After they’d officially stepped out for a double lunch date with Helene and Ignacio, holding hands as they entered the fancy lunch spot in Santa Monica, there had been another wave of Internet attention, but this time Amanda was prepared for it. Mostly she knew to ignore it. It didn’t stop the random asshole from leaving a cruel comment here or sending a mean tweet there, but none of that mattered, because she still had her parents’ unconditional love. And Sam and the whole Pleasant family had her back. It was still a shock to see her picture with the occasional headline. But that shock couldn’t come close to the pure rush of happiness she felt whenever she was in Sam’s arms.

She’d found herself a damn good boyfriend.

She blew out another short breath, then looked over to catch Sam looking at her with that gorgeous smile. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“How are you holding up, Cha-Cha?”

“Good,” she replied, matching his grin.

“Did I mention how beautiful you look right now?”

“Oh, I know I look good, Tex.” She glanced at his lips, wishing she could kiss him, but she didn’t want to flirt with the idea of smearing her lipstick all over him. He looked down at her lips in kind, sliding his hand across her satin-covered thigh.

“Later, baby. I promise. I’ll make it worth your wait.”

“Oh, I know you will,” she whispered back.

“McQueen?” Amanda looked up as Helene nodded toward the entrance to the ballroom. “Ladies?”

“Oh yeah. I’ll come with.” She squeezed Sam’s hand before she stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

They made their way across the dining room to the ladies’ restroom just as a wave of people emptied out of the space. They’d probably just missed some great restroom gossip. Amanda gathered up her dress and successfully used the facilities before she stepped back out to the sinks to wash her hands and check that her makeup was still in place.

Amanda reached under her gown for one quick adjustment of her Spanx, turning as she heard a woman farther down the sinks gasp. She looked up and saw Rina, one of her favorite pop singers, standing by the hand dryers gawking at Amanda’s feet.

“Oh my God. Are you wearing cowboy boots?”

“Yeah,” Amanda laughed. The gown and the cape were so long and her boobs were pushed so high up to her chin, she figured she was owed one bit of comfort for the evening. She’d gone back to one of Sam’s favorite suppliers, the Country General Store in the valley, and picked out a comfortable hand-stitched pair in ice blue. They fit like a dream. While other women were ready to ditch their heels, her feet were the last thing she’d been thinking about.

“Fucking amazing,” Rina replied.