Rushing Amy: A Love and Football Novel by Julie Brannagh

engine-red lipstick, and stepped into a pair of black patent leather flats. High heels and Amy were never friends. Right now, they weren’t even on speaking terms. She fastened a pearl bracelet around her wrist, added the matching earrings, and hurried to the delivery van. She threw a candy apple-red cashmere wrap onto the passenger seat.
    Maybe she could talk the server at Brandon’s event into an extra dessert or something. After all, chocolate was the only cure for a broken heart. “Get over yourself,” she said aloud as she swerved around a BMW on the 520 Bridge crossing Lake Washington.
    She arrived five minutes before the cocktail hour was due to start. Emerging from the driver’s side of a brightly painted delivery van in the valet parking area of one of the more posh hotels in moneyed Bellevue was sure to cause a few stares. This was no exception.
    She handed her keys to the parking attendant who opened the van’s door. “Don’t scratch the paint,” she told him. He laughed.
    Her newly re-engaged parents met her at the front door of the Hyatt Regency’s ballroom. It didn’t escape Amy’s notice that her dad stood a bit taller as Amy’s mom slipped her hand through his arm. He patted her hand in response. She beamed. Just a couple of lovebirds , Amy thought.
    Amy exchanged hugs with her parents, and Amy’s dad gave her an extra squeeze.
    “There’s my sweet girl. You look great, honey.”
    “Thanks, Dad. You look nice, too.”
    She laid her cheek on his scratchy one. She felt an urge to cuddle up to her dad like she used to do when she was little. She needed a few more hugs right now, and maybe a little reassurance, too. Maybe she just had PMS. She’d had another long, tough day. She loved owning a business; she loved what she did. She didn’t love being alone, however. Despite Matt’s pursuit, she wasn’t sure it was going to change any time soon.
    “Where’s Brian, honey?” her mom asked. “Didn’t you ask him if he wanted to come with you?”
    She took a deep breath before answering. “Brian moved back to New York two days before Brandon and Emily’s wedding.”
    Amy handed her wrap to the coat check attendant. She turned back to see both her parents’ mouths hanging open.
    “He just left?” her mother asked. “Why?”
    “His dad wanted him to take over the law firm.” She swallowed hard. “It was a great opportunity.”
    Her dad slid his arm around her shoulders. “And that was it?”
    “That was it. Can we go inside? It’s frosty out here.” She tried to smile. She tried to act like she didn’t care. Her parents weren’t buying it.
    “He didn’t ask you to come with him?” Meg Hamilton draped the shawl she carried over her shoulders. It really was cold tonight.
    “Mom, I wouldn’t have, even if he did ask.”
    Amy’s mom dug in her purse for a tissue and handed it over. Amy frowned at this. She wasn’t shedding one more tear over Brian. She regretted every tear she’d shed over him before tonight. She longed for a man who made her laugh more than he made her cry, and it was time to explore that option.
    “But you were in love with him, sweetheart. I know you were.”
    “No, I wasn’t . . . .”
    Her parents weren’t listening.
    Her dad looped his arm around her for one more side hug. “There will be someone else. He’s—he just didn’t appreciate what he had, did he?”
    “Thanks, Dad.” Amy tried to take a deep breath. After all, what was done was done, and frankly, she was done with Brian the moment he’d told her he was leaving for New York. Hot tears rose in her eyes, and she fought them back. Her mom and dad towed her toward Brandon, Emily, and Brandon’s parents. An evening with the married people: This ought to be a blast.
    “Amy!” A glowing Emily hurried over to throw her arms around Amy. Brandon hugged both of them.
    “My two best girls,” he assured them.
    “Hey! What about me?” Brandon’s mom joked. The next few minutes were full of