Between the Lines

by Jayne Ann Krentz

  “Go on, Sam, I’ll be along in a minute. I want to have a quick word with Amber,” Cynthia announced.

  “Sure. See you in a minute, Amber.” He sauntered off to say hello to Gray, who was back at the door.

  When they were alone, Amber turned to her sister with concern. “What’s wrong, Cyn?”

  “Everything,” Cynthia declared in grim tones. She searched her sister’s face anxiously. “He’s here, Amber. Right here in Bellevue. He came to see me yesterday trying to find you.”

  A cold premonition crystallized deep in Amber’s stomach. “Who are you talking about, Cynthia?”

  “Roarke Kelley,” Cynthia exclaimed impatiently. “He’s been hurt in a race accident, and he’s come looking for you to soothe his fevered brow.”

  “Oh, my God.”

  Cynthia sighed. “I had a hunch you’d say something like that.”

  7

  Amber asked the first question that came into her head. “Did you tell him where I live now?”

  “No,” Cynthia assured her quickly. “But it’s not going to take him long to find you. You know that. He’ll go to your old apartment and ask a few questions. That’s all it’s going to require for him to locate you.”

  Amber shook her head, feeling dazed. “But why should he want to find me, Cyn? He was the one who broke things off between us.”

  “Not exactly,” Cynthia retorted. “As I recall the story, you finally informed him you’d had enough and that you didn’t want to see him again.”

  “Well, he certainly didn’t give me any argument on the subject,” Amber said feelingly. “He was involved with a blonde at the time. I got the impression he wasn’t even aware I’d made our breakup official.”

  “He’s very good-looking, isn’t he?” Cynthia said musingly as she and Amber turned to walk slowly toward the house. “I hadn’t realized. I mean, I hadn’t met him while you were dating him, and I just had no idea he was quite so attractive. Lots of dark, brooding, wicked good looks. And then there’s that dashing touch of danger racing lends him. No wonder you were swept off your feet.”

  “What an intolerable situation.” Amber ignored what her sister was saying as she tried to think of how to handle the problem that confronted her. “Why the hell did he have to show up?” She pictured Roarke Kelley in her mind and groaned. “Was he badly hurt, Cyn?”

  “He’s got an interesting scar or two, but that’s about all I could see. They just add to his attraction. Rather like old-fashioned dueling scars, if you know what I mean. He didn’t say much about the accident, just enough to imply he had suffered bravely. I only talked to him for a few minutes. I got rid of him as quickly as I could.”

  “Did you tell him I was married?”

  “Those were practically the first words out of my mouth,” Cynthia assured her.

  “Did the news put him off, do you think?” Amber realized she felt numb. She couldn’t seem to think straight. The thought of facing a room full of Gray’s business friends was suddenly overwhelming.

  Cynthia shook her head. “I don’t think your marriage fazed him in the least. If so, he didn’t show it.”

  “He wouldn’t,” Amber said miserably. “He’ll probably see it as a challenge. Oh, Lord, Cynthia, what am I going to do?”

  “Tell Gray?” Cynthia suggested quietly.

  “No! Absolutely not!” Amber was shocked at the suggestion. “I don’t want Gray involved in this. It’s my problem. I’ll have to take care of Roarke on my own.”

  “Why? You’ve got a husband now. Let him help you.”

  “Cynthia, I have no idea how Gray would react to this. We’ve only been married two weeks. He might be very upset. He might be hurt. He would most definitely be shocked. What husband wouldn’t be? I’ve never told him about Roarke. He knows I was involved with someone in California and that the experience left a bad taste in my mouth, but that’s all he knows. Regardless of how he might feel about the situation, I’m an adult woman. I have to handle my own past.”

  Cynthia looked unconvinced. “I’m not so sure, Amber. I like Gray.”

  “So do I. That’s one of the reasons I don’t want him to have to confront Roarke for me,” Amber said swiftly.

