Up All Night (17 page)

Stupid
, Beth
thought, annoyed at herself. She and Marco were having such a good time
together, and Amber and Ethan were his best friends. It wouldn’t hurt to make
the effort to get to know Amber a little more. It might even help stop this
unwarranted irritation with Amber from ruining her happiness. “Sure. I can take
a break.”

When they’d ordered their coffee,
Beth indicated a table by the window that looked out over the meeting area. If
it looked like it was getting too busy, she could make her excuses and leave.

“I think it’s lovely how you have
photographs of the animals for adoption up on the notice boards. It’s amazing
that you can work here and not want to take all of them home.”

“Well, practicality wins in the
end.”

“I suppose so, but I’d still want
them all. Marco said you were thinking of adopting a dog though.”

It seemed Marco said a whole lot
.

“Roscoe.” At the thought of the big
softie who had wormed his way into her heart, Beth smiled. “He’s a mastiff and
seems to have bonded with me. I love him with a passion.”

Amber studied her with an expression
that was a mixture of coy and determined. Beneath her delicately feminine
exterior, Beth suspected there was a backbone of steel. She could see how men
would fall head over heels.

“I might be wrong,” Amber said at
length. “But I get the feeling you don’t like me very much.”

The concern in Amber’s green eyes
made Beth feel like an unreasonable shrew. “I don’t know you well enough to
have decided not to like you.”

“Which is one of the reasons I
thought with the guys away it would be good for us to grab a coffee together.”

Beth nodded, wondering how it was
possible for anyone not to like this amiable woman. That was assuming she
hadn’t slept with the man you were currently heating up the sheets with.

Amber slid her spoon over the
topping of her latte. “The thing is, I was hoping you didn’t refuse my
invitations to supper because of what happened.”

As Amber’s gaze held hers firm, Beth
picked up her own spoon. “I was on shift.”

“Both times?”

Again Beth nodded. What was she
supposed to say? That she’d refused Amber’s latest invitation because, despite
her assurances to Marco, she still wanted to scratch the woman’s eyes out? That
she wanted to slap her silly purely because Marco had fucked her long months
before Beth had ever met him?

As Beth deliberated, Amber blew out
a breath. “I thought so. The first time I wondered, but then when you didn’t
come the other night either, I worried.”

Feeling like an insensitive,
ungracious bitch, Beth offered Amber a wan smile. She owed the woman some sort
of explanation, seeing as how she’d come all the way out to the Center. “It’s
pretty hard to swallow. Knowing you slept with Marco and, well, the
circumstances surrounding it.”

“I can understand how you must
feel.”

Still Amber stared her direct in the
eye. A straight-shooter, Beth thought. No embarrassment, no hedging, not a hint
of nervousness. “Can you?”

“Sure.” Amber shrugged. “I felt
weird when I found out that Ethan and Marco had shared that woman they met in
Marco’s bar. I didn’t even know the woman, but it was hard to accept. At the
time, it was out of my comfort range, you know? I wasn’t particularly confident
in my own abilities in the sack and finding out Ethan liked to…”

“Mix things up a little?” Beth
glanced around the almost empty coffee bar before returning her attention to
Amber. “The whole group sex thing?”

Amber nodded. “What I wanted to say
is I didn’t know that woman, but you know me.”

Beth felt a growing camaraderie with
Amber, seeing as how they’d both experienced the discomfort of knowing their
men enjoyed activities outside the boundaries and limitations of their own. She
took a breath and let her guard down. “I feel sort of left out.”

“I get that. I really do. Which is
why I thought it might help. I suppose it was a ridiculous suggestion. I didn’t
mean it to offend you.”

Suggestion? What suggestion?
Beth’s chest tightened once more. Was this
something else Marco had discussed with Amber? Another scenario Beth had been excluded
from?

“I suppose I thought it would make
you feel less out of it,” Amber continued. “Stupid really.”

As Beth continued to speculate,
Amber straightened. “Oh damn. I’ve done it again haven’t I? Put my big foot in
it.”

“Looks like. Seeing as I haven’t
been party to this suggestion.”

Amber gathered up her bag and Beth
sensed she was about to make an escape. “Oh no you don’t. You’re not leaving
before you spill.”

“You should speak to Marco.”

“Right now, I’m speaking to you.”

“Shit.” Amber clutched her bag on
her lap as if she was hedging her bets and could still try for freedom if the
situation required it. “Like I said, it was stupid. I knew Marco wouldn’t go
for it, but I had to suggest it anyway. I was only trying to help.”

Since her mind had been working
overtime speculating what this
suggestion
might be, it didn’t take Beth a moment to piece things together. Amber had
thought a threesome might help.

“The idea was probably not so
stupid,” Beth confirmed. “Seeing as I actually suggested it to Marco myself.”

Amber’s green eyes widened in
disbelief. “You did?”

“Thing is, I realized I didn’t want
a threesome with another man in the mix. I only want Marco.”

Those green eyes narrowed as Amber
hesitated, then she looked visibly relieved. “And he only wants you.”

The knot in Beth’s chest began to
ease. “I hope so.”

“Believe me, I know it for a fact.”

Beth smiled as her cheeks heated.
Amber had been honest with her. It was time to return the favor. “I did work
those shifts each time you invited me to dinner, but only after I’d rearranged
them to ensure I couldn’t come. And you’re right, I do feel weird about this
whole thing you had going with Marco and I don’t really know how to get over
it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“If anyone should apologize, it’s
me.”

“Why don’t we agree to just put it
behind us? Start again.”

“That’d be good.” Beth decided it
was her turn to reach out.
 
