Sweaty from the excursion, Jason went directly to his room to shower. He dressed in a pair of his new, casual white pants and a shirt before returning to the hotel lobby.
After enjoying the beauty of the waterfall and the rest of the island, Jason decided he would venture out to the hotel restaurant and eat outside to enjoy the beautiful ocean view.
He tried to sit in a position where he could still have a clear view of the hotel lobby, but it wasn’t possible. He’d tipped the person at the desk to be on the lookout for more Americans. If she noticed anyone come in, she was to come and search him out.
Imagine his surprise, just after receiving his food, when she located him.
“I think the people you are looking for are here,” she said in broken English.
Jason pulled out his cell phone and showed the hotel clerk a picture of Amber. “Was she with this group?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t say for sure, but there were several Americans. She may have been.”
Jason pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to her. “Thank you. I’ll check it out.”
He was able to relax a little knowing Amber was nearby. He remained seated and enjoyed a local cuisine called kibbe. It was shaped like a miniature pie, but it was filled with seasoned ground beef, nuts, and other spices.
Jason ate his food and smiled, hoping that it wouldn’t be long before he could be reunited with the woman who had stolen his heart.
* * * * *
Most of the crew were sharing rooms, but Amber had paid extra to have a private room. For the last several nights, they’d stayed with the natives in their homes instead of traveling back and forth. Although she had enjoyed the experience, some of the sleeping arrangements weren’t good for her back. She couldn’t wait to sleep on a soft mattress. It was funny how people took the simple things in life for granted, she thought as she placed the key in the door.
Her mouth dropped opened. “What in the world?”
She was greeted with a trail of rose petals. She stepped back out of the room to make sure she hadn’t entered someone else’s room by mistake. The number on the outside of the door was correct. She went back inside and shut the door. She would call the lobby to find out why there were roses in her room, because she was not paying for that service.
She followed the trail of roses and went to her bedroom to put down her backpack. The bed was also covered with roses. In a huge, designed rose heart were the words, I’m Sorry.
Amber knew this had to be a mistake. She went back into the main part of the room and called the lobby.
“Hi, this is Amber Simone. I’m in room 227. When I got back to my room, there were rose petals everywhere. Someone’s missing some roses.”
The female clerk responded, “Hold on.”
Amber tapped her foot as she waited.
The female clerk returned. “Ms. Simone, I apologize, but it was no mistake.”
“I didn’t order flowers, let alone roses.” Amber frowned.
“Ma’am, you are correct. But we were paid to do a service, and we did it.”
“Can you tell me who did? I don’t know anyone here except for the people I came with, and I know for a fact they aren’t responsible for this.”
The female clerk put her on hold again. When she returned to the phone, she said, “The person is in room 247.”
“That’s right down the hall from me. That’s really odd. What is their name?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have that information.”
“Fine. I’ll get to the bottom of this myself.”
Amber hung up the phone then sighed out loud. All she wanted to do was shower and get in the bed, but she wouldn’t be able to rest until she found out who made the mistake of paying for the roses. Apparently, she had a secret admirer.
Since the room wasn’t going anywhere, Amber opted to take her shower first. After finding something casual to dress in, she left the room and marched down to room 247.
She knocked on the door. She heard footsteps approaching. She held her breath as she heard the latch unlock from the other side.
Her mouth fell open in awe when she came face-to-face with Jason.
She almost fainted, but Jason caught her.
He was the last person she’d expected to see.
“Jason,” she stuttered. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jason was at a loss for words. All the things he’d rehearsed in his head that he planned to say to Amber when he saw her disappeared from his memory.
Seeing her now in person, after being apart for almost two weeks, left him speechless. The last two weeks felt like an eternity. All he wanted to do was scoop her up in his arms and hug and kiss her.
He wasn’t too sure if that action would be welcomed, so he left his arms at his sides.
“Jason, what are you doing here?” Amber repeated.
“I came to get my wife back,” Jason blurted.
“We’re not really married, or did you forget that?” Amber turned to walk away.
“Don’t go. Please,” Jason begged.
There must have been something in his voice that got her attention, because she stopped walking. She turned around. “I really wish you hadn’t come here.”
“What are you doing tonight?” Jason asked.
“I’m sleeping…alone,” Amber responded.
“It’s still early. Have you eaten?” Jason asked. Although he had just eaten dinner, if he could convince her to go to dinner with him, he would sacrifice and eat again. He just wanted some time with her.
“No. I was going to order room service.”
“Don’t. Let’s go to dinner. We can talk then.”
“You’ve already said a lot.” Amber pouted.
“Please, Amber. I came all this way to talk to you. I could have waited for you to return to LA, but I didn’t.” Jason pulled out his cell phone and held it up. “See, no service. You know me and my cell phone are like Siamese twins, but not since I’ve been here.”
“How long have you been here?” Amber asked.
