Cole was in no way about to question why Amber looked so happy. After all, he was happy too and despite the fact that he couldn’t help feel that there was more to it, he’d never been the type of guy to question happiness. That could only lead to trouble. For the time being, he was going to take the smiley, happy, beautiful woman on his arm and enjoy the rest of what the day had to offer. And he was pretty sure that was a whole lot.

They finished their drinks at the Come Again and needing some fresh air, ventured out into the town square. Cole had never been one for small town and the quaintness that went along with it, but there was something about Sapphire Falls that was getting to him. He glanced at Amber, who held his hand as if they were a real couple. He wasn’t even going to pretend that it wasn’t Amber’s influence that was making him feel so good. He knew damn well it had everything to do with her.

Together they strolled toward the focal point of the square. The gazebo was decorated with hay bales and pumpkins, just like everything else in town. He couldn’t help but want the walk to last longer. Heck, he wanted everything with Amber to last longer. Knowing that Josie was coming home and would crash their little arrangement was bittersweet. Of course he wanted to see his little sister, but he desperately wanted to spend more time with Amber.

“What?” She caught him staring at her. She blushed a little and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“I was just thinking how beautiful you were.”

She blushed harder, and the sexy pink flush that worked its way across her creamy skin was totally worth the lie, which wasn’t really a lie at all.

“Let’s sit.”

“I have a better idea.” Amber tugged on his hand and started to walk in the opposite direction. “Let’s check out the haunted house.”

Cole laughed. “It’s not dark enough. Let’s wait.”

“No way. That’s the best way to visit a haunted house.”

“In the daylight?”

“No.” She rolled her eyes. “At dusk. Don’t you think there’s something extra creepy about the way the shadows fall? It’s kind of that in-between witching hour.”

Cole shrugged and laughed again because ultimately he didn’t care what they did, as long as he was with Amber. The thought hit him out of left field. He’d literally only been in a relationship…or whatever it was…for forty-eight hours, and already he was thinking he never wanted her out of his sight. It was crazy, but it didn’t have to be. An idea came to him, but he couldn’t say anything because Amber was dragging him up the stairs and into the house.

The haunted house turned out to be an excellent idea, especially because Amber clutched tightly to him at every turn. Whenever something jumped out, or fell on them, or shrieked down a hallway, Amber worked her way a little closer to him. But that wasn’t even the best part.

Just as they were navigating their way through the field of dead bodies in the dining room, a zombie jumped out and grabbed at Amber’s arm. She shrieked and Cole spun her so she was sheltered in his arms and nuzzled under his chin. As he turned, he caught sight of the staircase and he got an idea. When Amber had gotten up to go to the bathroom, the bartender in the Come Again told him about the haunted house and that it was a little bit famous for couples to sneak upstairs and fool around in one of the upstairs rooms, away from the haunting.

Without saying a word, Cole took her hand and led Amber up the stairs and away from the chaos below.

“Where are we going?”

“Just to take a little break.” He found the first door and tried the door handle. It was locked. He tried not to laugh and tried the next door. This one opened. Cole popped his head around the corner and checked. The room was empty. Perfect.

“What are we doing?”

Conveniently, there were candles and a book of matches lying on an old dresser. Cole lit them, illuminating the dim room. There wasn’t much to it, except a few chairs and an old sofa. He pulled his jacket off and laid it on the sofa for her to sit on. She giggled at his chivalry and sat.

“I wanted to talk to you is all.” He finally answered her as he sat next to her.

“You couldn’t wait until after we were done?”

He took her hand and shook his head. “I really don’t think I could. Besides, any excuse to get you up here and alone.” He held her face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly. He couldn’t get enough of her lips, and the more he kissed her, the more he wanted to. He’d kissed a lot of girls, but none like Amber.

“Well, I can’t argue with that.” She touched a finger to her lips when he pulled away. “I can’t believe the weekend is almost over. I mean, I know we have all day tomorrow and I wasn’t planning on leaving until Monday morning.”

Her words hit him in the gut. Leaving? He didn’t even want to think about it.

“And Josie will be here tomorrow morning.” Amber was still talking. “I’m excited to see her, but…”

“But you’re kind of enjoying the way things are?”

She nodded. “Is that silly? I mean, I know it is. We’re not…I mean, this isn’t…we’re just having fun.”

Cole ignored the implication of her words. “We are having fun. And there’s no reason that can’t continue.”

Amber sat back and looked at him as if he’d just told her he was really a Tibetan monk. “What do you mean?”

He took a breath, and silently reprimanded himself for being nervous. He was never nervous with women. Besides, it’s not as if he was asking her to marry him. He was being ridiculous. “All I’m saying is, we’ve been having a lot of fun together.” She nodded. “And life is too short to not have fun. Don’t you agree?” She narrowed her eyes in question, but kept listening. “So why not keep it going?”

“What does that even mean?”

He grinned, suddenly feeling quite confident that he had the perfect idea. “What it means is that I think you should come with me when I go back.”

