“That sounds lovely, it really does,” Amber admitted. There were times when she felt like maybe she was missing out on the kind of closeness that came from being in a real, deeply committed relationship with someone she loved. She enjoyed close relationships with some of her friends, like Julia, and she knew she was important to them. But she wasn’t the most important person in anyone’s life, except her own.
“What’s stopping you?” Julia asked.
Amber shook her head. “I don’t think I could do it. Being answerable to someone all the time, having to compromise on what I want because of someone else’s needs. Having someone who expects me to know they want coffee before they know themselves,” she added, turning Julia’s words back around on her. “Ugh, too much pressure. Sure I’d love to feel that connection, like you feel with Scott and Derek. I’m sure it’s wonderful, but don’t you ever worry about losing yourself in all that maleness?”
Julia’s eyebrows reached for the ceiling, as if the thought was absurd. “No, of course not. If anything I’m learning more about myself than I’ve ever known. Being with them has opened whole new worlds of possibility for me, and I’m not just talking about inside the bedroom.” Julia laughed, her eyes all but sparkling with happiness. “I swear I’ve become addicted to trying new experiences in all parts of my life.”
“Huh.” In Amber’s experience, relationships were nothing more than a series of ever-worsening compromises. Before you knew it your life was heading in a direction you never wanted it to go and your identity became nothing more than a casualty along the way. Not all relationships turned out that way, of course, and Julia’s seemed to be one of the exceptions. Still, Amber would rather be alone with her freedom than risk sliding into a bad relationship any day. She wasn’t sure Julia, who had committed herself to not one but two people, could possibly understand. “I’m happy for you, I am, but I don’t see that sort of relationship working for me.”
They stared at each other across the table for a moment before Julia shrugged and went back to slicing into her lunch. “Fair enough.”
Amber smiled at her friend, relieved Julia wasn’t staring at her like she had two heads. Not everyone could let it go when someone else’s lifestyle was drastically different from their own. But then, Julia knew that better than anyone. “Now, I have an important decision to make,” Amber announced. “Where am I going to wear my fabulous new shoes?”
“Oh, I have that covered,” Julia assured her. “We’re holding a dinner party next Saturday night for an old friend of Scott’s who’s spending a few months here in Melbourne. He doesn’t know many people here and Scott wants to introduce him around. Nothing too big, we’re just having a few people over for a meal and a couple bottles of wine. Are you in?”
“Sounds like fun,” Amber agreed with a nod. “What brings this guy to Melbourne?”
“All I got out of Scott was ‘he’s got some hippy obsession with planting more trees in the city.’” Amber laughed at Julia’s bad impersonation of her boyfriend. She didn’t do gruff well. “I guess that means he’ll be working here for a while,” her friend continued. “He does landscaping, gardening, that kind of thing.”
“Landscaping, really.” Images of the dirty gardener with the impressive body came to mind. “How’s it going?” she asked, hoping to sound mildly interested. “Is he getting any work?”
“Actually, Scott put his name in for a few jobs and that’s gotten him off the ground. He’s working on the yard for one of their houses now so you might have heard of him. After that, I guess it depends on how good he is at what he does, and how long he’s planning to hang around. Apparently he’s a bit of nomad.” Julia looked up into the air with a thoughtful expression. “I’m trying to remember his name. It starts with an L. Lionel, or Leonard, or something.”
“Linc?” Amber suggested.
“That’s it. Lincoln Zane,” Julia said, pointing a finger at her, then she frowned. “How did you know?”
“I met him briefly at that house he’s working on the other day.” And now she knew he was self-employed she understood his amusement when she’d told him she’d put in a good word for him with the boss. What with him actually being the boss and all. He could have told her that.
“And?” Julia asked with interest. “What’s he like?”
“You haven’t met him yet?”
She shook her head. “Work’s been crazy busy and I haven’t had time.”
“Oh, well, he’s… ” An arrogant prick with gorgeous green eyes, the body of a titan and an insufferable smirk to match. “He seems nice.”
Amber shoved a bite of avocado into her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything more. If Lincoln and Scott were good friends she didn’t want to bad-mouth him to Julia before her friend had a chance to meet the man. It wasn’t like she saw him kicking puppies or anything. He’d just rubbed her up the wrong way. Especially the part where he’d actually managed to rub, or rather slide, his body against hers. That was particularly hard to forget.
She shook her head clear of the memory and concentrated on what Julia was saying about the menu she and Derek had planned for the party.
“How do Linc and Scott know each other?” she asked when Julia took a breath. She wasn’t sure why she asked because she wasn’t curious about the man or anything. Not curious at all.
Julia took a moment to answer and Amber knew she was choosing her words carefully. “They went to high school together. Scott stayed with Lincoln and his family for a while at the end of his senior year.”
The answer only piqued her interest more, but Amber knew it would be inappropriate to ask more questions. She didn’t know much about Scott’s past but she knew it wasn’t all pretty. His parents weren’t in his life and she’d never heard him talk about his childhood years. As far as she was concerned, whatever she didn’t know about Scott’s past wasn’t any of her business.
