Liv Constantine - The Last Mrs. Parrish

“I do, actually. That’s the advantage of working on the commercial side of real estate.” She took a sip of eggnog. “Are you and Jackson going away over the holiday?”

“As a matter of fact, we leave on the twenty-eighth for St. Bart’s. We usually leave the day after Christmas, but Meredith is having a surprise fiftieth birthday party for Rand the day after tomorrow, so we pushed the date.”

“How nice,” Amber said, seething inside. She would be spending the rest of the holidays in her cheerless apartment trying to stay warm while they basked in the sun.

She rose from the sofa, hoping her expression hadn’t betrayed her jealousy. “I’ve brought some presents. Let me get them,” she said.

Bella jumped up from the floor and ran over. “Can I see my present? Can I, can I?”

Amber noticed Jackson smiling as he watched Bella jump around with anticipation.

“Here you go, Bella.” Amber handed her the wrapped book set. Luckily, she had also gotten her a sparkly necklace and bracelet to match. Bella loved shiny things.

She ripped greedily into the paper, looked briefly at the books, and then opened the smaller box. “Ooh, pretty.”

“How lovely. Let me help you put on the necklace,” Daphne said.

“Here, Tallulah, this one is for you.”

She slowly unwrapped the package. “Thank you, Amber. I love this book.”

Bella, finished with the necklace and bracelet, began looking through the books Amber had given her and stomped her foot. “No fair. I already have this book in the series!”

Jackson swept her up in his arms and tried to console her. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll take it back to the store and get one you don’t have, okay?”

“Okay,” she whined and put her head on his shoulder.

Daphne retrieved a wrapped package from under the Christmas tree and handed it to Amber. “This is for you. I hope you like it.”

Amber untied the red velvet ribbon and gently tore off the black-and-gold paper. The small box held an elegant gold chain with a single pearl. It was beautiful. For a moment Amber was overwhelmed. She’d never owned something so lovely. “Oh, Daphne, thank you. I love it. Thank you so much.”

“You’re so welcome.”

“I have something for you too.”

Daphne unwrapped the box and then held up the bracelet. When she read Julie’s name on the charm, her eyes filled with tears. She slipped the bangle onto her wrist. “What a wonderful gift. I’ll wear it always. Thank you!”

Amber held her arm out in front of her. “I have one too. We’ll have our sisters with us all the time.”

“Yes.” Daphne choked up as she pulled Amber to her, hugging her tightly.

“Let me see, Mommy.” Bella ran to the sofa and flopped onto her mother’s lap.

“You see, a pretty bracelet with Aunt Julie’s name engraved on it. Isn’t it lovely?”

“Uh-huh. Can I wear it?”

“Maybe later, okay?”

“No, now.”

“Well, just for a few minutes, and then Mommy wants it back.” Daphne took the bracelet off and handed it to her. Bella pushed her fist through it, but the bracelet was too big to stay on her tiny wrist, and she passed it back to Daphne. “Here, Mommy. I don’t like it. You have it.”

Amber was furious that this unpleasant child had interrupted what should have been a serious bonding moment, but she picked up the other gift and held it out to Daphne, “One more that I thought you might like.”

“Amber. Really, this is too much. You’ve gone overboard.”

No, Amber thought, overboard is what is surrounding us in this room full of lavish presents amid discarded ribbons and wrappings. “It’s nothing, Daph. Just a little thing.”

Daphne opened the box and pulled out the turtle wrapped in tissue paper. As she unwound the paper and the crystal turtle came into view, she lost her grip and dropped it onto the floor.

Amber reached down to pick it up, glad to see that it hadn’t broken. “Good”—she placed it on the coffee table—“still intact.”

Jackson strode over to them, scooped up the turtle to examine it, and turned it over in his hands. “Look, Daphne. You don’t have one like this. What a nice addition to your collection.” Jackson set the turtle down. “Great gift, Amber. Now how about we go to the dining room for some Christmas dinner?”

“Oh, wait,” Amber said. “I have a gift for you too, Jackson.”

“You really needn’t have done this,” he said as he took the package she handed to him. She watched as he removed the decorative paper and stared at the book in his hands. He looked up at Amber in surprise, and for the first time she felt he was really looking at her. “This is amazing. Where did you find it?”

“I’ve always been interested in the cave paintings. It’s apparent that you and Daphne are discerning art lovers, so when I came across it on an antiquarian book site, I thought you might be interested in them too.” She’d searched the antiquarian bookstores online and had finally found one she thought he’d appreciate— The Lascaux Cave Paintings by F. Windels. She’d gulped when she’d seen the $75 price, but decided to go ahead and make this her one splurge. The paintings were over 17,000 years old, and the French caves had been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She had hoped he would be impressed.

Amber smiled to herself. She had definitely scored with this one.

Daphne rose from the sofa. “Okay, everyone, time for dinner.”

“Just a second. One more thing.” Amber handed her the box of cookies.

“Goodness, Amber. These look delicious. Look, girls, don’t they look yummy?”

“I want one.” Bella stood on tiptoe and looked in the box.

“After dinner, sweetheart. Amber, this is so sweet of you.”

“Well, Rollins closed early yesterday, so I enjoyed baking them last evening.”

“What? You made these?”

“It’s not a big deal. It was fun, really.”

They walked into the dining room together, and suddenly Bella was by Amber’s side. She took hold of Amber’s hand and smiled up at her. “You’re a really good cookie maker. I’m glad you came today.”

Amber looked down at the little brat and smiled back. “Me too, Bella.”

She felt a swell of satisfaction rise inside her.

Amber had a New Year plan that she hoped would ramp things up. Her panicked phone call had done the trick, and now Daphne waited for her as she walked to the door.

A worried look crossed Daphne’s face as she ushered Amber in. They went directly to the sunroom.

“What’s happened?” Daphne asked with concern.

“I’ve been trying to work this out on my own, but I just can’t take it anymore. I have to talk to someone about it.”

“Come, sit.” Daphne took Amber by the hand and led her to the sofa. “Now, what is it?” She leaned forward, her eyes focused on Amber’s face.

Amber took a deep breath. “I was fired today. But it’s not my fault, and I can’t do anything about it.” She began to cry.

“What do you mean? Back up and tell me everything.”

“It started a few months ago. It seemed whenever I went into his office, Mark — my boss, Mark Jansen — would find some reason to touch me. Brushing something off my shoulder or putting his hand on mine. At first I thought it was nothing. But then, last week, he asked if I would go with him on a client dinner.”

Daphne was staring at her intently, and Amber wondered if she thought she was too homely to be hit on.

“Is it usual for you to attend client dinners?” Daphne asked.

Amber shrugged. “Not really. But at the time I was flattered. I figured he valued my opinion and wanted my input. And maybe, you know, there might be a promotion in the future. I drove myself and met him at Gilly’s. He was already there, but he was alone. He told me the client had called and was running late. We had a couple of beers, and I started to feel funny.” She stopped again, taking a deep breath. “The next thing I knew, his hand was on my knee and then moving up my thigh.”