Amber was
actually really sweet and she appreciated she’d taken the time to come out to
see if they could sort this through. “Would you like another coffee? Maybe a
slice of that carrot cake to go with it?”

Amber laughed. “Considering Ethan’s
seen far worse on me than a few surplus pounds, I’m going to say yes. As long
as I can get into my wedding outfit, and I’ve got a few more days to minimize
the damage.”

Beth waited until they were tucking
into carrot cake before she ventured the question she wanted to ask. “You said
Ethan’s seen worse in you than a few surplus pounds. What did you mean?”

Amber toyed with a few errant
crumbs. “I was in an accident a while back and it left me with some scarring on
my shoulders and arms mostly. I was really hung up on it after my fiancé dumped
me for my best friend and said it was my fault. He said he found my physical
appearance disgusting.”

“Bastard.”

Amber laughed and Beth thought how
it turned her from pretty to beautiful. Exactly the woman to turn the heads of
men like Marco and Ethan. “He really was. But my scarring didn’t matter one
jolt to Ethan.” She glanced up at Beth and held her gaze. “Or to Marco.”

Beth gave a tentative nod. “I
suppose we should be open about it. No point in hedging around anymore. Sharing
carrot cake forms a certain bond.”

Amber smiled. “I’d really like if we
could become friends. It seems Marco’s fallen pretty hard for you and I’d hate
if we couldn’t get past this.”

“I should grow up and get over it.
I’m working on it.”

Amber smiled. “That’s good.”

“I really appreciate you coming
here. Being honest with me. There’s just one more thing I’d like to ask.”

Although she looked wary, Amber
nodded. “Ask away.”

“After you and Ethan really got
together and you knew you were in love, did you ever … did Marco ever…”

“No.” Amber gave her head an
emphatic shake. “Not ever.”

“Okay.” Beth let go of the remaining
tension in her chest as she released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been
holding. “Thanks.”

Amber leaned forward and lowered her
voice. “Beth. I love Marco, I really do, but I’m in love with Ethan. He’s the
only man I want. And the only woman Marco wants is you.”

Amber’s announcement pushed a warm
glow into Beth’s chest. She loved knowing Marco felt that way about her,
especially since she felt the same about him. “Hell.” She huffed out a laugh.
“I was never like this before. Never so paranoid.”

“Before what?”

“I was married.”

“Marco said you were divorced.”

Beth nodded. “Did he tell you I
found out my husband was having an affair with my younger sister?”

Amber’s eyes widened. “No. Hell,
Beth.”

“At the time it was. Absolute hell.
I thought I’d come to terms with it, but it seems it’s left me with a real
problem trusting people.”

“Hardly surprising.”

“It wasn’t until the conversation
you and I had in the cloakroom at that charity dinner that I realized there was
more to your relationship with him than he’d told me about. When I finally
found out you’d slept together…I suppose it brought back all my insecurities.”

“I can imagine.” Amber sighed as she
picked up her coffee. “Men really were at the back of the queue when they
handed out common sense, weren’t they? Do they really think we, the more intelligent
of the sexes, won’t find out these things eventually?”

“They probably don’t like to admit
our superiority.”

Amber laughed, then sobered as she
looked at Beth. “No doubt they can screw things up, can screw us up. But some
of them, the good ones, can help put us back together again. Thanks to my
bastard ex, I thought I was rubbish in bed. It took a long time to regain my
confidence, not only in the sack but as a person. Ethan helped me.” She reached
out and touched Beth’s hand. “Marco’s got his faults, but he’s a good guy,
Beth. Being with someone like him could help you learn to trust men again. All
you have to do is open yourself up and let it happen.”

Beth replaced her coffee cup and
glanced out the window. “I’m trying,” she whispered. “I’m really trying.”

Chapter Fourteen

Beth recalled Amber’s words as she
parked her car. Was it that easy to trust again? To let go of the past and move
forward? What were the consequences if she didn’t? Living her life being
guarded, suspicious, and seeing betrayal around every corner. She didn’t want
that. She wanted to handle her fears before they threatened to destroy all the
good in her life.

As she gathered up her overnight bag
the car door swung open. Before she could register what had happened, Marco
leaned down and claimed her mouth in a breathtaking kiss.
 
“Damn, I’ve missed you.”

He all but pulled Beth out of the
car and wrapped her in his arms before taking her mouth again.

When they surfaced, Beth’s knees
were decidedly weak. She hadn’t even hesitated when Marco’s surprise email
arrived inviting her to join him on Sunday night at a
London
hotel for dinner and a show and a
night of—his words—debauchery. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him
while he’d been away, and it had only been two nights. Now, in his arms, she
could barely believe how much she wanted him.

Marco nibbled at her mouth, along
her jaw, down her throat. “I’ve got a very large bed just waiting to be filled
with you. You underneath me. Over me. Any fucking way I can get you. I want you
naked. I want to drive my cock so far inside you, fill you, so you’ll always
feel me there. You’ll feel empty without me there.”

“I want that, too,” Beth admitted
between snatched breaths.

Her fight for oxygen continued as
Marco subjected her to a series of punishing kisses. She’d never been kissed
quite so thoroughly in her life.

When they eventually made it through
reception and into the lift, Marco dropped her overnight bag and grabbed her
again.

Beth laughed. “There might be
security cameras in here.” Unable to resist touching him, she wound her arms
around his neck.

“Then whoever’s manning them will
see me kiss my girl.” He snuck his hands down her back and grabbed her
backside. “They’ll see me feeling her ass, grinding my dick against her pussy,
which if I know her at all is probably soaking wet for me right now.”

Beth tried to be the voice of reason
but her mouth slid into a grin. “I hope the cameras don’t have audio.”