Chapter Four

Eight weeks later

 

Amber stared at the gathering crowd from the safety of her car. It was a dank, cold morning that threatened snow and had most people, smart people, huddled warmly in their homes. Exactly where she wanted to be. Instead, she sat soaking up the last bit of heat and forestalling the inevitable.

She spotted Kayla weaving her way through the group of people, chatting with some, smiling at others, comfortable in her surroundings. There were a number of members from the Indian tribe attending the mayor’s speech. All coordinated by Kayla in protest of the wind turbines that were being erected in Nantucket Sound.

In the eight weeks since the awful trip to New York City, Amber had managed to evade and dodge Kayla’s repeated attempts to contact her. Avoidance was her primary objective. Denial her mantra. The longer she could ignore everything—pretend nothing was different, nothing had changed—the better. She hadn’t touched the deceptive little box since she’d stuffed it in the sewing trunk, had blatantly ignored the bird mark, and had sighed in relief when the shaman had remained quiet—when everything had remained quiet and normal.

Which made her think that maybe she really was being paranoid. Even if there was an unwanted bird etched onto her hand. She needed to get out, and the rally seemed like the perfect way to mingle without having to answer questions. There would be too many people around for a deep conversation.

At least, that was her plan.

Amber glanced at the clock on the car’s dashboard then took one last look through the crowd. No Nate. She still wasn’t ready to face him. Her stomach curled just thinking about him.

Biting the bullet, she opened the door and exited into the frosty air that gusted off the water. It was a stupid place to hold a rally, but then she suspected the mayor’s publicity committee had hoped March would roll out like a lamb instead of the lion it was.

She quickly crossed the street, tucking her head against the wind as she followed the small path through the park to the assembly area. The back of her hand prickled beneath her glove, reminding her why she had been avoiding everyone.

The mark wasn’t easy to hide.

Make-up, which seemed to fade quickly, extra-long sleeves and fingerless gloves had worked so far in keeping her dirty little secret hidden. Her aunt had remained silent and distant since her quiet outpouring of…what? Guilt? Anger? Resentment? Amber still wasn’t sure what it had been, but she’d left it alone, uncertain how to bridge the rift that had opened between them.

Kayla, however, was more persistent, and Amber hadn’t been ready before now to dodge her questions about New York, Nate or her new fashion choices.

The snow crunched beneath her boots, the low chatter of the assembling crowd growing louder but indistinguishable over the harsh brush of the wind. Amber kept her head down, her shoulders hunched against the cold that attempted to sneak around the collar of her coat.

Her mind was busy rehearsing her words to Kayla, silently orchestrating the meeting, preparing herself to deflect any questions and act casual. The hard smack of wool against her forehead jolted her out of her thoughts right before her nose met the same unmoving wall.

She jerked back in surprise. The bird mark burned under her glove, matching the odd sensation that scorched through her. Amber stared at the black wool as she caught a whiff of pine scent and realized she’d just rammed into someone.

“I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking…” The quick, embarrassed apology that tumbled off her lips died when the person turned to reveal the deep, crystal blue eyes of the man she’d just plowed into. Her breath caught.

Damian Aeros. This time, she wasn’t imagining him.

“No problem.” His deep voice glided through the air in rich baritone notes. “Are you okay?”

He looked her over while she struggled to find her voice. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” The jumbled garble of statements came out sounding just as flustered as she felt. Great. She took a deep breath and tried again. “I’m the one who ran into you. Are you okay?”

A slight smile curved over his firm lips and lifted the hard set of his features. “I’m fine.”

“I should watch where I’m walking,” she said in a lame attempt to hold a conversation. He was even more attractive up close, and her tongue suddenly felt thick and foreign in her mouth. “Then maybe I wouldn’t crash into innocent people.”

“An incident that has allowed me to finally meet you,” he said smoothly. A light danced in his eyes as they held hers. The blue depths entranced her and reminded her of the sky just before sunrise when the purity of color was at its deepest.

Heat flushed through her. What did he mean, finally meet her? She felt her cheeks burning and knew the blush was giving away her secrets. She smiled and hunted her blank mind for a witty reply.

