Chapter 133

Amber’s POV

We followed Roman all the way out to the ballroom before I realized Julian was no longer behind us. Clutching Alice’s hand, I started glancing around, looking for him. I was trying to be subtle at first, not wanting to be rude to Roman, who was trying to talk to me, or to tip off Alice, who seemed distracted by the band and the pretty dresses and the hors d'oeuvres the waiters were carrying around.

“You seem distracted, Amber,” Roman said after a moment.

“I’m sorry, I just –” I started.

Alice finished, “Mommy, where’s Julian?”

“Yes,” I told Roman. “I realized we’ve gotten separated. I was looking for him.”

“He must be around here somewhere,” Roman said. “Unless you think he might have just left you here?”

There wasn’t a chance in hell of that happening. “No,” I said.

Roman hummed as he joined us in glancing around. “I know,” he said. “Let’s go out to the balcony. It looks over the courtyard. Perhaps we’ll have a better view from there. If he’s down in the courtyard, we’ll be able to see.”

“Why would he be there?” I asked. Not to be rude, but he was right behind us. If he vanished somewhere between the ballroom and the entrance, then he probably just got lost trying to find the bathroom or something.

Roman’s smile tightened somewhat. “We’ll have a better vantage point from there,” he insisted, which again seemed strange, but I supposed he was right. Plus, with how crowded it was in the ballroom, we weren’t likely to find him out here.

“Alright,” I said, conceding… for now. “We can check there, but then I think we should head back to the entryway.”

“Of course,” Roman said, and offered me his arm.

I ignored it for now and continued forward on my own, my hand still clutching Alice’s.

As we stepped through the glass doors out onto the balcony, I realized how crowded it was out there as well. That was strange. Typically, party guests would like to stay inside to enjoy the music. And was it just me, or did it seem like many of the guests were coming outside, almost like –

Suddenly, a pop sounded in the distance as a firework exploded in front of us, over the courtyard.

“Fireworks, Mommy!” Alice said brightly. Pulling away from me she rushed to the railing of the balcony, where she clapped and cheered.

I took point beside her, but continued to try to look around for Julian. It was hard to see though with the sudden burst of light, and the shadows it created dancing all over the courtyard.

“What a coincidence,” Roman said. “Perhaps we had better stay to watch the fireworks since we’re here. Alice seems to be enjoying them.”

I couldn’t argue with that, as much as I might have wanted to, and found myself agreeing. “Only until the fireworks are done. Then we have to get back to finding Julian.”

Roman just smiled at me. “You look very pretty in the light of the fireworks,” he said.

Swallowing hard, I pretended not to hear him, returning my attention instead to the display.

Julian’s POV

“That’s up to Amber, don’t you think?” I said.

“She has a lot on her mind,” Rafael continued. “In her distraction, she might not know what’s best for her. As her brother, I have every intention of helping her find a more suitable match. You, Julian, are not it.”

“I’m an Alpha,” I said.

“We all know about your history,” Rafael said. “I’ve read the newspaper articles.”

“The tabloids.”

“Do you dispute their underlying truth? You are married to my sister but you kept it secret for a long time. You’re relationship with Olivia forced her onto that plane. And when it went down, you assumed she was dead without searching for her.”

“I searched for her,” I said, my voice lowering despite myself. I didn’t want to fight with Amber’s potential brother, but I wasn’t going to just roll over while he tried to exclude me from her life. “You haven’t been proven to be her brother yet, Rafael, and even if you were it wouldn’t be your place to interfere in Amber and my relationship.”

“That will change when she is proven to be my sister,” Rafael said dismissively.

“No,” I said, even more firmly. “Amber is my love and my mate, and that is stronger than whatever you think you have planned. Yes, we are going through a rough patch right now, but I love her and Alice. They are my family. And I will not allow anyone, not even you, to try to take them away from me.”

“When the time comes, Amber will see my side of things,” Rafael replied. “She will see that you are simply not worth the effort. You had your chance, Julian, but now it’s time for you to step aside and make way for new and better chances. Roman is that chance.”

“Roman had plenty of his own opportunities in the past,” I said. “Amber didn’t want him then, and she doesn’t want him now.”

“Without you there to screw things up, we’ll see if that holds true,” he said.

My stomach twisted. I didn’t like the sound of that. “What are you planning?”

“Me?” Rafael asked. “Nothing. I’m just creating opportunities for things to happen.”

Then, suddenly, I started to hear the pop of the fireworks outside.

I didn’t like what Rafael was saying. In fact, I believed I had heard more than enough of it.

“I’m going back to Amber. Now,” I said and stormed out of the office.

Rafael just smirked. “You’re probably already too late.”

Amber’s POV

“Amber,” Roman said, reclaiming my attention. I glanced at him now to suddenly find him so much closer to me than he had been only a moment before. He reached up a hand and touched my cheek.

We were surrounded by people now. It wouldn’t be easy for me to pull away without making a scene.

“What are you doing,” I said.

“I care about you so much,” he said, his voice barely audible over the pop of the fireworks. “I’m so sorry for that silly engagement stunt of mine, but I’m so relieved we can reconnect again. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Roman, I don’t think you understand…”

“I understand everything,” he said. “I held myself back so much since the plane crash… Since I pulled you out of the water, you’ve taken over my heart. It’s always been yours, Amber. And I’m sorry that I… Well…”

I reached my hands up to his wrist to try to pull his hand away from me. “You are misunderstanding…” I tried to say.

But then he kissed me.

I froze, shocked.

A few gasps and cheers sounded around me. Someone even had the nerve to say, “Way to go, Roman.”

More forcefully, I pulled away from him. I openly glared at him as I did. I couldn’t believe he would do such a thing. Had I accidentally led him on someway?

No, I didn’t think I did. He had made these moves all on his own, without my encouragement.

I opened my mouth, about to chew him out, when I heard a familiar growl.

Glancing over, following the sound, I found Julian standing near the door to the balcony.

His eyes were blood red.

I didn’t have to ask him to know how much he had seen. With a reaction like this, he must have seen it all.