Читать книгу Christmas Secrets - Barbara Dunlop - Страница 15

As Isabel left the penthouse, Amber made her way down the hall to where Cole had gone in search of Otis. The dog had apparently plunked himself down in Zachary’s open doorway and gone to sleep.

She found Otis there, with Cole inside the bedroom, tucking a blanket over the sleeping Zachary. Cole rubbed a gentle hand across Zachary’s forehead before turning away from the crib. In the doorway, Amber stood to one side, her chest strangely warm.

“Sound asleep,” Cole whispered as he stepped over Otis.

The dog opened one eye but didn’t lift his head.

“Isabel said he slept right through,” Amber whispered in return.

“Good for him.” Cole stopped right in front of her.

He was close, too close, but she didn’t want to move. Instead, she inhaled deeply, letting his fresh, masculine scent fill her lungs. It was a fight to keep from reaching out to touch him.

“Hi,” he breathed.

She lifted her chin to gaze up at him, wishing he would kiss her, but knowing any more intimacy was a very bad idea. Her life was complicated, and he was leaving, and she needed to keep her focus on the court case. But the temptation to lean into his arms and forget everything for just a little while was almost overwhelming.

He brought his palm to her cheek, and the warmth of the contact seemed to flow through her entire body. Her breasts tingled and she parted her lips, subconsciously inching toward him.

His free arm slipped around her waist, and he slowly dipped his head to meet hers. “Is this just a kiss good-night?”

“I don’t know.” She grasped the sleeves of his shirt, anchoring herself.

“Fair enough.” His soft lips captured hers.

His kiss was everything she remembered and more. It was more than his lips, more than his tongue, more than his taste. Every pore on her body drank in his essence. Her heart rate increased. Her blood heated. She pressed herself against him, nipples beading against his hard chest, thighs molding to his, hands twining around his neck, into his hair then back again, tracing the planes and angles of his face.

She wanted to memorize his skin. She wanted to touch him everywhere, imprint every contour onto her brain.

Arousal swiftly pushed away reason.

Needing to get closer still, she worked her hands between them, struggling in the tight space to release the buttons on his shirt. In answer, his hands slid down her back, across her waist, cupping her rear, pulling her tight against his body, letting her know how strongly he desired her.

She stripped off her sweater. Her tank top followed. And she was before him in a white lacy bra.

He drew back and his pupils dilated, his breathing labored. He swore under his breath, then stripped off his shirt and backed her tight against the cool wall. He lifted her there, bringing her legs around his waist.

He flicked the catch on her bra, pulling it from between them, and they were skin to skin. She was in heaven.

His voice was a rumble against her mouth. “Amber?”

It was a struggle to speak. “Yes?”

“This is more than just a good-night kiss.”

“Yes,” she rasped. “Yes.”

He worked his way down her neck, kissing the curve of her shoulder, then the swell of her breast. His lips fastened onto her nipple, and her body bucked, fingertips curling hard into his muscular shoulders. He switched sides, and her head tipped back, legs going tight around him.

“Which way?” he asked.

“Left,” she rasped. “My left. End of the hall.”

He scooped her into his arms and paced to the bedroom door, pushing it open and crossing to the big bed.

There he tossed back the covers and set her down. In a split second, he was with her, covering her body with his, kissing her deeply, his hands roaming her skin.

She went on an exploration of her own, following the hard definition of his shoulders and biceps, to his pecs and his washboard stomach. She unsnapped his jeans. He immediately did the same.

Then he pulled back to look into her eyes.

Without a word, he dragged down her zipper.

She followed suit, the backs of her knuckles grazing him as she went.

He sucked in a tight breath, eyes as dark as coal while they watched her.

She tugged down his jeans, and he kicked them off.

He pulled off her pants, palms skimming across her silk panties, back and forth, until she twitched in reaction. She moaned his name.

He kissed her breasts, and her arms stretched out, hands clenching into fists. And then her panties were gone. His boxers disappeared, and he had a condom. Thank goodness he had a condom.

