Chapter 31
”Not too much.I don”t want to look like I’m trying too hard,” Val said.
“Got it.” Amber dabbed a little more of the soft pink shimmer to Val”s eyelid with precision. She took a step back, surveying her handiwork with a critical eye.
It was just the two of them getting ready tonight—Sandy had taken the night off, but someone had called in and she was forced to stay to work a double, and Holly was at Allie’s. Amber had splurged on manicures and pedicures for both of them earlier. Now, back at her apartment, they were putting the finishing touches on their hair and makeup.
“There.” Amber looked at Val’s reflection in the mirror and a knot tightened in her throat. “You look beautiful, honey.” Val’s hair was pulled back into a chic knot, leaving only tendrils framing her face instead of the usual heavy hank of hair she hid behind. She looked softer, younger. Happy.
Val studied herself, an uncharacteristic look of worry making her forehead furrow. “Do you really think so? I know everyone else will wear ball gowns, but this feels much more me, you know?” Val smoothed down the full skirt of the black dress. It fit her like a dream after Amber took in the bodice. Val had paired it with her black high-top Converse, a little touch of her mixed with the retro dress.
“Vintage is always in style. You look gorgeous and confident,” Amber said, holding her eyes in the mirror. She tried not to get too mushy, but she really was so proud of Val.
It had been a big summer for both of them. Val’s letter of acceptance to the State University of Geneseo had come last week. Amber hadn’t even tried to hide her excitement when Val opened the letter. Neither of them had. They had screamed and hugged, and Amber had taken Val, Sandy, and Holly out for ice cream. Val was going to commute in the fall and work part-time waiting tables at the pub. Big changes were ahead for both of them.
“Hey now, it’s not like I’m moving. I’ll be next door,” Val said.
“Stealing my food and lounging on my couch, I hope.”
“Hello, of course. I’m going to be a broke college student. I’ll be over every night for dinner with Holly.”
Amber took a chance and gave her a quick hug. “I hope so,” she whispered.
Val squeezed her back. “Okay, okay, enough of the sappy stuff or you’ll ruin this perfect eye makeup.” Val cleared her throat and stepped back from the mirror. “Let’s talk about your dress. You outdid yourself on this one.”
“I should hope so. It took me weeks of sewing to get these beads on.” Amber”s dress was the simplest creation she ever made, but also the most stunning. It had neither of her go-tos: there was no bold color choice or outrageous amount of skin drawing attention to herself. At first glance, it was a simple gold sheath dress that fit like a second skin, with a scoop neckline and thin straps.
It was up close that the dress went from merely chic to spectacular. Amber had spent weeks sewing tiny glass beads in intricate patterns all over the dress, making it sparkle wherever light reflected off it. In the soft glow of The Grand River Hotel’s ballroom lights, the dress would shimmer and make all the evenings she had worked on it worth it.
But she couldn’t think about the gala right now, or about everything she had riding on it being a success for Theo, or she might pass out.
“Come here,” Amber said. “Let’s get a selfie in the mirror to send to your mom. I know she really wished she could be here to see you all dolled up.” She snapped a few pictures and sent them to Sandy and thought about Annette.
How many of these moments had Annette missed when she was trying to put herself through school and working nights when Amber and her sisters were little? Most of them. A wave of gratitude swept through her for her mother. Both women were doing what they had to do for their families.
“I feel so naked without my hoodie on,” Val said, smoothing down her skirt. “How do you dress like this every day?”
As Amber studied them critically in her smudged mirror, an epiphany struck her. “I suppose both of our wardrobes serve the same purpose.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“They both keep people out. You wear yours like armor, and well,” she smiled ruefully, “sometimes I take mine off for the same reason.”
Val tipped her head. “Maybe it’s about finding a balance between the two.”
“Or figuring out who’s worth taking it off for,” Amber added. She grinned. “We are so deep.”
They both turned at the tentative knock on the apartment door. “That would be Dylan.”
Amber greeted him and stood back to watch when Dylan, looking dapper in his tux, handed Val a corsage. He was tall and a little gangly still, but the way he looked at Val adoringly convinced Amber that Val’s night would end differently than her own ball.
Val was strong and smart, and she had Amber watching out for her if she needed anything. She deserved her own chance to make memories tonight.
“Hi, Ms. Hart,” Dylan greeted her next, looking a little more nervous. “You look very nice too.” But so charming.
They made a beautiful couple. She couldn’t have been more proud if she were Val’s mom. She snapped a few more pictures for Sandy and sent them off.
Time to get them out of here before she started sobbing.
