2. Amber
CHAPTER TWO
amber
W ith our toes freshly painted, and a nice buzz flowing through Lily and me, we drive back to the cabin for the surprise party.
The spa with the girls was exactly what I needed to keep my mind off everything, but this party will be hell for me.
I don’t love large crowds, especially when I know so few people.
There’s not much I won’t do for Lily though, so I put on a bright smile as we pull up to the slew of cars at the cabin.
“What’s going on?” Lily asks, glancing around.
“Let’s go find out.” Michele grins, and we lead her into the house where all of her and Thoren’s friends are waiting to celebrate.
I slip to the side and make my way to the kitchen while everyone takes their time talking with her.
Glancing around, I see a few familiar faces, but none I know the names of until I spot Evelyn, Thoren’s mom.
Evelyn has been visiting with Jana frequently in the afternoons while I’m working.
She didn’t know Jana before her stroke, but that hasn’t stopped her from befriending her and even coming into the shop to check on me and bring meals and flowers.
I don’t know what we did to deserve her in our lives, but I thank God for her every single day.
Evelyn pulls me into a tight hug. “How are you doing, honey?”
“Today’s a tough day,” I admit. “I sold her house this morning.” My eyes sting unbidden as a hot tear slips free. It doesn’t matter that I haven’t lived with her for two years, that house meant something to me, and Evelyn must see it. She takes my hands in hers, giving them a reassuring squeeze.
“Oh, sweetheart. Remind yourself that it’s only a house and that a true home is with a person, not a place.
You still have Jana, and she’s what made it a home.
I know that letting it go hurts, but it will take a huge financial burden off your shoulders.
You aren’t alone in this, and I’m here anytime you want to talk.
The invite for Sunday dinners is open-ended. Please try to come.”
David, her husband, comes up and places a glass of amber liquid in my hands before walking off with a smile and a shoulder squeeze. “He’s one of the good ones.” She winks at me. “Now, go mingle and drink your whiskey.”
My hands tremble as I choke back the alcohol in one large gulp, trying not to splutter on the taste.
The burn sears my throat, warming my insides as I make my way to the counter for a refill.
There’s too much pain lingering, and I want to feel numb.
Michele and Lily are busy socializing when I spot a tall, tattooed man who has to be Jake.
He stands taller than everyone in the room, his black shirt taut over his barrel chest. With messy dark hair and a slightly unkempt beard paired with tattoos spanning from the neck of his shirt down to his hands, he has the ultimate bad-boy look.
It must be fate that he’s here after the girls brought him up, so I make my way over to ask about working with him on some displays.
“Jake?” He turns to look at me, deep-ocean-blue eyes trailing over me with interest .
“Yes?”
“Hi, I’m Amber.” I try to plaster a bright smile on my face, sticking my hand out. “Your reputation precedes you.”
His face immediately sours. “Is that so?”
I leave my hand out, waiting for him to shake it. “Yeah, the girls said you’re the man to come to.”
“Did they?” He crosses his arms over his broad chest, glowering to the room. “You heard wrong.”
I glance around the room, trying to see what has him upset. Coming up empty, I turn back to him, trying to work out what I did wrong. It can’t be that there’s another Jake who looks like him and I have the wrong guy … right? “Okay, well, the?—”
“Excuse me,” he mutters, pushing past me toward the hallway.
What a dick. I don’t need new displays that bad and can certainly get them elsewhere. My night seems to be ending the way it started: complete and utter shit. The second glass of whiskey goes down smoother than the first, so I make my way back to the counter for a third.
The rest of the evening passes in a blur as I nibble on some snacks and nurse my drink.
I’m going to regret this tomorrow, but at this point, I’m happy to numb the pain.
With the party winding down, I take a spot on the floor near the fireplace, keeping my eyes trained anywhere but on Jake.
The man avoided me the rest of the night, aside from his heated glares scorching my back.
The glow of the flames reflects in the glass I’m holding as licks of heat travel up my back from the fire.
“My body is happy,” Michele claims from where she’s sprawled on the floor.
