was a three-heartbeat pause that felt like thirty as Parker’s expression remained blank.
‘I’m Amber Davis.’
‘Amber Davis,’ he said slowly, as if pulling the name from a memory long buried. Recognition finally shot through his face, and his shoulders snapped back. ‘Well, hell,’ he breathed out. ‘You’re the one who tried to drown.’
Two
Fifteen years earlier
The Hamptons, Long Island, New York
Swimswimswim
Eyes fixed on the dock, the chant rang on and on in Amber’s head. She’d lost sight of her paddleboard ages ago, swept away by the Sag Harbor current. Crap, she was so getting in trouble for this.
Mom’s gonna kill me if I drown.
A fresh slice of panic surged. How was she going to marry Parker now if she died? At the stupid age of twelve. Jeez, she’d never even been kissed before! Frowning, she paddled harder. She should have played Spin the Bottle at Nancy Kruger’s last month. Okay, so Amber probably would have been stuck kissing Jimmy Stevens, better known as lizard tongue, but at least she wouldn’t be drowning with virgin lips. An epically lame end to the suckage that was her life.
All except for Parker.
Parker.
So what if he was in the eleventh grade and she was only in sixth. She’d loved him since she was eight years old. He’d briefly been replaced with Justin Timberlake from ’N Sync, but even she knew that was pretty unlikely to happen. And Parker was cuter. She wanted to marry him so bad that she’d picked out her wedding dress ages ago. Course, it had taken her four months to whittle it down to her top five favorites. Her obsession with tulle and satin and lace was growing pretty strong. This summer, in a fit of boredom, she’d planned the whole ceremony. Reese would have been her maid of honor cuz she was Parker’s half sister and Amber’s sort-of friend.
Stupidstupidstupid
Sneaking off and forgetting the life vest. But she’d really really wanted to get better on the paddleboard. Mostly cuz she wanted to impress Parker. Last summer he’d taught her how to stand and maneuver a turn, but this summer he was more interested in kissing Susie Frances. Amber scowled. And he never helped her bait a hook or capture crabs anymore.
The current was scarily strong, and the dumb dock was slipping farther away. The chill from the water seeped deeper with every passing minute, despite how hard Amber swam. Teeth chattering, her arms and legs grew heavy. So much so it was a struggle to control them now.
A sob ripped from her throat, and she fought back the fear, closing her eyes.
Giveupgiveupgiveup
Her muscles screamed for a break, her lips quivering, the taste of salt a mix of seawater and frustrated tears. The furious pounding of her heart was now just as much about terror as tiredness, and she was sure her chest was gonna explode.
Her thoughts began to drift and grow foggy. She knew there was something she was supposed to be doing. Swimming? Finding Reese?
‘Amber!’
The call shook her out of her daze. God, she really was drowning. Was she already in heaven? Now she was hearing Parker calling out her name.
The voice grew closer, the tone urgent. ‘Amber.’
Exhausted, she turned and spied Parker sprawled on his board, sleeves pushed to his elbows as he paddled toward her like a madman. She sucked in a breath, getting a mouthful of salt water that burned her throat, and she coughed and gagged, slipping beneath the surface. The cold closed over her head and she stopped fighting for a moment. It was peaceful. Quiet. And she was so, so tired; it was nice not to fight so hard to keep her head above water.
She drifted, floating, until an arm circled around her chest and heaved her up. She had a vague sensation of being hauled onto something hard, but she couldn’t move. It took too much effort to breathe.
And then there were lips on hers and warm breath filling her lungs and she had an overwhelming urge to cough again. She rolled, gagged and then threw up a bunch of salt water that stung as much coming up as going down. Shattered, she collapsed again, drifting in and out, only half-aware as Parker paddled the board for shore and dragged her up on the beach.
That was when the shivering started for real. Water dripped down his nose as Parker gathered her close, fear making deep lines in his forehead. She gazed up at him, dazed, her heart pounding from the feel of his arms cradled around her. The feel of his breath, Parker’s breath, on her cheek was awesome. But the close-up of his face was just...was just... And as she blinked, her mind clearing, it hit her.
Parker had kissed her!
Her heart fluttered like a hummingbird stuck in a cage. Okay, true, it was more like he’d given her mouth to mouth, but still... She closed her eyes, remembering the hard press of those soft lips she’d been obsessing about for years. Pressed against hers.
OMG...it was almost worth drowning for.
His dark blond hair looked brown when wet. A smattering of freckles bridged his nose, and thick lashes framed the prettiest pair of green eyes in the history of ever. Eyes that always did funny things to her stomach when they locked on hers. Used to be they’d look at her with patience and, when she was really lucky, a hint of fondness. Now that Parker had gotten older there was a lot of irritation. But it wasn’t her fault his mother made him watch out for her and Reese when Amber’s mom wasn’t around.
She clutched his arm. ‘You can’t tell my mom,’ she croaked out.
‘Aw, come on, Amber.’ Parker’s face scrunched up tight. ‘You nearly freakin’ died.’
‘I did not.’
He rolled his eyes in that ever-sarcastic ‘yeah, right’ way of his. ‘What if you get sick or something?’ he said. ‘She needs to know.’
And be grounded? Amber had been looking forward to summer vacation for months. As the daughter of Ms. Michael’s personal assistant, Amber had practically grown up in the Michaels’ home. Parker never visited his mother in the city anymore, so summer at the Hamptons was the only time she got to see him.
She pulled harder, panicking now. ‘If you tell, I’ll—I’ll—’
Her mind sputtered as she scrambled to come up with a good threat. And then a memory filled her mind. A vision of Parker, lids rimmed red, sniffing as she stumbled on him down by the dock. He’d yelled at her, of course, scrubbing at his face as he’d told her to scram. As always, her heart hurt when Parker got that look in his eyes. And the only person in the world that could make Parker that upset was his mother. It had been a long time since she’d seen him sad about his mom. Lately, his reactions more often resembled anger.
She straightened up. ‘I’ll tell Susie Frances that I caught you crying like a baby.’
His gaze flashed to hers. ‘I was not crying,’ he said. ‘I got salt water in my eyes, is all.’
They both knew it was a lie, and she fought the temptation to look away. This was too important.
‘Fine,’ he said. And then he jabbed a finger in front of her face. ‘But you have to stop the creepy stalker stuff.’
Heat flaring up her face, she was horrified by the words. Had she been that obvious?
Suddenly, she wished she’d been swallowed up by the waters of Sag Harbor. ‘Fine,’ she said, mimicking him. But then her bravery ran out, her voice growing small. ‘I don’t suppose we can find the paddleboard?’
Parker stood, and right away she missed the heat of his skin. He swiped a hand through his hair, leaving it spikier than usual. ‘The board’s long gone.’
Jeez, it all seemed so unfair. Blinking back the tears, she looked across the water.