Amber swallowed, but the buzzing nerves would not be calmed.
Then Lance stepped onto the porch with her, and everything aligned. “Hey,” he said. “It’s…so great to see you.” He took her easily into his arms, and Amber couldn’t hold back the tide of tears that had been threatening to spill from her eyes since the moment she’d left her parents’ house, hours ago.
She couldn’t speak, so she just held onto his powerful shoulders and cried as he hugged her. To her surprise, he stepped back and wiped his eyes too, cleared his throat, and moved farther from her than she ever wanted him to be again.
“How’s Denver?” he asked, his voice gruff but steady.
“You know what?” she asked. “It’s terrible. I hate it there.”
He looked at her, and all the texts Amber had wanted to send to him over the month
