Forever Mine: A Fun and Flirty Romantic Mystery (Amber Reed Mystery Book 3)

by Zanna Mackenzie

  The room is quiet for a moment and I panic, wondering if whoever is in there has finished doing whatever they were doing and is now on their way out.

  Which means they’re going to discover me lurking on the landing at any moment.

  Frantically I try to make up an excuse then realise I don’t need one. It’s simple. I heard a noise upstairs and knew Amelia wasn’t around so came up to check everything was OK.

  The noises start up again in the room and I take a few steps closer to the door. Now I’m near enough to be able to take a peek inside and see who is in there.

  Holding my breath I slowly ease forward that last inch or so.

  Tom Williamson is the one banging and clattering around in Amelia’s bedroom.

  Strange.

  Did he spend the night and has just woken up? No, surely not. If he had spent the night Amelia would have woken him and made him leave at the crack of dawn to ensure he wasn’t seen.

  So what is he doing here, alone, in her room?

  I slide back out of sight and take the stairs two at a time. I find Dan out on the deck talking on his phone. I wave to catch his eye and he immediately ends the call and walks over to where I’m staying out of sight of everyone else, lurking in the hallway.

  “What’s up?” he asks.

  “I heard a noise upstairs and went to investigate. Tom was up there. Correction, is up there. What’s he doing alone in her room?”

  “Let’s go and find out,” Dan says as he strides past me heading straight for the stairs.

  He doesn’t bother with trying to sneak up or anything he just walks confidently into Amelia’s bedroom. Tom walks out of the bathroom, sees us and stops in surprise.

  He eyes Dan. “Who are you?”

  “Dan, the architect. What are you doing up here in Amelia’s room?”

  “Right. Yeah. You’re the guy Amelia dragged all the way out here from the UK,” Tom says.

  I notice he still hasn’t answered Dan’s question.

  “I don’t mind. Amelia and I go way back,” Dan says, obviously implying there’s a history between him and Amelia. He’s trying to wind Tom up. “And you must be Tom the DIY guy.”

  Tom nods. “So what are you going to suggest Amelia does with this place? The fire only really damaged the lounge. Fortunately. Could have been much worse. The rest is mainly simple redecoration to get rid of the smell of smoke.”

  “Haven’t decided yet. Amelia and I need to have a proper meeting to discuss things and then I’ll draw up some plans and we’ll get started.”

  “Keep me informed,” Tom says as he makes to push past us.

  Dan steps in front of him, blocking his escape. “So is there a problem with the plumbing up here or something? You were in the bathroom just now.”

  “Oh, er, yeah, there was, Amelia asked me to check it out. Everything is all fine now though.”

  Dan steps back and Tom heads for the door again. He pauses briefly and nods in my direction. “See you for your lesson in an hour.”

  We both check through the room, looking for any stalker notes or gifts, anything untoward. There’s nothing.

  “I’ve got time for a quick coffee before I head off for another tortuous lesson on the glacier,” I say. “Want one?”

  Dan nods and we wander back down the stairs and head for the kitchen. Bethan is already preparing something for lunch but stops and offers to make us our drinks. I chat with her as Dan heads back onto the deck, excusing himself by saying he needs to make a phone call.

  Then I remember my own phone, still upstairs and unchecked. I dash from the room, take the stairs two at a time, crash into my bedroom and grab at my phone.

  How could I have forgotten to check it? With all that’s been going on I did forget though. I’m a fine one to complain about Charlie getting obsessed with his case and not keeping in touch aren’t I?

  There’s a message from him!

  I access my voicemail and press the phone close to my ear.

  Amber! I know it’s the middle of the night over there but I hoped you might still answer. Guess you’ve switched your phone off or to silent or something. Listen. I just need to tell you not to believe anything you read in the papers over the next few days about me and Delilah OK?

  There’s a lot of commotion and background noise and then some shouting.

  Hell. Sorry, I can’t explain but I have to go. This case is beyond crazy. I’ll ring you as soon as I get chance but it might be a while. Be careful OK?