“Okay, kids. Have fun.” She looked at Dylan sternly. Charmer or not, she had to say it. “Listen. I work for the mayor, and I will make your life hell if I find out you were drinking and driving.”
“No, ma’am. I won’t.” Dylan looked solemn.
Ouch. He ma’am-ed her. She really was getting old.
“Remember, I’m only a phone call away. I’ll have my phone on me all night. Call me if you need anything at all.”
”Relax, Mom,” Val said. ”I”ll be fine.” But she leaned over and kissed Amber”s cheek. ”Thank you for everything,” she whispered softly.
Amber squeezed one last time before letting go.
The Grand River Hotelwas lit from within, reflecting the polished brass and crystal chandeliers hanging in the ballroom when Amber walked in. She had always loved the elegance of the hotel.
When the girls were little and Annette was working downtown as a waitress and the tips were good, Annette would sometimes let them dress up and bring them to the Grand River for a fancy cup of tea. Amber had loved watching the elegant people coming and going from up and down the grand staircase and imagining herself doing the same thing one day.
Edward Sterling had spared no expense tonight for the Hope Gala. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the ceiling where hundreds of delicate faux doves had been suspended, the soft ambient light catching their silky wings and making them glow.
All the nights this past week sewing each one individually had been worth it when she saw the whimsical effect.
There was still a half hour until the event started. The room was full of servers and florists putting the last-minute touches on the tables. Towering glass vases held arrangements from Aunt Sophia and Aunt Giulia’s florist shop: white lilies and roses with greenery, tiny shimmery lights, and miniature silver doves. The entire effect was breathtaking.
The ballroom buzzed with that excited energy that builds before a party. Amber felt the anticipation too, only hers was more a tad more nervous than excited. Theo has assured her for weeks that the night was going to be a wild success, but she didn’t have his same confidence.
Truthfully, she was kind of in awe that she had even a little part in something this beautiful.
She stopped to chat with several vendors she knew before making her way to the elevator. Cheryl’s office was on the second floor, and she wanted to check in before the party started.
”Don”t you look stunning,” Cheryl said when she saw her in the doorway. ”Is that designer?” she asked with an admiring eye.
Amber smoothed her hand down the slinky fabric. ”No, I made it,” she said, looking down at the beaded dress.
”You are so talented,” Cheryl said. “The doves were a fantastic idea too. I think they add the perfect touch to the night.”
They talked about a few last-minute details, and when Amber turned toward the elevator to leave, Cheryl tucked her hand into Amber”s elbow and led her to the ornate staircase leading down to the ballroom. “Everyone should walk down these stairs in a fabulous dress at least one in their life,” she said, patting Amber’s hand and leaving her at the top of the staircase.
The ballroom was full now. Music and laughter floated up from the ballroom below, and she scanned the floor, looking for a tall, darkly handsome man in a tux.
Aunt Sophia with Captain by her side stood chatting with Annette, who was elegant as always in a black Herve Leger. Amber spotted Charlotte in a stunning green ball gown with Johnny by her side in his Northfield Fire Department dress blues.
Todd, with his date, Anthony from the Red Lounge, stood by the bar chatting. She had fixed them up recently and was still patting herself on the back for another successful match.
Neal lingered next to the bar, making good use of the open bar if his flushed cheeks and unsteady movements were any sign. Throughout the guests, news crews and photographers blended unobtrusively into the crowd to share the event with the public.
Pippa Shelton was there, dressed in a striking red mermaid dress that did wonderful things for her coloring. A photographer stood next to her, snapping photos of the guests. Amber’s stomach tightened with nerves, but she was a performer, if nothing else.
She took a deep breath and stepped down to the first stair. As if they were connected with a wire, she found Theo watching her with appreciation and something darker in his eyes.
She breathed easier seeing him and took another step down. The feel of his eyes on her, so appreciative and warm, soothed the rest of her nerves and she smiled softly at him. Almost shyly. Other people were noticing the look on his face as she walked down the stairs, turning to watch them.
She made her way down, eyes locked on Theo’s, and when she reached the last stair, he met her and held her hand, bringing it to his lips. “You are stunning,” he murmured.
She saw the flashbulbs from the corner of her eye, but when Theo looked at her like that, it was hard to care about anything at all.
As if on cue, the music started, and Theo held out his arm. “Care to dance?”
”Yes,” she breathed. His tuxedo was silky smooth under her hand, the arm under it taut with muscle when she placed it on top and followed him to the dance floor. She couldn’t have said what the song was or if they did more than sway side to side like a pair of teenagers in a high school gym dance.