In the time since Julia and the two men had gotten together, Amber had spent significant time with both Scott and Derek. It was only natural now they worked more closely together. They were good men and they adored Julia. That was all Amber needed to know. She would always do her part to support them.
Part of supporting her friends, of course, included showing up when they invited her to a dinner party, no matter who the guest of honour was. The thought of spending an entire evening being the target of Linc’s smirk made her squirm. But for Julia’s sake, she would smirk back and bear it.
Chapter 3
Amber rushed through the foyer of the swanky Southbank apartment building where Julia lived with Derek and Scott. She took no notice of the large European floor tiles or the impressive flower arrangements, instead glancing at her watch. “Great,” she muttered irritably as she stabbed the elevator button with a finger. She was more than half an hour late for the dinner party.
One foot, clad in a brand-spanking new sparkly shoe, tapped on a gleaming tile as she stared at the numbers on the digital display above the doors. Scarlet-tipped nails drummed against the bottle of wine she clutched in her hands. At least she was the only one waiting. The threesome lived way up on the 18th floor and, during busier times of the day, that could make for a long ride as she was forced to wait for all the other tenants to disembark first.
The elevator arrived and she stepped inside with a relieved sigh. Then, as the doors were swooshing closed, a masculine hand appeared between them. Amber fought the desire to tut in annoyance at the added delay. This wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t taken so long deciding what to wear. Why couldn’t she be endlessly punctual like Julia? She could set her watch by that woman’s ability to arrive on time.
The doors reopened with a quiet bing and she came face-to-face with the dirty gardener. Oh dear Lord, the man has a name, she reprimanded herself, try using it. “Good evening, Linc,” she said with a polite smile.
She was eternally grateful she’d been forewarned about who she was having dinner with because now she didn’t have to wear
the same shocked expression he wore. Instead, she merely raised an eyebrow at him and asked, “Are you getting in?”
He blinked a few times before he stepped forward into the small space. It seemed a lot more cramped with all six foot something of him in it. At least he was clean this time. Dressed in a simple button-up cotton shirt and blue denim jeans that hugged those tree-trunk thighs of his in all sorts of intriguing ways, he looked damned fine. And he smelled even better.
Glancing at the bank of buttons, he stepped toward the back of the elevator to stand beside her. As in facing her. Who did that? Everyone in polite society knew when you entered an elevator you should turn to face the doors. It was simple social etiquette. Apparently Lincoln wasn’t hampered by such norms.
“I didn’t know I’d be seeing you tonight,” he murmured in a low voice.
“Apparently not.” She shrugged a shoulder at him. “Sorry to disappoint.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw his head tilt as he continued to stare at her. “Who says I’m disappointed?”
She turned her head to look up at him and felt a shiver course through her. Holy hell, the man could stare. Without replying, she returned her attention to the display and saw they were about to arrive at their destination. “We’re here.” Her voice was a little breathless and it quivered a touch. She didn’t want to know what he’d make of that.
A moment later the doors parted and Amber hurried out of the elevator and onto the apartment floor. She took a deep gulp of air to steady her nerves and headed for Julia’s front door. She could hear Lincoln’s footsteps as he followed her. Not close behind, more like two steps behind. Far enough away he could easily be watching the swing of her butt as she stalked along the corridor. She sneaked a quick glance back over her shoulder and her eyes widened when she caught his gaze lifting from exactly that spot. She gasped, ready to issue a sharp reprimand for his bad behaviour when his hand shot out to grasp her by the elbow. His body bumped into her back as they both came to an abrupt stop. His face was way too close for her liking. She could see his smirk too easily.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Saving you from embarrassment—again.” He lifted his hand and knocked on the door. He didn’t have to reach very far. “You really should watch where you’re going.”
Amber yanked her elbow from his grasp and turned to see Julie’s door right in front of her face. If he hadn’t reached out to stop her, she would have walked straight into it.
Which would have been entirely his fault. He was the one distracting her with his inappropriate butt-watching.
She turned around to glare at him again. “I don’t appreciate—”
“Hey man.” Lincoln cut her off as the door opened, directing a wide grin at the man standing in the doorway.
“You’re late, guest of honour,” Scott said, grinning as he reached out to grip the other man’s hand in welcome.
Lincoln made a noise of dismissal. “Life is too short to be so attached to the clock, Scotty.”
“Tell that to Derek’s cooking times. I think he might blow a gasket.”
Amber drew Scott’s attention by pressing the bottle of wine she’d brought against his chest until he was forced to take it. “Good evening, Scott. It’s great to see you.” She pressed her cheek to his with a quick air-kiss. “Now please be a good host and pour me a glass of this, right away.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he told her before leading them forward into the living area. “I see you two have already met?”
“Not quite,” Lincoln replied. “Apparently, she knows who I am but I haven’t yet figured her out.” The baffled curiosity in his voice made her turn around.
Lincoln wasn’t looking around the apartment or taking in the amazing view of Melbourne, visible through the glass wall of the living room. Instead, his gaze had settled on her and showed no signs of moving. “Who the hell are you?” To Amber it felt like more than a simple request for her name. He was asking for everything about her. He wanted to know her inside and out. Get deep into her brain and dig around until he knew all her secrets.
