Ethereal Ties

by Elara Skye

  “Who was that?” she asked as she got close.

  Finn looked back to see that Elisa had left. “Just an old acquaintance.”

  “She didn’t want to say hi?”

  “I suppose not,” he muttered with half a laugh, eager to change the subject. “No dress tonight?”

  “Dresses are for fun,” she said pointedly, and Finn caught a whiff of alcohol on her breath. “This is what I always wore to things like this. I’m sure I won’t surprise anyone.”

  “You can wear whatever you want.” He offered his arm.

  Amelia smiled, hooking her arm around his. Finn led her down the hallway, following along with the crowd.

  “Recognize any of these people?” he asked. Amelia merely shook her head, looking a bit sullen. “Hang in there, darling.”

  She sighed. “I just want to get this over with.”

  “So do I—for you.”

  “I mean, look at them all,” she said as they entered the ballroom, strolling toward their table. All around them, men and women were adorned by expensive jewelry and fine clothes—more so than he might’ve expected. “You’d never guess that they were here to commemorate someone’s death.”

  “As far as I’m aware, they’re here to pursue their own interests.” He paused. “…sorry, that probably wasn’t helpful.”

  “It’s fine. It’s nothing I don’t already know,” Amelia said. “That’s why I’m putting Varis in a box for the night.”

  “Oh?” he arched a brow, seeing an opportunity to lighten the mood—just as she’d attempted to do. “Does that mean Miss Var Hart is coming out to play? Will I finally be meeting that infamous woman?”

  Amelia considered it a moment, and her lips quirked upward. “I’d say you’re pretty well acquainted with her.”

  “Am I?” Finn’s eyes purposefully strayed to her cleavage, and he leaned into her. “What else do you have to say about it?”

  She smirked. “I’d say you’d better stop looking down her shirt before people notice.”

  “What?” Finn chuckled. “Why? Is a bit of fun between two adults really that scandalous?”

  “Given my disdainful history with these people and the fact that I’m showing up with one of their friends—yes. I’d rather not draw any more attention.”

  “Oh, I’d hardly call myself their friend.” He grinned. “Though, interesting fact—Finn Regis is not my real name, though that’s what all my human associates know me as. My real one has no letters in your language.”

  “Really?” She eyed him curiously. “Interesting. I guess we’re both kind of putting on a facade tonight.”

  “That we are, and you should stop worrying about yours. After all, your facade has mine to contend on her behalf.”

  “My facade can make contentions for herself,” Amelia took a deep breath, exhaling a bit shakily. “But thanks, it means a lot to have your support.”

  He squeezed her arm. “Of course.”

  As they neared the table, Amelia’s eyes flitted past him, to someone approaching on the other side. Her face sank as she smiled coldly in their direction. Finn turned to see two board members arriving at the table.

  “Amelia,” the older gentleman stepped forward, extending a hand to her. “It’s been too long.”

  “Yes, it has.” She nodded.

  “And look how you’ve grown,” said the woman, who came up behind him. “Oh, and—my dear, look at what you’re wearing.” She scraped her eyes up and down Amelia’s suit, appraising it with not-so-subtle disapproval. “Well, I see nothing’s changed much, has it?”

  “No, it hasn’t,” Amelia answered, and nodded to them both. “Aaron, Nancy. It’s good to see you again.”

  Nancy Haven and Aaron Stipel. Amelia had warned Finn ahead of time that they might be seated together—the chief executive board members.

  “Of course. And I’m so sorry about your father, dear.” Nancy took her hand. “I know you weren’t close, but it’s still so hard to lose a parent.”

  “Definitely.” Amelia glanced in Finn’s direction. “But I’ve had good company to get me through it.”

  Nancy followed her gaze to him. “Oh—Finn!” she exclaimed, and there was a gleam in her eye as she extended a hand to him. “Oh, my dear, how are you?”

  “I’m very good, Mrs. Haven,” he said. “Yourself?”

  “Very well. And please, no more niceties. Aaron…” She turned to the man beside her, who was busy offering Amelia his condolences. “You remember Finn Regis, don’t you?”