A punishing gust of wind pummeled her back in a surprise attack that forced her forward to within inches of his chest. He flicked his hands up to catch her arms, holding her steady. The tattoo seared and fluttered under her skin as a staggering flash of sensation consumed her.

Her eyes widened as his face hardened.

“What…” Her words trailed off under his rigid gaze.

He dropped his hold on her arms and stepped back. His lips thinned removing the warmth from his expression.

“Excuse me,” he snapped, before turning away to move toward the stage.

What was that about? Amber shook off the sense of loss, and absently rubbed the tingling from her fingers as she watched him greet the mayor and shake hands with others assembled near the base of the platform. He radiated power, from the expensive cut of the black wool trench coat that accentuated his tall frame and the broad breadth of his shoulders to the crisply folded violet silk scarf that was wrapped around his neck and tucked neatly into the collar of his coat. The unique color added to the pure sense of unchallenged male that emanated from him.

She shoved her shaking hands in her pockets and turned away, dismissing the lingering tingle that raked her body as nerves.

Damian Aeros, CEO of a global wind turbine company. Of course it was nerves that had her acting so foolish. The strange feeling of rightness that had overcome her when the wind had pushed her toward his chest was silly and stupid. It was nothing but wishful thinking once again and wrong on so many levels.

The thought of Kayla’s reaction to her blunder made Amber smile when she finally reached her friend’s side. At least she had something to distract Kayla with.

“Hey, guess who I just plowed into, literally?” Amber interjected before Kayla could start asking questions. “Mr. Aeros himself.”

Kayla laughed. “Good move. I wish I could have seen it.” She cocked a smile at Amber. “In fact, I wish I’d thought of it myself. Did you give him a good kick too?” Her laughter bubbled over and infected Amber.

“No. It was embarrassing. Really,” Amber said, shaking her head. There was no way Kayla could know about her hidden fascination with the CEO. Kayla saw him as the ultimate villain and held him personally responsible for the wind turbines being erected in the pristine waters of the Sound.

A sharp, piercing squeal reverberated from the speaker, causing everyone to cringe. Kayla shot Amber an assessing look before the mayor’s political advisor stepped up to the microphone and began to speak.

“Don’t think this gets you off the hook. We still need to talk,” Kayla leaned in to tell her.

“About what?” Amber played the stupidity card.

“Why you’ve been avoiding me for two months.”

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” Amber insisted, but she couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. “I’ve just been busy.”

Kayla gave her a dubious look. They both knew that Amber’s life wasn’t that busy. Kayla softened. “I just want to be sure you’re okay. I was worried about you after New York.”

Now the guilt kicked in. Why was everyone so worried about her lately?

“Nothing happened,” Amber deflected again. “I’m fine. Really. Aunt Bev was a little mad, but we both knew that was going to happen. Did your grandfather ever tell you why he ordered us home?”

“No, of course not. You know his eccentric crypticness. He only reveals what he thinks you need to know. Evidently, the why of leaving New York is something we don’t need to know.” She gave a shrug of dismissal and held Amber’s gaze. “Do you know why?”

Yeah, she’d walked right into that one.

Amber smiled and blatantly ignored her friend’s question. “So what were the chances of me running over the head honcho like that out of all the people here?”

Kayla’s eyes narrowed, but once again, she let Amber do the duck and dive. A reprieve Amber feared wouldn’t last for long.

“About as probable as the wind turbines all magically tumbling into the ocean,” Kayla countered.

“Or the sun suddenly appearing to warm us the hell up.” Amber chuckled, waving her hand dismissively at the cloud-drenched sky. The laughter died from her lips when the clouds separated in an unnatural move. The golden rays of the sun rained down on the small gathering, making it seem like Amber’s action had parted the clouds.

Kayla stared at the sky in stunned amazement. “Yeah, maybe,” she mumbled, all amusement gone, the lame attempt at a lighter mood wiped out by the eeriness of the moment. She looked to Amber, her soft voice raspy in a way that had the damn hairs rising on Amber’s neck once again. “And maybe there’s a reason why you ran into Damian Aeros.”