Sign of the Throne: Book One in the Solas Beir Trilogy (21 page)

David had made good on his promise to Moira to spend time with Amelia. Over the past week, he had focused his energy on touring her around town, even driving up the coast to check out an artsy beachside village and treating her to dinner at a restaurant perched on the side of the rocky cliff. They’d had a good time together—and
as he was standing in the ballroom, he thought back to that evening.

After the meal, they exited the restaurant and walked out onto the broad viewing deck that jutted out over the tumultuous, crashing waves below. To the north was the beach, and David could see a handful of surfers catching a few last waves before the sun dipped below the horizon. Already, lights had been turned on in the bungalows bordering the beach, and smoke rose from a few chimneys.

It was colder there than in Newcastle Beach. Amelia had bundled up against the crisp fall air, wearing boots with her plaid pencil skirt and cream-colored top, and adding a colorful scarf to her black pea coat. She’d looked sophisticated, like she’d stepped from the pages of a magazine. David had foregone his leather jacket, instead layering his long-sleeved button up shirt with a tailored wool blazer.

As they walked along the deck, she
had smiled at him, and he had taken her hand. It wasn’t the first time he’d held it, and he had to admit, it felt comfortable. They talked about London, and she told him about the places they would visit. She thanked him for dinner and promised to treat him to her favorite restaurant once he had settled into his new flat. David had found himself watching her, trying to imagine what his life with her could be like.

The wind picked up, blowing her long blond hair. She
’d reached up to brush the stray locks away from her face, and he’d stopped her, reaching up to brush the wayward strand away himself. She had frozen, looking at him as he moved closer. He found himself staring at her eyes, and then her lips. Without planning to, he kissed her.

He had kissed Amelia before. When he was younger, he had stolen a number of kisses from her, experimenting, and she
’d seemed happy to reciprocate. Something had changed. They had grown up, and they hadn’t seen each other for over a year. But there was something else. David hadn’t known Abby when they were younger. He hadn’t known what it was like to touch someone and feel heat radiate across your skin like you might catch fire.

Suddenly he
’d known for sure—settling for comfortable could never be enough. And it seemed something had changed for Amelia as well. She’d let him kiss her, and then gently pulled away, turning her gaze to the beach. The sun had almost gone, and the bright lights in the beach houses sparkled.

“What is it?” David asked.

“I’m sorry,” she began, resting her arms on the balcony’s railing. “I don’t think I can do this.” She told him that although she enjoyed his friendship, she couldn’t pretend to want something more. She had met someone else.

“Do you love him?”

“I thought I did,” Amelia answered. “But I never pursued it.”

David smiled. “Maybe you
should
pursue it, if you feel that strongly about it. What stopped you?”

Amelia turned to look at him. “You. I was too worried about hurting you.”

David laid his hand over hers. “Worrying about my feelings is not a good reason to stay with me, Amelia.”

She frowned. “I know. But it wasn’t just that. I was terrified of disappointing my parents.” Then she smiled, but it was bittersweet. “I guess I’ll have to now though—I need to tell them how I feel. It’s probably too late for Lucas and me. He’s moved on. But I now know that I can’t continue as I have. I need to date other people before I settle down with someone. Do you understand?”

David laughed, relieved. “Yes. I understand completely. I met someone too. And I think I’m a goner.”

Her eyes widened. “But…if you think you’re in love with her, why did you kiss
me
?” She touched her lips absently, as though she could still feel his touch.

“I’m sorry,” David said, turning away. “I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t something I thought about, consciously, but I think maybe I needed to know for sure that things couldn’t work between us before I said something to you.”

Amelia put her hand on his shoulder and he turned back toward her. “Well,” she smiled, “I guess we know for sure now. So, where does that leave us? Do we remain friends?”

David nodded. “I would like that. I’m going to need a friend in London. And I would still love to
take you to the Autumn Ball, if you’d still like to go.”

She
’d agreed to go, and David had agreed not to say anything to his parents until Amelia had a chance to chat with hers.

Now, Amelia was standing next to him at the ball
, looking beautiful in her gown and happier than he’d ever seen her. David was happy too—it was as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He still needed to talk with his parents about Amelia, but he felt free to pursue Abby without guilt.

He caught a glimpse of Moira and the Buchans as they descended the stairs. He looked for Abby, worried for a second that s
he hadn’t come. Then he saw her at the top of the stairs, and his heart stopped. She was stunning. His eyes locked on hers, and he couldn’t look away, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop himself from smiling. When she smiled back at him, he knew he
had
to talk to her tonight, to try to explain what he felt. He couldn’t leave town without knowing whether or not she felt the same.

Abby felt Jon tense up beside her as he caught the look between her and David, and then felt him relax when he saw Marisol. She was smiling at both Jon and Abby. She looked radiant in a copper gown. Even from a distance, Abby could see that the color complemented her brilliant green eyes, and that they were kind.

Not so kind were the eyes belonging to the girls standing next to Marisol. Abby could feel nothing but disgust oozing from Michal and Monroe. They looked beautiful as usual, but their obvious feelings of ill will diminished their looks.

Abby ignored them—she wasn’t going to let their pettiness get the best of her tonight. Whatever negative feelings she’d had about them in the past were irrelevant now. She planned to enjoy the evening to the fullest.

“I know what you’re thinking about,” Jon whispered, leaning in close.

Abby looked at him. “Do you?”

He smiled slyly. “Yeah. Don’t worry about them—they’re just jealous. Let’s give them something to talk about.” He steered her toward the dance floor, spinning her around so her gown whirled dramatically, and then expertly pulled her back into his arms.

