Chapter 5
Amber was sitting in the bow of the boat, sketchbook in hand, but the page was blank. They’d spent the last week jumping from island to island, headed for the Gulf of Alaska, then across to Anchorage and their wedding ceremony. Just thinking about marrying Daniel made butterflies erupt in her stomach, it was a feeling she was quickly becoming used to. At first, she’d felt that way because Daniel was a total stranger, but now she was feeling that way because she was falling for him.
Her brain was so full of Daniel that no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t concentrate on her sketch book, something that had never happened to her before. She’d been coping just fine with her attraction to him until a few days ago when they’d been caught in a freak storm and blown way off course. It had happened in what felt like a split second, one minute the skies were blue with only a few wispy clouds then suddenly the skies turned black and it began to rain.
When the wind began to blow, Daniel scrambled to keep the boat on course but it took the sails and before they knew it they were far out to sea. It had taken everything in her not to panic, to listen to Daniel's instructions as they fought the wind and rain and a sea that resembled boiling water. He was able to adjust the sails and get them back on course but it was a struggle, and at times she was sure that the boat was going to capsize, but Daniel was as calm as if this happened every day.
By the time they were back on course, they’d lost several hours of travel time and it looked like they wouldn’t get to the mooring for the night until after dark. They were both soaked to the skin and frozen, but Amber didn’t care, after her first storm at sea, she was exhausted and just glad to be alive. It wasn’t until she knew that they were safe that she was able to breathe normally and that was when she began to realize just how dangerous the sea could be if you didn’t know what you were doing.
By the time they dropped anchor and secured the boat for the night it was getting dark, the stars just beginning to shine in the sky as if the storm had never happened. All she could think about was a hot shower and bed. Thanks to the soaking they’d received during the storm, she was crusted with salt, her hair stiff as if she’d put an entire tube of hair gel in it. Shuddering to think what all that salt was going to do to her skin, she made a mental note to get more lotion the next time they docked.
“I’m going to go take a shower if that’s okay,” she said when Daniel signaled that he was satisfied with their mooring.
He reached out and touched her hair, then smiled. “You do look a little salty.”
Daniel touching her hair made her heart start thumping in her chest and she had to swallow to get herself breathing again. “Gee, thanks. That’s a nice thing to say to a girl,” she shot back, grinning at him.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re covered in salt, you’re still beautiful,” Daniel said, stroking her cheek with his thumb.
Amber was completely unprepared for his touch or his words. “I umm… thank you.” She was unable to meet his eyes, too afraid she’d see laughter in them.
Daniel tipped her chin up and looked into her brown eyes. “I think you haven’t heard that enough.”
Amber’s heart was pounding, her breath coming in short gasps, no man had ever made her feel the way Daniel was making her feel right at that moment, like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. But she panicked, not sure how much more she’d be able to take before she threw herself in his arms and made a fool of herself.
“I better go take that shower and then I’ll make us some dinner,” she said, then fled down the stairs to her room.
Daniel watched Amber fleeing to her cabin and wasn’t the least bit sorry that he’d gotten carried away, she’d looked so adorable all crusted with salt from the storm. Not only had she not thrown a fit about getting wet, she’d managed to be helpful just when he’d needed her. Even the most seasoned sailor might have panicked in that storm, but she’d listened to his instructions and carried them out like an expert. There was plenty about Amber that turned him on, but her calm in the middle of that storm had done it more than all those other things put together.
More and more he was beginning to wonder if his mother had done him a favor after all, not that he’d ever admit that to her, but Amber had already managed to find her way into his heart and mind. It scared him a bit to find himself in this position, but if he’d learned one thing in life, it was that when something wonderful was dropped in your lap, the last thing you should do was push it away. He’d have to go slow, this was a complicated situation between them, but he knew that Amber was as attracted to him as he was to her, and they had a whole year together to create something that would last.
He’d never felt this way about a woman before, and he felt a little silly, but the truth was that when he was with Amber, life seemed just a little bit better. She made him laugh, had a unique way of looking at the world, and best of all she cared little for either what people thought about her or how much stuff she had. At times when she said something that he would have said, he wondered if she was that mysterious other half of himself that people always talked about. If she was the one thing in the world that would complete him.
He’d always assumed that sailing was the thing that completed him, but now he was beginning to wonder if there was more. Amber had opened his eyes to possibilities that he never knew existed, and more than anything he wanted to feel her in his arms, knew that if she felt the way he thought she would, there would be no turning back. He’d never been the type of person to run from something that scared him, and his budding feelings for Amber certainly scared him.
The sound of Amber’s footsteps coming up the stairs pulled him from his thoughts, and he realized that he was grinning like an idiot. But he was also still covered in salt himself. A shower before dinner was exactly what he needed to get his head together, to avoid acting on impulse like he had earlier. Just thinking about how close he’d come to kissing her was enough to stir him up, her lips had looked so soft, so kissable that he knew it was only a matter of time before he couldn’t resist them any longer.