  Cynthia eyed her sister curiously. “You like Gray?”

  “Well, of course I do, idiot. I wouldn’t have married him otherwise. I am very content with Gray.”

  “Content? I was hoping that after two weeks of marriage you might have decided that what you felt for Gray involved more than just a sense of contentment.”

  Amber was startled. “I happen to appreciate the state of being content,” she said bluntly. “I assure you, I’m totally committed to this marriage, Cynthia. But we’ve only been married two weeks. I’m not about to risk everything I’ve begun to build with Gray by throwing Roarke Kelley at him and telling him to do something about the man. I’m going to have to deal with this myself.” Amber broke off for a moment as they reached the front door. “Maybe Roarke will just give tip and go away,” she said hopefully.

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” Cynthia said frankly. “He came a long way looking for you. He’s not likely to just disappear without trying his hand at seducing you. You said yourself you’re probably a challenge to him now.”

  Amber paled. “Seducing me?” She repeated the words with a kind of stunned horror.

  “You don’t think he’s come all this way just to wish you good luck in your marriage, do you?” Cynthia asked pointedly.

  Amber couldn’t think of anything to say to that. She opened the door with a sense of impending doom and found Gray standing on the other side. Frantically she summoned up her best reassure-the-client smile.

  “I was just about to go outside and see what was keeping you,” he said quietly. His green-and-gold eyes moved over her too-bright expression with lazy appraisal.

  “Amber and I were just having a quick sisterly chat,” Cynthia told him smoothly. “I haven’t had much chance to talk to her since she got back from her honeymoon, and I knew we wouldn’t get much of an opportunity tonight. What a crowd! Did the two of you prepare all this food?”

  “Amber supervised. I just followed orders. Turns out she cooks better than she types.” Gray held out his hand to his wife. “Come with me, honey. I want to introduce you to some friends of mine.”

  Amber obediently gave him her hand, and he folded it inside his large, competent palm. She wondered if he was aware of how cold her fingers were. Hastily she regrouped her forces and plunged into her hostessing chores. “Have fun, Cynthia. Elizabeth Bead arrived a few minutes ago. She said she wanted to talk to you about your trip to Hawaii.”

  Cynthia smiled agreeably, darting a quick glance at Gray’s impassively polite face. “I’ll go find her. Nice to see you again, Gray.”

  He nodded and with a firm grip led Amber toward a small knot of people standing by the window. “Did your sister say something to upset you?”

  Amber caught her breath and then smiled even more brilliantly. “Oh, no. She just wanted to tell me about something that happened to her yesterday. I gather she had an unexpected guest.”

  “Is everything all right?”

  “Just fine. I didn’t get all the details.” Good heavens, Amber thought in mounting horror. I’ve got to shut up. I’m actually on the verge of lying to him. I can’t lie to Gray. Frantically she changed the subject. “Who are these people I’m about to meet? Anyone I should pretend to know by reputation?”

  “MacKenzie would be thrilled if you told him you’d heard of his restaurant chain plans,” Gray said, sounding amused.

  “Well, I can say that, can’t I? I just heard about them from you.”

  ‘Do you always tell the truth, Amber?” Gray asked as if academically interested in the question.

  “Certainly.” She paused. “If I can.” He knew something was wrong. She was
going to have to be very careful tonight.

  “Have you always told me the truth?”

  Her eyes flew to his. “Always,” she vowed.

  “But sometimes you choose not to answer questions.”

  “Everyone has the right not to answer certain questions,” she declared staunchly. She knew he was thinking about that afternoon when they’d had lunch in the canyon and he’d asked her about her past. “That’s not the same thing as lying.”

  “No,” he agreed gently, “it’s not.”