“Why is everyone on the floor?” Thoren asks. “I have furniture, you know?”
“Nahhh, the floor is nice. After getting a total rubdown today, then filling myself with alcohol, I am happy right where I am,” Michele slurs.
“You ladies want to stay here? I make a mean hangover breakfast.”
My eyes go wide with the realization Michele is my ride home. “I have to open in the morning!” Crap, I didn’t even think of that when she picked me up. Lauren and Natasha can’t cover tomorrow, and they’re all I have.
“I’ll take you home.” Jake’s eyes narrow as they bore into me once again. “I’m the DD, and my truck is good in the snow.”
Why does it have to be this asshole who can drive me?
Even if I stayed and had Michele drive me back early, I wouldn’t have time to see Jana before opening the store, and I hate that.
We’re still short staffed, so I’ll be working open to close, and evenings are closed for visiting hours at the rehab facility.
Every day I get with her is a blessing, and I’m not willing to give even one up.
“Fine,” I huff under my breath.
His smirk is wicked and has no right being as sexy as it is.
I mutter a snarky “Thanks” and pull myself off the floor.
The whiskey hits and the room spins, throwing me off balance.
Jake is by my side in an instant, his large hands warm against my already overheated skin.
He looks annoyed again, like my unsteady feet have offended him.
“Do you have a purse or anything?”
“I’ve got it all,” Lily says, handing over my jacket and purse. The room still spins, so I struggle to get my hands through the sleeves. This isn’t my proudest moment; tonight wasn’t about me, but I needed to ease the tightening in my chest. With my snow boots back on, I stumble onto the porch.
Jake’s big hands wrap around me again, leading me to his truck. Two steps into the snow, I slip, almost taking us both out. With a heavy sigh, Jake lifts me into his arms, carrying me the rest of the way to his truck .
“You’re handsy,” I huff, crossing my arms and refusing to hold onto him.
“And you’re drunk,” he snaps, opening the passenger door and plopping me into the seat. He leans over to buckle me in, and his crisp scent washes over me. His manhandling me, and the fact that he looks and smells good while doing it, really pisses me off.
He slams the door shut, stomps over to his side, and cranks the engine, then adjusts the heat. Before reversing, he leans into the back, grabbing a blanket he tosses on my lap. “It might smell like sawdust, but it’s clean. My truck can take a minute to warm up.”
His conflicting actions are making my head spin as much as the alcohol. What the hell is this man’s problem?
“Where do you live?” His gravelly voice sends a shiver down my spine.
“Downtown, above Cedar and Sage. It’s on Main Street.”
He grunts in acknowledgment before carefully navigating us through the snow-covered roads back toward town.
The longer we sit in silence, the more my anger over this whole day starts to fester and bubble over.
Who treats someone trying to give them their business like the dirt beneath their shoes?
It brings me back to the way people used to dismiss me as a child, and I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t still sting.
Halfway to town, he breaks the silence. “Warm enough?”
I let out a sigh, crossing my arms over my chest. Yes, I’m acting like a petulant child, but this guy deserves it. “Like you care.”
He glares over at me again but says nothing else the rest of the drive, and that’s perfectly fine with me.
His attitude is crap, and he hasn’t apologized.
I point him to the back alley where the entrance to my apartment is, and he stops right outside.
It’s a glass door with a small entryway with stairs leading to my apartment above my shop and the storage above the empty storefront next door.
Jake leaves the truck running but hops out to walk me the five steps to the door, fat snowflakes dusting our coats.
His looming presence unnerves me as I fumble with my keys, trying to get the door unlocked.
He plucks them from my fingers and unlocks the door for me.
Turning to face him, I snatch back the keys and narrow my gaze on the deep scowl he’s wearing on his ruggedly handsome, stupid face.
“Bye, Jake.” I pull the door shut and lock it, then try not to trip up the stairs. When I unlock my apartment door and step inside, he’s still standing there, waiting for me. He gives a nod when our eyes lock, then heads back to his truck while I kick off my boots and crash face-first into my bed.