul and Cliff claimed two of the TV trays, Amber moved hers a bit away.

      Matt got his wife situated and kissed her.

      “Hey, none of that,” Amber said.

      “Yeah,” Marnie added, laughing. “You’ll make the rest of us jealous.”

      “I still have six months to go, but he acts as if delivery is imminent.”

      “It is,” Matt said. “The time’s going to fly by.”

      While Marnie and Nancy asked about baby names and nursery colors, Amber watched the byplay between Haley and Matt. A lot of love flowed between them. In their soft gazes swelling with shared affection and regard it was there for all the world to see.

      Once upon a time she’d loved like that—or so she’d thought at the time. The love hadn’t flowed both ways, though, and Amber found out the hard way just how much she’d pay for that.

      She supposed that some people truly were happy. But for her, love was a lie she’d learned to reject. She’d learned to simply live, day to day. And that suited her just fine.

      Again and again, however, her gaze slipped to her cousin, and something akin to jealousy snipped at her, surprising her.

      Keep it light, she coached herself. If she allowed what-if thoughts to intrude, she’d never make it through the evening.

      For a few minutes, the four couples ate in companionable silence, the only accompaniment to their meal an instrumental CD playing in the background.

      “I’ve got to hand it to you, Matt,” Caleb said. “You have grilling skills.”

      “He’s supposed to reveal the sauce recipe,” Amber said. “The promise of that is the only thing that lured me here tonight.”

      “Ah,” Caleb said. “And here I thought it was the thrill of seeing me again.”

      “In your dreams, Jenkins,” she said.

      Caleb chuckled at that.

      This she could handle, keeping it casual. The easy camaraderie in the room masked the awkwardness Amber felt around Paul.

      Over a glass of cider, she studied the police chief. Without the uniform, he didn’t look nearly as intimidating as he had previously. Of course, he was still tall and broad-shouldered, but that made him look solid, the sort you could depend on in a crisis.

      Like Kyle.

      His gaze connected with hers. Caught staring, Amber blushed and averted her eyes. She cut a piece of steak, making careful work of slicing the meat just so. When she dared, she glanced up.

      He was still looking at her. He smiled.

      Amber’s pulse rate leaped.

      “Anyone want more potatoes?” She hopped up from her seat.

      “I do,” Paul said. “I’ll help you.”

      “I’m closest,” Marnie said. “Sit down, both of you.”

      Before either could object, Marnie disappeared and came back from the dining room with a tray of skewered roasted potatoes with red and green bell peppers. She offered the tray to everyone, sending—at least it seemed so to Amber—a brighter, longer smile in Chief Evans’s direction.

      “So, what’s going on over at Community Christian these days?” Caleb asked.

      “Camp. Camp and more camp,” Nancy said. “Forty-five kids this year. We have a good crop of seniors who’ve been with us and will serve as the teen counselors, but still I worry.”

      “Don’t mind my wife,” Cliff said. “She’s the overall coordinator of our annual fall jamboree and things are just a little stressful right now.”

      “That’s because it’s less than a week away, and I still have two weeks’ worth of work to do.”

      Cliff placed a hand on her shoulder as he passed by with a refill from the dining room. “It all comes together beautifully each year. This year won’t be an exception.”

      “We’re really blessed to have so many volunteers,” Haley said. “Everyone from the church pitches in and helps in some way. And with that community grant Kara got for us this year, we’re able to do a lot more.”

      Amber let the conversation flow around her. She had nothing to say and wondered just how soon she could make her escape without seeming too obvious.

      If, for some silly reason, she felt another nip or two from the green-eyed monster as she looked at Matt and Haley, and even at Cliff and Nancy Baines, the preacher and his wife, she let it slide. They looked so…happy.

      It didn’t matter. She didn’t go to Community Christian or any other church—and had no intention of starting anytime soon. Plus, through the years she’d had enough church camp to last her not one or two, but several lifetimes.

      Amber couldn’t remember the last time she could count herself truly happy. And she now knew she’d never really been in love. Not the way the Baineses were in love. She’d been part of a couple once. And all she had to say for the experience was good riddance.

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