He was on top of her, pressing into her, so slowly, so exquisitely. She arched against him, wrapping her arms and legs around him. She’d never felt anything that came close to Cole Parker.

He smelled of fresh air and wide-open spaces. He tasted like chocolate and brandy. His callused fingertips were rough and hot as he caressed every intimate spot on her skin. His body was shifting iron beneath her hands.

His weight felt good. His thrusts were focused, and her body reflexively adjusted its angle to accommodate him. He whispered her name. Then his arm braced the small of her back, pressing them tighter and tighter together.

Everything else was forgotten except the sensations cresting endlessly through her body as she climbed higher and higher. Colors glowed behind her eyes while white noise roared in her ears. Her world contracted to their joined bodies, tighter and tighter, until the dam exploded. The colors turned to fireworks, and sound boomed like a symphony as Cole called out her name.

Her pulse was in overdrive, and she was dragging in oxygen. Her limbs lost all feeling as she sank deeper and deeper into the soft mattress.

“You still with me?” Cole asked from what seemed like a distance.

“I think so. I’m not sure. Are we in Kansas?”

He chuckled. “I was definitely over the rainbow.”

Reality floated its way back. “Oh, my.”

“Don’t second-guess,” he warned.

“That was a lot more than just a kiss.”

He brushed back her hair and looked into her eyes. “It felt kind of inevitable.”

She knew what he meant. Every second they spent together seemed to draw them closer and closer.

“Maybe it was good to get it over with,” she ventured.

“At least we’re not wondering anymore.”

“Were you?” she couldn’t help asking. “Were you wondering?”

“Absolutely. From the first second I laid eyes on you. That’s why I botched it so bad that night at the dance.”

“It was a rocky start,” she agreed. “But you rescued me. Then you rescued my shoes.”

“You hate those shoes.”

“True. But you do get points for trying.”

He skimmed the backs of his fingers along her side. “Are those points redeemable?”

His touch was distracting, and his eyes were taking on that dark glow again.

“For valuable prizes,” she told him.

He traced the curve of her hip. “What do I get?”

“What do you want?”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “To stay.”

A shimmer of anticipation warmed her chest at the thought of sleeping in Cole’s arms, waking up next to him, having breakfast together with Zachary.

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay.”

Cole awoke to the feel of Amber spooned in his arms and the realization that he had to tell her the truth. Up until last night, he’d been prepared to breeze into town, make sure Zachary was settled and breeze back out again. But things had changed. She had changed them.

She rolled onto her back, blinking her eyes in the dim light from the window.

“Morning,” he said softly.

A pretty smile grew on her face. “Morning.”

Otis whimpered at the door.

Then Zachary let out a cry down the hall.

“Is Isabel in yet?” Cole asked.

Amber craned her neck to look at the bedside clock. “Not for an hour.”

Otis whined more insistently and Zachary’s cries grew steady.

Cole grimaced. “I’ll walk the dog if you feed the baby.”

“Sorry,” said Amber.

“Not your fault at all.” He sat up, shaking off sleep. “We jumped from a one-night stand to an old married couple in the blink of an eye.”

“Not the morning you had in mind,” she asked from behind him.

He turned, already smiling. “Oddly, it feels like the perfect morning. Shall I pick up some bagels while I’m out?”

She rose from the other side of the bed, gloriously naked and indescribably beautiful. “Make mine blueberry.”

“You got it.” He forced himself to look away and pulled on his jeans.

Otis’s leash was at the front door, along with Cole’s jacket. They took the elevator, and once they were on the sidewalk, they headed to the park.

Cole let the fresh air clear his brain. While they walked, he formulated and discarded several versions of a speech to Amber. Should he plunge in with the fact that he was Samuel’s long-lost son? Or should he go about it chronologically, outline his motivation and rationale before hitting her with his real identity?

He didn’t want to upset her. He didn’t want to worry her. And he certainly didn’t want to make her distrust or dislike him any more than he already had. But last night had been too amazing for anything less than complete honesty.

