Since their encounter on the beach, she was careful to keep their interactions touch-free. But Daniel needed her and she could hardly refuse him a little physical support.
She reached up to wipe the lipstick off his face and he trapped her hand against his cheek, holding it there. His eyes filled with an intensity she couldn’t read and her heart began an unsteady pounding in her chest.
Something was different between them. The air was charged in a way it had never been before and Daniel’s touch, once casual and friendly, now seemed…heated.
Amy wanted to say something, but any further conversation was cut off as a woman swooped down on them. “Daniel! You’re here,” she boomed. “Come with me. There are so many people waiting to meet you. I’ve organized a mini press conference to start in ten minutes.”
He gave Amy a helpless look as Valerie Carnell, the gallery owner, whisked him away into the crowd. Amy waved him off with an encouraging smile, hoping he’d relax as the evening wore on. She hoped she’d relax too. All this nervous energy between the two of them made her jumpy.
She accepted a glass of wine from a passing waiter, took a few large sips and when she felt a little more in control, turned to the photographs. It was time to see what had affected Daniel so much over the past few months.
The pictures were remarkable. Daniel had managed to capture the feel of the ward with uncanny accuracy. He’d brought the clinic to life. Amy was transported. The gallery dissolved away and she found herself standing in the middle of the hospital, watching the bustling activity taking place before her eyes.
She saw nurses tending to their sick patients. The care they lavished on the children was so powerful, Amy felt an inexplicable need to try and help. Couldn’t she soothe away that small boy’s pain, ease the teenage girl’s hacking cough?
Her heart twisted as she watched a mother sitting by her son’s side, holding his hand while he slept. A book lay forgotten in her lap as she stared down at him, her face haunted.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a doctor on duty. His shoulders sagged and he looked downright exhausted. She could almost smell the coffee that steamed from his polystyrene cup, misting his glasses.
For the first time, Amy had a real idea of how Daniel must have felt when his sister was a patient on this very ward. She blinked rapidly, forcing her tears away. God, what the young Daniel must have gone through. The fear, the dread he must have lived with. No wonder he hated speaking about that year. No wonder the memories were hitting him so hard now.
She had a sudden compulsive need to find her friend, to throw her arms around him and comfort him. To take away the pain. Make the hurt disappear. Though she searched the room, there was no sign of him. He was probably busy with the press interviews.
With no other choice, she finished looking at the photos and smiled at the last one. A picture of a little boy and his father leaving the hospital. A huge grin and a bunch of balloons spoke of happy outcomes.
“Aren’t they incredible?” a voice from behind her asked.
“Unbelievable.” She turned around to find Daniel’s mother, Molly, and his sister, Sarah. “Hello there.” She was genuinely happy to see them. “Lord, you must be proud,” she enthused, excited to have someone to rave to about the exhibition.
“Oh believe me, I am,” Molly said. “I’ve been telling everyone I pass that the photographer is my son.” She didn’t look the least bit embarrassed.
Sarah cringed. “Believe her. She’s been telling
everyone
!”
Amy grinned. “I know what you mean. I’ve had this mad need to nudge people and tell them Daniel’s
my
best friend. Isn’t he the most brilliant photographer ever?”
“Undoubtedly.” Molly smiled indulgently.
“And without bragging, this is his best work yet,” Sarah added.
Amy realized that despite the laughter, being at the exhibition couldn’t have been easy for Daniel’s family. “It must be tough on you both, seeing these pictures, reliving it all.”
Sarah shrugged. “Not as tough as it’s been on Daniel. He really struggled with this shoot. I dealt with my illness a long time ago. Daniel never did. He just accepted I was okay, and moved on. I think that now, for the first time, he’s realizing how precarious the whole situation was, and it’s taking its toll on him.”
Amy nodded. Sarah hit the nail on the head. While the Tanner women always spoke openly about the leukemia, Daniel kept it firmly locked away. As a child, he’d simply accepted the return of her good health and left it at that. During the shoot, however, he’d had to come to terms with just how difficult Sarah’s illness had been for the whole family.
Daniel and Lexi chose that moment to join them.
“Things look pretty serious here. You guys not having a good time?” Daniel had a broad grin on his face and Amy noticed he’d cheered up significantly. In fact, he looked downright exuberant.
“Not really,” Sarah answered as she wrinkled her nose. “The entertainment’s lousy and the décor stinks. The least they could have done was hang some decent art on the walls.”
“Don’t worry,” Daniel said with a straight face. “I know the gallery owner. I’ll have a word with her.”
They all laughed.
Molly hugged her son. “You’ve made me very proud tonight.”
“Thanks, Mum,” Daniel answered and left his arm around his mother’s shoulders.
“Dad would have been proud too,” Sarah said and they all agreed.
Daniel’s father had died a few years ago and Amy envied the family’s ability to remember him with such love. Unfortunately, she couldn’t think about her own father in the same light—hell, she didn’t even know if he was dead or alive.
“So,” Lexi asked her brother, “how does it feel being the center of attention?”
Daniel couldn’t hide his smile. “Not bad. Although my eyes are still burning from all those flashes.”
“About time you learned what it’s like being on the other side of the lens,” Amy pointed out.
“Flashes are good,” Lexi said with authority. “They mean publicity. And the more publicity we have, the more money we can raise for the ward.”
“I don’t think raising money will be a problem,” Molly said, her indulgent smile back in place. “Valerie told me she already sold fifteen photographs—and that was an hour ago, on opening night. You still have the rest of the week!”
Amy thought about the price tags attached to each photo, did a quick mental calculation and gave a silent whistle. If sales over the next seven days continued the same way, they’d be able to refurbish the entire hospital, never mind just the ward. Well, almost.