  There was no time for him to say anything else. They had reached the convivial group by the window, and Gray introduced his wife with a quiet male pride that made Amber more determined than ever not to involve him in the situation she faced with Roarke Kelley. She would not allow Roarke to jeopardize her marriage, and she knew him well enough to know that he was not above trying to do exactly that; not because he was passionately in love with her, but simply to repay her for bruising his ego six months ago. Roarke was generally the one who ended relationships. He wasn’t accustomed to having a woman return the favor as Amber had done.

  She had to get rid of Kelley, she told herself a hundred times that evening as she played the role of wife and hostess and business partner. She didn’t want to see him, but there would probably be no way to avoid it. She couldn’t let him track her down and just show up on her doorstep.

  The nervous tension built steadily within her all evening. Amber thought she covered it reasonably well and hoped that if anyone noticed her edginess he or she would chalk it up to the excitement and the pressure of giving her first major party with Cray. She knew Cynthia was concerned about her, but apparently Sam knew nothing of the day’s events. He was as blithely friendly and genial as ever. Gray seemed to like him, which was nice, Amber told herself.

  By eleven o’clock Amber was beginning to wonder if the party would ever end. She knew she was never going to remember all the names of Gray’s business associates. Even if her full attention had been concentrated on the task, she probably couldn’t have managed that trick. As it was, she would be lucky to remember a fraction of them. All evening long her mind kept darting back and forth between the looming problem of Roarke Kelley and the pressure of trying to maintain a charming facade for Gray’s friends and associates. It took all her stamina to survive with a smile on her face until the door finally closed behind the last guest.

  “Well, that’s over,” Gray said in relieved satisfaction as he locked the door. He absently began loosening the knot of his tie as he strolled toward Amber. “You looked a little harried there at times. How are you feeling?”

  “Exhausted.” It was nothing less than the truth„ Anxiously she met his eyes. “Did I really look harried? Do you think any of your guests noticed?”

  He shook his head slowly, smiling at her. But his eyes were watchful, and Amber’s nerves tightened another notch. “Relax. You did a beautiful job. I was very proud of you. I imagine it showed.”

  She returned his smile, relaxing for an instant in the knowledge that he was pleased with her. “Yes, it showed. But it works both ways, you know. I’m sure everyone here tonight was well aware of how proud I am of you.”

  He slipped the tie from around his neck and slung it over his shoulder as he walked toward her. Amber wished desperately she could tell what he was thinking. There was a slight smile edging his mouth, but it didn’t quite compensate for the almost analytical look in his eyes. “Are you proud of me, Amber?” Gray asked curiously.

  Her eyes widened in surprise at the question. Impulsively she went into his arms. “Definitely. I feel very fortunate to be married to you. I wasn’t sure at first that we were doing the right thing by getting married, but now I’m very glad I let you talk me into it.”

  He framed her face between his wide palms. His thumbs traced the line of her jaw with subdued sensuality as Gray gazed thoughtfully down into her upturned face. “You’re happy with me?”

  “Oh, yes, Gray. Very happy.” And I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect that happiness, Amber added with silent conviction. She searched his gaze, wondering what had prompted him to start asking such questions tonight of all times. “What about you? Are you happy?”

  He nodded seriously. “Yes,” he said simply. “I think things are working out all right.”

  Amber’s laugh was a little shaky. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  His eyes grew more intent as he lowered his head to kiss her. “I’ll tell you one of these days.”

  She wanted to ask him to explain, but his mouth was claiming hers, and right at that moment Amber was overcome by a fierce need to be held as only Gray could hold her. Throwing her arms around his neck, she pressed herself passionately against him, deepening the kiss with a kind of wild abandon that seemed to take Gray by surprise for an instant.

  But he wasn’t about to interrupt the new mood by asking any more questions. In a gesture of easy strength, he cradled Amber in his arms and carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. There in the shadows Amber drew him down into an embrace that left them both trembling and deliciously exhausted. Held tenderly in his arms, Amber found the reassurance and sense of safety she needed so desperately that night.