He and Otis ended up on the opposite side of the park. They made their way down the block to a bakery Cole had found a couple of days ago. He left Otis outside and chose a variety of bagels, then they started back to the penthouse.

He found himself wondering what Zachary ate. Would he like to try a bit of bagel? Or did he stick to pureed foods?

Cole knew absolutely nothing about babies or toddlers. All he knew was that Zachary was adorable, and that he was curious about the stages of development to come. He hoped once he told Amber the truth, she’d be willing to send him pictures and videos. Maybe he could even come back occasionally and check up on Zachary.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized acknowledging their blood relationship was the right thing to do. He wasn’t sure why he waited so long.

Nearly an hour had gone by before he returned to the penthouse. Amber had given him her spare key, so he let himself in, wondering if Zachary would have finished his bottle and might be having a morning bath. He hoped he wasn’t being fussy for Amber.

When Cole opened the door, he did hear Zachary’s cries. But they were interspersed with adult voices. At first he assumed Isabel had arrived. But it was a man speaking, then another answering.

Cole and Otis rounded the corner to the living room to see Roth Calvin and four other men standing with Amber in the middle of the room. Two of the men were on cell phones, while Amber was holding a crying Zachary. Cole reflexively moved forward to take the baby.

“What’s going on?” he asked, worried that something had gone wrong in the court battle.

“Thank you,” whispered Amber as Zachary’s cries quieted. “Isabel’s running late, and we’ve got a problem.”

Cole glanced at the other four men. “What’s wrong?”

“A Coast Eagle flight is in trouble,” said one of them.

Cole went instantly on alert. “What kind of trouble?”

“Hydraulic failure,” said the shortest of the three. “The landing gear won’t come down.”

“What’s he doing here?” Roth demanded, ending his call, seeming to have just recognized Cole.

“I brought bagels,” said Cole.

“Zachary likes him,” said Amber.

“What kind of plane?” Cole asked.

“We’ve got work to do here,” said a large, rotund, fiftysomething man with gray hair and a bulbous nose.

“Cole,” said Amber. “This is Max Cutter. He’s our interim president. This is Sidney Raines and Julius Fonteno, both vice presidents. You know Roth.”

“What kind of plane?” Cole repeated. The size of the plane dictated the scale of the problem.

Julius, the large man, frowned. “Shouldn’t you go change a diaper or something?”

Cole braced his feet apart. “It’ll be faster if you just answer the question.”

“Boonsome 300 over LAX,” said Sidney, the shorter, younger man, glancing up from the screen of his phone. “They’re reporting twenty minutes of fuel left.”

Cole’s stomach sank. A Boonsome 300 was a passenger jet. There were up to two hundred souls on board.

Max Cutter ended his own call. “The pilot’s leaving the holding pattern and bringing her in.”

Cole looked to Amber. She was still and pale.

“Are you a pilot?” he asked Sidney.

“Yes.”

“They’ve checked the pump circuit breakers?” Cole knew the answer would be yes. But he couldn’t help going through the diagnostics in his mind.

Sidney gave a nod.

“Any visible leaks?”

“None,” said Sidney. “Foam’s down on the runway.”

“They’ll cycle the gear again?”

“They will.”

Cole stepped closer to Amber, wishing he could reach out and take her hand. A belly landing in a plane that size was incredibly risky.

“Gear’s down,” said Sidney, grasping the back of the sofa even as he uttered the words. “They cycled the gear one last time. They’ve got hydraulic pressure back.”

Relief rushed through Cole.

Amber dropped into an armchair, a slight tremor in her hands. “Thank goodness.”

“They’re on short final,” said Sidney, putting his phone to his ear. “Tower’s patched me in.”

They all waited, watching Sidney closely until he gave the thumbs-up. “Wheels down. It’s all good.”

“Yes,” hissed Max.

“Relief valve, do you think?” Cole posed the question to Sidney.

“They’ll have to go through the whole system.”

Roth spoke up. “Amber, get the communications director on the phone.”

Cole bristled at Roth’s abrupt tone, but Amber moved to the landline.