His hand where he held it against his chest was warm and protective, and his arm around her back a solid wall. His eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, looked at her with all the emotion she couldn’t say. But she felt it.
”Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
She laughed. “I believe you did this morning. And then again after breakfast and before lunch.”
His white teeth flashed. “Not nearly enough then. Did you make this dress?”
“Yes. Do you like it?” she asked. “It’s not something I’d usually wear, but it felt right.”
“I love it. You’ve never looked more like yourself,” he said.
A warmth began in her chest, spreading dangerously close to her heart and filling her with an emotion she almost didn’t dare name. She looked past his broad, silk-covered shoulder. “Everything is so magical tonight. I remember coming here as a little girl with my mom and imagining what kind of world the people who came here lived in. It always felt like I was stepping into an alternate universe.”
He spun her in a circle. “I think you’ve always been in your own world,” he murmured, “and everyone else is orbiting around you.”
“It”s the dress,” she said, suddenly shy. She looked away. “It’s just another version of me.”
His arm tightened around her waist, and she looked up again. “Every version of you is my favorite version.”
If she was floating at the end of the dance, she didn”t care because the night was a dream she didn’t want to end.
Johnny and Charlotte danced by them, in their own world, as much as Amber imagined she and Theo were. Theo crooked an eyebrow. ”When were you going to tell me they were a couple?” he asked.
”You figured that out?”
He nodded ruefully. ”I think I was the last one. I was too jealous to see it.”
”I know,” Amber said. ”I liked it.”
“I think after the election, we should go away for a long vacation together. Have you ever been to Paris?”
She laughed. “Paris? The farthest I”ve been to is Niagara Falls.”
“We”re going to fix that.”
Amber would”ve laughed, but suddenly it wasn”t funny. Suddenly, she could see that future, traveling together, Theo being reelected, and her opening her own boutique, and maybe someday starting a family together. She wanted that future, and it didn”t seem silly at all. It was exactly what she wanted.
She floated for the rest of the evening, talking to the different vendors Cheryl had arranged to represent the best of Northfield, trying a sampling of the delicious foods, and drinking too much champagne because it tasted good, and she felt even better.
They sat with Georgie for dinner, Theo’s tiny, adorable grandma. She had her nurse with her, and she was in a wheelchair, but when she saw Amber, her whole face lit up.
They chatted throughout dinner about all the wonderful memories she had of Theo as a little boy, and how proud she was of the man he had become. Before she left, she patted Amber’s hand. “I knew my Theodore would fall in love with a firecracker. Give him hell for me,” she said, winking.
And there was that feeling again, that breathless, bottomless exhilaration. Was this love? Should it feel this terrifying? Theo’s hand settled, warm and solid, on her thigh, as if he could feel her panicked thoughts. He rubbed softly while he talked with Neal next to him, and she breathed in the moment, anchored by him.
After dinner they danced again, and this time she didn’t look away from Theo’s eyes. The flash of cameras barely registered. It was the two of them in the middle of hundreds of pairs of curious eyes, but only one pair of cool blue ones mattered to her.
“Thank you for making tonight such a success,” Theo said, reminding her of something that had been nagging her.
“What made you choose the Maple Street Center?” she asked.
Theo looked at her steadily. “Because that night Grant and I picked you up changed everything for me. Just like it probably did for you.”
Amber stumbled, but Theo’s firm arm guided her. “What do you mean?”
“It was the first time in my life I faced a situation where I couldn’t right a wrong, no matter how much I wanted to. I knew that someone had let you down, even if you wouldn’t admit it or let me help. Being on the board of Maple Street is a way for me to help.”
“You did help me that night. I would have had to walk home in heels with a ripped dress,” she said lightly. Her stomach was still fluttering.
“I would have done more,” he said, looking at her directly.
And, oh. Oh. Now she knew for sure what that emotion was swelling her heart and making it hard for her to swallow around the lump in her throat. It wasn’t terrifying after all. It was beautiful and soft. Tender. She knew this because it was reflected in his eyes, directed back at her. I love him.
She smiled then, just for him. Not for the benefit of the cameras or the surrounding people watching them. It was for Theo because she loved him.
His eyes went dark and so utterly warm and dipped to her mouth. Then he kissed her.
In full view of her family and reporters and photographers, he kissed her. Thoroughly. Possessively.
She closed her eyes and soaked it in, Theo’s soft lips, and his cologne that made her want to lick him all over, the way his arms held her close to his body, and his hands cradling her face. It was a lingering, bold kiss that sent a message to everyone in the room.
Amber leaned in and enjoyed every second of it.