3. Ambrose #2
The man jumped and glanced at me guiltily as the fat bottom of the vase slipped from his hand. Then he swiftly tightened his grip on the mouth of the vase to set it on the little hall table with barely a sound.
Once it sat there, he turned as if I didn’t just catch him in the act and walked toward me with grace. Or perhaps it was stealth, because I couldn’t hear his steps over my pounding heart. It was Zeth, my best friend . My first love .
“Well, well,” Zeth said, a tight smile tugging at the corners of his handsome lips, and suddenly I remembered those lips on me in the hayloft of the barn. “If it isn’t the esteemed Ambrose Somerset. Fancy seeing you here.”
“Oh.” Seeing him again after nine years sent me into a whirlwind of emotions, and hearing my formal name on his tongue slowed my mind to a standstill. “Well… I do live here.”
He narrowed his eyes at me as the smile slowly fell from his face, and I wondered why.
But did it matter? Zeth was really standing before me.
He was back in Everdeen, looking incredibly grown and dapper with styled, brown locks and dressed in a nicely-tailored blue suit.
He looked like the most appetizing thing I’d ever seen in my entire life.
Better than strawberry shortcake with a large dollop of whipped cream.
My mouth watered… because I liked whipped cream, of course.
He stopped close to me, smelling strangely familiar, like a mix of hay with lye soap, and… When in God’s name did he grow to be taller than me?
“Goodness.” I stuck my hands in my pockets. “It’s been so long since I last saw you. What, a decade at least?”
“Nine years, two months, and six days. I see the banker’s boy hasn’t gotten better at numbers yet,” Zeth teased a little cruelly as his brown eyes raked me up and down. “Or maybe you never cared enough to keep count of the days since our parting.”
My mouth fell open, and then I snapped it closed.
I wasn’t sure what to say to his precise calculations—had he missed me, or was he just being an ass?
Perhaps I didn’t count each day, but I felt them in my heart as they passed.
He had no right to say I didn’t care about him.
After nine years, two months, and six days apart , this is what he had to say to me upon our reunion?
I stood straighter to try and match his height, though there was no way I could reach it now. “I’m very good with numbers, thank you. And I didn’t have a reason to count days, since our parting was mutual.” I’d counted by years only, not days. He didn’t need to know that.
A delightfully thick eyebrow quirked up. “Was it mutual?”
I hesitated for a moment before saying, “It was.”
“Of course,” Zeth scoffed with a shake of his head. “It must be nice to always be right.”
Was he being bitter over our past? I thought we parted on good terms. Then again, our breakup was mostly my fault.
Zeth once promised to stay true to me, that he’d come back for me after he left Everdeen, but I refused his proposal because I needed to produce an heir for the Somerset bloodline.
He knew that. Didn’t he? Perhaps… I’d read him wrong so long ago.
We stared at each other for a moment. I itched to mend his bitter feelings. Hoping to ease the air between us, I shook off his response. “Well, it must be nice being really tall now.” I tilted my head and gave him a playful grin. “I could get used to looking up at you.”
I certainly sounded stupid, but it was worth the embarrassment when Zeth’s old humor broke through with an amused snort.
When his shoulders finally eased into a friendly pose, even better.
And when Zeth ran a hand through his gorgeous hair to mess up the silky locks and sighed “Damn, I’ve missed you, Rosie” that was the best.
My soul glowed hearing my old nickname that only he could call me. His words sent me spinning again, and I beamed at him. Oh, how I’d missed him too. How he always had my back, how he made me laugh when I was down, how he kissed me…
The light suddenly dimmed from my spirit as it occurred to me that I wasn’t sixteen anymore, and neither was Zeth.
We were both twenty-five now, and here he stood before me once again, a heartbreak I never thought I’d heal from.
Somehow, I’d stitched the wound and kept moving with a deep scar.
Seeing Zeth again was like poking at that scar.
The pang of suffering was a good reminder that I wasn’t in this house to flirt with my old boyfriend, no matter how much we missed each other.
I needed to set a boundary between us now; I needed to focus on my family’s needs.
Clearing my throat, I finally corrected, “It’s Ambrose.”
When Zeth’s dark eyes shifted back to his previous caustic demeanor, I immediately regretted those words. He nodded slowly before glancing away. “Oh. Well, Ambrose , tell your missus hello from me, and compliment her fine taste in both men and Chince vases.”
My mouth fell open, his words making me feel oddly giddy at the compliment. “What? No… Annabelle isn’t my missus, but that is her vase.”
“When you said you lived here, I assumed you married little Miss Annabelle who used to clap dirty erasers on your back to clean them. Why else would you be roaming around her dim hallways?”
“I should be asking you the same. Why are you in here picking up vases instead of outside at the picnic?”
Those alluring eyebrows shot up, and Zeth took a step closer. “Hm, are you calling me a thief? Do you remember me so poorly?”
“I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth.”
The strained smile Zeth gave me in reply reminded me of how he used to get angry at me in the past. He would clam up and walk away rather than talk about whatever issue we had, so I half expected him to do the same now.
