by Joanna Neil
He looked beyond her and said quietly, ‘Hello, there, James. Forgive us for cluttering up your parade. You must be anxious for the ceremony to go ahead. Not long now, huh?’
‘That’s right.’ James looked uncertain, and more than a little bemused, and Amber gazed at him in shock. She had not heard him approach.
He was halfway along the path towards them, but he had half turned as though he had started to go back the way he had come. She wondered if he would have walked away without disturbing them if Ethan had not spoken. Perhaps he thought neither of them had seen him, being engrossed in that kiss.
‘I just came to see if Amber was all right,’ James added, turning to face them full on. ‘So much was going on yesterday and this morning, and we haven’t been able to talk up to now. I didn’t want to go through the ceremony without at least saying a few words, but it looks as though I needn’t have worried.’
She found her voice. ‘I’m fine, James,’ she said huskily. ‘I wish you and Caitlin all the luck in the world. I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful marriage.’
‘Thank you.’
By her side, Ethan maintained a watchful, cautious look over James. His hand still lay possessively on the curve of her hip, and all at once it dawned on Amber that Ethan’s actions were not as innocent as he would have her believe.
He must have known all along that James was heading towards them. Perhaps he had seen him come out of the house.
His actions had to have been deliberate from the first. He had meant James to see them kiss. This whole episode had been for James’s benefit.
The knowledge washed over her like a cold shower of rain. She felt cheated, filled with dismay because her foolish mind had let her believe for just a small space of time that Ethan might actually care for her.
Instead, though, it was all a game to him. A ruse to ensure that his cousin would go off contentedly into her marriage and James would harbour no doubts that Amber’s feelings for him had been well and truly extinguished.
That last was the only part that gave her solace. She watched James walk away from them towards the house, and it came on her with stunning clarity that her relationship with him had never been the real thing. It had been a friendship built on tender affection and mutual respect, but it would never have lasted a lifetime.
It seemed that Ethan was the only man who could make her feel truly alive and at the same time full of emotional contradictions. He confused her, provoked her, startled in her feelings she’d never known she possessed, and through it all he sparked a fire that raged throughout her body, an all-consuming inferno that threatened to destroy her.
For the unpalatable truth was that Ethan didn’t love her. He was simply playing a part, and when the game was over, she would be the loser.
‘I’m going back to the house,’ she told him now. ‘Molly asked me to help her give out the corsages, and I still have to change and get ready for the ceremony.’
Over the next hour, guests began to arrive, along with the minister who was to conduct the marriage ceremony, and before too long the formal proceedings began.
Caitlin wore an exquisite dress of white silk, and James was splendid in a crisp, perfectly tailored suit. They made their marriage vows while Amber looked on and realised that she was actually pleased for them.
She had expected that she might feel empty inside or lost in some way as she saw James married, but instead she was completely at ease. Her thoughts had an unsettling way of dwelling on a different man entirely, a man with jet-black hair and startlingly blue eyes, but perhaps that was because Ethan was by her side, and she was conscious the whole time of him surreptitiously watching her.
With the ceremony over, the celebrations began. They ate at the tables on the terrace and listened to the traditional speeches, and after a while musicians moved into place on the specially erected dais and began to play lilting Hawaiian music.
Amber danced alongside the women in the wedding party, and there was a good deal of fun and laughter as they practised the traditional hula. Molly put a circlet of flowers in Amber’s hair and placed a lei around her neck.
‘Now you dance, see, flowing movements of your arms and hips, and you become one with the waving palm trees and the flowing sea.’
Amber was wearing a cotton top and a softly draped skirt that flowed around her legs as she danced barefoot with the rhythm of the music.
‘They say the hula was first danced by Hi’iaka, goddess of Hawaii, of the hills, the lands, the cliffs and caves,’ Molly said. ‘She was given the task of bringing home the love of her sister’s life, Lohi’au, but of course things went wrong, and her sister, Pele, wreaked havoc. Pele was the goddess of the volcano, the spirit of molten lava, and Hi’iaka tried to appease her with the dance…So, you see, the hula is more than just a dance. It tells a story, and you become part of the story when you dance.’
