Lying Love (Lazy Love Book 3) by Kirsten Osbourne Read Free Book Online Page B

very sad,” Nicki said solemnly.
    “It is. It was a hard time for both of us, and people don’t want to see that happen again.”
    “Me neither. If you hurt her, she won’t be my new mama.” Nicki definitely knew what she wanted.
    “No, she won’t. I’ll do my best to make sure neither of us get hurt, okay?”
    Nicki nodded. “Here it is!”
    John took a deep breath and knocked. When the door was opened, he stared up at her. She looked just as she had five years before. It was as if all the years between had slipped away. Yesterday she had been wearing dress clothes, and seemed much too adult to him. This Amber—this was the girl he remembered. She wore shorts and a tank top, and her hair was in a French braid down the middle of her back. This was the girl he loved.
    “Hi, you,” he said quietly, his heart in his throat.
    “Hi.” She stared at him for a moment, her eyes connecting with his. She locked the doorknob before she closed the door. “Hi, Nicki.”
    “Hi, Amber. My daddy promised that man over there that he wouldn’t hurt you so you can be my new mama.”
    John felt his face turn red. He hadn’t blushed in years, and here he was, blushing again just because Amber was there. What was it about her?
    “He did? Jesse made you promise not to hurt me?”
    John nodded, still embarrassed. “Yeah. He seems to care about you a lot.”
    “He does. He and Bob are the big brothers I never had. They both make sure that I’m taken care of.”
    “I think that’s great.”
    “I do too,” she said. “What’s this about me being Nicki’s new mama?”
    He sighed. “Nicki has decided you’re going to be her new mother. She doesn’t remember her first mama, and she has always stared at our prom picture in my bedroom, saying that was who she wanted to be her mama.”
    Amber smiled at that. “Why is our prom picture up in your bedroom? I didn’t even know you’d purchased our prom pictures.” She liked the idea of him having one as a memento, though. She liked the idea of him keeping any of their memories close, because she’d felt forgotten by him for a long time.
    He shrugged. “Of course I did. I always figured we’d get back together. And that was the last night we were happy.”
    “You thought we’d get back together?” she asked, surprised.
    He nodded. “I knew I couldn’t spend the rest of my life without you.”
    She felt tears prick her eyes at his words. “I’m not sure what to say to that.”
    “You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I still care about you and always have. I always will. Being with you is as important to me as air. I can’t believe I survived for so long without you beside me.”
    Nicki hurried ahead and stood beside a red truck, waiting for him to open the door. He turned to Amber for a moment, while they were out of his daughter’s hearing. “I want you to know that I mean what I say. I’m not trying to make you do anything you don’t want to do. I’m not lying to you. I still love you, Amber, and I want you to be a part of my life.”
    “So Nicki can have a mother?” Amber had to ask. She knew it was probably insensitive, but she needed to know if that was his goal. She just hoped he wouldn’t lie to her.
    “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want you to be Nicki’s new mother, but that’s not all I want. If I just wanted a mother for her, do you think I’d be pursuing a popular actress? Or find a girl in Jupiter whose biggest goal in life is to get married and have babies? There are plenty of them around, and it wouldn’t be hard to marry one.”
    Amber thought about that for a moment, her eyes meeting his green ones. “She chose me, though.”
    “Yeah, she did. But she chose you, because she knew you were the one I wanted. Keep that in mind, please.”
    He led her to the truck and opened the back door so Nicki could scramble in, before opening Amber’s door. “Don’t forget to buckle up, Nicki.”
    “I won't, Daddy. I’m only safe