Roth continued talking. “We’ll call it a minor delay in the deployment of the landing gear. All safety procedures were followed, and it was an isolated incident.”

Amber stopped, looking back over her shoulder. “An isolated incident?”

“Yes.”

“We know this how?”

“Because we’ve been flying the Boonsomes for nearly ten years, and it’s never happened before.”

“I don’t like the word isolated,” said Amber.

Roth’s eyes narrowed.

“I’d suggest replacing that clause with everyone on board is safe, and there were no injuries. Once we’ve confirmed that’s the case.”

Roth squared his shoulders. “The whole point of a press release is to reassure the public—”

“I agree with Amber,” said Max.

“Of course you agree with Amber,” said Roth. “You’re her appointee.”

“I agree with Amber, too,” said Sidney.

Roth set his jaw.

“I have to side with Roth on this,” said Julius. “The more reassurance we can give our passengers, the better.”

“It’s early days,” said Cole. “Better to mitigate your words until the investigation is complete.”

“Who let this guy in here?” asked Julius.

“I’m an airline pilot,” said Cole. He might not be a Coast Airlines employee, but he knew the industry.

“Bully for you,” said Julius.

“It might be better if you excused us,” Roth said to Cole.

Cole looked to Amber. He could go or he could stay, but he was taking his cue from her, not from Roth.

“What about the other Boonsome 300s in service?” asked Max. He was scrolling through the screen on his phone. “Here. Midpoint Airlines just grounded theirs.”

“That was fast,” said Sidney.

“Kneejerk,” said Julius. “It’s not like there’s a pattern.”

“They’ve got a total of three Boonsomes,” said Roth. “It’s an easy decision for them to make.”

“It puts pressure on us,” said Sidney.

“We’re not caving to pressure,” said Roth. “We’ve got twenty-four Boonsomes. It’s a quarter of our fleet.”

Amber’s hand was resting on the telephone. “We could have lost two hundred passengers.”

“We didn’t,” said Julius.

“We’re not considering this,” said Roth with finality. “Unless the federal regulator orders us, we are not grounding twenty-four airplanes.”

“It’s a publicity grab from Midpoint,” said Julius.

Cole couldn’t help jumping in. “Depending on the problem.”

“We’ll find the problem,” said Roth. “And we’ll fix it. Nobody’s suggesting we send that particular plane up again without a thorough overhaul.”

“And if something happens with another Boonsome?” asked Sidney.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” said Roth.

“You’re playing the odds,” said Amber.

“I play the odds every time I get out of bed,” said Roth. “You want one hundred percent certainty? We lose a million dollars a day with those planes on the ground. That’s a certainty. It’ll take two weeks minimum to get any answers on an investigation. Anybody want to do the math?”

Max looked to Amber. “What are your thoughts?”

“That’s a lot of money,” she said. “But it’s a lot of lives to risk, too.” Her gaze moved to Cole.

Julius gestured to Amber, disdain in his tone. “This is our leader?”

“She’s looking for input,” said Max. “I’m looking for input, too.”

Roth’s face twisted into a sneer. “My input is don’t bankrupt the company while you’re temporarily in charge.”

Cole clamped his jaw to stop himself from speaking.

“The plane is at the gate,” said Sidney. “And the terminal is full of reporters.”

“We have to put out a statement,” said Roth.

“We have to make a decision,” Amber told him.

“We don’t have a choice,” said Julius. “Nobody’s giving up a million dollars a day.”

“Say that again after we lose a plane full of passengers,” said Sidney.

“Do you want my opinion?” Cole asked Amber.

“Yes.”

Roth let out an inarticulate exclamation.

Cole ignored him. “Ask yourself this. Before the inspectors identify the problem, would you risk putting Zachary on a Boonsome 300?”

Amber shook her head.

“We ground the planes,” said Max.

“Have you lost your minds?” asked Julius.

Amber squared her shoulders and gave Max a sharp nod of agreement.

Pride swelled up inside Cole’s chest.

“This is amateur hour,” Roth spat. “Believe me, you haven’t heard the last of it.”

