My Everything - Seth & Amber (17 page)

He stood in front of her, stock still. He
knew if he made any movement – a step, a lean – anything, his body
would read his actions as a ‘fall out’ ‘permission to pass go’
‘full steam ahead’ signal. So he did not allow himself even the
slightest movement.

Neither of them said anything. However the
simmering, combustible chemistry between them was speaking
volumes.

“And awkward silences don’t really seem to
bother you either,” her voice sounded shaky.

“Is this awkward?” he asked, huskiness
filling his voice.

She breathed in through her nose, before
parting her perfect full lips and exhaling, her eyes darkening with
need. “It isn't if we do something about this.” Her hand gestured
between them.

Damn, he loved how blunt she was. Amber
didn’t play games like other women he knew. She seemed like the
type of person who knew what she wanted and went for it.
Unapologetically. He respected the hell out of her for that.

His jaw ticked from his repressed desire. “We
can’t.”

She let out a small, harsh puff of breath,
“Then, yes, Seth. It’s awkward.”

Amber then turned and moved behind the
counter. He couldn’t tell if she was mad, or just frustrated. He
knew
he
was frustrated, and not just sexually. Amber had
somehow gotten under Seth’s skin and he just didn’t know how to
deal with it. That had never been an issue for him before. He had
never wanted things he couldn’t have.

But, really - being with her was not an
option. He didn't want to bring any pain or drama into her life,
which would inevitably be the case considering how messed up he
was. Not only that, but he also didn’t want to damage the life that
she had built here. Her friends. Her family. As Bobby had proven
out in the parking lot, she may not be related to the people here
in Harper’s Crossing, but they were definitely her family.

So an affair did not really seem like a
plausible solution. And, in all good conscience, that was all he
had to offer. He had wanted to clear the air with her but somehow
he thought he was just making things worse. She looked upset.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She didn’t look up from what she was doing
behind the counter.

“Yep,” she confirmed briskly.

“With us being in the wedding together?” He
just needed to make sure.

Her hands stilled and she slowly lifted her
head her eyes had grown dark once again but this time it didn’t
look like it was from need. Nope, definitely not need. She was
pissed off.

“Yes, Seth. I am an adult. I think I can
handle being in a wedding with someone I slept with one time almost
a decade ago.”

She lowered her head and if he wasn’t
mistaken she rolled her eyes at him. No one ever rolled their eyes
at him. He thought it was kind of cute.

“To be fair, it was more than one time.”

As soon as the words left his mouth he wanted
to take them back. He shouldn’t be flirting with her. Every time he
was around Amber, somehow his best intentions seemed to fall by the
wayside. She lowered his defenses easily and without even
trying.

Looking as though she was fighting a smile,
Amber kept her eyes steadfastly down, fastened intently on her
paperwork, “Fine. Someone I slept with
four
times almost a
decade ago.”

“Five,” he corrected.

Her eyes shot up and her gaze narrowed. Then,
slowly, a blush crept up her cheeks as her eyes widened in
recognition of the memory.

“Five,” she confirmed breathlessly.

“Could have been more, but you got scared and
left,” his tone was light and teasing, but underneath the statement
there was a lot of emotion he was not comfortable with.

“I was
not
scared,” she said
firmly.

“But you left,” he challenged. What in the
hell was he doing? This was not what he had come to talk with her
about. The past was the past.

He stared at her. Her golden eyes were
brimming with emotion. Every time he looked into those bottomless
eyes, he felt their connection grow stronger, deeper.

“It was intense,” she conceded, her voice
barely a whisper, “I
was
scared, I guess. A little.”

“So was I,” he admitted before turning to
leave.

When he reached the door he looked back over
his shoulder and saw the look of shock on Amber’s face at his
admission.

“Lock the door behind me,” he instructed.

She nodded.

He stepped outside in the cold and was happy
once again for the harsh drop in temperature. He had gotten more
than a little overheated inside the store and cooling off was
exactly what he needed to do.

