Page 150 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

“For me?” she whispered, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Had he misread everything last week? Been so blinded by his own feelings that he’d failed to realize they weren’t returned?

An older woman cleared her throat loudly, distracting him.

“I think,” she said, as everyone turned to face her, “that we should leave Amy and her gentleman alone. I’m Hazel Sullivan, by the way. Nice to meet you, Andrew.”

He nodded by way of introduction, struggling to find his voice. Harper gave him an encouraging smile as she followed Keith and Marc into the house.

“You seriously flew all this way to see me?”

Amy’s bewildered tone had him turning once more. “Of course, I did.”

“What about your job?”

He lifted one shoulder. “I’m actually here under the guise of scoping out a new location. And to hire a personal assistant.”

She frowned. “You want to do a story on Australia? Haven’t you already done that?”

She’d missed the most important part. Even so, he nodded. “My producer is in discussions with a nearby cattle station. One that’s open to tourists. I think it’s sort of the equivalent of a dude ranch back home.”

She seemed to consider that. “Sounds cool.”

“And do you think you might be persuaded to accept my job offer?”

Amy blinked rapidly. “What job offer?”

“I want you to work as my personal assistant, Amy. Part of my contract negotiations said that I could hire someone to help me prepare for my trips, to travel with me, to keep me on schedule.”

Her mouth dropped open. “And you want me?”

“I’ve witnessed your researching abilities firsthand. I grew up in Chicago and you managed to show me things I’d never seen. And your itinerary was superior. I could really use someone with your skills out on the road.”

His astute Amy didn’t waste any time asking the hard question. “And just howpersonallywould I be assisting you?”

He grinned ruefully. “That’s up to you. I’m not going to lie. That one week wasn’t enough for me. Maybe this isn’t an ideal situation, the perfect way to pursue a relationship, but I don’t have a fucking clue how else to do it. You live in Australia and I live in America. This was the only way I could figure out to get us in the same time zone. I want to date you, Amy. I want to see if what I think I’m feeling is real. I need to be with you to do that.”

Amy took his hand and squeezed it. “I’d like to explore my feelings as well.”

“Give me one year. Hit the road with the show for twelve months. If things go south and you decide you hate me, you can come home. And, in the meantime, you’ll have marked some of those dream places off your travel list.”

Amy nodded slowly. “It sounds so tempting, but there are so many things that would have to be worked out.”

“I know I’m asking you to give up a lot. I mean I’d be asking you to leave your home, your job.”

Amy’s face brightened. “My job.” Her smile grew. “Don’t worry about that. I think I know a suitable replacement for Farpoint’s schoolteacher.”

Andrew’s gaze narrowed. “Shit. You’re thinking of Harper, aren’t you?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“What the hell is going on between my sister and those cowboys?”

“They’re not cowboys, Andrew.”

“Damn it, Amy. I’m not playing semantics with you.”

“Let’s just say that you owe my friends a favor. While you were being nice to me in Chicago, they were being very nice to your sister here.”