  Aaron turned to look at him. His face lightened with approval. “Ah, yes,” he held out a hand. “New York conference, if I remember correctly.”

  “That you do.” Finn nodded. “How are you, sir?”

  “Quite well.” A glance in Amelia’s direction revealed a bit of strain in her icy expression—like she was already seeking escape. “Shall we take our seats?” Finn offered.

  “Oh, yes, let’s,” Nancy agreed.

  Finn sat beside Amelia, wondering how comfortable she really was behind her fortified expression. The present company filled four out of the seven seats, and Nancy and Aaron immediately took to engaging Finn in some polite conversation—pointedly ignoring Amelia in the meantime. Moments later, Finn nearly choked on his champagne when Elisa appeared, taking a seat on the other side of the table.

  “Amelia dear, this is my niece, Elisa,” Nancy introduced her as she sat down—Finn had no idea that she was a board member’s niece. “She’s on one of the financial subcommittees. It’s been, what, a few months?”

  “Six months to date,” Elisa said with a polite smile.

  Meanwhile, Finn finished his first glass of champagne.

  “That’s great news,” Amelia offered politely. “Congratulations.”

  “Of course, you wouldn’t have heard about it,” Nancy added, gesturing to Amelia. “What’ve you been up to all this time, dear?”

  “Bartending, mostly.”

  “Bartending?” Aaron chimed in, wearing the same, evaluative expression that Nancy was. “What drove you to that option?”

  Finn bit back a comment. The control in Amelia’s face was impressive—even more so, that she managed a tiny, humorous smile. “Obviously, a passion for alcohol.”

  Another voice cut in, “Hi, all—sorry, we know we’re late.”

  Four heads turned toward the source of the voice. Finn’s eyes widened, his stomach dropping as he recognized the man. It was Patrick Raymer, filling one of the last two seats at the table—along with a younger version of himself.

  “Ah, good to see you both.” Aaron shook his hand as the man sat. “Daniel, you look well. Glad you could make it, after all. How was the conference, Patrick?”

  In the corner of his eye, Finn saw Amelia’s pale hand reaching out for her champagne glass. Yet still, her face remained utterly serene, concealing a mountain of ire behind her steady, controlled features. Finn knew that her stress levels had undoubtedly skyrocketed. After all, neither of them had expected Patrick and his son to make an appearance—no one mentioned it ahead of time—though, in retrospect, they should have at least anticipated that he would receive an invitation. His son was another matter.

  “It was good,” the man answered. “Damnable weather, though. We barely flew out in time. How are you doing, kid?”

  Their attention turned to Amelia. She realized that he was addressing her and pressed her lips into a thin smile. “I’m good, Patrick, how are you?”

  “I’ve been better,” he said flatly, settling into his chair.

  “How are you, Ames?” Daniel addressed her across the table, with a bit more reluctance than his father afforded.

  Finn turned and looked at Amelia—Ames?—and nearly bled from the glare that cut toward Daniel, made that much more terrifying by the tiny grin she consistently wore. “I’m good Daniel, how are you?”

  “I’m okay,” he barely smiled, and looked at Finn. “Hi, I’m Daniel.”

  “Finn Regis.” He didn’t
stand to shake hands. Not with this man—not ever.

  Daniel’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow. As in, Orchard Enterprises?” Finn merely nodded. “Nice to meet you, man. Thanks for flying out here.”

  By the brief look on her face, Amelia wondered the same thing he did—why did Daniel feel inclined to thank him for that? “Well, Amelia asked me to come, so it became a priority.”

  “Oh…yeah, right on,” Daniel said. “Sorry about your dad, Amelia.”

  She didn’t answer.

  “So, you should be, Daniel,” Nancy cut in. “This is all bad business.”

  “That’s right,” Patrick said, looking toward her, sweeping over Amelia entirely. “Ruben left some pretty big shoes; it’ll be hard to find someone to fill them.”

