Raindrops on Roses: Book One of the Favorite Things Trilogy (8 page)

But what the toys and sexy
lingerie didn't—and
couldn't
do—was make him stop thinking about Priscilla
Bauer.

She had been there with them the whole time,
just on the fringes of his heart and mind. Which probably did as
much damage as if he'd told Amber the truth right in the middle of
her giving him the most heartfelt head he'd ever had! Because he
knew she wasn't fooled. She'd been working overtime to bridge the
gap.

So masking his bomb as best he could, he let
it continue eating away at him in order to give her the best
weekend possible, despite the way he felt inside.

A flight attendant came over the intercom
with instructions to prepare for landing. It jarred Michael from
his thoughts.

Guilt. Guilt. Guilt.
That's what
really
held him back. And the fact that once the words were out,
there was no getting them back in—he would be changing Amber's life
forever.

"You okay?" she asked now, looking at him
with a smile.

"Yeah," said Michael. He
tried to return the smile but it didn't quite happen. She'd been
asking him if he was okay all weekend and he knew it was only
because she sensed that he
wasn't
.

Knowing each other well had once felt like a
blessing—now it was a curse.

Although Michael wasn't a fan of sharing a
whole heck of a lot with anyone, even his closest friend, as they
touched down at PBI, he realized it was time to give the situation
a voice. Time for some sound advice.

I'll reach out to
Jason,
he decided.
Let's see what he has to say
...

•~•

When they got home from the airport, Amber
set about airing out the apartment. The "old weekend air" as she
called it, had to go. They then got busy unpacking. Both had a full
workday on tap.

"Mom says hi," she told him, reading a text.
"And 'Tell Michael I'm jealous,'" she added, laughing out loud.
"But don't worry—if that's her way of fishing for an invite next
time we go, she can forget it."

Michael shook his head,
chuckling. "Tell her I said hi back." Then he slipped into the
bathroom for a quick shower. He always felt the need to
shower
immediately
whenever he traveled. Being locked up on a plane marinating
in the germs of hundreds of people was downright nauseating and he
never felt normal again until he'd had a shower.

She liked the
bracelet
, he thought, smiling. Priscilla
had sent a thank-you text and he pictured it now as he stepped into
the shower stall, closed his eyes and let the jet spray soak his
hair.

She's changing my whole
life
.

And God, how he couldn't wait to see her
again! He'd exercised what felt like Herculean restraint and
refrained from calling or texting her while he and Amber had been
away, and he didn't want to rush into it now. Even if it
contradicted his true feelings, he liked the idea of beginning to
take things slowly, just in case he'd come on too strong.

So he decided to wait out the morning and
text her at lunchtime, in the hopes that her invitation would still
stand. His heart actually swelled with anticipation and he had to
shake his head, admitting to himself that he'd give the world to be
driving across that causeway again.

•~•

Amber was in the bedroom
unpacking and on the phone catching up with her cousin Elaine, when
she suddenly heard Michael...
humming in
the shower?

Michael hums?
she thought, frowning.

She hadn't yet told anyone about the changes
going on in their relationship and she certainly didn't plan to
start now. So the conversation with Elaine ended up being a huge
distraction and Amber told her she had to go, they'd talk more
later.

She knew Michal had tried
his best over the weekend, but it had done nothing to relieve the
intuition in her gut. He was absolutely different. He wasn't
being
Michael
anymore.

There had been several
moments, even right after they'd made love, when she almost called
him on it, but then bitched up and didn't dare. It felt like a very
dangerous thing to do. What would he say? What devastating words
might come out of his mouth?
No
way
, she'd thought. It was too much of a
risk. And she wasn't yet ready to go
there
with one insecure
question.

As she busied herself sorting their clothes
for the laundry and trying to make out the song he was humming, she
heard his phone buzz and vibrate over on the nightstand. Amber's
head shot up. Someone was texting him.

He doesn’t usually get
work texts,
she thought.
They call.

For a moment she was very
still. The shower was running and the urge to go and read the
message gripped her full strength. But it was something she'd never
done before.
Ever
.

Don't do it,
her conscience warned.
Don't cross that line
.
Sort the clothes and leave it alone,
Amber
.

She sensed that once she went in that
direction, everything would change in the one way she feared most.
But when the phone buzzed again, her curiosity intensified and sent
her right over the edge.

Dropping the blouse she'd been
half-clutching, Amber rounded the bed for Michael's nightstand. His
wallet and phone lay right there near the base of the lamp. She
stared at the phone, hesitant for only a moment before she grabbed
it and opened the message.

It was from
a Priscilla Bauer
.

The
Bauers
.
Must be
about work after all,
she thought.
Wait, no. They worked for
Veronica
Bauer. So who's Priscilla
again?

Glancing toward the bathroom where the
shower ran on safely in the background, Amber read the text:

Not sure what time ur back
but hope u make it safely

~ CillaB.

Well, this doesn't sound
very professional,
Amber thought, reading
it again
. This looks pretty personal...and
familiar.

Her palms suddenly grew moist and panic
gripped her. But the whole planet shifted out from under her as she
opened the next one. Because that’s when it hit her—firmly—that
Michael was absolutely cheating!

Missing u. Lots. Call when
u land. ~ CillaB.