“We’ll request an expedited investigation,” said Max. “But for now the decision is final.”

Amber focused in on Cole, moving closer to speak in an undertone. “I have to go to the office.”

“I know.” He realized their conversation about Samuel would have to wait.

“Can you stay with Zachary until Isabel gets here? She thought maybe noon.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay.”

Relief flooded her eyes. “Thank you.”

“No problem. Talk to you later?”

“I’ll call you.”

“Good luck.”

“Everyone’s safe. That’s a whole lot of luck already.”

The group moved toward the door, Amber grabbing her purse and throwing a coat over her slacks and sweater. When the last of them left and the door latched shut, Cole turned his attention to Zachary.

The baby was sucking on the sleeve of his stretchy one-piece suit.

“You like bagels?” Cole asked.

“Gak baw,” said Zachary, grabbing at Cole’s nose.

Amber’s day went from frightening to stressful to downright infuriating. At six o’clock, Destiny was sitting across from her at her compact office meeting table.

“That’s how Roth spent his day?” she asked Destiny.

Destiny pushed a sheaf of papers across the table. “I don’t know how they did it, but they got an emergency court date. The custody hearing starts at nine tomorrow morning.”

“I thought we’d have weeks to get ready.” Amber gave the paperwork a passing glance, but she trusted Destiny’s assessment.

“We have hours to get ready.”

“Can we do it?”

“Not as well as I’d like. But we can work hard tonight. And Roth’s side is under the same deadline.”

Amber’s cell phone rang.

“Remember,” said Destiny, “the fundamentals remain the same. Coco’s codicil is legal and valid. They have to prove you’re not a fit guardian.”

Amber didn’t recognize the calling number. “Hello?”

“Amber, it’s Cole.”

She glanced to Destiny, feeling a small spike of guilt about last night. “Hi, Cole.”

Destiny’s interest obviously perked up.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Is it Zachary?”

“No, no. He’s fine. At least, he was fine when I left him with Isabel this afternoon. Can you meet me for dinner?”

She wished she could. “I’m afraid not. Destiny and I are going to be busy.”

There was silence on his end. “It’s kind of important.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Maybe later?”

“Tonight’s not going to be good. We’ll be working really late.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” She hesitated. “No.” She knew she shouldn’t share, since she barely knew him. But she felt like she owed him an explanation. “It’s actually not okay. Roth’s convinced the judge to hold an emergency hearing tomorrow morning. He’s going after custody.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

“He’s going to use my decision on the Boonsome 300s as proof I’m unfit to control Coast Eagle.”

“He’ll lose, Amber.”

“I hope so.” Her stomach was already beginning to cramp up.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Ask me out again in a few days?”

Destiny’s brows went up.

“Happy to,” he answered. Then his tone changed. “I really wish I could see you now. Even for a short time.”

“That would be nice. But we’re pretty much pulling an all-nighter here. I’m about to call Isabel and arrange for her to stay over.”

“I could stay at your place, wait for you there.”

“Not necessary.” She wasn’t going to let herself presume any more on Cole’s good graces. He didn’t come to Atlanta to be a babysitter.

He was quiet again. Then he blew out a breath. “Okay. A couple of days, then.”

“Thanks.”

“Nothing to thank me for. Good luck.”

“Thanks for that.” She’d take every scrap of luck she could get. “Bye, Cole.”

“Bye.”

She pressed the end button and set down the phone.

Destiny spoke. “We’re going to take thirty seconds of our valuable time here, and you’re going to tell me what’s going on with Cole. Then I’m putting it completely out of my mind until after the hearing.” She glanced at her watch. “Go.”

“I like him. He likes me. We went skating last night, then we drank killer hot chocolate. We went back to my place, slept together, which was pretty killer, too. Then he stayed over, went out for bagels and then all hell broke loose. He wanted to see me again tonight, but…” She spread her arms.

“Holy cow,” said Destiny in obvious awe. “We are definitely going to talk more about this. But right now we’ve got a whole lot of work to do.”