  “Of course, it will,” Aaron agreed as he leaned forward, lifting his wine glass to his lips.

  “That’s right,” Finn cut in as he turned to Amelia, steadily losing his appetite. “I wish the circumstances were better, Amelia, but we’re all here to help.”

  There was silence as everyone looked at them. Amelia smiled, offering Finn the first genuine look since she sat down. “Thanks, Finn,” she said.

  “Tell me,” Aaron addressed Amelia next. “Have you been keeping up with the news? How do you feel about where Hart is headed?”

  How did she feel about their future, he meant to ask?

  “As far as I’m concerned, that depends on where my father left things off,” she answered bluntly. “And I’ll have a fair opinion for you once I have a chance to look at that.”

  “A ‘fair’ one?” Nancy asked. “What do you mean?”

  Amelia’s eyes jumped from face to face across the table. “Well, there’s the possibility of my coming back to the company. If I do, I know where I’ll stand. And I don’t want it to shock business operations, or to affect employees negatively. I’m going to consider a number of things before making any decisions.”

  Silence settled over the table.

  “Well,” Nancy leaned forward in her seat, “Daniel is always an option if you aren’t ready to take on so much responsibility—aren’t you, dear?”

  Finn wondered if the remark cut through Amelia the way it did him.

  Her voice came again, soft but firm, “Daniel and I are very different people, with skills and—values.” She shot him a look, which he avoided. “My lawyer says there’s a question of selling my shares. If Daniel makes me an offer, I’ll be taking that into account.”

  Irritation rose in Nancy’s appearance, while Amelia’s remained distantly cordial. Patrick and Aaron hardly seemed to notice—though Finn suspected they were listening—as they ate their dinners silently. Meanwhile, Daniel barely touched his food, though he made good use of the champagne. And finally, Elisa merely sat and watched, looking mildly amused by the scene.

  “So, Patrick, speaking of contracts, how did your talk go with the operations manager at Ginlos?” Nancy asked, diverting the conversation. “What did he think about expanding the project?”

  A heavy sigh tempted Finn. Both he and Amelia remained somewhat motionless for a time, until they were sure that no one would address them again. They were slow to begin eating after their entrees were brought out. Somehow, the food tasted blander than he expected. Though, at the very least, it seemed that the problematic portion of the night was over. For the remainder of it, there was no part of the conversation that he felt eager to participate in. Nor did Amelia—seemingly equal in her aversion to engaging these people—as she finished her dinner.

  Finally, she excused herself to use the bathroom. As tense as Finn thought he felt up to that point, he didn’t realize the full extent of it until the moment she left—the moment she was out of their reach.

  “Feeling alright, Finn?” Elisa’s voice came from across the table.

  He looked back at her from the doorway, waiting for Amelia to return through. “I’m fine, thanks.”

  There was a clock in the far corner of the room, and when fifteen minutes went by without her appearance, Finn went to check on her—barely caring enough to excuse himself courteously. By virtue of who he was to these people, he knew they wouldn’t dare mind it.

  Most of the guests had already left the dinner, but the relief he felt to leave that particular table was overwhelming. Thankfully, the corridor was void of people, as well. Save for himself, for a short time—footsteps appeared soon after he reached the hallway where the bathrooms were. His stomach sank when he realized that they were not some random passerby at this hour—they were purposefully approaching him, and there was no need to look back to learn who it was.

  “How’s she doing?” Elisa asked, coming around his left side.

  “I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “Hopefully,” she shrugged. “She took that like a champ.”

  “I didn’t expect anything less.”

  Elisa crossed her arms as she came up to him. “Where are you two going after this? I’d be happy to take you guys out.” She looked over her shoulder, toward the bathroom door. “Couldn’t hurt to get to know the future boss’s boss.”

  “It’s late, perhaps another time.” Never, for example. “I’ll ask her how she feels about it.”

  “Making decisions together, now?” Elisa furrowed a brow but continued smiling. “I’m sensing a bit of reluctance.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Is that why you’ve been avoiding eye contact with me all night?” Her grin broadened as she stepped forward.