  I put my phone down and flop back against the sofa cushions. What on earth is going on out in LA?

  At least he did call though. Dan’s right, this stuff in the papers must all be some ploy, a part of the case.

  I’m still worried about it though.

  Does Delilah have a relationship past with Charlie? Is she trying to rekindle that via the case he’s working on for her?

  Delilah is a stunning, famous, wealthy and successful actress.

  And I’m …. Well, no point in going down that round because comparing myself with Delilah is only going to make me feel even worse.

  I’d better try to get my mind back on the case and get myself back downstairs to talk to Dan.

  Carrying two mugs of coffee and trying not to spill them I find Dan out on the deck talking on his phone. Pammie is out here too, reclining on a lounger and staring intently at the back of Dan who is leaning over the railing as he chats on his mobile.

  “You’re a fast worker,” Pammie says as I walk onto the deck.

  “Sorry?”

  She nods towards Dan. “I thought you were with that yummy Charlie but as soon as he’s left you’re on to the next one.” She stares intently at Dan’s jean-clad posterior. “Got to say I like your style and you’ve got great taste as well.”

  “Oh, Dan and I, we’re not together. Didn’t Amelia explain? Dan’s the architect she’s brought out here to sort out the chalet’s revamp after the fire.”

  “But didn’t you just turn up with him at the chalet?” She eyes me questioningly.

  “Oh, er, I went for a walk and bumped into him on his way over here to see Amelia. That’s all.”

  “Amelia’s not here,” she replies, eyes now back on Dan.

  Dan finishes his phone call and wanders over. “Everything OK, ladies?”

  “It is now,” Pammie giggles.

  We make polite chit-chat for a few minutes and finish our drinks then I get to my feet. “Well, I have a ski lesson to dash off to. Are you heading off now too, Dan or are there still some things you need to check out in the chalet for the alterations?”

  Dan relaxes back in his chair, looking as though he’s not going anywhere. I’m guessing he’s about to work his charm on Pammie to see if he can get any information out of her.

  “I think there are some things I still need to check out,” he replies smoothly.

  Briefly I wonder if I should tell Dan that Charlie called me. Then I think it will sound too girly and I’m supposed to be being professional so I decide to keep my mouth shut.

  Ten minutes later I’m on my way to the ski lift ready to try and impress Tom with my new snowploughing skills. There’s hardly anybody in the queue and I end up sharing a cabin with a middle-aged couple who are holding hands and sneaking kisses throughout the ride. I wonder if I’ll ever have that with somebody. Which brings me back to thoughts of Charlie. Not that my mind has strayed very far away from that topic since I saw that photo in the paper this morning.

  I still can’t get my head around it all. I know the sensible thing to do would be to get Charlie on the phone and talk this through. He’ll explain how it’s all part of the case; he did say he was working undercover on this one. Then everything will be fine.

  Well, kind of fine. There’s still the fact that Charlie’s work brings him into close contact with beautiful famous women on a regular basis. There’s still the fact that while a part of me trusts Charlie, the other part, the insecure part, is convinced I’ll never be enough fo
r him and he will eventually be tempted away to someone who can offer him far more than I can.

  My phone buzzes and it’s yet another text from Ennis and Siobhan asking if I’m OK, reassuring me it’s all just lies and gossip in the papers about Charlie and asking me to meet up with them for a coffee and a chat.

  I ignore their latest message just like I’ve ignored the other ones. It’s sweet of them to be worried about me but right now I can’t face them with their sympathy and kind words because I’ll just end up bursting into tears.

  The lift reaches the top of the mountain and I clamber out as it sways slightly in the stiff breeze up here. It’s only then that I realise I was so distracted on the way up here with thoughts of Charlie that I didn’t get freaked out by the height issue and the scary views.

  I take a deep breath of fresh mountain air and spot Tom waiting for me, leaning against the side of the café bar. I wave and head towards him. There don’t appear to be any children hanging around this morning. Are we not being joined by a bunch of show-off five-year-olds today?