Priscilla
Bauer?!
Amber's mind
raved.
Who the hell is this Priscilla
fucking Bauer telling Michael she misses him?

As she stood there staring down at the phone
in her hand, her memory kicked in, and the vile and gut-wrenching
text she was looking at seared into her brain.

CNN
. She remembered seeing clips of the grandchildren on
coverage of the funeral service.

So that's why he had to go to that goddamn
funeral without me—he's been having an affair with Veronica Bauer's
granddaughter!

"Oh my God." Amber's head
went from side-to-side as her heart rate spiked into the unknown.
"No, no,
no
,
no, no,
"
she whispered fiercely. Her worst fears lay right there, scorching
the palm of her hand. She had suspected it, but the reality was
like a dagger to the heart.

Wiping away her tears,
outrage set in. He was
her
goddamn boyfriend, wasn't he? Well, he owed her a
fucking explanation!

Amber spun around and
charged into the bathroom. She pushed the door open with such force
it slammed up against the wall and Michael jumped back in
shock.
"All this time, you've been
cheating on me?!
" she yelled.

"What?"

"Priscilla Bauer!" she
shouted. "Priscilla! Bauer! You’re messing around with
her?
" She held up his
phone. "I saw the text message! 'Missing you lots. Call when you
land.' Tell me that means you're
not
cheating, Michael."

Looking a bit shell-shocked, Michael reached
over and turned off the taps.

"Say something, damn it!" she shouted,
because his silence was deafening. She could feel a blackness
rising in her heart.

Michael said nothing as he calmly stepped
from the shower, dried off and wrapped a towel around himself.
Walking over to her, he took her by the hands. "Am. I'm sorry. But
just calm down a minute and let me explain." Taking a deep breath,
he closed his eyes and said, "I've been trying to find the right
time for this...the right way to tell you. I guess this happened to
force me to do it now. Today. This is it."

Amber saw red.
I
knew
it!

Leading her out into the bedroom, Michael
sat her down on the bed as if she'd break if he weren’t gentle.
"This isn't the way I wanted you to find this out," he began. "I
wanted to tell you about this myself."

I knew it!

He looked very, very sad
but held her gaze as he spoke. "Yes, it's true," he continued,
"I
am
seeing
someone else and I'm gonna be moving out, Amber. It's time to end
our relationship."

And that got the room
spinning. Amber felt oxygen seeping from her brain. Blood freezing
in her veins.
This can't be
happening,
she thought.
This was
not
happening
.

Stunned into silence, all
she could do was sit there staring at him.
Damn it! Why didn't I just leave that fucking text
alone?

"Michael..." It was barely a whisper.
Somehow her rage had vanished, leaving an intense devastation in
its wake. She felt like something was breaking. "When did you stop
loving me?" she asked him wide-eyed. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "You haven't
done anything, I promise. This is not your fault."

"Then why? Something must've gone wrong
between us? How long have you been seeing this girl? When did all
this start?"

He shook his head. "I don't see any point in
going into that, but I definitely don't want you feeling like it's
your fault, Am, because it's not. Sometimes people grow apart. It
happens all the time."

"Grow apart? I've devoted
my
whole
life to
you, to this relationship. I've never been with
anyone
else since I met you. I've
never
wanted
to
be with anyone else! I've been faithful to you since high school,
Michael! Since
high
school!
"

He bowed his head and
looked away. "Amber. Look. I'm sorry. I feel
really
bad about hurting you—believe
me, I really do." He paused. "But listen: we're still young people!
You're gorgeous and you'll meet someone else. I
guarantee
it. You won't have a
problem moving on."

Just not with you,
she thought.
'Cause
you've had your fill.

Devastated by his words, she started crying.
"I can't believe you," she heaved. "I've loved you more than
anything for the last ten years...and this is what I get in
return?"

"Amber—"

She slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me. Do
not
touch me. I can't
believe
you! I can't believe you're
willing to throw us away for a piece of rich-bitch ass. How could
you do this to me? How could you?" she sobbed. "We're supposed to
get married—I fucking
moved in
with you!" She'd never felt so humiliated, so
cast aside in all her life.

Michael sat there shaking his head with his
arms folded, saying nothing more as Amber cried and cried.

Tense minutes ticked by.

Finally, he got up from the bed and moved
about the room getting dressed.

Amber didn't move.

"I have to get to work," he said, tucking in
his shirt. "We'll talk more later, and we'll get things settled."
He paused. "But I think I should pack a bag and check into a hotel
tonight."

She couldn't take anymore.
"No, Michael, please..." She flew over to him. "
Please
, don't do this," she pleaded.
"
Please
. You're
making a huge mistake.
Huge
. Please don't dump what we
have—don't dump
me
. Give us another chance to get back what we've had all these
years."

She may as well have been down on her
knees.

Michael sighed, looking beaten. "Am, we're
not the same people we've been all these years. We've had our
moment; we've had our time. Look, I feel guilty enough as it is.
You're killing me here..."

"No, you're killing
me!
You can't just leave
me like this.
You can't.
Listen—we can just go on as if this never even
happened. I'll never bring it up again, okay? But I can't bear the
thought of you moving out on me." She grabbed his arms.
"
Don't you know you are my life?
I'll just die, okay? This will kill me. I know it
will."