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Amber took the photo, holding it carefully at the edges, and smiled at the bunch of them. A handsome group. It was several years old and reminded her of the boy she had known in sigh school.
A gust of wind burst past them and blew the picture from between her fingertips.
“No,” she cried, trying to retrieve it with a wide sweep of her arm.
Brian stepped back and caught it out of the air. “I’ve got it, don’t worry.”
“Amber, is that you?”
Her heart stalled at the familiar voice that shouldn’t have been within shouting distance. She spun around and looked down the block at a pale, lanky man with a shock of bright red hair. It was Eric, walking with a couple of friends.
His smile grew wide as he jogged over and swept her up in a bear hug. “Baby, I tried to call, but you were already out. This is perfect.”
She stiffened as he set her down and looked at Brian who stood back a few feet and watching the exchange with a dark expression.
“Brian, this is—”
But Eric moved past her with his hand extended in introduction.
“Hey, Brian. I’m Eric Henner, Amber’s boyfriend.”
Brian took the hand and shook it politely before stuffing his hands back into his pockets and staring at the ground.
Amber’s eyes widened and her heart sank. This couldn’t be happening. She stepped over to Brian, leaning in close. “Brian, this isn’t what you think. Eric’s been in New York—”
“Oh, New York? That explains it.” His voice was low and cold, edged with accusation.
She immediately saw he thought she was sneaking around behind her boyfriend’s back. But that wasn’t right. She couldn’t let him think it. “No, you don’t understand—”
“I understand perfectly. This schmuck was away and you thought you’d play.” Those blue eyes, so open and inviting before, now reflected like cold hard ice.
Her mind turned to sludge as panic edged in. She was already losing him. She had to explain. Eric had left months ago, left her months ago. In an effort to show Brian where he stood, she turned to Eric and braced herself to tell him the truth. This was a date. She hated to hurt him, but she would talk to him later.
“Eric, Brian is someone I know from high school. We ran into each other on the train today—”
“—and just decided to catch up some,” Brian cut in. Then with a low aside to Amber, he said, “Pretty much what I figured with a girl like you.”
Turning back to Eric, he gave a nonchalant shrug. “But since you’re back, I was pretty much done here anyway. I’m beat. Mind if I take off and leave you two alone to top off the night?”
The blood drained from Amber’s face, as the shock of Brian’s callous dismissal set in. And then all of that blood flooded back in a hot rage as she understood what he was saying. He’d been just about done with her anyway? Too good to be true. Well, to hell with him, then!
Eric grinned and threw his arm over Amber’s shoulder. “Hey, no problem man. Need a ride?”
Turning to walk the other way, Brian paused. “No, I’ve already had one—I mean, I’ve got my own. Thanks for the good time, Amber.”
It felt like a slap to the face. As intended, she imagined. Hugging her arms defensively around her bare midriff, she felt sick to her stomach.
Eric pulled off his sport coat to wrap around her shoulders. Ever the gentleman.
“You ready to get out of here?” he asked, rubbing her arms over the jacket.
Brian shot a quick glance back over his shoulder at them. It was a look of contempt. Amber frowned watching her fantasy fade into the night. “Yes. Take me home, please.”
Chapter Four
Damn it, why did she feel like this? Like her heart had been crushed beneath a boulder. When Brian had smiled and spoken, Amber felt like her chest would burst open if she didn’t let go and give in to the current pulling her toward him. The current she thought was bringing them together. For once in her life, her mind had relinquished control to her heart and for a moment, it had been heaven. Amber didn’t believe in magic, but last night, she’d felt it. Felt freed by it in a way she could never have imagined, never dared to fantasize about. Sniffling, she wiped a stray tear with the back of her hand and sighed. She’d been under a spell all right, and then everything had gone to hell.
There was no fairy tale. Just a handsome prince out for a fuck. What of it? If she’d had her head screwed on straight, she would have known that was all it was and would be sipping coffee and smiling over a pleasurable conquest. Instead, she was sulking under her comf