  “Hi! Where are all the others?” I ask as I reach Tom, tugging my woolly hat down against the cool wind. The weather is all over the place around here, one minute sunny and almost spring like, the next it’s cold, windy and looks like it might snow at any minute. I suppose that’s the mountain climate for you.

  “It’s just you and me today,” he replies.

  Oh. Just when I was looking forward to impressing my fellow pupils with a few nifty snowplough turns.

  I know, I know, childish.

  “I thought we’d head over to a different section of the glacier today, a place that’s a little more out of the way of everyone else. That’ll give you some space to practise your stops.”

  What he actually means is, I’ve broken my rule about private lessons for beginners and made this lesson just for you and I’m taking you away from the main public areas because you are a liability and seem to have an inability to stop and then you end up crashing into innocent bystanders.

  Fine. I’ll show him.

  When we reach our designated spot he issues instructions for my first lesson task. I take a moment to remember everything Dan taught me last night and launch myself down the slope, executing three perfect snowplough turns and coming to a neat stop in front of him. Perfect. The look on Tom’s face says it all and for a moment he’s speechless.

  “Wow. That is some improvement from yesterday. What happened?”

  “A friend brought me up here to practise last night.”

  He nods. “Well, I’m impressed. I’ve got to confess, no offence, but I rescheduled my other lessons this morning because I didn’t want you disrupting everyone else, you were so bad yesterday. I’m thinking you’d better tell me who this friend of yours is. I might need to be prepared in case they put me out of a job if they can work these kinds of miracles on skis.”

  “It was Dan,” I reply. “He’s the miracle worker on skis.”

  He frowns and looks thoughtful. “Dan? Not the guy you were with at Amelia’s chalet this morning? The architect guy?”

  “That’s him.”

  “Oh.” He looks a little put out. I’m thinking Tom isn’t very keen on Dan for some reason. Jealousy perhaps? He doesn’t like the fact Amelia has flown some guy in with the task of revamping the chalet which Tom probably considers to be his maintenance and DIY domain.

  Maybe, now we’ve seen how Tom and Amelia were in the bar last night, he’s also a little jealous of another man being around in other ways too. If he is having a fling with Amelia, then he has more than Dan to worry about. What about Ty?

  But then maybe he was behind Ty’s little ‘accident’ and in the meantime has been making sure he’s looking after the chalet and being there for Amelia. Could Tom really be the stalker?

  “You don’t mind Amelia flying Dan in from the UK do you? I know the chalet is your responsibility from a maintenance point of view but the repairs for the fire damage offer the opportunity to revamp the chalet, and Dan comes highly recommended.”

  Tom shrugs. “None of my business.”

  Yep, he definitely isn’t happy about Dan being around. His whole body language has changed at the mention of him and he looks distinctly irritated.

  “Maybe Amelia will ask you to help Dan and his team out when the work starts.”

  “Team?” Tom frowns.

  “Dan has a team of builders he works with on projects and they’ll all be coming over to France to sort out the chalet revamp. But I’m sure you could still lend a hand if you wanted to.” I’m aware I’m goading him, checking for his reaction. I realise I’ve just told a whopper of a lie and my cheeks haven’t gone bright red. Maybe I’m getting better at this investigating stuff.

  “I doubt I’ll have time for that,” he says, standing tall and projecting an air of importance. “I have better things to do.”

  Definitely not happy about Dan, and the idea of a team of builders descending on the chalet is riling him even more. I wonder why? Just because he feels he’s had his nose pushed out of joint from a professional perspective or because he’s jealous of other men getting Amelia’s attention and sorting out the chalet issues, meaning he’s no longer Amelia’s go-to guy?

  When I reach the base station for the ski lift after my lesson I call Dan to check on how he got on with charming information out of the women back at the chalet. He answers on the first ring.

  “Hey, it’s Ski Girl!”

  “Cheeky!” I reply with a laugh. “So, I’m just checking in with the boss.”