After Seth heard the lock click behind him he
walked to his truck, trying for all he was worth to push down the
reality of what that admission might have cost him. He never let
people into his internal world and he had good reasons for
that.

“Oh my gosh, they are so beautiful, Amber,”
Jamie sniffed, tears filling her eyes.

Katie and Sophie were modeling the
bridesmaids dresses that Amber had designed for Jamie and Alex’s
winter wonderland-themed wedding. They were royal blue strapless
floor- length gowns with a white faux fur wrap.

“I am going to do Chelle’s last since she
just had the baby,” Amber explained as she pinned the sides of
Katie’s dress, making mental notes about the needed
alterations.

“How is Chelle doing?” Sophie asked as she
waited her turn to be pinned.

“I saw her this morning. She was tired but
deliriously happy,” Katie smiled.

“How’s the baby?” Amber asked as she was
putting the final pins in.

“Baby Mya is doing so good. She is the
prettiest little girl. She’s so tiny and she barely cries. Chelle
said she gets up every few hours during the night, but that it’s
not too bad,” Katie explained.

“Was Joey an easy baby?” Amber asked
Jamie.

“He was until he started teething, and then
he was pretty colicky.”

“I don’t know how you did that on your own,”
Sophie said solemnly. “You were so young.”

Jamie had gotten pregnant her senior year in
high school. The father of her baby had died when she was only four
months pregnant. Amber wasn’t sure where Jamie’s father was but she
had told her that her mom had taken off to Arizona when Jamie was
nine months pregnant.

“I just did what I had to do,” Jamie
shrugged, “it’s not a big deal.”

“Do you and Alex plan on having more?” Katie
asked as she stepped off the pedestal so Amber could pin Sophie’s
dress for alterations.

“I think so,” Jamie smiled, “I always thought
that it would just be me and Joey. I never even gave any thought to
having another baby because I didn’t plan on ever getting into
another relationship. Alex says that he would love more, but he’s
happy with Joey.”

“I think you and Alex are perfect together!”
Sophie exclaimed as she stepped up for her turn to be pinned for
alterations.

Katie and Amber agreed.

“He’s amazing. I think we're pretty perfect
together too,” Jamie gushed.

“Speaking of being perfect together, how are
you and Seth getting along?” Katie asked, her eyes twinkling as she
walked back into the dressing room to change.

Amber rolled her eyes. “I notice you waited
to ask that question until I was done poking sharp pins near your
skin.”

“My momma didn’t raise no fool,” Katie said
loudly from inside the dressing room.

The girls laughed and Katie emerged, dress in
hand, a few minutes later.

“So?” Katie prompted as she took a seat next
to Jamie.

“I thought you were the master detective,”
Amber teased her friend.

“Normally, yes my deductive skills are
unmatched. But you and Seth, that’s one not even I can solve
without the inside track,” Katie begrudgingly admitted.

“Well, sadly, even I don’t have the ‘inside
track.’ So...you're out of luck.” Amber was almost done pinning
Sophie. She had closed the shop on time tonight for the girls'
first fitting. Most of the time, if there were still customers
shopping, she didn’t rush them out or announce that it was closing
time.

“Is it still weird? Seth being the,” Katie
dropped her voice an octave, “Mystery Man?”

“Not really. Now when I think of that night,
I just think of it as the first night I met Seth,” Amber
explained.

“Aw, that’s kind of sweet,” Sophie stepped
off the pedestal and went into the dressing room to change.

“I guess,” Amber shrugged.

“Have you two talked?” Jamie asked.

“Kind of. He came in the other night. I think
he wanted to clear the air or something but not a lot was
said.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Katie’s eyes lit up.

“No, it wasn’t like that.
Nothing
happened. Words or otherwise,” Amber quickly corrected the course
that her friends' (dirty) minds were headed down.

“Oh,” Katie’s face fell in
disappointment.

Amber was disappointed too. She wasn’t really
sure why Seth was holding back from her. If he were easier to talk
to, she would ask him. But then, if he were easier to talk to...he
wouldn't be Seth, she reasoned.

