Page 77 of With You Here
“Hey.” Kayla nudged her gently with an elbow. “Don’t look so panicked. And don’t overthink everything. I can practically see your brain working through the moment like it’s a math problem or something. Just”—she shrugged—“see what happens.”
#
See what happens.Amber had lost count of how many times she’d repeated that phrase to herself in the last few hours. So far she’d boarded a plane to England, taken a cab to the training field where Seth’s soccer club practiced, and managed not to throw up.
Now she was walking up to the main building, her nerves buzzing more than a swarm of honeybees, with no idea if she was going to be thrown out on the spot. Or worse.
Her hand halted on the door, and she breathed in deeply.See what happens.She pushed and the door swung open. It took a second to register that the entrance hadn’t been locked before she walked in.
Pristine white shocked her senses. White walls. White floors. White leather sofas. An air of opulence and sophistication. And wealth. Not at all what she’d expected from a sports training center, but then again, this was a far cry from a Bible college’s intramural team.
“Can I help you, miss?” A slightly older man, though still fit enough to fill out his security uniform, approached her.
She ran her tongue over her dry lips. “I was, uh, hoping to speak with Seth Marshall.”And not getting thrown out for trespassing would be nice. Please and thank you.
The guard with equal amounts of salt and pepper in his hair regarded her. “You wouldn’t happen to be Amber Carrington, would you?”
He knew who she was? “Y-yes.” She held out her hand. “I’m Amber. Pleased to meet you.”
The man shook her hand, delight shifting his frown into an amused smile. “Justin.” He studied her a minute and then chuckled. “This day just got a lot more interesting. I’d ask why you’re here, but I’m fairly certain I already know. At least, I hope I do.”
Amber swallowed. “I need to tell Seth…well, I need to tell him something, and then…I guess we’ll see what happens.”
Justin pivoted on the balls of his feet and hooked an arm in the air. “Follow me. You’re not technically supposed to be here, but I think for the sake of the team and the outcome of the entire season, you better go on and say what you need to say to him.”
What in the world does that mean?But Amber didn’t ask. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
Call her crazy, but she could practically feel how near Seth was. That magnetism about him charged against her ribs, pulling her closer to him. She almost told Justin she didn’t need his guidance. She’d be able to find Seth with her eyes closed, his true north leading her home.
Justin opened a door to the outside, and she stepped over the threshold. Noise from a scrimmage on a nearby field tugged her forward. Shouts and bellows for passes grew in volume as her feet traversed first the pavement of a parking lot and then the lush softness of a sodded field.
She didn’t have to scan the area to find him. Didn’t have to inspect each face before latching on to the one she sought. And just as she’d known, now that she’d let herself get close enough, there would be no separation. The connection she’d felt when they first met had only intensified, a welder’s torch melding them together.
The soccer ball arched in the air, kicked by a defender, and rolled over to her. She lifted her foot and set it on top of the ball, her gaze boring into the back of the one she’d come for.
See me. See my heart.
A hush fell over the field, the bodies that had been in motion stilling.
Except one.
He turned as if in slow motion, his beautifully sculpted shoulders rotating toward her. Their eyes locked, just as they had on the field in Germany, and the something in her that had recognized something in him that day sparked again. Except this time, she knew what that something was.
Her future.
He walked toward her, each step filled with purpose. If anyone moved, if anyone said anything, she didn’t see. Didn’t hear. Every molecule of her body hummed and focused on the man drawing closer to her.
He stopped about a foot in front of her. Searched her gaze. His throat bobbed and the corners of his lips tugged. “I believe you have something of mine.”
She rolled the ball over to him with the bottom of her foot. Not one of his muscles flexed as the ball slowly bowled past him.
“I wasn’t talking about the ball.” Amusement danced in his golden eyes. “I was referring to my heart. You walked away with it the other day, and I’ve had a dreadful time trying to function without it.”
Her pulse quickened. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep it.”
His charming half-grin flashed across his face. “You would?”
“Mmhmm.” She nodded. “But it wouldn’t be fair for you to have to function without a heart when I now have two so…” She searched his gaze. “I’d like to give you mine.”
