If You Believe in Me by Natalie J. Damschroder Page B

squeezing the baby on his lap until it giggled as if he were tickling it.
    But Kale’s worries from the plane returned, and he got stuck in his fears. They were even stronger now that he knew she had no clue why he hadn’t been in touch with her for so long. He sat there, listening to lisping kids rattle off their wish lists, handing them presents, staring into the flash on the camera.
    Sweating. Aching. And for the first time in his life, being a coward.
    Finally, he couldn’t wait any longer. Every possible response had played itself out in his head, and he was close to vomiting with the weight of his inertia. The next kid was crying and pushing back against his mother, so Kale took advantage of the moment.
    “Amber.”
    She froze halfway across the red half-circle rug. Slowly turned away from the crying child and the helpless elf trying to tug him toward Santa. Amber’s eyes were huge, her mouth open a little. Kale didn’t want to move, knew changing positions would make his wound scream, but he had to do this right. He levered himself rigidly off the chair and onto the floor, his left knee down. He couldn’t help leaning on the right knee to take the pressure off his side, blowing out a breath of annoyance.
    Amber stayed where she was, standing tall and strong and in what appeared to be complete immobility, while the room slowly went quiet around them. Kale ignored the murmured “Danny!”s and nervous throat-clearings. He slowly got his hand into his pants pocket and pulled out the ring he’d schlepped halfway across the world. Then he pulled off the Santa hat and beard. The gasp that went up made him smile, but he never took his eyes off Amber.
    Fingers trembled as he tipped open the box. Amber’s eyes filled with…fury. In three strides she was in front of him. He looked up, his heart in his throat.
    And then she punched him in the face.

 
    Chapter Six
    “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
    Dazed, Kale held himself off the floor with one hand while Amber clutched him and peppered his jaw with apologetic kisses. It was kind of funny that she thought she’d hurt him. The jaw tap wouldn’t even leave a bruise, but the impact had been enough to make him twist, and the movement shot agony through his torso.
    “It’s okay.” He’d gotten his breath back, along with a surge of relief at Amber’s secondary reaction. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and straightened. Her next kiss landed on his mouth and he took immediate advantage, cupping the back of her head to hold her in place while he drugged himself with her scent. She smelled so sweet, felt so soft, tasted so amazing. He was home. Home .
    Thunderous applause and cheering penetrated his awareness and he slowly ended the kiss but kept her close. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “But I think I’m going to pass out.”
    Amber shouted for help, and Danny and some other guy hurried over to get Kale off the floor. Amber led them outside and down the hall to an office with a sofa, and Kale let them lower him to it, as much as he wanted to stay on his feet.
    “I look like a fuckin’ pussy,” he muttered.
    “No,” Danny corrected. “You look like a conquering hero. He’s hurt,” he told Amber. “You should get someone to look at him.”
    “Thanks.” She dismissed the guys and turned her attention immediately to Kale’s jacket, undoing it and pushing it open to examine his side. In moments, they were alone.
    “This so isn’t how I imagined it,” Kale said. He watched her anxious eyes as she lifted his shirt and peeked under the bandage. Her hat was askew, barely held to her silky hair by some kind of pins. “I’m sorry.”
    “Stop apologizing.” She smoothed the tape back over his ribs. “I think it’s okay. It’s oozing a little. Danny’s right, you should see someone. But you won’t die if it’s not today.”
    Kale didn’t miss the clipped tone or the roughness when she said “die.” He caught her hand and