  There’s silence for a moment then he replies, “What boss?”

  “You!”

  “I am not your boss and please, I beg of you, do not ever refer to me as one.”

  I feel a pang of sadness mixed with anger. Charlie hated me calling him boss as well. I don’t want to think about Charlie and whatever is going on in LA with him and Diva Delilah.

  “Amber? You still there?”

  “What? Oh, sorry, yes, of course.” I grip the phone tightly and get my mind to focus on what Dan’s saying. “So how did things go with getting info out of the women at the chalet this morning?”

  “Useful. I think we should meet and bring each other up to speed on progress. You can fill me in on your session with Tom. How about we meet at my place in fifteen minutes?”

  “See you there.”

  I arrive at Dan’s studio apartment before he does so I decide to have a bit of a quick explore in the nearby boutiques. Well, that was the theory until I spotted the price on a jacket I liked in the window of the first shop I headed for. Yikes.

  “See anything you like?”

  I jump and turn to find Dan standing right behind me. “Spotted you over here when I got back,” he offers by way of an explanation. He tilts his head towards the building housing his studio flat. “Coming up or not done with the shopping yet?”

  “Lead the way.”

  Settling onto the sofa bed in his apartment I reach for the mug of coffee he’s offering. He flops down next to me and I get a whiff of his aftershave. The same aftershave Charlie wears.

  I will not think of Charlie.

  “So, update,” he says. “I’ll go first. I finally managed to get Fran chatting and discovered, despite appearances, there’s some animosity between her and Amelia. Apparently, when they were at drama school they both went up for the same audition. They both got a call back. Fran was hoping this might be The One. She confided in Amelia how much she wanted this particular role and they rehearsed together loads ready for the next audition. Everyone reckoned Fran was the favourite to get the role. Anyway Fran went first and thought it all went well. Amelia was the third actress to do her bit. The powers that be said they’d think about it overnight and make a decision in the morning. Fran went home and prayed she’d done enough to get it. Amelia had other ideas though. Apparently she paid the casting director a little late night visit and put on a very convincing solo performance for him.”

&nbs
p; “She didn’t!” I gasp.

  Dan nods. “She did. The next day he announced Amelia had got the part. And it was that very part which launched Amelia on her path to fame and fortune.”

  I wrinkle my nose. “Amelia slept with the director to get the part?”

  Dan sips his drink before replying. “Looks that way.”

  “That’s wrong on so many levels. She betrayed her friend and she had sex in exchange for a part in a movie.”

  “All’s fair in love and war huh?” Dan says.

  “How did Fran find out all of this though? Surely Amelia would have tried to keep it quiet?”

  “She probably did try to but there’s nothing she could do about a full-of-himself director bragging with some lighting guy back stage at the auditions place, recounting exactly what Amelia did the night before with him. I guess he thought everyone but the crew had left. Fran had forgotten her coat so she went back and that’s when she heard him.”

  “And Fran never tackled Amelia about it?”

  Dan shakes his head.

  “Wow,” I say. “I’m surprised this story hasn’t been told in some tabloid before now though. It sounds as though the director hasn’t got any scruples. He could have been paid a lot for that story now Amelia’s famous.”

  “True but it wouldn’t reflect very well on him would it? Telling his mates is one thing, telling the world is another.”

  “I suppose. I think I’ve just changed my opinion of Amelia though.” I lean back against the cushions of the sofa.

  “Acting’s a tough business. You have to be many things to make it in the world of movies. Determined, focused, strong and, at times, unethical.”

  My mind flashes back to that photo in this morning’s newspaper. Is Diva Delilah all of those things? Determined to get what and who she wants. Which in this case looks as though it includes Charlie.

  “Has he still not phoned?” Dan asks with a disapproving shake of his head.

  How does he do that? How does he know when I’m thinking about Charlie? Is he telepathic or something?

  “I’m not Charlie Boy’s biggest fan, and he has many faults, but I never pegged him as being a coward.”