“Go back?”

“To Australia.” He grabbed her hands and squeezed. “Life is way too short not to make the most of it. And you said yourself that you didn’t have any immediate plans now that you’ve graduated, so why not? Let’s go see the world and have a little fun. Together.”

* * *

Together? See the world? Amber’s mind raced. What was he saying? He seriously thought he could sit here and ask her so casually to drop everything and go with him to the other side of the world? Sure, they’d been having fun but that was different. It was safe here. It wasn’t Australia. And it was temporary.

She blinked hard, trying desperately to process his words. He was squeezing her hands in his and watching her intently. Surely he expected her to jump up and say yes without a second thought. But she couldn’t.

“Amber?”

The smile on Cole’s face morphed into a look of concern and maybe even a little irritation because she hadn’t answered him. But what did he expect? He couldn’t seriously expect her to be excited about this.

“Say something, Amber.” He moved one of his hands and smoothed back a stray hair from her cheek that kept escaping her braid. “Anything. Just say something.”

“What the hell are you thinking?” It wasn’t exactly what she would have liked to say, but the words slipped out before she could think of anything better.

Cole recoiled and sat back. “I was thinking we like each other and we’re having fun.”

“We’re having fun,” she repeated, making the word fun sound like something very bad, which at that moment, in that context, it really felt like. “Do you really think I could drop my whole life for a little fun?”

Cole released her hands and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t see why not. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying life, Amber.”

“I am enjoying it.”

“Are you?” His eyes flared. “Because it seems to me that until I came along, you were merely existing. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Amber jumped up and paced across the small room. Her stomach hurt seeing him upset with her. It wasn’t at all how she’d planned the night to go.

Because you did plan it. Just like you plan everything, Amber.

She forced the voice in her head to be quiet. She took a fortifying breath and turned around. “I can’t.” The edge slipped from her voice as she answered him. “I can’t tell you that.”

He stood, but didn’t make a move toward her. “Then come with me.”

“It’s not that easy, Cole.”

“It really is.”

“I accepted a job.” The words fell from her mouth and burned her tongue on the way out. It was an amazing opportunity at a prestigious firm. She should have been thrilled with the job. She should have been. But she wasn’t. And wasn’t that the reason she didn’t tell Cole about it earlier?

“A job?”

She nodded and hugged her arms around her body. “It’s a good job. In San Francisco.”

“In San Francisco?”

She nodded again.

He shook his head and took a step back. “So you’re going to be an accountant?”

“I am an accountant.”

“I guess congratulations are in order.”

His words bit into her skin like acid. She hadn’t really expected him to be happy for her. She hadn’t expected much from him, really. But she hadn’t expected him to be hurtful.

“So you’re going to give it all up for that?”

“Give what up?” The room was suddenly a lot colder, and she wrapped her arms tighter. “I’m not giving anything up.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t a friendly sound. “You’re giving everything up, Amber. You just spent the last few days telling me how you weren’t sure what you wanted to do but what you did know was that you needed a change. I just offered you a change. I just offered you fun and adventure and…”

“And what?” She forced herself to keep her eyes open, when all she really wanted to do was squeeze them shut and will him to say what she didn’t even realize she wanted to hear until that moment. “What else did you offer me?”

He opened his mouth and closed it again. “It doesn’t matter. Sounds like you made your choice.”

Choice? What was he talking about? She’d taken a job. That was the right thing to do. She’d been ridiculous even thinking there was any other thing to do. She was a college graduate and she needed a job. And he hadn’t offered her anything. Anger grew inside her. She was supposed to be happy about the job. She was supposed to be excited about the future. She was getting everything she’d planned for.

Even if you no longer know if you even want a plan?

Amber shook her head hard in an effort to make the voice in her head shut up.

“There was no choice,” she said after a moment. The words came out soft and hurt, and it pissed her off because she didn’t want to feel any of those things talking to Cole.

“There was.” He crossed the room and stood only inches from her. Despite the flood of mixed feelings flowing through her, a shiver of desire rippled through her body. His voice was cold, tinged with disappointment. “But I’m sure you’ll be very happy with your boring, planned-out life. After all, isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

His words pierced through her and lodged painfully in her heart. Up until that moment, Amber didn’t even know that she cared what Cole thought. But to hear him so coldly express his opinion of her hurt, more than she ever would have thought.

Standing in front of him, the man she never would have expected to have any feelings for beyond simple lust, especially after such a short time, Amber had two choices. She could break down and cry. She could admit he was right, and she was making a mistake but she was too scared to do anything else.

Or, she could go with the safe choice: protect her heart and her future.

Amber swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. When she opened them, Amber looked Cole right in the eye and made her choice.

“Screw you, Cole Price.” Before she could stop herself, her hand flew out and slapped him across the cheek. The sound of it hurt more than the sting in her palm, but not nearly as much as it hurt to turn around and leave him standing there.