Free Heartbreak, Tennessee by Ruby Laska

in
her two petite hands. “We’ll save all that gruesome business stuff until my
husband gets here. He’s the brains of the show. Him and Amber. Right now I just
want to get to know every little inch of this cute little place.”
    “Ah, well, I hope you
enjoy yourself, then. Amber should make an excellent guide. I’d wager that she
knows this place as well as any of our citizens.”
    He managed to choke
out a curt “Ma’am” to Sheryn as he stalked out the door, but didn’t glance in
Amber’s direction.
    If he’d fostered any
idle thoughts about spending a little more time with the woman he’d once loved,
they were sealed off for certain now. Mac might be a stubborn man, but he wasn’t
stupid enough to be made a fool of twice by the same woman.
     
    As Amber slowly put
the phone down, Sheryn crossed the room and grasped Amber’s shoulders, forcing
her to look her in the eye.
    “Out with it,” she
said. “What is the story between you and that gorgeous man who you just ran out
of here?”
    “I did nothing of the
sort!” Amber protested, her heart sinking even further. Out of her peripheral
vision, she’d watched Mac’s quick exit. It had taken everything she had to keep
from dropping the phone and begging him to stay.
    “Sugar, you might as
well have thrown a bucket of ice water at him,” Sheryn said, frowning. “You can
be damned frosty when you want to, you know that? And I suppose that was Lover
Boy on the phone?”
    “I wish you wouldn’t
call him that,” Amber said irritably. Her head was suddenly pounding and she
massaged her temples, but the touch offered no relief. Too many thoughts were
spinning in her mind to sort through them all.
    She found herself
wishing they were in one of the swank luxury hotels they sometimes stayed in
when touring, if only so there would be a mini bar. Amber rarely drank more
than a glass of wine or two, but a stiff shot of whiskey seemed as though it
might be the tonic she needed at the moment. Without bothering to ask, she
opened the lid to Sheryn’s makeup kit, knowing there was a bottle of aspirin
tucked inside, and helped herself to two pills.
    “I’m sorry,” Sheryn
said, sounding anything but. “Was it Dean ?”
She repeated her question, pronouncing the name with distaste.
    “I don’t know why you’ve
taken such a sudden dislike to him,” Amber said. “He was your opening act, after all. You picked him. You thought he had
talent. If I recall you even took him out shopping and dressed him from head to
toe, remember? Hey, did you finish that bottle of water?” she added before
Sheryn had a chance to respond.
    “Sure did,” Sheryn
said. “Every last drop. Hours ago. And I bet you can’t even get the stuff here.
They’d probably tell you to go get a drink out of the hose out back. I keep
telling you, what this town needs is a decent convenience store.”
    Amber glared at
Sheryn. “There’s no reason for both of us to get cranky,” she said. “Though it
does look like I’m winning that bet.”
    “Not on your life. All
I need is a few hours in an air-conditioned movie theater and a big tub of
popcorn and I’ll be good as new,” Sheryn said stubbornly. “I love this town. It’s
becoming like my home away from home.”
    “Well, you sure aren’t
acting like it,” Amber said. “We were supposed to be coming up with ideas,
remember? Getting a feel for the town’s economic situation, looking over sites
for the park, developing attractions to take advantage of local history and
features...”
    “Oh, the guys can do
that,” Sheryn said, waving her hand, clearly disinterested. By “the guys” Amber
knew she meant every professional who had ever been in her employment; she saw
them all as a big team whose only purpose in life was to manage her affairs. She’d
probably be surprised to learn that her accountants, lawyers, and promoters had
other clients.
    Of course, that was
part of her charm. At the moment, though, Sheryn’s