Amy’s giggly sense of humor.
“Why don’t you join us?” Valen offered. “Obviously, the two
of you have a lot of catching up to do.” There was a firmness to his voice that
brought
Lincoln
back to the origin of their fight. Her eyes went to Amy’s hand, which clutched
that of the Hispanic waiter her friend had been kissing earlier.
Amy shifted her feet uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t want to
intrude on your special night. Getting engaged is pretty huge. You two should
celebrate together.”
Valen nudged a chair pointedly in her direction with his
foot. “Nonsense. I want to get to know
Lincoln
’s
best friend and…” He trailed off, arching an eyebrow at the waiter beside her.
Amy gave a soft sigh. “I guess I have some explaining to
do.”
The waiter squeezed her hand. “I should get back to work.
I’ll come see you in a bit?” His words were an uncertain question.
Amy nodded. “Yeah. Join us when you get off.” With a nervous
glance at
Lincoln
,
she gave him a quick, shy kiss.
Lincoln
watched the
man walk off. She knew her eyes must be as wide as saucers, but she couldn’t
help herself. She felt like she was in a twilight zone. Was she the only one
who remembered that her friend had a husband at home?
Amy sank into the chair Valen had offered her with a loud
sigh. “Kevin and I are getting divorced.”
Lincoln
thought her
legs might collapse, so she dropped into her seat. “How? Why?” She couldn’t
stop her accusing gaze from straying to the waiter. “Because of…”
Amy’s eyes widened and she frantically waved her hands in
the air. “No! No.” She let out a sigh and dropped her hands to her lap. “Things
with Kevin…They just weren’t working out. We tried. We really did, but we were
trying because our families are close. We were trying to work things out for
their sake. We weren’t trying for the right reasons.” She shrugged. “We came
here a couple months ago to talk it out and call an end to things.”
Her expression was sad, but her face was determined as she
continued. “He wasn’t happy, Lincoln, and neither was I.” She hesitated then
added, “He’s gay. He was struggling with his attraction to a co-worker. He was
just so full of guilt…It hurt me to see him like that.” A half smile curved her
lips. “The two of them are making a go of it, and I’m happy for them.”
Lincoln
was so stunned,
she could barely move. “So the two of you have been separated for months?”
Amy nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to give him time to figure things out. It wasn’t
my place to expose the new life he’s struggling to understand. I do care for him,
Lincoln. I wouldn’t hurt him like that.”
Lincoln
nodded
toward the waiter. “And him?”
An affectionate smile touched Amy’s lips. “The night Kevin
and I called it quits, Manuel was our waiter. Kevin left and…” She shrugged
sheepishly. “I was upset, crying. Even though it was a mutual decision, my
marriage was over. It was still a lot to deal with emotionally. Manny sat down
with me, kept me company.” Her expression became one of pride. “He’s an amazing
man. He’s caring and kindhearted. And he’s so smart. He’s working here to put
himself through veterinary school.”
“He sounds nice,”
Lincoln
said in awe.
“He is.” With a glance at Valen, Amy waved off the topic of
her love life. “Enough about me! Can we talk about this hunk you failed to tell
me about?” She turned her attention to Valen and gave him an approving perusal.
“Where have you been hiding him?”
Valen grinned widely, obviously enjoying the attention.
“Tell her I’m a fairy tale come true,” he teased.
As sad as she was to hear her best friend’s marriage was
over,
Lincoln
could admit Valen had been right to push her toward Manny. He’d only had good
intentions where her friend was concerned. He was a good man, and she’d
misjudged him from the very start. “It’s been such an amazing four
“Why don’t you join us?” Valen offered. “Obviously, the two
of you have a lot of catching up to do.” There was a firmness to his voice that
brought
Lincoln
back to the origin of their fight. Her eyes went to Amy’s hand, which clutched
that of the Hispanic waiter her friend had been kissing earlier.
Amy shifted her feet uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t want to
intrude on your special night. Getting engaged is pretty huge. You two should
celebrate together.”
Valen nudged a chair pointedly in her direction with his
foot. “Nonsense. I want to get to know
Lincoln
’s
best friend and…” He trailed off, arching an eyebrow at the waiter beside her.
Amy gave a soft sigh. “I guess I have some explaining to
do.”
The waiter squeezed her hand. “I should get back to work.
I’ll come see you in a bit?” His words were an uncertain question.
Amy nodded. “Yeah. Join us when you get off.” With a nervous
glance at
Lincoln
,
she gave him a quick, shy kiss.
Lincoln
watched the
man walk off. She knew her eyes must be as wide as saucers, but she couldn’t
help herself. She felt like she was in a twilight zone. Was she the only one
who remembered that her friend had a husband at home?
Amy sank into the chair Valen had offered her with a loud
sigh. “Kevin and I are getting divorced.”
Lincoln
thought her
legs might collapse, so she dropped into her seat. “How? Why?” She couldn’t
stop her accusing gaze from straying to the waiter. “Because of…”
Amy’s eyes widened and she frantically waved her hands in
the air. “No! No.” She let out a sigh and dropped her hands to her lap. “Things
with Kevin…They just weren’t working out. We tried. We really did, but we were
trying because our families are close. We were trying to work things out for
their sake. We weren’t trying for the right reasons.” She shrugged. “We came
here a couple months ago to talk it out and call an end to things.”
Her expression was sad, but her face was determined as she
continued. “He wasn’t happy, Lincoln, and neither was I.” She hesitated then
added, “He’s gay. He was struggling with his attraction to a co-worker. He was
just so full of guilt…It hurt me to see him like that.” A half smile curved her
lips. “The two of them are making a go of it, and I’m happy for them.”
Lincoln
was so stunned,
she could barely move. “So the two of you have been separated for months?”
Amy nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to give him time to figure things out. It wasn’t
my place to expose the new life he’s struggling to understand. I do care for him,
Lincoln. I wouldn’t hurt him like that.”
Lincoln
nodded
toward the waiter. “And him?”
An affectionate smile touched Amy’s lips. “The night Kevin
and I called it quits, Manuel was our waiter. Kevin left and…” She shrugged
sheepishly. “I was upset, crying. Even though it was a mutual decision, my
marriage was over. It was still a lot to deal with emotionally. Manny sat down
with me, kept me company.” Her expression became one of pride. “He’s an amazing
man. He’s caring and kindhearted. And he’s so smart. He’s working here to put
himself through veterinary school.”
“He sounds nice,”
Lincoln
said in awe.
“He is.” With a glance at Valen, Amy waved off the topic of
her love life. “Enough about me! Can we talk about this hunk you failed to tell
me about?” She turned her attention to Valen and gave him an approving perusal.
“Where have you been hiding him?”
Valen grinned widely, obviously enjoying the attention.
“Tell her I’m a fairy tale come true,” he teased.
As sad as she was to hear her best friend’s marriage was
over,
Lincoln
could admit Valen had been right to push her toward Manny. He’d only had good
intentions where her friend was concerned. He was a good man, and she’d
misjudged him from the very start. “It’s been such an amazing four
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