The Bear's Bride (Mail-Order Mates #3)(12)
“Sorry, Amy. This is all my fault. I feel so terrible about this.” Karen’s green eyes swam with tears. “I thought this was going to be so different. Olivia feels even worse than I do. She’s never had this happen before. She’s offered to handle your profile personally if you want to stay on with Lovely and Kind.”
Amy shook her head. “There’s no way I want anything to do with any of their bachelors anymore.”
Karen topped off her glass and Amy’s. “What an awful way to go into a holiday weekend. Don’t worry. I’ll buy you something really great on Black Friday. By next Sunday, you won’t even remember this *.”
“Oh, no.” Amy groaned and took a long swig of wine. “You’re not going to believe this, but he’s doing one of the Cuisine holiday specials.”
Karen looked stricken. “We can’t let him ruin this holiday season for us. I’ll find out when his episode is and we won’t watch.”
“What about all the reruns?” Amy asked glumly. The past two days had been a nightmare, but she was trying to pull it together for Thanksgiving. She and her sister were having a Pity Party while they did prep work for the big day. Amy didn’t want to worry her parents or the other family members who were coming to Karen’s for dinner. That was going to be very hard, since she was heartbroken.
The only silver lining was that Karen had stopped her before the situation went any further. Olivia had sent Karen an email about the “Frank problem.” It had turned out that he no longer wanted to be matched and instead wanted to play the field. Olivia had apologized profusely for her unprofessional actions. She should have interviewed Frank more extensively earlier and refused to let him sign up with the agency.
Amy didn’t blame her. Frank was indeed too good to be true. He seemed like such a perfect guy. Didn’t all men seem that way when they wanted to get laid? Amy could have kicked herself when Karen sent her the urgent text while she was at dinner. She had left in a rush and hadn’t looked back after running out of the hotel. Gwen had been on duty and had been very concerned when Amy left in such a hurry. Amy had been too embarrassed to say anything, but she’d told her new friend she’d explain later.
Gwen hadn’t pushed the issue, but Amy knew Frank was going to be asking her a million questions. She’d already turned off her phone so he couldn’t contact her. The urge to let him explain and forgive him was too great. Why would he tell Olivia he didn’t want to be matched anymore? Amy had been ready to tell him that she was his match before she’d heard what a player he was.
She should have known better. There were no perfect men. At least she still had her family. She was going to enjoy Thanksgiving and the nice break from work. Screw Frank! He wasn’t going to ruin her holiday season. She was going to pull it together and have a great time.
***
“Cheer up, buddy.” Ben handed Frank another beer. “There’s no moping at the cabin.”
“Sorry.” Frank opened his beer. He couldn’t help wanting more than one.
Owen hadn’t cancelled on the trip. Even though Erin was pregnant, she had insisted he go on the annual trip. Owen was telling a cloying story about how his sisters and Gwen wanted to plan a big baby shower for Erin. Erin wanted Owen to be invited too so it was turning into a big party instead of a traditional shower. There were also a million cute anecdotes of having to explain to the cubs on the farm that the new baby was on the way. It was too much for Frank to stand.
It had been nine days since he’d last spoken to Amy. Nine days since she had just walked out of his life for no reason. He had tried to call her a million times and had even found her New York publisher’s office. He couldn’t call the publisher but he knew she would be in the city in January to meet with her editor. He’d seriously considered flying to the city and waiting outside the building for her. The only reason he’d rejected the idea was that it would probably scare her more than he already had.
The filming of the special with Allison had gone well. Better than he could have hoped for, given his emotional state. Still, it was hard for him to celebrate. He had felt hollow inside when he finished filming. There was going to be a viewing party at Two Wolves, which Ben had insisted on hosting even though Frank wanted to watch the show alone with a bottle of whiskey.
He didn’t want to be around anyone now that Amy was gone. Thanksgiving had been a real chore. He’d kept on a happy face only for his mom. They had spent the day with her old biddy friends who had no family. Usually they had a great time, but Frank’s heart wasn’t in it this year. He had barely been able to keep his commitment for pie orders. He’d burned almost twenty, he was such a mess.
This trip was his chance to give himself a break from being sad. Once Owen had confirmed that Erin, his LK bride, was pregnant, Frank had known he was done for.
“Big man, what’s going on?” Dominic Cates asked. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were nursing a broken heart.”
The look on his face must have given it away. Damn. He hadn’t wanted to ruin their week too. “I’m fine, guys, really.”
“Look, I’ve got nothing against talking about babies all day.” Dom gave Owen a nod. “But I don’t want you to suffer alone, brother.”
“You just want to talk about the last girl you slept with.” Ben shook his head. “You’re a dog, Dom. I don’t want to hear about you nailing a high schooler.”