“Nicely done,” Abby laughed. “But aren’t you worried about sending the wrong message to Marisol?”

“Nah. I don’t think she would be threatened by our friendship,” Jon said. “If she is, I wouldn’t want her anyway.”

Abby wasn’t sure if Jon was talking about Marisol or dropping a hint about his feelings regarding her and David. She decided it was better not to ask.

“Well,” she said, “I suppose a little competition will only make her want you more.”

Jon grinned mischievously, spinning her again. She laughed. It was so easy to flatter his ego sometimes. She settled into his arms.

Looking over Jon’s shoulder, Abby noticed that Riordan and Cassandra had joined them on the dance floor and seemed to be having a wonderful time. They were matched in intelligence and humor, and still seemed to be madly in love after many years of marriage. They looked beautiful together—Riordan in a black tuxedo (he had foregone the kilt for one evening) and Cassandra in the peridot dress Abby had helped her find. Abby hoped she should be so lucky in a relationship someday.

As Abby and Jon circled around the dance floor, she saw that David had started dancing with his date too. The fair-haired young woman was uncommonly beautiful, with delicate features and wide, expressive eyes. She wore a strapless, deep-red dress that flattered her figure and flared out at the hem elegantly. With her fair skin and genteel mannerisms, Abby had a feeling David’s date wasn’t a Great Outdoors kind of girl, but was familiar with more high-browed pursuits.

Although he was a good dancer and his partner seemed content in his arms, David seemed distracted, not making eye contact with the girl at all. As far as Abby could tell, he was looking straight at
her
. She returned his gaze and smiled, thinking David would acknowledge her and return his attention to his date, but his stare intensified, burning into her. Abby felt mesmerized. She could no more break eye contact with him than a moth could avoid being consumed by the brilliant light of a flame.

The spell was only broken as the song wound to a close. Abby forced herself to look away as David left the dance floor, leading his date back to her seat. She thanked Jon for the dance and turned to walk away, thinking that after such an intense interaction, David would be at her side in seconds.

Jon could see that Abby was itching to go to David, but he pulled her back, one hand gripping hers, the other on the small of her back, keeping her close. “Wait,” he whispered in her ear. “I know you want to go to him, but bear with me for just one more song.”

Abby jerked back, startled. Jon stared into her wide eyes, pleading, and Abby settled back into his arms as the next song started. “Jon,” she said. “I’m not bearing with you—I
love
dancing with you. I’m
so
sorry if I hurt your feelings—I just assumed that you would want to dance with Marisol next.”

Jon smiled weakly. “I do. But I know that once I let you go, things with us will change. I don’t want to lose you.” He realized that they were standing still in the middle of the dance floor while other couples danced around them. He moved his feet, and to his relief, Abby joined him. They swayed back into synch with the music.

“Jon, you’re my best friend,” Abby reassured him. “Nothing can change that.”

She moved closer to him, tightening her arms around his neck.

“You say that now, but things
will
change. It’s inevitable,” Jon said. Abby was silent. Jon supposed she knew that things would change too. He continued. “We’ve always had each other—since we were little kids. All the ups and downs—us dating other people—we’ve always managed to come back to each other. I know as we get into relationships with other people, real ones, I mean, we’ll grow apart. But I will always,
always
be here for you.”

“Jon, you’re my soul mate,” Abby said, placing her hand on his cheek. “No matter what happens, we’ll always be in each other’s thoughts, no matter where we are.”

“You’re my soul mate too,” Jon said. He took her hand and kissed the palm. “I love you Abby, and I just want you to be happy.”

“I love you too. And I want
you
to be happy.” She hugged him tight, nestling her head against his chest. Then she looked up at him. “I’m sorry that things never worked out between us in
that
way. I just…as much as I care for you, I couldn’t give you want you wanted. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Jon said, smiling. “I just think the universe has other plans for us. It’s okay. And I was wrong about David—he actually seems like a nice guy. Just do me a favor, and be careful.”

“Why do you say that?” Abby asked.

Jon frowned. “I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something dangerous about your being with him. Not that he would
mean
to hurt you, but more like being involved with him could put you in a bad situation—you know, with all that other stuff you’ve been talking about. I’ve always been the guy looking out for you, and I guess that will be his job now, but what if he can’t? I’m sorry—I just have a bad feeling I can’t really explain. You have your bad dreams, and I have mine.”

“Well, given my bad dreams, I’m inclined to take yours seriously as well. I’ll be careful,” Abby
assured him. “I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Jon hugged her tight and let her go. “All right, I’ve said what I needed to say. I give you my blessing to go dance with him now, and I’m going to go find Marisol.” He walked with her back to their table. “Wish me luck.”

Abby grinned. “Luck. Thanks, Jon, for everything.”

Abby looked for David across the room, but he wasn’t at his table. The blond was there, talking to several young men. A man Abby assumed must be David’s father, Philip Corbin, was there as well, engaged in conversation with his peers. Abby looked to the dance floor and smiled. David was dancing with his mother, and she was clearly bursting with pride.
Aww, how sweet,
Abby thought. She watched them for a few moments, thinking that David really
was
a nice guy if he were willing to humor his mother like that.

After a while, Abby again felt the strange sensation of someone staring at her. This time, however, when she turned, she realized it wasn't David, and it wasn't a good thing. Somehow she had ended up at the Buchans’ table alone with Moira, and the woman was studying her intently. The look on Moira’s face reminded Abby of a nature show she had once seen about Central American snakes. An image flashed in her mind of a fer-de-lance viper, a cunning and aggressive predator, coiled up and ready to strike a hapless jungle rodent.