Several of the male guests came to join them in the dancing, and Amber had no shortage of partners. Then Ethan came to claim her for himself, and the next few hours became a blur of sensation, of being held in his arms and swaying gently to the sensual rhythm of the music, of feeling the warmth of his body next to hers. She loved the way he nuzzled the soft skin of her throat, the way his hands lightly caressed her.
She wished the closeness were for real, that it was something more than just a pretence, because she was fast discovering that whenever she was with him she felt as though she could take on the world. All was well, and nothing could ripple the reservoir of contentment she felt in his arms.
The cherished moments came to an end, though, when James and Caitlin prepared to leave.
Perhaps that was just as well, because with each hour she spent with Ethan she found herself being sucked deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of emotion that she couldn’t comprehend. How could she feel this way about a man who teased and mocked her and had voiced his suspicions about her from the first?
The bride and groom left in the middle of the evening while the celebrations were still in full swing, and the guests went to see them depart. The couple left in the bridal car for the hotel where they would spend the night before setting off for their honeymoon the following day.
Amber waved them off alongside Martyn, wishing them good fortune and showering the wedding car with flower petals.
When they had disappeared out of sight, Martyn turned back to his guests. ‘Mahalo nui loa na ho ’olaule’ a me la kaua,’ he said. ‘Thank you for celebrating with us. My daughter is starting a new life with her new husband, and I’m sure we all wish them well. Please stay and enjoy the party. The dancing and the music will go on until the early hours.’
Amber glanced at him as he stepped back from the driveway and turned to walk along the footpath. ‘How are you coping? You look very happy. This must have been a wonderful day for you.’
He nodded. ‘It’s been a good day, but I’m tired now. I shan’t stay for the rest of the party. I’m glad I was able to see her settled. I think she’s made a good match.’ He sent her a thoughtful look. ‘And how is it with you? You seem to be bearing up—perhaps you realised that he wasn’t the right man for you after all. You’ve much too feisty a spirit to be content with James for long.’
‘I expect you’re right.’ She walked with him back to the house. ‘I’m inclined to say what I think, and I haven’t the patience to bide my time or debate the whys and wherefores of a situation if I see something that needs doing.’
Martyn smiled. ‘That sounds a lot like Ethan’s character…though I’ve noticed of late he’s played his cards close to his chest. I know he made out that you and he had something going between you at lunch yesterday, but I’m guessing that was for Caitlin’s benefit. His intentions were good, I’m sure. And it had the desired effect. Both Caitlin and James seemed reassured.’
She studied him for a moment or two. ‘Nothing much gets by you, does it?’ She smiled. She might have known he wouldn’t be fooled.
‘That’s true. I kn
ow Ethan too well, and I’ve pretty much picked up on your vibes over these last few weeks. Don’t think too harshly of him, will you? I have a feeling you and he are actually more in tune with one another than you think. It would make me very happy if you and he were to get together.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You wouldn’t be trying to play matchmaker, would you?’ She wouldn’t put it past him. There was a lot going on in Martyn’s head, much more than he let on.
‘I wouldn’t dream of it,’ he said, but there was a wicked glint in his eyes that told her he was fibbing. ‘Anyway, I’d be wasting my time, wouldn’t I? Ethan does exactly as he pleases…and you’re more than a match for him when it comes to down to it.’ His mouth curved. ‘Caitlin, now…she takes after her mother, gentle, uncontroversial, a peacemaker. It seems to me that she and James are very well suited.’
Amber helped him to his room. ‘Would you like me to get you a hot drink to help you sleep?’
He shook his head. ‘I shan’t have any difficulty in sleeping, even with the party going on,’ he said. He eased himself into his bedside chair. ‘Ethan will wind things up when the time comes. He knows what to do and he always does the right thing. I feel secure leaving everything in his hands…the plantation, the house…He knows what needs to be done.’