When Amber got to the galley, Daniel was nowhere to be found and she breathed a sigh of relief. She still wasn’t ready to face him after their encounter on the deck earlier, still not ready to believe that a man as handsome as Daniel would find her beautiful. While she showered she’d almost managed to convince herself that the was just being nice, just trying to make her feel good after the storm. But then she’d remember the look in his eyes when he said it and all her logic would go out the window.
She would have just stayed in her room and gone to bed, but she was starving and Daniel probably was too. It had become her job to feed them and she knew exactly what she’d fix that night, a treat she’d been saving for just such an occasion. Going to the freezer, she pulled out the casserole dish that one of her new friends from the marina had shoved into her hands right before they left, turned on the oven and put it in.
Then she went to the storage compartment where Daniel had put all the alcohol they’d brought, a shocking amount if you asked her, but he’d said that they’d be thankful for it later. She pulled out a nice bottle of red wine, took it back to the galley and opened it up to let it breath, then put together a green salad. Then she set the table with the nicest dishes they’d brought, glad that the wind had died to just a slight breeze, not even enough to rock the boat.
Once everything was ready, she had no idea what to do with herself so she wandered onto the deck to look at the stars. Immediately, she noticed that the wind was warm, that the stars seemed brighter that night, the smell of the ocean sharper, tinged with the smell of wet Earth from the shore, and she took several deep breaths.
A sound from inside the boat let her know that Daniel was out of the shower and back in the galley. “Something smells wonderful,” he said, taking several deep breaths.
Amber let out the breath she’d been holding, she was making much too big a deal out of what had happened earlier. “It’s lasagna, I thought we deserved a treat tonight,” she said, stepping into the galley and taking the casserole out of the oven.
Daniel picked up the bottle of wine she’d chosen and looked at it. “Good choice, this will go well with Italian. I don’t suppose there’s a tiramisu hiding around here somewhere,” he said, a hopeful look on his face.
Amber laughed. “That does sound good, but we’ll just have to settle for the chocolate cake Mindy sent with the lasagna.”
Daniel pretended to consider that option, then grinned again. “I can live with that.”
Amber was relieved that they were back to their old comradery, but a little disappointed too. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected. Daniel wasn’t going to take her in his arms declare his love for her then kiss her senseless, that was what happened in her dreams. Things like that didn’t happen in real life and the sooner she got that through her head the better off she’d be, the easier it would be to deal with her feelings for Daniel.
Daniel poured them both a glass of wine, then looked out of the galley window and sucked in a deep breath. “Oh Amber, look,” he said, pointing out the window.
When she looked up from serving the lasagna, the window was full of color, greens and blues mixed with yellows and oranges. “Oh, it’s the Northern Lights, they’re so bright here!” she said, transfixed by the shower of colored light outside the window.
“Let’s take our dinner and eat it on the deck,” Daniel said, gathering up plates and silverware as Amber continued to stare at the sky.
They didn’t talk much while they ate, the lights in the sky all they needed right then. When they were finished, Daniel took the dishes back to the galley and came back with not only Amber’s sketchbook but steaming cups of coffee. He handed her the sketchbook and the charcoal she like to use, then the coffee without a word.
Again, Amber was touched by his thoughtfulness and realized that it was nice to have someone take care of her. “Thank you,” she said, then set it aside. “That was really nice, but I think I’d just like to enjoy the night.”
Daniel smiled, as late as it was, and even after all the excitement earlier in the day, he was full of energy. “Do you mind if I join you?” he asked, gesturing to the space next to her.
Amber had to work hard to suppress the smile that wanted to break out on her face. “That would be nice too,” she managed to say.
Daniel settled down next to her, his leg resting against hers, and the wonderful smell that she’d come to associate with him filling her nostrils. She shivered as a wave of desire rushed through her, goosebumps breaking out on her skin.
“Are you cold? Let me get a blanket,” Daniel said, opening the storage compartment next to them and pulling out one of the thick fuzzy blankets they’d bought together.
He settled down closer to her and spread the blanket over them, wrapping them in its warmth and softness. Amber had never imagined when she’d picked out the blanket that they’d be snuggled underneath it together, and she sighed with pleasure. Then Daniel put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her closer, and she was instantly filled with a feeling of contentment unlike anything she’d ever felt before. The moment was perfect and so romantic that she let out another long sigh, feeling all the tension from the day evaporate.
Daniel felt Amber relax in his arms, and smiled, she felt even better there then he’d imagined she would. Looking up into the night sky he wondered what force had brought them together and what the universe had planned for them. Feeling like he needed to say something, share with her just a little bit of what he was feeling, he collected his thoughts and took a deep breath.
