Page 21 of Amelia and Her Prince Charming
Water. My salty mouth and dry veins longed for fresh, sweet water. We’d get some soon.
Eventually, everyone would realize that something had happened to us and send out a search party. We just had to make it until then. Amelia’s shaking had become less violent, but she still trembled. I rolled her around so that she was facing me, and she curled into a ball against my chest. I breathed her in—the saltiness of the ocean, the dampness of the cabin, and the indefinable essence of Amelia.
I’d almost lost her.
I’d relive those moments the rest of my life. When the boat had gone over. When I hadn’t been able to find her and then seeing her go under a wave and not come back up.
I pressed my lips to the top of her head and left them there. “How am I going to let you go again, Amelia?” I whispered. Shepressed even tighter into me, seeking my warmth. The growing fire crackled behind her, warmth filling the cabin, and I listened to Amelia’s steady breathing against my chest, assuring myself with each inhale and exhale that she was going to be okay.
Chapter 15
Amelia
The Plot Thickens
Amelia Blaire has disappeared, just as superstar singer, Aurelia Halifax, has arrived in town with her massive entourage for the wedding. Coincidence? Unlikely. All we know right now is that the two warring bridesmaids are likely to bring drama to the wedding we’ve all been waiting for. The bride may be forced to choose between her sister-in-law and her new best friend. Will the wedding survive this?
—Hot Goss Magazine
Warmth.Ipressedmyselfcloser to it, craving it.
A steady rise and fall under my cheek lulled me back into sleep.
I awoke again sometime later to aches in every muscle of my body. I’d run a marathon once, back in college, and hadn’t trained well for it. I’d limped my way over the finish line and immediately collapsed, swearing to never do that again.
This was worse. I moaned as a cramp in my calf shot pain up to my hip and back.
Movement beside me stirred the hair across my forehead. I tilted my head up to find Hudson still asleep, his breathing a steady metronome of calmness. My head was resting in the juncture between his shoulder and chest, his arm around me, holding me close to him. His large hand rested possessively on my hip, and when I stirred, he murmured, “You’ve got to stay warm, baby,” and pulled me even closer before falling back into a deep sleep.
The speed of my heart kicked up a notch, and warth enveloped my insides. Baby? Normally I hated pet names, but hearing Hudson say that was certainly causing acrobatics in my stomach. As was feeling his warm skin pressed to every inch of my warm skin. And feeling the hairs on his chest pressed into my cheek in a way I found I liked, information that was so intimate and unexpected, I didn’t know where to file it in my mind.
Focus, Amy.
Okay, what did I remember?
The dinghy. Falling over. Thinking I was dying.
Then Hudson saved me. Swimming us to shore.
Saying he loved me? No. Yes?
I blinked the maybe-a-memory away. Of course he loved me. I loved him too.
Hudson’s mostly naked body folded around my mostly naked body. That one might be embarrassing once I had the energy to think deeper about it.
Him holding me until I got warm.
Then now.
All of it was fuzzy, bits and spurts of memory clouded with fear and pain.
Hudson had saved my life. How in the world had he found the energy to swim us both to shore, carry me to the cabin, and get a fire started? I’d always suspected he was a superhero in disguise, and I was right.
It hit me, suddenly, how close I’d been to dying.
The tears fell in a rush, and when Hudson stirred, this time, he woke all the way up. He gathered me even closer, and I was pretty sure he kissed the top of my head as I sobbed.
His chest shook as well, and I glanced up to realize he was crying too. “You’re okay,” he whispered, as if assuring himself of this fact.