Amber sent him an anxious look. His thoughts seemed to be drifting, and he wasn’t making much sense. Perhaps he was more tired than he realised. ‘I’ll ask Ben to come and help you to bed,’ she murmured. ‘Is there anything I can get for you?’
‘Nothing, my dear. I have everything I could want. It’s been a good life.’
Amber frowned. She stayed for a while, waiting as he drifted into sleep. Then she carefully checked his pulse and tried to reassure herself that all was well with him.
A few minutes later, she hurried downstairs and asked Ben if he would go and help him prepare for bed.
‘You look worried,’ Ethan said, catching up with her as she left the kitchen. ‘Is everything all right with my uncle?’
She shook her head. ‘I think so, but I’m not sure. He’s not quite himself but, then, it has been a long day, and a momentous one, for him. I think he must be very tired.’
‘I’ll look in on him in a while,’ Ethan murmured. ‘Are you going to stay and enjoy the rest of the evening?’
‘I’ll stay for a while,’ she said. ‘I want to make sure that Martyn is all right.’
‘Good. Maybe we could keep each other company. A few more dances in the moonlight would be good, don’t you think? It would be a crime to let such a beautiful night go to waste.’
‘That’s true enough…but you really don’t have to play games with me any more, Ethan. James and Caitlin aren’t here any more, and your uncle has gone to bed. You can relax and be yourself.’
‘I was never playing games,’ he murmured. ‘Don’t you know that?’ His blue gaze travelled over her, sweeping down from the burnished chestnut of her hair, over her slender, feminine curves and along the length of her shapely legs. ‘I was deadly serious. Always.’
Amber’s eyes widened. ‘Always?’
His mouth made a crooked shape. ‘When it comes to knowing what I want, I wouldn’t let anything get in my way…and I’ve wanted you from the first, Amber.’
A ripple of heat washed over her, bringing soft colour to her cheeks. She shook her head. ‘But you’re talking about purely physical feelings,’ she said, ‘and I think there has to be a lot more on offer than that.’
She wasn’t going to let him bamboozle her with his smooth way of talking. He’d been messing with her emotions ever since she’d arrived in Hawaii. She had the notion he’d be more than content with a wild, passionate affair, and when those initial feelings fizzled out, it would be a simple case of ‘goodbye and thanks’. The fact that her heart would be broken into little pieces wouldn’t matter a jot to him, would it?
His eyes took on a glimmer of amusement. ‘Does there? I’d say physical had a lot going for it.’
‘Yes, and so does self-respect…my self-respect.’
He laughed softly as she brushed past him on her way to the terrace. His hand whipped out and circled her wrist like a lasso. ‘You can run, but you can’t hide,’ he warned. ‘You stir my blood with every move you make, and the temperature’s rising.’
‘Then I suggest you go and take a cold shower, Ethan,’ she murmured. She wrenched her arm free from his grasp. ‘It’ll do you the world of good.’
She hurried outside, glad of the faint breeze that fanned her cheeks, but all the while she was conscious of Ethan’s blue gaze searing her flesh and his gentle laughter echoed inside her head.
CHAPTER NINE
‘I CAN’T imagine what Mr Martyn’s up to,’ Molly said. ‘He’s had these lawyers come up from town to see him. They’ve been shut in the study with him this past hour.’ She placed a steaming pot of coffee on the dining table, and added a jug of cream alongside a dish of brown sugar.
‘It does seem a little odd,’ Ethan murmured, helping himself to savoury rice from a dish on the hotplate at the side of the dining room. ‘He usually tells me what’s going on, but all he’s said is that he needs to make some firm arrangements concerning the plantation.’
‘Surely he would tell you what those arrangements were?’ Amber queried lightly. She chose a light salad for herself, and some pasta blended with tomatoes and aromatic herbs.
They went to sit at the table, while Molly disappeared into the kitchen. ‘I know he’s anxious that if anything should happen to him, all the legalities are firmly in place,’ Ethan commented. ‘He knows that I will take care of things since I own half anyway, but he wants to make sure that Caitlin’s interests are assured. He’d already set up a trust fund for her, but I imagine, now that she’s married, he feels he needs to tie up any loose ends.’
