All Chapters of LOVE IN TEXAS : Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

Amy regained her wits as she did her breath—slowly. The warm weight of Riley Sinclair anchored her where she lay. Was he the anchor she’d beenseeking all her life? The person with whom she could put down roots?Her heart, so recently slowed to normal, gave a leap. She wouldn’t make the mistake she’d seen so many of her friends make, that of thinking one night of good sex—okay, mind-numbing sex—meant happily ever after.She tightened her arms around Riley’s shoulders, still not sure of her own emotions, let alone his.“You’re thinking too hard.” She gave a start. “What?”He pushed himself up onto his forearms and cradled her face in his hands. “I guess I know you better than I thought. Right now you’re trying to decide if this means we know what we’re doing.”“Home builder, child rearer and now mind reader?” She ran her hands up and down his arms. “Or are you thinking the same thing?”“I won’t be capable of rational thought for a while yet.”She smiled and stared at his chin to avoid

She thought he wanted someone—anyone—to take Brenda’s place. There was no wrong or right response to that. Brenda had been his wife,and, yes, eventually he would probably want to remarry. But no, he didn’t want a carbon copy of Brenda. She’d been one of a kind. He had loved her with all his heart. No one could take that away or replace her. But there was room in his heart to love another woman. It didn’t have to take anything away from what he’d felt for Brenda. He wouldn’t let it.He’d thought, hoped, that Amy might be the one. She’d surprised him, because he hadn’t been ready to think about a new woman in his life yet. When thoughts of a new woman had sifted through his mind, it had always been for the future. Years away from now.And yet, there she’d stood, on his front porch that morning. Then she was in his home. At the café. At his dinner table. In the lens of his camera. In his office. Shopping for Christmas presents for his daughters. And finally, tonight, beneath him, surrou

Early Saturday afternoon Amy paced her small living room and tried to calm her racing heart.Any minute Riley was going to pick her up for the first date she’d had in years. Unless she counted going to the canteen on base in Iraq, which she didn’t.One more look in the mirror.She kept wondering who that person was who stared back at her.Marva hadn’t stopped with the flowing pants and cashmere sweater on the lunch hour. Oh, no, not the dragon lady of Tribute, Texas. The localshops had all closed by the time Amy got off work Friday, but that didn’t deter Marva, not when she had an entire Saturday morning to work with.There’d been accessories: earrings—thank heaven Amy’s ears were already pierced or Marva might have done the deed herself, with her teeth if necessary—a necklace to complement the bold design and delicate texture of the sweater, a long, narrow scarf to drape around her neck.Then there were shoes. They selected plain black leather pumps with two-inch heels, but only bec

She chuckled at his thick Gypsy accent. “Good point. However, they never predict a woman will meet a man who’s short, pale and ugly, either. He’s always tall, dark and handsome.”By tacit agreement, the talk did not return to the subject of we. They finished their dessert, then drove to a nearby multiplex movie theater. They couldn’t decide which movie to see. In the end, they nixed the love story, the romantic comedy, the family Christmas movie, the war epic, and went for the movie with no elements that spoke to their personal situation—a safe, sensible science-fiction action thriller.It was just their luck that there was a hot, erotic love scene near the end of the movie. The kind of scene that sent hot blood pulsing in intimate places. Riley and Amy both stared studiously at the screen, each making certain not to catch the other’s eye. But they would probably have bruises from the tightness of their grip on each other’s hand.They were silent on the way home. Not even the radio br

“I’m going to be tied up most of the day,” Riley said. “So I don’t know if I’ll be able to call you until late.”She smiled sadly. “You don’t need to call me. We’ll see each other at the office Monday. I’m not that insecure that I have to hear your voice and know where you are every day.” Ha. Liar.“Are you telling me you don’t want me to call?”With a groan and a laugh, Amy shook her head. “I guess I deserved that, but no, that’s not what I’m saying. If you want to call me and have time, I’d love to hear from you. If you don’t have the time, or merely don’t want to call, I promise not to take your lack of calling as a personal rejection. How’s that?”He chuckled. “I think you’re right. I think we don’t know each other as well as we thought we did. I’m going to leave now, before I make an even bigger ass of myself.”Amy sighed and watched him through her window until he drove out of her parking lot. Then she slid to the floor, exhausted. She had gone from letting Marva’s beauty consul