Celt. (Den of Mercenaries #2)(37)

It had taken another four days to finally complete it, and she may have been done even sooner had Kyrnon not been taking up every other spare moment she had.

Not that she minded.

All too quickly, she was enjoying his company. It was the simple things really, like two nights ago when they watched a movie on his couch. For the first fifteen minutes he was throwing popcorn at her, and for the next hour explaining to her in excruciating detail how the fighting depicted in it was off.

He was goofy.

He was sweet.

He was … everything.

“I’ve made the check out to cash,” Gabriel said, pulling an envelope from his breast pocket. “I’ve also included a pair of tickets to the auction, should you and a friend want to attend.”

Amber blinked in surprise. Despite her work, she hadn’t actually been expecting to get an invite to the mysterious auction. “Oh, thank you.”

Maybe she’d bring Kyrnon, he seemed to appreciate art enough.

“Saturday,” Gabriel said after she took the envelope from him. “Arrive before six.”

She couldn’t wait.





Chapter Ten





Two nights before the auction, Amber found herself in a little boutique in The Village with Lauren passing her selections over top the door. After failing to find anything that she thought would work for the event, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to find a dress, while filling Lauren in on all things Kyrnon.

“So what’s he like?” Lauren asked from the other side of the dressing room door, her shadow shifting with her pacing. “Since you’re intent on hiding him, you’ll just have to tell me.”

Laughing, Amber finished zipping up the dress she was wearing before reentering the dressing room floor. “I’m not hiding him. The timing just hasn’t worked.”

Like that first night she had gone out with Lauren and Kyrnon had been waiting on her when she got home. Had Mishca not had an emergency at home, they could have met then. And just like then, each time after had fallen along the same lines.

She stepped in front of the trio of mirrors, smoothing her hands down the skirt of the dress. As Lauren walked small circles around her, commenting on everything she liked and disliked, Amber almost smiled at how just a few years ago, their positions were reversed, and it was Amber helping her find a dress for a gala Lauren was attending.

“Well,” Lauren said with a wave of her hand. “I’m still waiting.”

Thinking of him, Amber did smile this time. “He’s great. Really, really great.”

“That’s what you said last time. Give me something new.”

As she contemplated her reflection, she did the same of her answer. “He makes me feel unapologetic. I don’t feel like I have to be anyone else when I’m with him.”

Which was almost the complete opposite of what she had felt with Rob, she was realizing. Thinking back, she could see the moments where she made allowances for the things he said and the way he made her feel.

He hadn’t outright said anything was wrong with her dream of becoming a full-time artist, but he had always treated it like it was a hobby, one he thought she would grow out of. If Kyrnon came over and she was absorbed in work, he merely waited for her to finish before seeking her out. And he actively asked her about past works, though not about what she was currently working on since she never talked about those, and even asking about inspirations and previous artists she might have been channeling.

He just seemed to care about her and what she loved to do, and that was all she could ever ask for in a relationship.

And that was what it was, though they had never put a name to it. He was just, as he would put it, her fella.

“Love is in the air,” Lauren said wistfully. “Luka and Alex got married. Klaus is having twins. And now you have Kyrnon.” Then she frowned. “I feel like we’re getting old.”

Amber had met Reagan a few times, mostly by chance when she was with Niklaus and they dropped by the penthouse to see Mishca and Lauren. And even if she didn’t know her that well, she still thought she had to be something special if she managed to get Niklaus to calm down.

“And if there’s anyone getting old, you’re first. Unlike the rest of us, you’re already married with a kid. We’re still catching up.”

Lauren groaned. “Don’t say that. It’s worse because Mishca is already ready for a second. I’ll be lucky to graduate without him knocking me up.”

“But you have to admit. Sacha is too adorable not to have a sibling.”

“Don’t let Mish hear you say that. That’s been his argument since the day he gave me that smile of his and asked me to have his baby.” A sudden blush stained her cheeks as she cleared her throat. “But enough about that. What do you think of the dress?”

Looking back to her reflection, Amber shrugged. “It’s okay, but I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite.” And definitely not worth the price attached to it.

“This one?”

Lauren led the way back toward the front of the boutique where there was a selection of jewel-toned gowns, but there was another that she was focused on, this one sitting on a mannequin in the window.

The top half was made mostly of lace, sheerer around the arms, across the collarbone, and along the waistline. The skirt was full, so long that it would brush the floor, even if she was standing.