“This is part of the reason I love sailing, nights like this when the stars are shinning, the wind is warm and there’s no one around to bother me,” Daniel said. “It gives me a chance to step away from my life.”
Amber was silent for a moment.“There are so many people out there who would love to have the money you have, but you don’t really care that much about it.”
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe I’d feel differently about it if I didn’t have it, but sometimes it’s a burden. Don’t get me wrong I know just how lucky I am, that’s why I named the boat gratitude, but that money comes with expectations I’m just not willing to fulfill.”
“I think I understand. We’re expected to dress a certain way, act a certain way, attend certain parties, and I’m certain that I hate it too,” Amber said, trying to introduce a little humor into the conversation.
Daniel smiled at her. “That’s what I like about you, Amber, you feel just like I do. I hate to say it, but our mothers might have actually had a good idea when they matched us up,” he said, then cringed. “I can’t believe I said that out loud.”
Amber’s heart was racing in her chest, her palms had suddenly gotten sweaty, and she wasn’t sure she was capable of speech. She looked up at him to see if he was kidding, but his face was serious, his eyes searching hers for some indication that she felt the same way. Amber was unable to look away from his blue eyes, the connection between them simmering in the night air, making her all too aware that Daniel’s mouth was only a few inches from hers.
“I didn’t notice,” Amber said, lying through her teeth, but afraid to tell him that she felt it too. Afraid that he’d laugh and slap her on the back like a buddy.
“You’re lying,” he said, then lowered his mouth just inches from hers. “I’ve been wanting to do this since that first night when you opened the door.”
When his mouth came down on hers, Amber couldn’t have resisted if she’d wanted to. His lips were warm and firm and when he parted her lips with his tongue to explore her mouth she wrapped her arms around him and gave herself up to the kiss. Pleasure rushed though her as his tongue dipped into her mouth, then out again. His teeth nipping at her lips sent shivers down her spine and a purr came out from deep in her throat.
When his hands began to roam over her body, the growl that came out of his throat brought Amber back to her senses. Pushing away, she said, “I’m not sure that this is a good idea. I didn’t want… I mean this isn’t what… You can’t possibly want…” Then completely at a loss for words, she turned and fled to her room.
Elaine turned and paced across the room once more, her frustration level had maxed out days ago and it was driving her crazy that she couldn’t do anything about it. After Bridget had called to inform her that the kids had taken off in Daniel’s boat for Anchorage, she tried for hours to call Amber but her ungrateful daughter hadn’t picked up the call. Now they could be anywhere between here and Anchorage and she had no way of knowing exactly where, which made her even more frustrated.
She should have known that Amber would find a way to screw up her plans, she always did, but this time the stakes were much higher than ever before. It was an unusual feeling to not get what she wanted, to not be able to use her money to get her hands on Amber and make her do as she wished. It never occurred to her that Daniel and Amber might just be doing what she wanted but in their own way, she wanted what she wanted and that was the end of it.
For years she’d been dreaming about the wedding they’d give Amber when the time came, it was going to be the kind of wedding that people would be talking about for years. It had been so carefully planned, a whirlwind romance, followed by a short engagement, and then the wedding. But it was her own fault for not making Amber understand that there was more to their agreement than just staying married for a year, Bridget had admitted that she too had done the same thing.
Still, she wasn’t going to give up, certainly couldn’t back down now, the wedding was too important to both her and Bridget. It was past time that their children learned that no matter how old they were, they should still respect their parents and their wishes. The more she thought about how ungrateful Amber had been since they’d adopted her, the angrier she became, and not for the first time, she considered cutting Amber off wedding or no wedding.
She’d tried so hard with Amber from the very beginning, sat with her through the nights she cried for her parents, bought her the best clothes and toys to cushion her grief. They’d sent her to the best boarding school, supported her art career, even bought her the cottage she lived in. But it had done no good, and maybe it was time she faced the fact that Amber would never be the daughter she’d hoped for, the kind of daughter she could brag to her friends about.
Now when she tried to talk about Amber all she could brag about was her art and most of her friends would simply look at her with a blank stare. To them art was a hobby, not a career. In fact unless Amber was an executive at some big cooperation, most of her friends wondered why she wasn’t married to someone who was, that was what people in their circle did. She wasn’t sure if she agreed with them and Amber did seem to have some talent, might actually do okay as an artist. But what she thought wasn’t important, society expected them to behave a certain way to retain their social status, and Amber’s art career didn’t fit, could actually ruin Elaine’s standing in society. If she didn’t have her social standing, then she had nothing else. Amber’s marriage to one of the most eligible bachelors in Seattle would have cemented her status for the rest of her life, now she had no idea if that was ever going to happen.