The Last Mrs. Parrish(19)

“Here we are.”

She followed Tallulah around the enormous store until they reached the mystery section, and she pulled out an armful of books. They found a cozy place to sit, and Amber grabbed a few books off the shelves as well. She noticed Tallulah holding a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories.

“Did you know Edgar Allan Poe was an orphan?” Amber asked.

Tallulah looked up. “What?”

Amber nodded. “Yes, his parents died when he was four. He was raised by a wealthy merchant.”

Tallulah’s eyes widened.

“Sadly, his new parents cut him out of their will, and he ended up very poor. Maybe he wasn’t as nice to them as he was to his real parents.” Amber smiled inwardly at Tallulah’s shocked expression. It was a good lesson for the kid to keep in mind.

They spent the next two hours reading, Tallulah lost in her Poe book, ignoring Amber, Amber looking through a book on Formula One racing. She’d read that Jackson was an avid fan. When she’d had enough of that, she opened the Facebook app on her phone. Rage overcame her when she read the update. So, the bitch was pregnant. How could that have happened? The three of them smiling like idiots. Who was stupid enough to announce a pregnancy at only eight weeks? Amber consoled herself with the thought that maybe she’d miscarry. She heard someone approach and looked up to see Daphne, laden with shopping bags, rushing toward them.

“There you are!” Daphne was out of breath, and Bella’s hand was in hers as she ran to keep up with her mother. “Jackson just called. He’s going to meet us after all. We’ll grab a cab and meet him at SixtyFive. We’ll have dinner and then see the tree.” She smiled.

“Wait,” Amber said, grabbing the arm of Daphne’s coat. “I don’t want to intrude on your family time.” In truth, she was surprised at how nervous she was at the prospect of meeting Jackson. The suddenness threw her off balance. She wanted advance warning, time to ready herself to meet the man she knew so much about.

“Don’t be silly,” Daphne gushed. “You won’t be intruding. Now come on. He’s waiting for us.”

Tallulah got up immediately, putting all the books into a pile and picking them up.

Daphne waved her hand. “Leave them, sweetie. We need to get going.”





Thirteen




He was waiting at the best table in the place. Its view was even more stunning than Amber had imagined. So was he, for that matter. The sex appeal practically oozed out of him. Drop-dead gorgeous. There was no other way to say it. And the impeccably tailored custom suit made him look like he’d just stepped off the set of a Bond movie. He stood as they approached, and when his dazzling blue eyes rested on Daphne, his smile widened, and he greeted her with a warm kiss on the lips. He was crazy about her, Amber realized with frustration. He crouched down, opening his arms, and the girls ran into them.

“Daddy!” Bella grinned, looking happy for the first time all day.

“My girls. Did you have a great day with Mommy?”

They both started chattering at once, and Daphne ushered them into their seats while she took the one next to Jackson. Amber sat in the remaining seat, across from him, next to Bella.

“Jackson, this is Amber. I told you about her; she’s come to my rescue on the gala committee.”

“Very nice to meet you, Amber. I understand you’ve been a great help.”

Her eyes were drawn to the delectable dimple that appeared when he smiled. If he wondered what she was doing having dinner with them, he at least had the good grace not to show it.

They ordered cocktails for themselves and appetizers for the kids, and after a little while Amber blended into the background and sat observing them.

“So tell me about your day,” Jackson said. “What was the highlight?”

“Well, I got two new dresses for my Bella doll, a stable set, and a tutu to match mine, so she can come to ballet with me.”

“How about you, Lu?”

“I liked Alice’s Teacup. It was cool. Then Amber took me to Barnes & Noble.”

He shook his head. “My little bibliophile. You come to the city, and that’s where you go? We have one right around the corner,” he said, not unkindly.

“Yeah, but’s it not huge, like here. Besides, we come here all the time. No big deal.”

Amber swallowed her anger at Tallulah’s sense of entitlement. No big deal, indeed. She’d like to ship her off to some rural location for a few years and let her see how the rest of America lived.

Jackson turned to Daphne, resting his hand briefly on her cheek. “And you, my darling? What was your highlight?”

“Getting the call from you.”

Amber wanted to vomit. Were they for real? She took a long swallow from her wineglass. No need to pace herself; he could afford to keep it coming.

When he finally tore his eyes off his gorgeous wife, Jackson glanced at Amber. “Are you from Connecticut, Amber?”

“No, Nebraska.”

He looked surprised. “What brought you east?”

“I wanted to expand my horizons. A friend of mine moved to Connecticut and invited me to room with her,” she said, then took another sip of wine. “I fell in love with the coastline right away—and being so close to New York.”