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.”
“How long have you been here?”
Was he really interested or just being polite? She couldn’t tell.
Daphne answered before she could. “About a year, right?” She smiled at her. “She’s in real estate too, works in the commercial division of Rollins Realty.”
“How did you meet again?”
“I told you, it was quite by accident,” Daphne said.
He was still looking at Amber, and she suddenly felt as though she was being interrogated.
“Hellooooooo? This is boring,” Bella sang out. Amber was grateful to the little wretch for distracting him.
Jackson turned his attention to her. “Bella, we don’t interrupt adults when they’re talking.” His voice was firm. Thank God one of them has a backbone, Amber thought.
Bella stuck her tongue out at him.
Tallulah gasped and looked at Jackson, as did Daphne. It felt like time had stopped as everyone waited to see his reaction.
He burst out laughing. “I think someone’s had too long a day.”
Everyone at the table seemed to exhale.
Bella pushed her chair back and ran over to him, burying her head in his chest. “I’m sorry.”
He stroked her blond curls. “Thank you. Now you’re going to behave like a lady, right?”
She nodded and skipped back to her seat.
Score another point for the little hooligan, Amber thought. Who knew that the biggest thorn in her side was going to be this little pint-sized gremlin?
“How about another surprise?” he said.
“What?” the girls asked in unison.
“How about we go see the Christmas show at Radio City and then spend the night here?”
The girls’ voices rose in excitement, but Daphne put her arm on Jackson’s and said, “Sweetheart, I hadn’t planned to stay the night. And I’m sure Amber wants to get home.”
In fact, Amber was thrilled to stay. Her curiosity about the Parrishes’ apartment outweighed any desire to get back home.
Jackson glanced at Amber as if she were a pesky problem to be solved. “Tomorrow’s Sunday. What’s the big deal? She can borrow a change of clothes.” He looked right at Amber. “Is that a problem for you?”
Amber was dancing on the inside, but she gave him a sober and appreciative look. “That would be fine with me. I’d hate to disappoint Bella and Tallulah. They seem really excited to stay.”
He smiled and squeezed Daphne’s arm. “See? It’s fine. We’ll have a great time.”
Daphne shrugged, resigned to the change in plans. They went into the theater and watched Santa and the Rockettes for the next hour and a half. Amber thought the show was moronic, but the girls loved every minute.
When they came out, it was snowing, and the city looked like a winter wonderland, with white lights twinkling on the bare tree branches now covered in the magic powder. Amber looked around in awe. She’d never seen New York this late at night. It was a sight to behold, the lights making everything shimmer and glow.
Jackson took the phone from his pocket, pulled off his leather glove, and, hitting a key, brought it to his ear and said, “Send the driver to the front entrance of Radio City.”
When the black limousine with dark windows pulled up, Amber craned her neck to see what celebrity might step out, but as a tall, uniformed chauffeur got out and opened the back door, she realized that the limo was empty and that it was there for them. Now she felt like the celebrity. She’d never been in a limousine. She noticed that Daphne and the girls didn’t look the least bit fazed. Jackson took Daphne’s hand and guided her in first. Then he gave Bella and Tallulah a playful shove, and they followed after their mother. He gestured to indicate that Amber should enter next, but he barely looked at her. The car was large enough for the two women and two children to sit four across. Jackson spread out on the seat opposite them, his arm draped across the back of the seat and his legs spread wide. Amber tried with difficulty to keep her eyes off him. He was positively brimming with power and masculinity.
Bella was leaning against her mother, almost asleep, when Tallulah said, “Are we going right to the apartment, Daddy?”
“Yes, I—”
But before he got another word out, Bella shot up, now wide awake. “No, no, no. Not the apartment. I want to go where Eloise is. I want to sleep at the Plaza.”
“We can’t do that, sweetheart,” Daphne had said. “We don’t have a reservation. We’ll do that another time.”
Bella wasn’t having it. “Daddy, please. I’ll be the first one in my class to stay where Eloise lives. Everyone will be so jealous. Please, please, please?”
At first Amber had wanted to grab the little whiner and wring her selfish little neck, but there was something in her that Amber recognized, something that made her see how she could turn her into an ally instead of an enemy. And anyway, who cared whether they stayed at the apartment or the Plaza? Either