‘That sounds logical enough to me.’ Amber frowned. ‘It’s worrying me that he’s doing all this, though. Even though his illness has slowed him down these last few months, he was always lively in his mind, but now he seems to be a little withdrawn, preoccupied almost, and very weary. I can’t change his medication any more…There’s nothing else I can give him that will help. Instead, I have to look on and see him growing weaker by the day.’
‘You shouldn’t blame yourself in any way.’ Ethan sent her a quick look. ‘You’ve done as much if not more than anyone could. I don’t think he’s concerned by what’s happening to him. In fact, he seems more content than he’s ever been.’
‘Perhaps you’re right.’ She poured coffee for both of them and paused for a moment to savour the hot liquid. ‘He was certainly happy to see Caitlin settled. He was so pleased when she sent him the photos of her Caribbean honeymoon, and he told me he really likes the way she’s decorated their new house in town. It’s quite close to the university where they’ll both be working, he said.’
Ethan nodded. ‘They’re holding a house-warming party some time this week, aren’t they?’
‘Tomorrow evening.’ She sent him a wry glance. ‘Seems to me you need a secretary to remind you of all these things.’
He chuckled. ‘Why would I bother when I have you and Molly to remind me what’s going on? And if I wasn’t there on time, Caitlin would soon be on the phone, asking me what had happened.’ He shot her a look from half-closed eyes. ‘Seems to me I’m surrounded by women who think it’s my life’s work to keep appointments.’
‘You should count yourself lucky to be on the receiving end of all that attention,’ she retorted. ‘Though from what Martyn told me, you’ve never been short of women wanting to stick around.’ She frowned. ‘He said it was something of a problem, so it’s probably no wonder you were suspicious of me when we first met.’ She looked at him from under her lashes. ‘Perhaps you still feel that way?’
He paused in the act of spearing prawns with his fork and studied her for a moment or two. ‘Actually, it was more a case of overwhelming jealousy than suspicion. I had a pretty bad case of wanting wha
t Martyn prized for himself.’ His blue gaze meshed with hers.
She sat back in her chair, her eyes growing large. ‘You had it all wrong.’ She was quiet for a moment, a line knotting her brow. ‘Martyn’s a good-hearted man who saw a way to help me out. He acted out of benevolence, that’s all.’
Ethan shrugged. ‘Whatever his motives, I could see right away all the qualities that Martyn saw in you. You’re kind, thoughtful, a brilliant doctor, beautiful, and decisive, too. You don’t hang around waiting for things to happen, you think things through, decide on a course of action, and away you go.’ His mouth curved. ‘You and he are very much alike.’
‘Perhaps that’s why he took to me.’ She stirred the pasta with her fork. ‘You’re a lot like him, too, only with a tougher exterior.’
He put a hand over his chest as if he was in pain. ‘I’m a mere mortal. If you cut me, don’t I bleed?’
‘Pish.’ She made a short, derisory sound. ‘I doubt it. You’d never allow anyone to get that close. Your armour’s intact, not a chink to be seen anywhere. How else have you managed to keep all those women at bay?’
His eyes half closed, his gaze narrowing on her. ‘Maybe I never met one that I’d trust enough with the key to my heart. I can definitely be hurt too, you know.’
‘Is that so?’ She looked at him guardedly, not sure how she felt about another woman trampling over the man she was growing closer to day by day. ‘Has someone wounded you?’
He picked up his coffee cup and held it in both hands for a while, staring at the dark liquid, but she sensed he wasn’t really seeing it. ‘My family was taken from me,’ he said. ‘First my mother, who I loved dearly, and then Grace, who cared for me as her own and teased me and made me smile again.’ He pulled in a shuddery breath and then swallowed some of the coffee. ‘I let two lovely, good-natured women into my heart, and they were ripped from me. I told myself I would be very careful who I ever let in from then on.’