Page 85 of The Backup Groom

Scotty

I had never been so excited or nervous for a date in my life. Things had changed overnight, literally. And I was about to pick up Amber and introduce her to my parents.

She opened her front door, holding a bouquet of daisies that matched her blouse. Her blue jeans and sandals rounded off her perfect attire, since I’d warned her not to dress up because of my parents’ casual nature. I also had told her daisies were my mom’s favorite flowers.

“Hey there,” I said, grinning. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she replied happily.

She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed me on the lips.

Not that I was complaining, but the kiss surprised the heck out of me.

And man, I loved the sparks between us.

“What’s with that look on your face?” she asked, as she closed the front door behind her and locked it.

As we walked side-by-side to my car, I shrugged. “I had thought about kissing you on the cheek when you opened the door. I guess I was just pleasantly surprised you went for the lips.”

Amber sighed. “We skipped the boyfriend/girlfriend stage and went directly from friends to engaged. We are way past the kiss-on-the-cheek stage. And if you ever kiss me there, I will be very disappointed, so you know. Consider yourself duly warned.”

I saluted her. “Yes, ma’am!”

I shook my head in disbelief, wondering how I’d gotten so lucky with this woman.

A few minutes later, I merged onto the freeway, then turned on the radio. I loved that Amber felt comfortable enough to sing along to an Ed Sheeran song. There wasn’t any traffic, so I expected it to take about thirty-five minutes to get to my parents’ home in Alpine, a rural area in the foothills of the Cuyamaca Mountains.

“Tell me more about your parents,” Amber said.

I shrugged as I drove east on Interstate 8. “They’re a tad . . . eccentric.”

She smiled. “Like my uncle Garfunkel. They dance to the beat of their own drums.”

“Well, don’t be shocked if they get up and shake their butts right in the middle of dinner. They are quite spontaneous. There’s no telling what they’ll do. I grew up with that, but I didn’t follow their lead.”

“I love that,” Amber said. “They’re free spirits.”

This sweet lady did not know how close to the truth she was.

“That, they are,” I said. “Nothing they wear is inspired by a fashion magazine or a trend. They don’t care about material things and would prefer to use their money for traveling around the world. Not that they think money is evil, but they’re not driven by it.”

Amber reached across and placed her hand on my thigh. “You’re not going to tell them I’m marrying you to get my inheritance, are you?”

I sighed, pretending to look hurt. “And here I thought you were marrying me for my charm and my rock-hard abs.”

“Wait—you have rock-hard abs?” She reached over to touch my mid-section and made me jump. “Hold still, I need to know.”

“Hey! Watch it!” I said, moving around in my seat. “I’m driving on the freeway, in case you forgot.”

Amber snickered. “You’re so sensitive. Fine—I’ll check them out later.”

I grinned. “Turnabout is fair play . . . as long as I can check out yours.” Flirting with Amber was fun, but she was an expert.

Still, I heated up as I imagined my fingers running along her silky skin.

Enough with those thoughts. For now.

I needed to control where my mind was going because my imagination was way too vivid. It was a visceral reaction my body experienced, like when I thought of the way she’d tackled and kissed me on the beach.