Re-Reading Wait With Me by Amy Daws: Chapters 1-6

It has been a while since I’ve read Wait With Me by Amy Daws, so I decided to re-read it and then post my thoughts as I go. Ironically, there’s a laundry ticket from the Ritz Carlton Marina del Rey stuck in my copy of Wait With Me because the last time I read it was ahead of PassionCon 2022 and the laundry ticket was my bookmark. 

With the movie coming to Passionflix in just a few short weeks, I thought it would be a good idea to start reading the book again, taking the time to record my thoughts about each chapter in a blog. It’s my first time re-reading the books since Madison Lawlor and Andrew Biernat were case as Kate and Miles, so having their images in my head will surely make my re-read even more fun. 

Keep checking back as I make my way through the book and feel free to join in or add your thoughts in the comments section!

Wait With Me: Chapter 1

The first chapter introduces Kate Smith, a romance author who has been in a creative rut until she comes across the Customer Care Center at her local Tire Depot. Soon she finds herself finding any reason at all to get into the CCC to work on her latest novel until the discovers a separate entrance that gives her access to the CCC without passing the front desk and the customer service guys who could put a stop to her plan to make the CCC and all of its coffee and baked goods-goodness her base of operations. 

Kate’s immediately likeable. She’s funny and smart, and self-deprecating enough to make her very relatable. She’s a redhead with curves and she knows she’s not cut from the same cloth as her brothers and their families. She’s her own woman and she owns it. 

She also writes very smutty smut for a living. There’s a great exchange in the first chapter between Kate and Betty, the woman who makes the cookies and pastries for the CCC. Upon learning that Kate is a writer, Betty asks if she writes Christian or—better yet—Amish romance, and Kate is forced to change subjects quickly because what she writes is oh-so-far from those categories. 

What I love in the first chapter of Wait With Me — and it’s something that I love about all of Amy Daws’ books — is that it’s so easy to fall in love with her main character from the very start. She manages to provide lots of details without dumping everything on the reader and it’s a great way to start the book. 

Wait With Me: Chapter 2

The second chapter introduces us to Miles, the hot mechanic who works at Tire Depot. He’s been watching the mysterious redhead with interest from his workstation, trying to figure out why she’s been at the shop so frequently. 

When she pops outside they collide and her computer goes flying. While she checks on it, he’s checking her out. “Were you getting a service?” he asks; the question sends her into a fit of laughter. She refers to him as a book boyfriend, a term he’s not familiar with because he’s not in her reader demo. Miles wants to know what happens if she’s in his demo, but he never finds out because she’s off and running. 

Miles, like Kate, is instantly likable. He’s an easygoing, nice guy and he’s instantly drawn to Kate even though he has no idea who she is or what she’s talking about. All he knows is that he wants to know more.

Wait With Me: Chapter 3

In Chapter 3 we get to meet Kate’s inner circle. First we meet Lynsey, Kate’s best friend and neighbor who is concerned that Kate keeps going back to Tire Depot. It’s an obsession, a crutch, she says, and it needs to stop. 

Kate has no plans to stop. Writing is what keeps her in her townhouse, even though she shares it with her ex, Dryston. When she spots a letter in her mail on Tire Depot stationery with an invoice for the treats and coffee she’s been enjoying, she panics. It’s not long before she connects the letter to her other friend, Dean. They go see him and give him grief for the prank.

It’s fun seeing how Kate interacts with her friends. She doesn’t have to pretend around them. They all know what she’s been doing at Tire Depot and though they’re giving her grief for it, they also support her (and her work) enough to leave her be.

Wait With Me: Chapter 4

Kate’s back at TD and she’s in the zone when suddenly she hears her name…only it’s not her name, it’s her pen name, Mercedes Lee Loveletter. There’s a pizza guy calling her name in the busy waiting room, and try as she might to ignore it, she eventually acknowledges that it’s for her. 

This prank was perpetrated by her author friend (now frenemy, after that stunt!) Hannah. She sends a text to Hannah informing her that she was in the middle of writing an intense anal scene in her book when the pizza guy pulled her from the zone. Hannah thinks this is all too funny. 

To make matters worse, Mr. Book Boyfriend comes over and starts asking questions. He knows she’s not waiting for a car so she begs him to not rat her out, offering pizza as a bribe. She tells him her name is Mercedes and Miles agrees to stay quiet…for now. 

Again, one of the best things about Amy Daws books is that the friend groups are awesome. All we have are texts from Hannah but we can already tell she’s fun and despite the prank it’s clear that she cares about Kate and her work. 

Now that Kate has had two whole conversations with Miles, there’s no question that there’s some chemistry between them. He seems to see it, but she doesn’t because she’s too focused on her book and not being kicked out of the CCC.

Wait With Me: Chapter 5

Miles can’t stop thinking about Kate. His buddy Sam hasn’t noticed her, but he’s in favor of Miles getting his head out of the clouds and maybe Kate’s the distraction he needs to finally get over being dumped by his girlfriend. 

The next day he goes looking for Kate and when he finds her she faints from going all day without eating. And a hungry Kate means an emotional, rambling Kate. She starts fretting over whether Betty the Baker knows how much she’s appreciated (she is, Miles assures her) and Miles decides he can’t leave her alone. He says he’s going to take her to dinner, and though she feebly protests she eventually agrees. 

Based on what Sam says, Miles has a thing for taking care of women. While he knows Kate must be able to take care of herself (based solely on the car she drives) he’s also finding himself drawn to her. He can’t stop thinking about her and now that an opportunity has presented itself to get to know her more, he’s taking it. 

What Miles doesn’t realize is that he’s playing into every book boyfriend trope out there, in the very best of ways.

Wait With Me: Chapter 6

Somehow we’ve become entrenched in the flirtation between Kate and Miles. Now that he’s come in on his white stallion and rescued her from certain starvation, they’re starting to get comfortable in each other’s presence. They get pizza and he asks to know the truth about what she’s doing in the CCC. She tells him the truth, and he’s impressed even though she won’t reveal what her books are about. 

Miles has no intention of reporting Kate to his boss (why would he want a hot redhead to leave?) so her secret is safe. 

This is a really fun chapter because it reveals that Miles really is a nice guy. He barely knows Kate but he’s protective of her, and he knows when to push and when to back off. He’s respectful, too, and the mechanic-biker vibe doesn’t hurt, either. In essence, Miles seems to be the perfect guy and now that she’s out of the CCC and not thinking about her book, Kate is finally starting to notice. 

We’re only six chapters in but it really feels like we’ve known these characters for a while. (Of course, this is a re-read, so we have known them for a while…) It’s fun paying attention to the little details, like Lynsey working on her thesis at the hospital and setting up the foundation for her story in One Moment Please.

Going back and revisiting these chapters has me even more excited for the movie to come out. March can’t come soon enough!