Page 62 of Truce: Declan
I shake my head and shove my phone into my purse. “No chance of Noah accepting my apology, is there?”
Amber rolls her lips together and stares at me. “Truth?”
“I know. He hates me for what I did. But I had no idea he had a son! It’s not like he told me he’s a father. How was I supposed to know what was going on?”
“You talk. Communicate,” Amber says. “I get it. If I came home and Jasper had a kid with a black eye, I’d probably punch Jasper myself and then call the cops, assuming he kidnapped the child.”
I laugh under my breath. “Well, the kid did call him Daddy.”
“Did he?” Amber asks, staring at me pointedly. “Or is that what you thought you heard?”
We step forward as the line moves ever so slowly.
I open my mouth and close it. “The boy said his father hit him.” That much, I remember. It’s ingrained in my mind.
“And I’m pretty sure Noah told me he was his father.”
“Pretty sure?”
“He did,” I say, reaffirming my position. “Not that it matters. He won’t answer my calls or texts. I even wrote him an apology note, and he returned it in the mail. He didn’t even open it. I’d send him flowers, but I doubt he cares about that kind of thing.”
“You got him arrested,” Amber says, staring at me pointedly. “And then you sent his son back into the hands of the man who abused him.”
“I know!” I grimace. “I feel like shit. Okay?”
Amber nods and rests a hand on my arm. “It’ll be okay. He’s fighting for full custody.”
“I heard that on the news,” I say. “About the custody battle. I didn’t know it was for full custody, but it makes sense.”
“Enough about your ex,” Amber says as we shuffle toward the front of the line. I pull out my I.D. as we’re next up to enter the club. “We’re here to have a good time. Can you imagine this place after nine o’clock?”
Music pours in from the open door while the bouncer only lets a few people inside. I’m antsy to get off the street, drink, dance, and forget about all the crap happening right now, which includes the upcoming charity gala.
After freezing our butts off outside, we’re ushered into the club. It’s loud, and the music pulsates, making the floor vibrate.
“Let’s grab drinks. My treat,” I shout at Amber and point at the bar. I grab her hand, making sure that we don’t get separated in the chaos of the club.
She’s right on my heel, and we order four shots between us, tossing them back in seconds before sauntering onto the dance floor.
I don’t have to convince her to dance. She joins me, the two of us throwing our heads back and enjoying the beat. We dance and sway, the music electrifying. “Follow me,” she says, grabbing my hand and dragging me deeper into the crowd. “Sorry, thought I saw someone.”
“Your boyfriend?” I’m teasing her. The Ice Dragons aren’t playing tonight, but I don’t know what Jasper and the team are up to now.
“My sister.”
“Are we hiding or moving toward her?” I ask. Amber and Emerson have a tenacious sibling relationship. They don’t seem particularly close, according to what I’ve seen and how Amber speaks about her older sister.
Amber laughs, glancing over her shoulder at me. “I don’t have to hide from her anymore. I’m twenty-one,” she says proudly.
There’s no sign of Emerson, but the place is mobbed. It’d be hard to find anyone in the crowd.
We continue dancing for a while before I point at the bar. “Drinks?” I ask, the slight buzz already wearing off.
“Yes!” Amber shouts and follows me back toward the bar, where I order six shots for us. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“That’s the plan,” I say, wanting to momentarily forget all the crap that’s been going on lately.
“Yes!” Amber squeals with giddiness, and we grab our shot glasses and clang them together before tossing them back simultaneously.