“So, then I take it Miss Winters is unattached?” he asked instead.
“What do you mean unattached ? I’m sure Annabelle’s very attached to her vase.”
Zeth’s lips twitched. “Then she won’t be offended when I add my admiration, now will she?”
I narrowed my gaze. Zeth always had a way of saying things that made me think twice.
It was the mischief in his heavy voice. He was up to something.
But when the troublemaker closed the gap between us with a gleam in his eyes, all rational thought abandoned me as I stared at him.
And I noticed from this close that Zeth’s eyes weren’t just brown.
There were specks of gold around the edges that created a mesmerizing amber I’d somehow forgotten, or made myself forget.
Zeth crowded toward me, and I retreated a step until my back hit the wall. He came in close, his breath tickling my face as he purred, “So, Ambrose, did you ever marry anyone?”
Before I could sputter a reply, Zeth’s hand was in my hair, stroking through the curls and smoothing them out. I held still. Why was he touching me? And why did I want it so much? That simple brush against my scalp lit my whole body on fire.
His touch was so gentle, it was killing me.
I wanted to feel more, wanted his strong grip pushing me, pulling me.
I’d always wanted him to explore our sexual limits.
He never understood the hints I threw at him when we were younger, and I was too afraid to ask.
Now, his dominance over me was clear. Who was this new Zeth Washer making me swoon?
No. No . These thoughts were temptations, and that was the last thing I needed. “I’m not married,” I finally answered. “Not yet.”
“Not yet?” Zeth’s sharp gaze dropped to my mouth. “Hm, I can’t decide whether I should be flattered or insulted by your failure to commit since we parted, so maybe a kiss will settle it.”
Zeth’s meaning blurred as he gripped the hair on the back of my head to hold me still. A delightful tingle shot down my neck, and I might have made a small noise in my throat. His claim was strong, yet gentle. It was perfect. He was perfect.
It was even better when his firm body molded into me in all the right places.
My heart thrummed like a hummingbird’s wings as I searched Zeth’s face, seeing that slight bump in his nose and how full his dark lashes were.
And that sweet scent coming from his neck…
Curses, why did laundry soap smell so good?
Nothing harsh like perfume, but something that mixed well with his skin and had me roused.
I drowned in his intense gaze while his attractive lips parted to ask, “If I dared you to court me now, would you finally say yes?”
I blinked at him. Court Zeth?
“I… I…” I couldn’t. My father would forbid me. And yet, as I slid my hand along Zeth’s solid chest to push him back, I froze. The way he overshadowed me was titillating. The way his thick eyebrows lowered over those stormy, daring eyes made me forget where I was.
He had me under some kind of spell I couldn’t escape. As his lips moved closer, I raised my chin, my mouth parting to accept his kiss, oh so willing to let him have his way…
But he didn’t kiss me. Instead, he tilted his head to brush his cheek against mine, and disappointment flooded me. He inhaled deeply against my neck, his breath blowing over the top of my collar, hot and sensual.
“Is this how you felt when you rejected me?” Zeth whispered, his voice below my ear. “Having all the power in our relationship… must have been fucking satisfying.”
When Zeth leaned back, my face grew hot in humiliation at being tricked by him.
I didn’t feel as if I had any power when we were younger.
Before I could argue, Zeth stepped away to straighten his jacket lapels with the oddest expression, as if we were in the middle of a casual conversation over tea; calm and clear-headed, which was not how I felt at all.
He had me feeling flustered and hurt, embarrassed and…
Huffing, I brushed past him, making him stagger slightly but he grabbed my arm.
“Wait…” Zeth sighed heavily. He let me go, and I stood still next to him, choking down my sentiments as I waited for what he had to say.
“Maybe I’m being unfair. I didn’t return to town for this.”
“For what, to trick me? To rub it in my face how much I hurt you?” I snapped, and Zeth’s expression turned to stone. No, he didn’t return to town for me. He was at Annabelle’s picnic. And why? I suddenly didn’t want to know why. The why bothered me.
But it didn’t matter. I wasn’t here for Zeth either, or his bitter touches. I was here to court a woman. Not a man. Men couldn’t have children, and those little spawn were very important for my father’s legacy.
“I’m trying to find Miss Winters,” I blurted out, before I got too worked up over this man. “Have you seen her?”
Zeth’s face dented in slight annoyance. “Of course you’re chasing the richest woman in town.
Good luck with that.” He bent gracefully to retrieve his cap from the floor and slapped it against his thigh before tugging it on.
The smile he gave me didn’t reach his golden eyes.
I’d never seen him sound so insincere as he said, “I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Ambrose. May the best man win.”
I regarded him sharply, trying to figure out what he meant by that.
When he stepped away from me, it felt like losing him again, this time as a friend.
My whole body shook in silent fury. Part of me wanted to pull him back and tell him I was sorry for how things ended between us before, but the other wanted to smack him upside the head for how he’d treated me.
Thankfully, he left before I could do either.