She looked at Daniel, ridiculously happy for him. He was staring straight at her and for a moment their eyes locked. The room around them fizzled away. All she could focus on was her friend, his hooded eyes and that intense, unreadable expression.
Her stomach did three quick cartwheels, a summersault and a backward flip in quick succession.
What the—?
And just like that, it was over. “Sarah, I think Steve is looking for you.” Daniel gestured across the room.
Sarah looked up and waved at her husband who was beckoning her. “I’m sorry to do this,” she said, “but it’s getting late. We have to get back home to the kids.”
Amy looked at her watch. It was close to eleven.
“Are you ready to go, Mum?” Sarah asked.
“I am.” Molly hugged Daniel again. “Tonight was just wonderful.”
Sarah kissed everyone goodbye and Molly did the same, pausing to squeeze Amy’s hand before she left. “Keep well, my dear. I hope to see you soon.”
“You too,” Amy said, still slightly breathless from Daniel’s look.
“I’m going to see what the doctors on the ward thought about the show,” Lexi said, then added with a wink, “Don’t worry, Danno. I won’t let Leona near you.” Chuckling, she walked over to her friends.
A jolt went through Amy. Leona was here? She hadn’t seen her. What would she have done if she had? What was the appropriate behavior when confronting a woman who was after your best friend? Should she tell her how incredibly sexy Daniel’s kiss had been? How happy she was that Daniel had kissed her and not Leona?
Wait a minute.
She was
not
happy. Quite the contrary, she was doing her best to forget the damn kiss. Wasn’t she?
She shook the thought away and focused on Daniel, casting him a wry grin. “Have you seen her tonight?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve had to duck into the men’s room three times to avoid her.”
Amy laughed and hoped the sound wasn’t as tinny to Daniel’s ears as it was to hers. “Our, um…little façade didn’t work, did it?”
He rolled his eyes. “Not really, but I don’t want to talk about her now.”
“Anything you say.” Amy looked around and realized for the first time since they arrived she was alone with him. She took his hands in hers and pretended not to be scorched by the heat of his bare skin. “Your family is right, you know? You should be proud. Your work is unbelievable.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He held on to her hand.
“I love it.”
He brushed her palm with the pad of his thumb and her arm tingled.
She ignored it. “I’m glad to see the pre-show jitters are gone. You were so nervous before.” For some reason, it was her who was beginning to feel nervous.
Without saying a word he stared at her, his blue eyes turning a smoky gray.
“Daniel?” His gaze took on a predatory hue and she found her reaction to it most unsettling. “Are you okay?”
He blinked. “I need to get some fresh air. Come with me?” He didn’t wait for her reply. With her hand still in his, he turned and walked towards the balcony.
Chapter Five
Amy stifled the flustered sensation in the pit of her belly, demanding the unwanted butterflies perform their nervous dance elsewhere. She waited as Daniel swept aside a curtain, revealing a door she never knew was there. Before shutting it behind them, he pulled the curtain back in place, concealing their exit from view. It was deserted on the balcony, too cold for anyone to be outside. She took a deep breath of wintry night air.
Daniel’s behavior was…strange, and for the first time she found herself feeling awkward, alone with her friend. He led her over to a shadowed corner and leaned against the railing. It was dark there, the inky blackness obscuring her sight of him.
“You okay now?” She definitely wasn’t. A peculiar sensation churned through her chest.
“Almost,” he answered, his voice low.
She shivered, though whether it was from a blast of icy wind or his gravelly tone, she wasn’t sure. Blinking a couple of times, she waited for her eyes to adapt to the lack of light.
“You’re cold,” he said. “Take my jacket.” Slipping it off, he wrapped it around her shoulders and tucked it under her chin.
His warmth enveloped her and the intimacy of the gesture made her shiver again. Traces of his aftershave clung to the jacket and she inhaled, breathing in his spicy, familiar scent. It curled through her nose and coiled around her heart, making it flutter.
“Daniel?” She peered up at him. He hadn’t moved. His hands still held the jacket together just above her breasts and he was close, very close. Her nipples pebbled and she forgot what she wanted to say.
“Yes?” His mouth was mere inches away from hers. The cloak of darkness lent a clandestine aura to their conversation and tingles chased their way up her spine.
“Uh…nothing.” How could she talk when he was this close?
“Amy?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m going to kiss you.” His breath fanned her face and her stomach lurched.
Hadn’t she already told him? It wasn’t right for friends to kiss. “You probably shouldn’t.” Her tone lacked conviction and her eyelids were becoming too heavy to keep open.
“Why not?” His body hovered against hers.
“Honestly?” She quivered as sensation drowned out rational thought. “I can’t remember.”
The tip of his tongue touched her lips and she shuddered.
“Still think I shouldn’t kiss you?” His voice was a smoky whisper.
She shook her head. “I can’t think at all when you do that.”
“Do what?” he breathed. “This?” He flicked his tongue over her lower lip and she whimpered. “Or this?” He ran his tongue under her upper lip.
“Mmm,” was all she could manage.
“How about if I do this?” He pressed his lips against hers for the shortest time.
“Daniel.” His name came out as a soft moan.
“Amy?” He stroked his cheek ever so lightly against hers.
“Shut up and kiss me.”
Their kiss struck fever pitch the instant their lips met. Heat seared through her as she opened her mouth and he plunged his tongue inside. It tangled with hers, tasting, exploring, driving her half crazy with need.
If anticipation had drowned her logic, then his kiss immobilized her mind. Reality faded away. For the longest time she could only feel. Instinct and Daniel became her two guides and she blindly followed where they took her, heedless of the outcome.