Barbara Dunlop - Christmas Secrets

She walked down the hall to the nursery. There, she straightened the rumpled sheets and folded a fresh blanket onto the mattress.

A yellow nightlight glowed in the corner, highlighting the cartoon giraffes, elephants and lions on the wall. Soft stuffed animals decorated every surface.

Cole moved beside her and eased Zachary down onto the white flannel sheet. He pulled his arm from beneath Zachary and stepped back. The baby didn’t stir. Amber covered Zachary with a knit blanket and a patchwork quilt. Then she stroked her palm over his warm forehead.

“Good night, sweetheart,” she whispered.

She straightened, her heart aching all over again. She gripped the top of the crib rail, struggling to draw a breath.

Cole’s strong hand came down on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She swallowed. Her voice came out on a pained whisper. “I’m so frightened.”

“I know.”

She shook her head. “No, you don’t. You can’t possibly understand.”

She was going to lose Zachary, and there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

He gently turned her. She didn’t stop him as he drew her into his arms. It didn’t seem to matter that he was one of the enemies; she accepted the strength he offered.

His voice was deep and steady. “I know you can’t let yourself believe anything I say. But I want what’s best for Zachary. I promise I’ll do what’s best for Zachary.”

She tipped her chin to gaze up at him. She wanted so badly to believe it was true. She needed some hope to hang on to.

Minutes ticked slowly past.

He reached up to brush her chin, his voice low and sexy. “You are amazing.”

She knew she had to pull away. She had to shut this down before it went any further. His eyes were smoldering, his desire completely obvious. His hand crept into her hair. His gaze zeroed in on her lips, and he bent his head.

He was going to kiss her.

She wasn’t going to stop him.

His lips touched hers, warm, soft and gentle.

She stretched up, leaned in, let her arms twine around his neck as he took the kiss deeper. She’d missed him. She couldn’t believe how much she’d missed him.

Her world was dissolving around her, and he felt like the only anchor point. His hand splayed her back, pressing her close. A moan rose up from her chest, and she met his tongue. Flicking flames of desire rose up inside her, heating her body, sensitizing every nerve ending. She needed to get closer, to feel his skin.

But suddenly, he drew back. “We can’t do this.”

She was mortified. What was she thinking? What was she doing, throwing herself into his arms?

He braced his hands around her upper arms, putting a few inches between them. “We need to talk.”

“Talk,” Amber managed to agree.

He put a hand lightly on the small of her back, guiding her from the nursery, down the hall, back to the living room.

She went straight to the far corner of the sofa, struggling to pull her dignity around her.

She could feel Cole’s gaze on her from where he sat in the armchair. But she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She couldn’t imagine what he thought of her. He’d deceived her, used her to gain information about Coast Eagle, Samuel and Zachary. And yet she’d been willing to leap into bed with him a second time.

There was something terribly wrong with her.

“What will Roth do?” Cole asked into the silence. “If he wins custody, what will he do?”

Amber struggled to move past emotion to logic. “I expect he will hire a nanny. I hope he keeps Isabel, but I don’t know that he will.” She had to stop for a breath. “Then he’ll use the power of his guardianship to get appointed president of Coast Eagle.”

“He won’t want to be chairman of the board?”

“He wants to be hands-on. He wants to run the company day-to-day. His first plan is to update or replace the entire fleet. He thinks he’ll be able to increase our market share enough to cover the debt.”

“You doubt that?” asked Cole.

“His projections are dangerously optimistic.”

Cole gave a contemplative nod.

Amber forced herself to ask the burning question. “What will you do?”

His gaze was level and honest. “I don’t know.”

“How can I trust you?”

“You can’t. You shouldn’t.”

She scoffed out a laugh at that.

He took a sip of his now-cool cocoa. “All you can do right now is go on what’s certain. Roth’s got the advantage over me, and he cares about Roth, first, last and always.”

“You’re saying you’re the lesser of two evils.”

“I know you can’t bring yourself to trust me yet. But you know for certain you can’t trust Roth.”

“That’s not at all comforting.”

“I know. But it’s all you’ve got.”

Amber knew he was right. She hated it. But it was true.

As a significant shareholder in Coast Eagle, no matter how things turned out in the long term, Cole knew he needed to understand the company. He and Luca had both been in daily contact with Aviation 58 since arriving in Atlanta, but Luca now offered to take over as much as possible on the Alaska operation.

Luckily, even leading into the busy holiday travel season, things seemed well under control at Aviation 58. There were no unexpected maintenance issues, passenger load was as predicted and the Alaskan weather was cooperating surprisingly well.

Cole entered the Coast Eagle building and was immediately recognized. Security greeted him and called up to the executive floor to announce his arrival.

As he exited the elevator, he was greeted by the receptionist, Sandra, who was exceedingly welcoming and polite this time. She introduced him to Samuel’s personal assistant, a fiftyish man named Bartholomew Green. Bartholomew had a British accent and was dressed in a dark formal suit, a matching vest, crisp white shirt and a gold tie.

Samuel’s office was also ostentatious, with a huge, ornately carved cherrywood desk, and a massive credenza with cut-glass decanters. A sofa and two armchairs had diamond tufted, dark leather upholstery, while expensive oil paintings hung on the walls. Cole couldn’t help wonder how his down-to-earth mother had fallen in love with the man he was learning about.

“Will you be moving into the office today, sir?” asked Bartholomew.

“I will,” said Cole.

The last thing in the world he wanted to do was step into his father’s shoes. But he needed to make a statement. Roth, the judge and everybody else had to see he was taking the reins—even if it was only temporary.

He took in Bartholomew’s attire once more. He supposed he’d have to update his own wardrobe, and he was going to make the same recommendation to Amber. She was next on his list of things to deal with at Coast Eagle.

“Can you set up a meeting with Max and the vice presidents for this afternoon?” Cole asked Bartholomew.

“Do you have a preferred time, sir?”

“Two o’clock.” Cole couldn’t have cared less about the time, but he needed to be the guy making the decisions.

“The east boardroom?”

“Sounds fine. Can you direct me to Amber Welsley’s office?”

“She’s in accounting. That’s on the seventh floor. Shall I show you the way?”

“Is it overly complicated?”

Bartholomew seemed to allow himself a small smile. “Left when you get off the elevator, first hallway on your right.”

“I think I can manage. No need for a tour guide.”

“Very good, sir.”

“Anything else I should know?” Cole asked, curious to know where Bartholomew’s loyalties would lie.

“What would you like to know?”

Cole paused to gauge the man’s expression. “What do you think is important?”