Page 58 of All in with the Maverick Montana

To want it.

Because this was what happened when he let himself want something. Charmingly handsome movie stars came bursting in to tear it all down.

Josh ran a hand through his damp hair. But why should he have to step aside? Why should he have to give up on this dream? On Amy?

He wanted her.

So, until she told him to go, shouldn’t he keep trying for this future?

Then again, how could he possibly be her first choice? He’d never been anyone’s first choice, and he needed to prepare himself for that reality.

Chapter Sixteen

Amy didn’t know what to do with herself and had taken to dusting everything in Faith’s house. Multiple times. Bookshelves and furniture and windowsills and little figurines that sat out on the coffee table.

Everything was spotless. It had already been spotless.

But that didn’t stop her from swapping out her rag for a clean one and starting all over again.

She heard Faith huff from the kitchen. Amy had already been explicitly told to sit down and relax. It’s not good to stress the baby like this.

Honestly, Amy figured her baby would understand. This was an impossible situation and the only way to keep her nerves in check was to keep her hands busy.

Tru had texted her earlier in the day to let her know that he was jumping on a flight to Billings. He texted her again when he landed and sent her a picture of the rental car he’d ordered. It was some fancy thing that had no business being in Tenacity.

Worst of all, that car would bring him right to Amy. And wasn’t that a horrible thought.

Her anxiety had been multiplying all afternoon, and she could feel the uneven, uneasy trembling of her heart against her ribs. It didn’t even beat, it just shook.

But why was she nervous? She already knew about the baby. She’d already been sitting with this news for a day, playing out what her future might look like over and over. Sometimes the murky figure by her side looked like Tru. Sometimes it looked like Josh, and her heart gave a little leap of joy. Then again, sometimes it looked like neither of them, and she’d quickly found herself accepting that as a possible reality.

So it was Tru who should be nervous. He should have paused to question why an ex was reaching out to him after all this time.

Though she doubted it even crossed his mind. If things had already soured with his wife, then Tru was probably just looking to slide back into his life pre-marriage. And that meant rekindling his former romances. Amy had come to terms with a lot these past few months, and she was under no delusions about Tru. He wasn’t ever the man she thought he was. The kindness and sweetness had all been an illusion. In reality, he was an oily, slippery snake, and she had to remember that. Because while he was out there, whispering all the right words in her ear, jetting her off to private islands, there were how many other women in his contacts?

Her gaze drifted to the clock on the wall as the hour ticked down. Billings wasn’t that far from Tenacity. Tru would be here anytime now. She dusted with more vigor until she heard the unfamiliar rev of an engine. Then everything inside her seized up like ice.

“Is that him making all that racket?” Faith asked, hurrying down the hall to peek out the curtains. Wisps of hair pulled free from her braid as she stealthily took in the view. “What the hell kind of car is that?”

Amy joined her at the window, watching the car recklessly race down the street. How had she ever found him impressive?

“Looks like a Porsche,” Caleb said, peeking over Faith’s shoulder.

“He’s gonna hit one cow pie and end up spinning off into a ditch.”

“And we will not be here to see it,” Caleb said. “Because this is the first day off we’ve had together in forever and we have a date.”

“We do.” Faith glanced over at Amy. “Are you gonna be okay without us?”

Amy smiled a bit. “Of course. You two go have fun. This is something I have to do on my own.”

“You got this,” Caleb told her. “Remember. His last movie only has a thirty-three percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.”

She did have this. Right? Amy watched Tru get out of his car, slipping a finely made cowboy hat on his head. He dripped in finery. His leather boots gleamed and the belt buckle at his waist sparkled in the sun. It probably cost as much as that souped-up car he’d rented.

“I can’t believe that’s my baby’s father,” Amy muttered to herself. She should have known better. She’d met her fair share of men like him on the circuit, and now she felt like an idiot for not seeing him plainly. Maybe she’d just been so desperate for it to be real.

That thought touched something in her. She’d never said that out loud, but the truth was she was getting older and the little flings on the road hadn’t felt right anymore. She’d wanted something stable and real. She’d wanted someone to want her the way she thought Tru had wanted her. When that fell apart, Amy didn’t think she’d ever put herself out there again, and that’s when Josh had stumbled into her life. She hadn’t been expecting him. But he was everything that Tru wasn’t—stable, real, and he wanted her. Or, at least, he had. It didn’t really matter either way, because here Tru came to ruin it all over again.