“I’ve been here a couple of days. Waiting and hoping to run into you.”
Amber twitched her mouth. “Dinner. That’s it.”
“Thank you,” Jason responded, sighing with relief.
“I need to get my purse. I’ll meet you in the lobby in about fifteen minutes.”
Jason wasn’t going to get too excited just yet. It was only dinner.
Jason checked his watch several times. He wondered if Amber had changed her mind. He’d been waiting downstairs for at least twenty minutes. The hope he’d had at reconciling was diminishing as each minute passed by and still no Amber.
Just as he was about to give up hope, Amber appeared from around the corner.
“Sorry I kept you waiting. Our cell phones don’t work here, so it’s not like I could call you.” Amber’s appearance had changed. Her hair was still up in a ponytail, but she’d changed her clothes. She was now wearing a long, pretty, floral dress and sandals.
“I would wait an eternity for a chance to be with you,” Jason responded. He knew it sounded corny, but he was serious. He’d waited his entire life to find a woman who was his soul mate. Amber might not want to believe it now, but she and Jason were soul mates. He just needed to convince her of that fact.
“I already have a cab to take us to dinner.”
Jason led Amber outside. Standing near his cab and waving was George, the same cab driver who’d picked Jason up from the airport.
George held the back door open.
“Mr. Lewis, I was so happy to hear from you. I was beginning to think you forgot about me,” George said after they exchanged greetings.
“I told you I would use your services again,” Jason responded a
s he got in the backseat of the taxi, next to Amber.
George got behind the steering wheel. He looked back before driving away. “I have the perfect restaurant that you and your lady will enjoy. And a beautiful lady she is.” George smiled showing his pearly-white teeth.
“Thank you,” Amber bashfully said.
“George, I’m counting on you. I’m trying to romance my wife.” Jason smiled.
Amber’s stomach had butterflies. She’d been thinking about Jason night and day, but not in her wildest dreams did she expect him to show up here of all places. It had taken her so long to meet him because she had been contemplating canceling.
But if he took off to come after her, he had to care a little, and she owed herself that much to listen to him and find out what was on his mind. It still didn’t take away the pain she felt of finding out he was like the other men from her past—that she was just a means to an end.
The more she thought about it, the more upset she was. She’d fallen deep for Jason, and hearing his words had cut her like a knife. In her mind, she replayed the conversation she’d overheard between Jason and Charlotte. She’d been outside the door and listening to their conversation long enough to learn his true intentions. She’d started to turn and walk away but decided to confront him instead. Amber wanted him to know she’d heard everything that had been said.
Seeing Jason again had her emotions all over the place. She felt like she was on a ship sailing in turbulent waters. One minute she was upset with him, and the next, she wanted to feel his arms around her and his lips on top of hers.
Since being in the Solomon Islands, she’d closed herself off from the rest of the world. She’d only communicated with the people she worked with on the documentary. Besides the initial emails she’d sent out to her parents and a few friends when she first arrived, she hadn’t checked email or contacted anyone.
A lightbulb went off in her head. Charlotte. She was the only person besides Amber’s parents who could have told Jason where Amber was. Amber knew her father and mother wouldn’t break her confidence and share that information with him, so Charlotte was the guilty party. She wasn’t sure if she should be mad at Charlotte or not. The verdict was still out on it. It depended on the end results. And although she was glad to see Jason had traveled a long distance to see her, she wasn’t too sure if she was ready to forgive him and move on as if nothing happened.
She glanced in Jason’s direction. He was now looking out the window. Could she get past the words he’d said, or was she fooling herself into thinking he truly cared for her? Those questions and many more filled her thoughts as they rode to the restaurant with silence between them.
A ten-minute drive ended up taking thirty minutes due to the congested streets. Amber was used to bad traffic, but she hadn’t expected to experience it on the island.
Jason tipped the driver, and they walked into the restaurant. They were quickly seated out on a balcony that sat right on top of the edge of the ocean. The moon was shining and gave off the perfect vibe for a romantic evening.
After being seated, they gave their orders. Amber could not get enough of the seafood on the island. She’d eaten some of the best fish since being there. She hadn’t eaten fish that good since visiting family in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Hardly any words except for small talk were exchanged between her and Jason. It was as if they were both afraid to say something that would cause the other one to get upset.
Amber shared information about the documentary, the local people, and their culture. Again, she wished he could have experienced some of the things she had, but who was she fooling? His interests were totally different from hers, or at least so she thought.
Jason told her about his trip to the waterfall. To her surprise, he’d had similar experiences and was excited to meet the villagers.
Once the mood lightened up, Amber felt more at ease.
Jason stopped eating and said, “I have a confession to make.”
“What?” Amber placed her fork down. Was he ready to confess his true intentions?
“I’d just eaten when I asked you to dinner. Now I’m absolutely stuffed.”