Amber had never been the kind of girl to
chase after a guy. She was always the pursued, never the pursuer.
Yes, she was bold and went after what she wanted, but the wanting
was always mutual.

This was a unique case. Although she did
think Seth
wanted
her, he definitely didn’t seem like he
wanted to
be with
her. She had to respect that - no matter
how badly she wished things were different.

“Are you
sure
you’re okay with being
paired up with him in the wedding?” Jamie asked, her brow now
furrowed in concern.

“Of course,” Amber said brightly, not wanting
her friend to worry about anything on her big day.

Jamie didn’t look quite convinced, but Amber
started asking her about the decorations and she explained that
Katie’s Aunt Wendy, who was a wedding coordinator, was handling
most of it. Jamie and Alex had given her their ideas and Wendy was
running with them.

Wendy had been the wedding coordinator at
Katie's and Sophie’s nuptials, as well. Chelle, on the other hand,
had just gotten married in front of the Justice of the Peace at the
courthouse. There were witnesses but not a
ceremony
, to
speak of. They had held a small reception at Jason and Katie’s
house afterward for friends and family, but it was very
low-key.

Amber sat listening to Jamie outline what
Wendy was planning, and she was forced to wonder if she was
destined to embody the old saying ‘always a bridesmaid, never the
bride.’ Until recently, she hadn’t given much thought to marriage
or her own personal happily-ever-after. She wasn’t even sure what
that would look like for her.

She closed her eyes for a moment and a vision
of Seth standing at the front of the alter flashed in her mind. He
looked gorgeous in a black suit and blue tie that matched his
amazing eyes. She could almost feel herself walking towards
him…

“Amber.”

Hearing her name snapped her out of her
fantasy. She opened her eyes and saw a look of concern on her three
friends faces. They were all standing, purses in hand.

“Are you okay?” Sophie asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“We asked if you wanted to go over to
Salvatore’s for a drink,” Sophie explained.

“Oh, no thanks. I’m pretty tired. I think I’m
just going to head home and get some sleep.” Amber smiled as she
stood and walked her friends to the door.

“If you are too tired, don’t worry about
helping out next weekend. We have plenty of hands.” Jamie said.

Jamie and Joey were moving out of the duplex
that adjoined Amber's the following weekend, so that they could
move into Alex's home. Jamie had initially said that she wanted to
wait until after the wedding to move in together but it seemed that
Alex had worn her down. The prevailing logic being that he wanted
them all to be settled in the house by the time the holiday (and
wedding!) rolled around so that they could have their first family
Christmas morning together the day after their Christmas Eve
ceremony.

Even Amber had thought that was sweet, and
she was not a romantic by any stretch of the imagination.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine after a good night’s
sleep.”

“Okay, well, don’t overdo it,” Jamie’s voice
was filled with concern.

“Yes, Mom,” Amber smiled at her friend.

“Hey, it’s hard to turn it off,” Jamie
laughed.

After saying their goodbyes, Amber locked the
door behind them and watched as the three ladies made their way to
Salvatore’s, a steak house across the parking lot. Then, after
shutting off the lights, she grabbed the two bridesmaid’s dresses
that were ready for alterations and headed out the back.

When Amber was setting the alarm in the
employee break room, she felt an odd sensation wash over her. It
reminded her of the feeling she had experienced the day of the
break in.

She remembered that in the self-defense
class, Seth had said you shouldn’t ignore your instincts. So,
instead of going back into the shop to make sure everything was
okay, she quickly set the alarm and rushed to get out of there.
After locking the back door she hurriedly made her way across the
(now brightly-lit, thanks to Seth) parking lot to her car.

She rushed to put the dresses in the back of
her car. She was pressing the button to unlock the Prius just as
she felt something crunch beneath her feet. She looked down and saw
shattered glass surrounding her car. As she lifted her head she
noticed that both the passenger and driver’s side windows were
smashed in.

Her car had been broken into. A feeling of
alarm raced through her as she scanned the back parking lot. She
didn’t see anyone. But she felt that something wasn’t quite
right.