Read Shades of Amber for Free Online Page B

he still
deserved the silent treatment for hijacking my day.
    I studied a strand of my
hair.
    What did he think of
me?
    I watched nervously as
trees and buildings flew past. Even the long way to school wasn’t
this time-consuming, so where were we going? I was about to demand
an explanation when we stopped outside of The River Rock Café. He
was already watching me when I hazarded a glance in his
direction.
    “ I thought you’d insist we
go to your car, but then I decided to bring you here.”
    My anger wouldn’t allow me
to speak. I opened my door and stomped toward the entrance. The
bronze handle was just within reach when he brushed past me to open
it. I glared at him, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing my hand
as we walked inside. It was crowded.
    Troy led me past the line
and nodded to a blonde woman who grabbed two menus before waving us
forward.
    How did he do
that?
    She was thirtyish with
long, straight hair and blue eyes.
    “ Right this way,” she
said, escorting us to a secluded booth.
    “ May I take your coat?” he
asked with a boyish grin.
    “ Thank you.”
    He passed it to the maître
d’ as I slid onto the rectangle booth, and then sat next to
me.
    The woman laid our menus
and claim ticket on the table. “Marigold, your waitress will be
over in just a moment,” she said with a smile.
    I could feel Troy’s gaze
roaming over my cream off the shoulder bell sleeve top, black vest,
and jeans.
    He gently turned my chin
so that my eyes met his. “Has anyone said that you look like a
pirate today?”
    I laughed, thinking of the
knee-high boots that completed the look. “No one’s come out and
said that, but I’m sure they’ve thought it.”
    He leaned close. “You’d
make a very sexy pirate.”
    I put my hand on his
chest, unnerved by his warmth. His skin felt chiseled beneath his
red shirt. I moved away and looked at the menu, but he closed the
space between us. I tried to focus, but I also wanted to lean
closer.
    It might have been the
fact that I’d spent five minutes on the same section or maybe that
I wouldn’t make eye contact, but after a few minutes his voice was
in my ear. “No, no, cher. I didn’t bring you here to hide behind
your menu. I wanted to spend more time with you.”
    “ Why pick me out of all
the other girls you could have?”
    I’m positive, creative,
compassionate, but what does he know?
    His lips touched my ear.
“Like I said earlier; I want you because you are unique. You’re feisty and
beautiful, as well as caring and compassionate, and when I look at
you—I see everything I’ve wanted. That’s why I won’t let you ignore
the sparks between us.”
    He kissed my cheek before
leaning back to study my expression.
    His reasoning was sweet
and nice, but I needed to know what he really wanted.
    He brushed his thumb along
my forehead. “What are you thinking?”
    “ I…” I paused as the
server approached. She was a slim woman with light brown skin and
thick, black hair. Stopping at our table with a pen and note pad in
her hands, she pointed to a silver nametag.
    “ Hi, I’m Marigold. Do you
know what you’d like to order?”
    Troy sighed.
    Considering how much he’d
frustrated me, he deserved a dose of his own medicine.
    We both ordered the
meatloaf, one of their most popular dishes, and she left to get my
tea and his lemonade.
    Troy turned to me, eager
to finish our conversation, but I ignored him and sipped my
water.
    “ You certainly know how to
avoid things, don’t you?”
    I set the glass down. “I’m
no better than you, when it comes to avoiding things.”
    He smiled. “You have
beautiful hair. It’s orderly—the way it curls, and wild in the way
that those curls can’t be tamed. A lot like you.”
    I glared at him, on the
verge of being offended. “Excuse me?”
    He laughed, wrapping one
curl around his index finger. “You’re well put together and
straight laced on the surface.” He kissed my cheek and whispered,
“But I think