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was pining for Amy, tearing himself up over hurting her and wanting her more than he’d ever wanted another woman—and he hadn’t thought to shake Cher off. He’d become so used to attention from women that he’d ignored it and had inadvertently hurt Amy again.
    This was so fucked up.
    He glanced at the dance floor. Caden was gazing into Bella’s eyes. Pete and Jenna were smooching, and Jamie and Jessica, well, were they ever not lusting after each other? And Kurt and Leanna? Those two emitted love from a thousand miles away.
    Like Amy. Sweet Amy. She looked at him with more emotion than any of their friends looked at each other. If he had a sliver of a chance of being the man she deserved, he’d give up everything else in his life just to be with her.  
    “Excuse me, Cher.” He stepped away and closed the gap between him and Amy. He would give up surfing, motivational speaking. He’d give up breathing if he could be good enough for her, but he wasn’t even sure he knew how to own his feelings anymore after repressing them for so long.
    “Hi, Tony.” Duke nodded, smiled. “I caught your competition in the spring. Nice win.” He had deep-set eyes, a jaw that could chisel granite, and a strong voice that commanded attention.
    As Tony shook his hand, he noticed Cher giving Duke a lascivious leer. Better him than me .
    “Thanks, man. It was a good year.”
    “Well, now that I’ve got the Australia resort, why don’t you stay there when you compete out that way? I’ll make it a point to be there, and we can celebrate together.” Duke smiled at Amy. “And if I’m lucky, Amy’ll be running the conference center operations, so she can join us.”
    “Sounds great,” Tony said more gruffly than he’d intended.
    “Excuse me, Amy. I’ll give you two some privacy.”
    Tony nodded in response, unable to find his voice. He wondered what was going on in Amy’s mind. Was she thinking about how much she hated him after last night? Did she have any hope left that he’d come around? Because if she did, that was a dangerous thing for both of them. How long was a man expected to ward off the only woman he really wanted? His mind was tangled up in all that couldn’t be—and all that he’d become. He maintained a bit of a player lifestyle. It kept him from getting hurt, and Amy had the power to slay him. This he knew firsthand…She’d done it once—no, he wouldn’t go there.
    “Hi.” Her voice slid over his skin, with a hint of regret that he knew was all his fault.
    He reached for her hand, and she lowered her eyes in contemplation. He’d always held her hand, hadn’t he? They’d sat arm in arm around the bonfires at Seaside forever. They’d held hands when they were all out as a group. He had a key to her cottage, and she to his. She didn’t take his hand this time, and when she lifted her eyes to his, the pain was back, blazing a path of sorrow and dark history between them, slaying him again, only this time it was his own doing.
    His mind reeled back fourteen years. He could still feel the damp sea air. She was eighteen; he was just two years older. Her hair was long and straight and hung well past the middle of her back, just the way he loved it. He could still smell her perfume, Angel by Victoria’s Secret. He’d thought it was strange that sweet Amy had worn a perfume from such a risqué store, but that had been the least of his surprises that summer. He’d learned a few hours later that Amy had a few secrets of her own. I’ve loved you since you saved the crayfish at Sheep Pond for me, and I’ll love you until the day I die. Please love me back. She’d pledged her love for him with wide eyes and an open heart. He’d saved those crayfish when she was six, and in the years after, he’d thought she looked at him with trust and love that went deeper than infatuation. Impossible , he’d told himself for all those years, but then she’d confessed the truth.
    Once he’d known how she felt, he