She dismissed the ridiculous notion. He was just a man, and a horny one no doubt. Maybe he thought playing the ‘you’re such a mystery and I must figure you out’ card would be a good way to get into her pants. He wasn’t the first to try such a lame tactic. Sometimes she even allowed it to work, if it pleased her to do so. Though, she had to admit, this was the first time it had actually made her knees quiver.
She stood up straighter. “My name is Amber O’Hara,” she said with a straightforwardness intended to put a quash on the whole ‘mystery’ thing—quivering be damned. “I’m Julia’s friend and I work for Derek and Scott as an accountant.” She extended her hand in polite greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lincoln Zane.” There, mystery solved.
When he took hold of her hand, she gripped him firmly and gave his hand a few good pumps before letting go. He continued to stare at her, only now with his trademark smirk in place, as if her attempt at civility amused him.
“The whole staring thing makes you seem creepy,” she said after a moment. “You realise that, right?”
He grinned. “Yeah, sorry. I’m trying to figure out if there’s more to you than meets the eye.”
Amber glanced down at herself, a vague sense of indignation stirring. “Is there something wrong with what meets the eye?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her playfully. “I’m pretty sure women like you always know exactly how gorgeous you are.”
“That’s true,” she replied, giving one shoulder a practised shrug. She didn’t need some man to hand her compliments to know she looked good tonight. “What else do you think you know about women like me? Going only by what meets the eye, of course.”
“Of course.” He raised one hand and tapped a finger against his lips as he raked the length of her with his gaze. “Let’s see. You were running late tonight, but my guess is you had at least two hours to get ready. And that purse over your shoulder contains the latest smart phone, a tired credit card, and about a hundred other necessities you can’t possibly get through the evening without.” His head tilted in question. “How am I doing so far?”
“Wow, you’re pretty good at this,” she said, her words drowning in sarcasm. “Actually, I had three hours to get ready but I couldn’t decide what to wear. And I do use my credit card for everything. It gives me points which I use to shop for extra necessities to put in my purse. However, my phone is at least two years old. It’s practically a relic in modern terms. Therefore, technically, you lose.”
“Technically,” he repeated with a laugh. When he spoke again his voice was low and dark. “So what you’re telling me is, you’re nothing more than what you seem. A party girl, through and through.”
She moved closer, refusing to cower from his judgemental attitude, and looked up at him with wide eyes. “What can I say, Linc? You nailed me.” He choked on her choice of words and she gave a quiet chuckle, enjoying his discomfort. “At least my life is one hell of a good time,” she added as she stepped away. “Can you say the same?”
“Here you go, Amber.” Scott reappeared at their side with a glass of red wine in his proffered hand. “As requested.”
She accepted the glass, embarrassed she’d never noticed him leave because her attention had been firmly on his friend from the moment she walked through the door. “Thank you,” she said after taking a long sip. “Where is Julia?”
“In the kitchen with Derek. She’s the only person he’ll allow past the counter.”
“You mean she’s already taken your position as assistant chef?” Lincoln asked, having recovered from his coughing fit.
Scott shook his head. “Nah, I got fired after I allowed some dinner rolls to burn last year. Now I’ve been demoted to the opener of chip and dip packets.”
Lincoln smiled. “That wasn’t on purpose at all?”
“Never say so.” Scott grinned,
placing one hand over his heart in feigned horror. “Or at least, never say so in front of Derek. Besides, I’m now a master of hors d’oeuvres.” He raised his other hand to reveal a plate overflowing with delicious morsels. “Want some?”
“You always were up to a challenge, Scotty,” Lincoln said with a laugh before helping himself to the food.
“Well, if you boys will excuse me, I’m going to go say hello to Julia.” Amber escaped the conversation, but she could feel Lincoln watching her as she walked away.
Chapter 4
The food was delicious, the wine flowed and the conversation was lively. Under normal circumstances Amber would have thoroughly enjoyed her evening. There was nothing she loved more than spending time with good friends and the majority of those seated around this table were as good as friends got.
She and Lincoln, together with their three hosts, made up half the numbers. They were joined by Derek’s sister, Trina. Kelly, Trina’s best friend, was there with her partner, Simon. Lastly, a couple of Derek and Scott’s male friends, whom she hadn’t met before, rounded out the numbers. They were both attractive, single and, as far as she knew, straight. On any other night she might have been quite taken with either of them. Unfortunately, she was so distracted by her new nemesis she had trouble even remembering their names.
The dining table sat eight comfortably, which left the ten people gathered around it feeling decidedly cosy. Amber was a ‘the more the merrier’ kind of woman who normally wouldn’t have so much as blinked at the snug conditions. However, somehow she’d managed to end up seated between Trina and the guest of honour himself. Being something of a broad man, he took up more than his fair share of space and they had spent much of dinner brushing shoulders, bumping elbows, and generally getting in each other’s way. She’d briefly considered elbowing him in the ribs in an attempt to win more room, but she didn’t want to be impolite in front of her hosts.
Lost in Amber: Steamy Contemporary Romance (Finding Forever Book 2) Page 2