  * * *

  Seated at his desk across the room from Amber the next morning, Gray covertly eyed his wife. Something was wrong, and it was clear she wasn’t ready yet to tell him about it. Logic told him it had something to do with whatever she and her sister had been discussing last night. Short of pinning Amber down and demanding an explanation, Gray didn’t see how he was going to find out what was going on. Whatever it was, Amber had apparently decided to handle it herself.

  That alarmed him.

  In the first place, he told himself, she should be coming to him for help if she was in any kind of trouble. In the second place, he worried that, whatever the problem was, Amber might worsen it or complicate things by trying to deal with it on her own.

  He’d already had a taste of her bravery. He would never forget that night she had boldly come to his rescue by pretending to be his bodyguard. She still didn’t know just how much danger she had been in that night. The lady had guts, but he wasn’t sure just how much common sense she had to go along with them. There was more passion and impulsiveness in her than she herself realized.

  Gray watched her sip her third cup of tea. That action alone was cause for concern. Amber normally only had one cup in the morning and one in the afternoon. It wasn’t yet eleven o’clock, and here she was on her third. He thought about telling her that whatever had put her nerves on edge, caffeine wasn’t going to help. Then he decided against it. She didn’t look as though she was in the mood for advice.

  “I’ll have to leave for that luncheon meeting with Harrison soon,” Gray said quietly into the stillness.

  Amber’s head came up with a jerk as if he’d just shouted at her. Belatedly she smiled. “Yes, that’s right. I’d almost forgotten. Still expect to be gone for most of the afternoon?”

  Gray nodded. Such meetings weren’t unusual. Amber was accustomed to having the house and the office to herself when he was meeting clients. “Had any more thoughts about Harrison’s project?”

  She blinked as if the Harrison job had been the farthest thing from her mind that morning. Gray could almost see her struggling to pull her scattered thoughts together.

  “No, not really. I agree with you that if he insists on buying that software firm he’ll be taking too big a risk. It’s a real gamble, given the status of the software market at the moment, but I know Harrison has dreams of making his fortune in a hurry. You probably won’t be able to talk him out of the deal. Therefore you might as well take him on as a client. You might be able to help him avoid some of the larger pitfalls he’s bound to encounter.”

  “That’s what I like about you, Amber. You have a nice, practical approach to this business.” He sm
iled at her.

  “Well, I knew you didn’t keep me around for three months because of my phenomenal skill at the typewriter,” she managed to retort with a trace of her usual flippant humor.

  Gray got to his feet and walked over to kiss her lightly on the nose. “You’re absolutely right. I didn’t keep you on as my assistant because of your typing skill. There were a whole lot of other reasons. One of these days I’ll tell you about them. Right now, I’d better dig out a tie and jacket for lunch. Sure you don’t want to come along?”

  Amber shook her head quickly. “You don’t need me, and I have a lot of things to do today.”

  “All right. I’ll see you late this afternoon. Goodbye, honey.”

  Amber sighed with relief a few minutes later as she watched Gray walk out the door and climb into his slightly staid Mercedes. She had been sitting on pins and needles all morning long wondering when the phone would ring. She was a nervous wreck anticipating having to deal with Roarke Kelley. The thought of having to handle him while Gray listened in on the conversation had been enough to induce an anxiety attack.

  She closed the front door after seeing Gray off and traipsed back to the office. There she flung herself into her chair and gazed moodily out the window.

  Perhaps Roarke wouldn’t call. Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to find her as easily as Cynthia seemed to think. Perhaps he would leave town without contacting her now that he knew Amber was married.

  All three possibilities were false hopes, and deep in the pit of her stomach Amber’s nerves told her not to believe in any of them. If Roarke had come this far to see her, he wasn’t likely to simply give up and go away without making contact.

  Twenty minutes later the phone rang. Amber jumped, her attention wrenched from the financial report she had been attempting to study. With a sense of doom she picked up the receiver. Her instincts told her who it would be before she even said hello.