  Like a stalking cat with a mouse—just like she always was.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing. Just some innocent curiosity.” She reached up to straighten his tie. Before Finn could swipe her hand away, Amelia stepped out of the bathroom, her red eyes widening as she stared at them.

  Elisa took her time withdrawing her hand, dropping it down to her side. “Guess I’ll see you later, then.”

  Ignoring her, Finn stepped toward Amelia, seeing the slight wetness in her eyes at a closer distance. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine,” she said flatly, glancing over his shoulder. When Finn looked back, Elisa merely smiled before sauntering off.

  Facing Amelia, he began, “You should know, she’s just—”

  “—an old flame?” Amelia’s eyes sliced to him. “That woman looked at you like—”

  “She’s nothing to be concerned about.”

  “—like you know each other intimately,” she pointedly finished the sentence. “Do you?”

  Finn grimaced a bit, wanting nothing more than to lie to her at that moment. “It was just once.”

  A look of dread came over her, and she turned in the opposite direction.

  “Wait—” Finn shuffled after her. “Amelia, wait, I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about,” she mumbled, still walking.

  “Can you stop for a moment?” he insisted. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going back to my room.”

  “Amelia.”

  “Were you going to push her away, Finn?” The question came suddenly.

  “What?” he snapped. “Of course, I was.”

  “You sure? She was getting pretty close.”

  “Amelia, stop that,” his voice dropped low, “You left for a while, and I came to check on you.”

  “You didn’t need to check on me.”

  “Obviously, I did.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  Finn groaned. Jealousy was an ugly emotion that brought out the worst in humans. Clearly, Amelia wasn’t impervious to it. “Amelia, I’m in this hotel for no other reason. I flew here for no other reason—just for you.” He paused. “Are you seriously going to ignore me now?”

  Her pace slowed a bit, coming to a stop as she raised her hands to her face.

  They stood there for a moment until she finally sighed. “No, I’m not,” Amelia murmured shakily. “But this is a lot, Finn, and it’s all at once.”

 
; “I’m aware,” he said, daring to brush some loose hairs back onto her shoulder.

  Amelia’s eyes were bright and glossy as she turned. “First Patrick shows up, then he brings Daniel with him, and then—someone like her pops up? Of all times, that had to happen tonight?”

  “Someone like her?”

  “I mean, she’s another woman that you slept with. I didn’t think there’d be enough of them for us to run into since you’re a…a…” Her voice cut off, and she looked away.

  Finn knitted his brows. “Amelia, I’ve been alive for a very long time. It’s unreasonable to think that there wouldn’t be others, just as there would be for any other person.”

  “But you’re not a regular person,” she stuttered a bit at the phrasing, “And I’m sorry, but that’s hard enough to think about without running into one of your exes.”

  “She wasn’t an ex,” he insisted, raising his hands to her shoulder. “I had no attachments to her, I assure you—it was purely physical.”

  Amelia blinked up at him, then grimaced, turning away with a soft groan.

  Finn immediately realized his mistake, and his shoulders dropped as he followed her. “Come on, stop this.” He reached for her and she sped up a bit. “And stop that. Honestly, if someone can elicit this reaction from you at this point, you haven’t been paying close enough attention.”

  She stopped, turning back to him. “Attention to what?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “I am, so what?”

  Finn grabbed her by the shoulders. “That I’m in love with you, damn it—you really haven’t realized that yet?”

  Amelia fumbled to a stop, staring with her mouth agape. “What?”

  “I love you,” he emphasized, surveying her shocked expression. “After all this time, is that really so hard for you to believe?”

  “You’re—”

  “—in love with you,” Finn stepped toward her. “I’ll say it as many times as I have to.”

  She seemed at a loss for words, stuttering the first thing that came to mind, “I’m just a human…”

  “And I’m aware of that paradox far more than you are, trust me—an angel needing a human, instead of the other way around?” His damned heart pounded against its cage as he stepped closer to her, seeing her breath quicken, her eyes widen.