Amber looked down at his half-eaten food. “Well, you were the one who asked me.”
“I know. I figured if I got you to dinner, to some place nice, we could talk.”
Amber looked around and then directly at Jason. “Well, we’re here. Talk.”
Amber would try to listen with an open heart and mind, but she wasn’t making any promises to him or herself.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Jason tried to gauge Amber’s mood by their conversation, but he couldn’t. He’d spent the majority of the time trying to figure out the right opportunity to address the issue between them. He’d ordered dessert to prolong their time at the table.
This might be the only opportunity he had to express himself, so Jason decided it was time that Amber knew everything.
“Amber, I’m here because I love you.”
“Love? Yeah, right.” Amber laughed and abruptly stopped.
“Yes, love. Love is foreign to me when it comes to a woman. I love my family. I love my friends. But loving a woman has been difficult up until now.”
“So why now? I mean, you don’t even know me.”
“My soul knows you. We’re kindred spirits, whether you want to agree with me or not.” Jason felt his throat getting dry. He drank some of the tea in the glass sitting in front of him.
“If I wasn’t your client, we wouldn’t be talking.” Amber sat with a stone look on her face.
“That very well may be true; however, I would like to think that eventually our paths would have crossed. We do know some of the same people. We’ve even attended some of the same events. I’ve seen you from afar, but now I know you personally…intimately. My life will never be the same without you in it.”
“You sound just like one of those sappy characters from this romance novel that I’m working on,” Amber said.
“It’s the truth. Amber, I love you. The thought of losing you forever is more than I can take.”
The look in Amber’s eyes softened. “But I can’t trust you. I can’t trust that you’re with me for the right reasons.”
Jason got up and then sat in the chair right next to her. He picked up her hand, placing it on his heart. “I love you with every beat of my heart.”
“I love you, but I can’t be with you if I don’t trust you.”
Jason wanted to hear her say the words “I love you” again. She’d admitted to loving him. There was no way he was leaving the Solomon Islands without Amber. No way at all.
Amber felt conflicted as she listened to Jason.
Jason said, “I wish you would have let me finish telling Charlotte what I wanted to say.”
“What? That you got caught up in the sex?” Amber snapped.
“No.” Jason held her hand. “My world is better because of you. So why would I not give you the credit for everything turning out how I want it to?”
“But—”
Jason interrupted. “Shh. Let me finish. Yes, when I initially reached out to you, it was to persuade you to renew your contract with us. I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t want Max to sign with us as well, because I did. But it had nothing to do with how I feel about you. I would rather have you as my wife than as a client. I can get other clients, but you, my dear, are irreplaceable. And one more thing.”
“What?” Amber asked.
“If you would have given me the chance to explain, you would have realized then that I wanted you to remain my wife. That there was no need for a divorce because…Amber Marie, I love you.”
Amber wanted to reach out and touch his face, but she didn’t. She tried to process what he’d said. His confession revealed that he wasn’t as cutthroat as she’d originally thought. Sure, he wanted her f
ather to be a part of his management firm, but he wasn’t coldhearted like some of the other men from her past. He was a man who did his job but happened to fall in love with her in the process.
Jason picked up her hand and touched the wedding ring. “You love me, don’t you?”
Amber looked away.
“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be wearing the ring I gave you,” Jason said.
Amber pulled her hand away and placed it under the table. “Me wearing the ring doesn’t reveal anything.”
“You not denying it does, though.” Jason smiled as if he’d gotten a glimpse of hope.
Amber’s heart was about to burst. Since Jason had opened his heart up to her, she decided to do the same. “Yes, Jason, I love you. I don’t want to, but I do.”
“I knew it. I felt it right here.” Jason touched his heart with his hand.
“We both love each other, but why does it have to be so complicated?” Amber looked down.
“Sorry it took so long for your pie. Our chef cooks everything fresh, so he had to make another one. Just for you,” the waiter said.
The waiter placed a slice of apple cinnamon pie in front of each of them.
“Thank you,” Jason and Amber said in unison.
Once the waiter was out of earshot, Jason grabbed Amber’s hand. “Amber, our biggest problem has been miscommunication. If you hadn’t run off, I would have been able to clear things up so much sooner.”
Amber shared with him a little from her past.
“Baby, I’m so sorry those dudes did that to you. But you have to know you are worthy of love. You are the sweetest, smartest, and sexiest woman I know. And I’ve come in contact with a lot of women.”
Amber picked up a napkin and wiped her watery eyes. She didn’t mean to get so emotional, but thinking about her past sometimes made her want to cry. No one knew the pain she’d gone through, trying to have a relationship.
Amber shrugged her shoulders. She still had some insecurities that she hadn’t fully come to terms with. “It’s not your fault, so you don’t have to feel guilty about what they did.”
Rules of Love Page 13
